My boy is turning into quite the little archer.
After seeing how serious he was with just a simple toy bow, I may have to get him a proper youth set.
If I do, I'll post a review of the kit at a later date.
Showing posts with label range. Show all posts
Showing posts with label range. Show all posts
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Backyard archery!
Now that the weather is FINALLY getting nicer, and the backyard has been at least semi - cleared, I can finally take my new bow out for a spin.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Lug05 Update - 2012 11 03
Well, its been a while, hmm?
Despite my lack of postings, my love of archery continues - so I haven't abandoned you all.
I've been fighting the good fight here, but the universe has been conspiring against me a bit. My wife had to take an unexpected leave of absence from work recently, and my shooting had to take a back seat while I took care of her. The good news is that she's doing a lot better, so I can get back to it!
I've been fighting with gremlins in my gear, namely in my SF Axiom Sight. This sight has been pretty good to me, but of late I've noticed that the screws CONSTANTLY need to be checked for tightness. Things came to a bit of a head last weekend after I took a shoot and heard an ominous *snap* immediately following my release. I figured it was my rest, or perhaps a nock that had hit the riser. No such luck:
Yeah, that's whats left of my aperture. After spending a few minutes looking around, I was able to find the missing part. I kept shooting, until the entire sight slid off the rail and hit the floor. Frustration got the better of me, so I called it quits, and headed to South Nation Archery Supply:
Despite my lack of postings, my love of archery continues - so I haven't abandoned you all.
I've been fighting the good fight here, but the universe has been conspiring against me a bit. My wife had to take an unexpected leave of absence from work recently, and my shooting had to take a back seat while I took care of her. The good news is that she's doing a lot better, so I can get back to it!
I've been fighting with gremlins in my gear, namely in my SF Axiom Sight. This sight has been pretty good to me, but of late I've noticed that the screws CONSTANTLY need to be checked for tightness. Things came to a bit of a head last weekend after I took a shoot and heard an ominous *snap* immediately following my release. I figured it was my rest, or perhaps a nock that had hit the riser. No such luck:
Yeah, that's whats left of my aperture. After spending a few minutes looking around, I was able to find the missing part. I kept shooting, until the entire sight slid off the rail and hit the floor. Frustration got the better of me, so I called it quits, and headed to South Nation Archery Supply:
Larry sold me a new aperture, and checked my bow over. After he had exorcised a few demons from the setup, things definitely improved:
More to come!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Range Report - 2012 08 30
I went out to the range today.
I didn't really get a good end in; I managed to score a 224.
I wasn't super happy with this round, as I had a form issue that was screwing up my groupings. I managed to get it sorted, in the second round, but unfortunately I couldn't finish, as I got a call from the family that pulled me away early.
I did manage to fire a few rounds at a King Joffrey target, which I think Tyrion Lannister would approve.
I figure that should be good enough for the Night's Watch.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Online target options :-D
Hey archers!
Based on how popular my post on my zombie targets were, I thought it might be nice to locate some fun online targets that can be easily printed and used at the range! After all, archery can occasionally get expensive, so anyway to save money is a good thing.
Free Archery Targets
This site is great. They offer printouts of FITA (now World Archery) target faces in various sizes. I've used these in the past if I forgot to pick up a pack of 40cm faces at Walmart before practice.
Dewclaw Archery
These are great options as well. Dewclaw Archery lets you download the target in .pdf format (so you are going to need Adobe Acrobat or Foxit to view these images). Some of these targets are designed so that you can put multiple standard sheets of paper together (8.5" x 11") to form larger targets. Very nice for those of us that don't have fancy printers.
King Joffery Targets
How much fun is this! If you're a fan of HBO's Game of Thrones (or the books by R.R. Martin), you are more than likely not a fan of King Joffery. So, print out a target of everyone's least favourite boy king and let the arrows fly. Bonus points if you listen to the "Rains of Castamere" while giving Joff his due.
Other target fun:
I know that I have already shared my hatred (and therefore love of shooting at) Zombies. So, I have located additional zombie targets. These aren't as nice as the Visicolor options that I shared a few weeks ago, but they offer the advantage of being free:
Zombie profile - These offer a simple silhouette of a zombie. They also look great on standard paper. (originally located at ZombieHunters.org)
Comic Zombie - This one is nice, as it offers no scoring lines. (original available at: www.rem870.org)
District 9 Alien - Remember these guys? Fire a few arrows at the "prawns" with these! (originals were found in the Bayou shooter forums)
I hope all of you have as much fun with these as I have. It's nice to have options to shoot at once and a while, especially on club nights or 4H/JOAD clubs.
