Shooting Compound Bow

[Peder]

So yeah, i got a compound bow for my Birthday, it was totally awesome!

I got a mission craze, its really crazy but also cool.

I was wondering if any of you guys shoot bow?

as for my accomplishments, i managed to break 3 arrows and got it right for the string to come loose today.

But otherwise i do reasonably well, must just have more patience with myself and not try to be extra good in a record amount of time.

 

[Rocket-Boy]

will check to see if I can find the pic of the first time I shot one... try not to get your forearm in the way of the string!!

 

[HavocXphere]

Haven't shot in a long time, but yeah I've got one.

Its pretty damn cool. I thought I had a pic of mine in the images...apparently not. Here is another one instead:

i managed to break 3 arrows and got it right for the string to come loose today.

Holy sht dude! Time for some preachery noob education. You need to be way more careful...these things can be dangerous. Doctor digging 500 pieces of carbon fiber shrapnel out of your arm. That kind of dangerous.

Please read this:
http://www.huntersfriend.com/arrow-safety-warning.htm

Do the above plus make sure the arrows are heavy enough. The shops like selling arrows that are too light. This makes them go very fast. However it also damages your bow . Same thing for shooting without an arrow. Doing that even once can ruin the bow permanently.

Same thing for the string. If its not 100% someone will end up in hospital. Inspect and wax the string regularly.

I should also warn you that technically shooting these bows at home is illegal. So ideally you should go to a range. I'd recommend "the bow shop". Its in wekker street in PTA east. They have guys that that know everything these is to know about this stuff. Please familiarize yourself with range rules first though. Had to dive for cover once already on that range...that was enough.

Focus on your grip on the bow at the start. You should be barely grasping it w/ very little pressure. Picked up some nasty habits there & it was difficult to fix later. Also don't overextend your left elbow...hurts & bleeds like hell after a couple of hits.

 

[Peder]

Holy sht dude! Time for some preachery noob education. You need to be way more careful...these things can be dangerous. Doctor digging 500 pieces of carbon fiber shrapnel out of your arm. That kind of dangerous.

Please read this:
http://www.huntersfriend.com/arrow-safety-warning.htm

Do the above plus make sure the arrows are heavy enough. The shops like selling arrows that are too light. This makes them go very fast. However it also damages your bow . Same thing for shooting without an arrow. Doing that even once can ruin the bow permanently.

Same thing for the string. If its not 100% someone will end up in hospital. Inspect and wax the string regularly.

I should also warn you that technically shooting these bows at home is illegal. So ideally you should go to a range. I'd recommend "the bow shop". Its in wekker street in PTA east. They have guys that that know everything these is to know about this stuff. Please familiarize yourself with range rules first though. Had to dive for cover once already on that range...that was enough.

Focus on your grip on the bow at the start. You should be barely grasping it w/ very little pressure. Picked up some nasty habits there & it was difficult to fix later. Also don't overextend your left elbow...hurts & bleeds like hell after a couple of hits.

Well i think my biggest problem is the arrow rest, and me setting the bow when i shouldn't be.

WRT the arrow rest, my arrows keep moving off the rest and then i don't notice it which then causes me to shoot an arrow into a tree or something like that.

Which brings me to how i managed to get the string off of the bow, i was about to shoot when i realised that the arrow is off the rest so i tried to slowly release the bow but yeah i slipped or something and there went my string, though I think i may have torqued it.

How is it(technically) illegal to shoot at home?

I know my grip is crap at the moment, technically i have never shot a gun in my life so this is the first weapon i have truly handled which has to be aimed, so i think its just much of a beginners problems that i am having.

 

[ponder]

/knees folds over

 

[HavocXphere]

There is this generic law they pushed like 5 years ago that has a catch-all clause for all dangerous kind of things. Its pretty vague though so even a slingshot could fall under it. If you want to google it do so from a pellet gun angle. So if a neighbor reports you, you're in a weak position. Def nowhere near as much trouble as a real gun though. Most people with bows do it anyway...

I'm guessing from your description that you've got a drop away rest. Yeah those are tricky. Nothing you can do about it except being more careful. Some of them you can bend the two prongs further apart which makes it more difficult for the arrow to fall off, but I wouldn't do it tbh.

The grip: Read this: http://bowsite.com/bowsite/features/practical_bowhunter/grip/index.htm Takes some getting used to. Esp if the bow model you've got jumps. You want don't want to catch it or grasp it to firmly, but on the other hand you don't want it to jump out of your hand completely. That is why you must have a bow sling.

 

[Peder]

There is this generic law they pushed like 5 years ago that has a catch-all clause for all dangerous kind of things. Its pretty vague though so even a slingshot could fall under it. If you want to google it do so from a pellet gun angle. So if a neighbor reports you, you're in a weak position. Def nowhere near as much trouble as a real gun though. Most people with bows do it anyway...

I'm guessing from your description that you've got a drop away rest. Yeah those are tricky. Nothing you can do about it except being more careful. Some of them you can bend the two prongs further apart which makes it more difficult for the arrow to fall off, but I wouldn't do it tbh.

The grip: Read this: http://bowsite.com/bowsite/features/practical_bowhunter/grip/index.htm Takes some getting used to. Esp if the bow model you've got jumps. You want don't want to catch it or grasp it to firmly, but on the other hand you don't want it to jump out of your hand completely. That is why you must have a bow sling.

I luckily live on a reasonably biggish plot so the chances of shooting over the fence are reasonably slim.

Its not a drop away rest actually, its a quicktune 800 http://www.bowstuff.co.za/index.php/bws_en/bow-accesories/nap-quiktune-800-arrow-rest.html its a really really stupid rest if i should say so myself, i am thinking of getting a whisker biscuit.

My bow doesn't jump,(thank goodness) its actually quite a smooth bow which means i have no reason to hold my hand so tightly, its not even heavy.

 

[HavocXphere]

No don't get a whisker unless you plan to hunt. They mess up accuracy & damage the fletching over time. Stay with what you have for a few months.

 

[Peder]

i do plan on hunting, and won't use the whisker forever, its just i have SOOO many things to remember not counting my arrow being on the rest i would rather have the arrow stay on the rest at the moment, i think in a few months time i might take the whisker biscuit off and then use another arrow rest, i must admit that arrow rest is really strange it feels like the arrow is not meant to stay there...

 

[HavocXphere]

Luckily the whiskers aren't too expensive. You will need a shop though that refits the fletchings...they get munched pretty fast & you can't DIY that. There is also a range in gezina that is respectable if you're more in that part of town....no clue about other places.

 

[Peder]

Luckily the whiskers aren't too expensive. You will need a shop though that refits the fletchings...they get munched pretty fast & you can't DIY that. There is also a range in gezina that is respectable if you're more in that part of town....no clue about other places.

I was thinking of going to magnum archery in donkerhoek (i bought my bow at magnum archery in centurion) if i do go to a range since they also have a 3D range.

Well at the moment i am losing more arrows before having the fletching come off so until i can just get the stance etc right i would be willing to loose a little bit of fletching, versus replacing arrows.