Blargh, I am sick!

Ugh.

I am sick as a dog, and it is certainly making an impact on my archery practice time.  I haven't had the opportunity (or ability) to make it out to the range this week as a result of what may be Ebola or Honta (still waiting for the lab results to confirm/deny).

But, I picked up some new hardware that I thought I would show off a bit!

Easton Powerflight Arrows

I picked these up at That Hunting and Fishing Store in Richmond a few weeks ago.  I got them for a decent price, about $50 CAD for a half dozen made arrows.  I explained my need of target arrows to the sales person, and he recommended that I go with a slightly over-spined arrow, as I would likely be upgrading my ILF limbs in the next few months (going to a higher poundage).

The only issue I have had with them so far is that I managed to rip up the fletching on one of them to the point that I am unwilling to shoot it.  (See picture below).  I will have to try and repair the damage before I feel comfortable shooting this one again - should be fun, as I do not have a fletching jig....

High Density Foam Target

Now this was a steal.  I was surfing around Kijiji.ca, and found a local that was selling a few archery targets, including this high density foam number, which I picked up for $25 CAD.

The seller was a really nice older lady that used to shoot compound competitively in Texas, and has moved up to the Great White North to retire.  She even threw in a few free targets & target pins, just because she is awesome.

I think I am going to set up a short range target downstairs in the basement.  I'd shoot outdoors, but I live in a townhouse, and would likely incur the wrath of my neighbours or the condo association if I tried to practice in my backyard.  :-/

Chest Guard

Finally picked up one of these from South Nation Archery Supply last week.  When I first started back into archery, I never understood why the guys were wearing these things; back when I started shooting, only the girls wore chest protectors.

That all changed after I had my form corrected by Kathy Millar.  I was practicing at my usual range, when WHAM!!!  I nailed my right nipple on a string release.  Have you ever had something hurt so bad that you wanted to scream, but couldn't?  Yeah, it was like that.  So, I called SNAS and promptly ordered a new guard.  Save teh boobs!

Good archery YouTube feeds

Hey Archers!

I know there is a lot of information online concerning archery online, and it can sometimes be confusing for new archers to get into the sport.

About a year ago, when I started getting back into shooting, I decided to check around the web for useful information about my new hobby.  YouTube was a wealth of information for me;  Not only were there feeds to help new archers with their form and equipment, there were hunting and trick shot videos to watch as well.

Here are some of my favourite YouTube feeds (note: I am not affiliated with ANY of the producers of these videos):

ArcheryTV

For all of us FITA/World Archery fans, this is one stop shopping.  ArcheryTV is the official YouTube account that provides coverage of various archery tournaments around the world.  This one is good for both compound and recurve shooters.  I watch this if I ever want to be both inspired and depressed about my archery skill.  :-/

Performance Archery TV

This one is great for all us rookies.  Hosted by Alistair Whittingham, Performance Archery TV gives detailed videos explaining and demonstrating proper archery form and technique with Olympic-style ILF recurve bows as well as compounds.  There are other training videos out there, but I liked this one as I felt that it was approachable and well rounded (recurve & compound?  Awesome!).  Its a shame that this feed hasn't been updated in over a year.

Grey Archer

Ah, Grey Archer,  I love this guy.  A traditional shooter that likes to post video reviews of various bows, as well as document his adventures in the woods in Sweden, Grey Archer is fun to watch.  He is currently in a "What is?" series of videos, helping newer archers understand some of the terminology around archery.

Warning:  Grey Archer can occasionally get into "grumpy old guy mode" in his videos, and get a bit ramble-y.

The Field Archer

Okay.  I don't hunt, but if I did, I would hope that I could hunt half as well as this guy.  Field Archer is an absolutely fantastic shot with a crossbow or compound bow.  Just as a heads up, some of the videos can be a bit bloody - this is hunting after all - and as such, some viewer discretion should be exercised.

Tex Grebner Outdoors

Okay, this one is more for the comedic value.  I first learned of "Tex" after watching him shoot himself in the leg on Tosh.O (video here - Warning: Language/Violence).  Tex started putting up archery related videos a little over a year ago, and while his efforts tend to end poorly for him (see above), I can't help but like the guy for the amount of effort he puts into his videos.

Trick Shot videos:

Those crazy Russians sure love their archery.  These two videos (see below) are crazy.  The girl has to be one of the fastest shots I have ever seen (mind you, that bow looks like its about 20# draw), and the technique on the guy is apparently an old Mongol horseback trick.

Anyway, cool stuff!

Well, that's it for my favourites!  Anyone else have favourite archery videos that you like to watch online?