Let me know if any of you have other options for fun targets!
Based on how popular my post on my zombie targets were, I thought it might be nice to locate some fun online targets that can be easily printed and used at the range! After all, archery can occasionally get expensive, so anyway to save money is a good thing.
Free Archery Targets
This site is great. They offer printouts of FITA (now World Archery) target faces in various sizes. I've used these in the past if I forgot to pick up a pack of 40cm faces at Walmart before practice.
Dewclaw Archery
These are great options as well. Dewclaw Archery lets you download the target in .pdf format (so you are going to need Adobe Acrobat or Foxit to view these images). Some of these targets are designed so that you can put multiple standard sheets of paper together (8.5" x 11") to form larger targets. Very nice for those of us that don't have fancy printers.
King Joffery Targets
How much fun is this! If you're a fan of HBO's Game of Thrones (or the books by R.R. Martin), you are more than likely not a fan of King Joffery. So, print out a target of everyone's least favourite boy king and let the arrows fly. Bonus points if you listen to the "Rains of Castamere" while giving Joff his due.
Other target fun:
I know that I have already shared my hatred (and therefore love of shooting at) Zombies. So, I have located additional zombie targets. These aren't as nice as the Visicolor options that I shared a few weeks ago, but they offer the advantage of being free:
Zombie profile - These offer a simple silhouette of a zombie. They also look great on standard paper. (originally located at ZombieHunters.org)
Comic Zombie - This one is nice, as it offers no scoring lines. (original available at: www.rem870.org)
District 9 Alien - Remember these guys? Fire a few arrows at the "prawns" with these! (originals were found in the Bayou shooter forums)
I hope all of you have as much fun with these as I have. It's nice to have options to shoot at once and a while, especially on club nights or 4H/JOAD clubs.
Let me know if any of you have other options for fun targets!
Friday, August 24, 2012
First outdoor shoot!
Sorry for the delayed post!
I had the opportunity to shoot outdoors for the first time ever at my in-laws this weekend. What a difference being outside makes!
It was beautiful here, high 20s, and a little humid. The wind could get a bit gusty, but my father in law's property is tree-lined, so the wind was manageable. I was able to get pin settings for 20m and 30m. The best part was that I was still fairly accurate hitting a FITA 40cm target face at 30m (Stayed inside the blues).
Not competition worthy, but certainly not bad for first attempt!
Next week, I will try and post a link to some cool target faces (à la my Zombie target faces). I;m sure there are some great options out there on the interwebs!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Having a good archery technician
So I went to range yesterday, and I discovered that not only did my form feel better, but my bow did too.
The reason for this is a simple one; South Nation Archery has a solid bowyer, right on site. After my one hour lesson with Kathy Millar, her husband took a look at my equipment, and it turned out that I had some problems.
1) My Hoyt was in "reverse tiller" - I had no idea what this meant, and to be brutally honest, I still don't. The tech explained it to me that the distance between the top and bottom of my riser (the Hoyt Horizon is a 25" riser) relative to my bowstring should be slightly further on top when compared to the bottom. My bow has this reversed; the bottom tiller measurement was slightly further than the top tiller measurement - "reverse tiller". The tech made a few adjustments to the ILF bolts on my riser, and the entire rig shot 100% better the next day at practice.
2) Nocking point - after a few shots, Kathy was able to tell that my nocking point was wrong. Not only that, but she told me that I would need some kind of aid to make sure that I was bringing my anchor back to the same point each time. Most people would recommend a "kisser button", but Kathy instead recommended that I have a nocking point set, that at full draw would just brush under the tip of my nose. Kathy said that some archers defeat the advantages of the kisser button by puckering up their lips (see this poor individual). The nock point under the nose is more consistent, and certainly helped my practice yesterday.
3) Bow square - I already had one of these, but I certainly wasn't using it to it's full advantage - a quick discussion with the tech, and I understood exactly what the settings for tiller, brace height and my nock point were for my particular rig. The tech even made a couple of marks on my square so that I would be consistent when working with my rig in future.
All in all, it was a worthwhile hour at South Nation Archery. I am looking forward to taking advanced courses with Kathy in the new year!
The reason for this is a simple one; South Nation Archery has a solid bowyer, right on site. After my one hour lesson with Kathy Millar, her husband took a look at my equipment, and it turned out that I had some problems.
