Training Notes: A quick study

A week has come and gone and it was time to shoot my score for the Presleys Summer 3d league again. From my own perspective the difficulty of the course was about the same as the opening week, but I was much better prepared. I had more accurate sight marks (I switched my trusty but rusty old toxonics sight for my sure-loc), an up pin instead of an open ring aperture and tweaked my stabilizer set up slightly for a better shot reaction.

It seems all of those modifications paid off since this week I walked away with a 238/280 (despite a miss).

World Archery Cup: Stage 3 Medellin

After exciting stops in Shanghai and Antalya for the first two stages of the World Cup, this week begins stage three in Medellin, Colombia.


This stage should be equally thrilling, with the slew of upsets and rapidly rising new comers from the previous two stages; it really is anyone's game as we begin the qualifying round for the recurve discipline today. We'll certainly want to keep an eye on the Colombian team as they are both on their home turf and the Women's compound team is coming off a huge win against the US during stage two.

Also of note, and I have to admit I was a bit blindsided by this; former Olympian Anne Abernathy is competing this week in the recurve division. Now, the phrase "former olympian" is not too unusual in Archery but when the former olympian in question is from another sport... cancer survivor.. brain trauma survivor and 60 years old; then it's definitely something to put a pin in and watch. If you didn't recognize her name like me, Anne Abernathy is a six time winter olympian, having competed in the luge between 1988 and 2006 (this makes her the oldest athlete ever to have competed in the winter games). She's now working on claiming her seventh olympic appearance but this time in the sport of archery.

As always live scoring is available at the World Archery Website
or (if you want more pictures and less statistical data) check out their tumblr account
and if you want to know more about Anne Abernathy she has her own website.

In the history of bad ideas...

I was reluctant to post this video because I in no way want to condone the maker's methods, but I think it's important for you all to see what NOT to do. If anyone ever proposes making repairs in this manner or by any other method that involves using a tool in ways for which it was not designed (I'm all for creative use of materials but not when it comes to things under high tension), just walk away. It is dangerous, poses a higher than necessary risk to the equipment and in some cases may void the manufacturer's warranty.

Also, the presenter makes the argument that this reduces the risk of twisting the riser while pressing the bow. In my opinion at least, this has not been a concern since the introduction of the double pull press (presses the limbs directly not the riser). Yes, things can go wrong in a press but largely only with inexperienced operators.

If making repairs in the field are that important there are plenty of portable press alternatives such as the Bow Master or Ram Ratchet-loc.

Bring the heat

Well with summer in full swing and having just gotten out of my car (which was hot enough to practically boil an old bottle of mountain dew) I've been reminded of a question that invariably comes up every summer. Is it ok to leave a bow in a car/other hot environment.

The short answer is no. For the love of god no.

Ok, let's take a step back and fill in some details here. The reason for not leaving a bow in an excessively warm environment is the limbs. Heat is the natural enemy of the adhesives that hold the laminated layers of the limbs together. Furthermore, there is a certain degree of risk to the strings and cables under these conditions (stretch risk but not a failure risk).

However, that being said; modern, high quality bows do offer a certain degree of heat resistance. We aren't talking about the bows of our forefathers that were held together with hide glue but rather epoxy laminated, high performance polymers (theoretically) mixed and fabricated by skilled professionals. A bow wouldn't sell very well if it failed catastrophically when exposed to tropical or summer heat over the course of a field shoot or hauled across the African plains.

So admittedly, can it be done with out disaster? Yes. A friend and fellow shooter, for instance, stored his practically prehistoric Bear Whitetail 2 in the bed of his truck/back of his car for an entire summer shooting season last year and it's still in one piece. But none the less, even with out failing catastrophically, a bow that is exposed to swings in temperature (in either direction) can perform differently so that alone should be reason enough to try and maintain a consistent mild temperature.

The most succinct advise or adage I've been told concerning bow storage is; "If you are uncomfortable then your bow is uncomfortable".     

Video: Stage 1 World Cup

The first stage of the Archery World Cup was a while ago but ArcheryTV just released this excellent recap of the event. It's on the long side (26+ minutes) but well worth the watch. They also have a recap for compound archery up on their youtube channel but I was feeling biased today.

