New Sage Recurve shootin'...

[Mojo]

well
Got the bow in and shot some arrows with it with a buddy learnin' with me...
It was a good time...nowhere near as accurate as my compound but obviously expected that. Now I'm working on form...anchoring middle finger to corner of mouth, shooting 3 under and messing around with finger walking. I can hit the target at 20yds. not the bullseye, the target I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be looking for when I draw back and anchor as far as targeting...it's tough holding 45#s back for anything longer than 5-7 secs...I get the shakes and fidgets... I'm shooting some GT Traditionals 5575/400 and put 125gr field points on them and left them at 32 length. I stripped one down to bareshaft shoot with and my form puts the arrow in the target knock high consistently...telling me my nock is high (had 3Rivers set it up that way on their bow setup service)...I know I don't have the form down to tune bareshafts so I'll leave that part of it alone til Ive shot a Ho bunch Mo.
Anyways, it is fun...

[Buckhunter75]

I bought a sage about 2 weeks ago. It's also my first time shooting trad and I love it! I've only been able to shoot it one day because of work, but I plan to get in some more practice next week. I too was able to hit the target at 20 yards which surprised me.

[trad"Doc"53]

It's all about the last 3 words you typed, "it is fun". It can also be very frustrating, but you got to just let it roll off and have fun! Congrats on the new bow and having a buddy to shoot with.

[Loreva13]

Awesome!!! My advice would be to start close while you build your form and aim for consistency. For example, I started shooting form 3 to 5 yards and once my four arrows were all in a 3 inch circle on a consistent basis I moved back 3 yards and repeated until again I was hitting the 3 inch circle on a consistent basis.

I also recommend blank bale shooting. I don't have hay bales so I spray painted one side of my bag target all black. I stand 3 yards back, close my eyes, and just focus on form; anchor, back tension, etc. Hope this info. helps you out. Have fun, it becomes more enjoyable everyday!

[jerp]

Sounds like you are going about it the right way - keep it fun! You are 100% right working on developing a consistent anchor point first. I figured out pretty quickly that I couldn't do much in the way of tuning until I could shoot semi consistent groups. My first few attempts at bareshaft tuning showed me absolutely nothing because no two arrows - fletched or bare - were within 6" of each other! It's a slow process, but one that will accelerate quickly once you start drawing and anchoring the same way everytime. Keep it up!

EDIT: X2 on Loreva13's advice on blank bail shooting - that has helped me more than anything because I can't think about form and aiming at the same time

[Mojo]

Awesome!!! My advice would be to start close while you build your form and aim for consistency. For example, I started shooting form 3 to 5 yards and once my four arrows were all in a 3 inch circle on a consistent basis I moved back 3 yards and repeated until again I was hitting the 3 inch circle on a consistent basis.

I also recommend blank bale shooting. I don't have hay bales so I spray painted one side of my bag target all black. I stand 3 yards back, close my eyes, and just focus on form; anchor, back tension, etc. Hope this info. helps you out. Have fun, it becomes more enjoyable everyday!

Yes, I've read up on the blank bale shooting thing and sounds like something I"m gonna setup for in the back yard, just need to get my target off the ground and about chest high...
shootin' at 3 yard increments sounds good...My problem is at least I think it is...is I don't know what the heck I'm supposed to be looking for or at when I'm fixing to let that arra fly...I'll release and wonder, what the heck just happened it is fun though...

[Kaluza]

Congrats on the new bow. I just started shooting trad as well and also ordered a Sage. Comes in Friday. I can't wait! I don't have any arrows for it yet though... I've been suffering from analysis paralysis trying to pick the right ones.

[tradtiger]

Don't claim to be an expert, but have shot a few thousand arrows over the last couple of years with a recurve. You mentioned aiming. I really like the instinctive shooting method. Much info and video help on the internet and here regarding this. Main point, in my view, is get a consistent anchor and steady bow hand, solid release and follow through while simply looking at the smallest point you can identify. Your brain makes the adjustments for distance. Best analogy: no sights on a football or baseball; your brain tells your muscles were to go and when to release for a given result. Practice is the key once anchor and release are consistent. My 2 cents. It's fun and addictive.

[Mojo]

Don't claim to be an expert, but have shot a few thousand arrows over the last couple of years with a recurve. You mentioned aiming. I really like the instinctive shooting method. Much info and video help on the internet and here regarding this. Main point, in my view, is get a consistent anchor and steady bow hand, solid release and follow through while simply looking at the smallest point you can identify. Your brain makes the adjustments for distance. Best analogy: no sights on a football or baseball; your brain tells your muscles were to go and when to release for a given result. Practice is the key once anchor and release are consistent. My 2 cents. It's fun and addictive.

Thanks...the analogy makes sense...the "instinctive" method is what I'm interested in too...

[Deb]

Don't claim to be an expert, but have shot a few thousand arrows over the last couple of years with a recurve. You mentioned aiming. I really like the instinctive shooting method. Much info and video help on the internet and here regarding this. Main point, in my view, is get a consistent anchor and steady bow hand, solid release and follow through while simply looking at the smallest point you can identify. Your brain makes the adjustments for distance. Best analogy: no sights on a football or baseball; your brain tells your muscles were to go and when to release for a given result. Practice is the key once anchor and release are consistent. My 2 cents. It's fun and addictive.

That is how I do it.

[Bowtech Lefty]

I am fairly new as well and also shoot a Sage. Trad shooting is alot of fun, keep at it and you'll get better!

[Limbwalker]

Thanks...the analogy makes sense...the "instinctive" method is what I'm interested in too...

Best book on how to shoot without sights IMO is Byron Ferguson's "become the arrow" - thankfully, it's short and easy to read too. I highly recommend it.

John