1) My Hoyt was in "reverse tiller" - I had no idea what this meant, and to be brutally honest, I still don't. The tech explained it to me that the distance between the top and bottom of my riser (the Hoyt Horizon is a 25" riser) relative to my bowstring should be slightly further on top when compared to the bottom. My bow has this reversed; the bottom tiller measurement was slightly further than the top tiller measurement - "reverse tiller". The tech made a few adjustments to the ILF bolts on my riser, and the entire rig shot 100% better the next day at practice.
2) Nocking point - after a few shots, Kathy was able to tell that my nocking point was wrong. Not only that, but she told me that I would need some kind of aid to make sure that I was bringing my anchor back to the same point each time. Most people would recommend a "kisser button", but Kathy instead recommended that I have a nocking point set, that at full draw would just brush under the tip of my nose. Kathy said that some archers defeat the advantages of the kisser button by puckering up their lips (see this poor individual). The nock point under the nose is more consistent, and certainly helped my practice yesterday.
3) Bow square - I already had one of these, but I certainly wasn't using it to it's full advantage - a quick discussion with the tech, and I understood exactly what the settings for tiller, brace height and my nock point were for my particular rig. The tech even made a couple of marks on my square so that I would be consistent when working with my rig in future.
All in all, it was a worthwhile hour at South Nation Archery. I am looking forward to taking advanced courses with Kathy in the new year!
Saturday, August 4, 2012
The importance of a good coach...
Hey everyone.
I just got back from a fantastic coaching session with Katherine Millar at South Nation Archery Supply. My biggest take away from this session (outside of some drastically improved scores) was the importance of a qualified instructor when starting out in Archery.
An hour of private instruction cost me $25 CAD. And, if I had to nominate the best investment I have made into the sport so far (equipment, training time, membership dues), I would have to say that I got the most return out of that one hour. Heck, I think I learned more from Katherine in that hour then I did in a 1.5 month course at another range.
Just goes to show you how important a good coach can be. I will be working on the things I learned today at the range tomorrow.
Update to follow!
I just got back from a fantastic coaching session with Katherine Millar at South Nation Archery Supply. My biggest take away from this session (outside of some drastically improved scores) was the importance of a qualified instructor when starting out in Archery.
An hour of private instruction cost me $25 CAD. And, if I had to nominate the best investment I have made into the sport so far (equipment, training time, membership dues), I would have to say that I got the most return out of that one hour. Heck, I think I learned more from Katherine in that hour then I did in a 1.5 month course at another range.
Just goes to show you how important a good coach can be. I will be working on the things I learned today at the range tomorrow.
Update to follow!
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Archery can be social
Let's be honest.
A lot of the time, archers tend to be alone. We are alone at the firing line; it's just us and the target face. I don't know about all of you, but I prefer a quiet range to a crazy busy one.
That said, sometimes, it can be nice to have someone to chat with while shooting. Yesterday night, I went to the range on "Club Night". I was worried a bit that it might be overcrowded (our range only has five lanes), but I arrived to find it empty. I fired a few practice ends, and then got down to practice.
About 2/3 of the way through my first round the club Chairperson came in. It had been a while since she'd been shooting, so she was working on fundamentals, getting her form in check. Since we were both kinda relaxed about our practice, we struck up a conversation about the club, the Olympics, the complete lack of Archery coverage on TV, etc.
It was nice. I am a bit of a loner when it comes to sport - I tend to prefer the individual vs the team based activities, but it was nice to have someone to chat with while walking up the the target butts, retrieving arrows, or walking back to the line.
Maybe I will have to try and make it out to "Club Night" more often. I just hope it doesn't get too popular. :-D
A lot of the time, archers tend to be alone. We are alone at the firing line; it's just us and the target face. I don't know about all of you, but I prefer a quiet range to a crazy busy one.
That said, sometimes, it can be nice to have someone to chat with while shooting. Yesterday night, I went to the range on "Club Night". I was worried a bit that it might be overcrowded (our range only has five lanes), but I arrived to find it empty. I fired a few practice ends, and then got down to practice.
About 2/3 of the way through my first round the club Chairperson came in. It had been a while since she'd been shooting, so she was working on fundamentals, getting her form in check. Since we were both kinda relaxed about our practice, we struck up a conversation about the club, the Olympics, the complete lack of Archery coverage on TV, etc.
It was nice. I am a bit of a loner when it comes to sport - I tend to prefer the individual vs the team based activities, but it was nice to have someone to chat with while walking up the the target butts, retrieving arrows, or walking back to the line.
Maybe I will have to try and make it out to "Club Night" more often. I just hope it doesn't get too popular. :-D
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