Training notes: Never one for realism

I've never been much of a fan of 3d archery (the foam animals), or I guess more accurately, I've never really taken it all that seriously. In my mind (a non-hunting mind), I approach it as an opportunity to make ridiculous shots and shoot strictly for fun. As a result, I've: A) always approached 3d season with a slight sense of dread (in that it's a slight inconvenience for shooting paper indoors when a league is going on), and B) have never gotten all that good at it.

However, that being said; the Presleys Summer 3d league began yesterday and I have to admit I'm having a lot of fun with it. Unlike times past I'm shooting my Olympic recurve, which has made me quite the oddity and more importantly presented quite the additional challenge. When I was shooting compound, the space between my 20yd and 30yd sight mark was really quite minimal so for indoor 3d, if I were to misjudge a yardage then I wouldn't be too terribly far off the mark. In contrast, I have to drop the sight on my recurve almost one half of an inch to move from 20yd to 30yd. This means I practically have to be on the money to pull off a shot or I'll barely catch foam (or completely miss the foam as was the case with the racoon).

I shot the first course yesterday and walked away with a 213/280. Interestingly this is about two points off of where I started during the last 3d league with a compound (I told you I wasn't all that good).

Training Notes: Can't Cant

I tell the following story as a cautionary tale. In my opinion in archery, shooting form is king but it is also a commodity (yes, a commodity) that must be carefully monitored, refined and maintained. Proof in point, over the last two days of shooting I've discovered that I have introduced a significant cant (tipping the bow to the side, think of an old western) to my bow at full draw. Exactly where this came from who's to say; maybe it was my body attempting to mitigate fatigue or maybe I've just been watching too many movies lately, the point is; however, had I not been diligently monitoring my form I most likely would not have been aware of the error until much later.

When situations like this arise, my best suggestion; or at least my most effective solution I've found so far, is to simply allow for more blank bale time in your practice routine. It is a highly underrated tool in our training arsenal, mainly because most people think shooting at nothing is boring. However, boring thought it may be, the opportunity to step back and concentrate on proper shot execution can be a figurative life saver. 

One for the record books

Two weeks ago German archer Kristina Berger established a new women's compound FITA record; this week Peter Elzinga of the Netherlands established a new record for the 90m FITA with a 352/360. To put this in perspective, the bullseye is just under 5 inches in diameter and placed almost the length of a football field away from the archer.

Congratulations are definitely in order for Mr. Elzinga.

I would also like to point out that he is the current record holder for the men's compound FITA format with a 1419/1440, shot back in 2009 with one of my all time favorite bows; the venerable Hoyt Vantage Elite. 

...well the results are in...

After more waiting and more speculation the official press is in and the new bow by Bowtech is indeed a carbon riser bow dubbed the Carbon Knight. (We'll ignore the fact that it appears that the name and images of the new bow were leaked via the official Bowtech twitter account about 5 days ago). We won't spend a ton of time on the official release since 90% of archery related blogs and forms are a buzz with news but the basic run down is as follows:

Mass weight: 3.2 lbs (marginally lighter than a Hoyt Carbon Element)
ATA: 32 inches
IBO: 330
Brace: 7 inches

Sports Science

So I realize we haven't had a video on here for a while.

This little segment originally came out around the 2012 London Olympics on ESPN. A pretty good overview of recurve archery.

The Foreigner

While it hasn't been a long time since I've last had my hands on a compound bow, it has definitely been a fair amount. I believe the last time I shot a compound in training was the middle of May and the last time I shot one in competition was during the Pekin Archers Spring Opener.

Today during practice I picked one back up for an end, incidentally just to try out a piece of old recurve gear (a bubble ring aperture), and boy did it show I was out of practice with a compound. I had always figured archery was archery, regardless of discipline but apparently this is only true to a point. Shooting a compound was almost completely foreign to me. Embarrassingly I had difficulty with pulling over the hump, whacked my arm because I've grown accustomed to a high wrist grip and even found it difficult to load an arrow.

Now, on the bright side, I was able to observe a few good habits I had picked up in the recurve world cross back over. My ability to employ back tension is through the roof and my grip on a release aid is much more of a shallow grip (the accepted best practice for a hand held release) as seen in finger shooting and much less like the "fist" that I used prior.

