Something For Everyone

I have become almost exclusively a tournament archer, competing in indoor and outdoor spot, with field becoming by far my favorite. I enjoy 3D but do not aspire to compete at the top level in that arena though the skills would carry over, and hunting has taken a back seat. My goal is to share anything that made me a better shooter and plan to post for the experienced and beginning archer alike, though truthfully all archery information pertains to everyone at all levels and areas of the sport.

One thing I have learned is that there is a lot of hype and a lot of people who tell you what you 'need to do'. My advice is to get your information, as with anything, from people who have achieved what you want to achieve. I once bought a book from a well known and respected source that was rather thick and had "all the answers". It was the worst thing I did. Since then I have had to unlearn most of it. I have also learned that the more I learn about archery the simpler the sport becomes and that I perceived it as being far more complicated than it really is. It is more an accumulation of a small, logical things brought together to work as a frictionless whole.

If I were to sum up archery into a couple words it would be the art of letting the bow shoot itself. It has long been known that the average, quality bow, if tuned within reason when placed in a shooting machine, (hooter shooter) will stack arrows on top of each other at 70 yards. So we can safely assume that for the most part it's the shooter that needs the work. But because we are human and can never achieve the repeatability of a machine, there are different things a person can do to achieve 'forgiveness' of human error in a bow set up. A properly set nocking point, center shot, arrow spine, and cam timing are just a few of the things that can be adjusted to accomplish this.

Over time I would like to address these subjects and share what I have learned. I would also be grateful for anything you might have to add or if you have a another way of doing it, or something altogether different that I am not aware of. Questions are welcome also and might help inspire me.