However, even with my foray back into the compound discipline I have to admit I have almost zero interest in fully returning... ever. As long as I am of sound enough body to ride the curve then I will. 

Draw length confessions

One of the cornerstones of effective archery is the establishment of an accurate draw length. This is the measurement of the distance between the string at full draw and the deepest part of the grip/center of the plunger (plus 1.75 inches for AMO). In the case of a compound this is where the wall is placed and in the case of a recurve this is where the clicker is placed. So really, in summation, draw length is the foundation upon which an archer builds their equipment and with out an accurate value, form suffers (over draw and under draw causes inconsistencies).

I have to confess that I have never been accurately measured for draw length.

This goes completely against my mantra of careful, deliberate and intelligent shooting, but I've managed to "fall into" or establish through trial and error a correct draw length, I just don't know what the quantifiable measurement is.

For example, I started with a 27 inch draw length module for my compound bow and used a combination of cable twists/untwists and limb bolt rotation to fix my draw length.

I had a cursory measurement done two years ago when I bought my first bow so at least I have a ball park figures (27.5). In actuality I suspect I am closer to 27.75 - 28 inches, as a review of my recurve set up reveals a 28 inch arrow with a clicker set just under two inches in front of the grip apex. 

The rumor mill is working overtime on the Bowtech Knight

With the planned launch of Bowtech's new bow only about a week away (we think? that may also be a rumor), several interesting rumors regarding the design and specs of the new bow have begun to circulate around the internet. The prevailing rumor, and fortunately most interesting one, is that it will be the company's first foray into carbon fiber riser territory.

So a brief history lesson for those of you who have not been following archery news (90% of the population), in 2009 Hoyt released their now famous Carbon Matrix. It was for all intents and purposes the worlds first production carbon fiber riser compound bow; and the market response was ground breaking. During the first years of production, between the Carbon Matrix and the shorter Carbon Element, Hoyt's sales went through the roof. For example, sales from the Carbon Element (I am told) bumped a dealer in Central Illinois from a top 20 ranked dealer to a top 10 in the course of a year.

Since then three years have passed and it's all pretty well old news. Hoyt released the third generation of their carbon bows this year, which were pretty much the same a last year but with a few minor alterations. However, at the same time the tech conscious consumer maintains their demand for a carbon riser bow. This is of course where Bowtech could be stepping in. Finally seeing a challenger to the Carbon Matrix/Element will certainly make the compound market very interesting.

On a personal note, I am not that much of a fan of carbon fiber risers. I owned a Carbon Matrix once upon a time and while it was a beautiful bow (dead sexy red paint job), it just didn't fit my needs and shooting style. I'm sure it's great for the weight conscious hunter who is trekking across hill and vale but for a target shooter not so much.

Anyway, that aside, at least according to the rumor mill; we'll all know the substance and identity of the Bowtech Knight by July 10th ... or maybe the 7th....

Arrow rests, to stick or to screw?

A recent discussion of the short comings of a certain type of stick on recurve arrow rest (I don't have a pony in this race and it's irrelevant to our discussion so I won't identify it), have caused me to start wondering about recurve arrow rests. Specifically, I am revisiting my question of why stick on recurve rests remain so widely accepted.

Hoyt Super Rest

To be fair, simple, "low tech" arrow rests have proven themselves in the past with multiple Olympic, World, and National titles to their name; so it's not really a question of performance. I suppose in my mind it's more a question of economics.

Would it not make more sense to buy a bolt on rest so you can set it and forget it; possibly replacing the arm wire about once a decade?

AAE Cavalier

Maybe I'm just cheap, but as effective as rests such as the Hoyt Super Rest are, but I wouldn't want to be shelling out $2.50 (or more for magnetic stick on rests) on a recurring basis for the life of my bow. I now use an AAE cavalier rest (or something to that effect, it was graciously left on the riser when I bought it used) on my primary bow and a Spigarelli ZT on my back up. They are both solid bolt on rests, with plenty of adjustment (more than bending things with pliers or using foam shims), and while they come in at a price point well above a stick on, I expect to have them for several decades.

Spigarelli ZT

I guess ultimately this is a post with out an answer, or at least not a universally correct answer.