18 meter bare bow winter challenge

Any bare bow archers interested in posting their experiences and their scores at 18 meter target shooting. I am assuming somewhere there would be a category like this and mostly because that is what I will be doing this winter for practice. 18 meters indoor or outdoor at a 40 cm target shooting your longbow, recurve, horsebow or whatever. No sights, release aids or stabilizers, but rests would be okay. I am new to shooting recurve and am curious how the masses would score. Beginners and experienced welcome!

That is what I shoot but I have no 40cm faces. I mostly shoot at my parents place when I find time. I believe stringwalking us allowed in barebow. I also stringwalk.

Oh, and we would be scoring out of 300, 10 sets of 3 arrows. My next round will be on january 2nd with a club, very Casual shooting, some are shooting 300 rounds and others are practicing form or arrow tuning. I will join in on some of the 300 rounds. Hoping to get some new 600 spine arrows for then and hoping to get some peoples set-up and scores posted just for winter fun. Get some targets and have at er.

Go on "Archery Talk" in the traditional section there is a long running thread "NFAA 20 yard scores" started by Centershot that has tons of good info by some very good archers. The thread is 62 pages long and is now found on page 3.

Best out of two 18 meter 300 rounds today was 218. Was shooting my samick journey, 30lb limbs, off the shelf. My 500 spine arrows with 175 gr tips are not flying very well but they hit the spot. Tried my opponents 600 spine arrows with 175 gr tips and they flew like darts, can't wait to get my new black eagle outlaws in 600 spine. Anyone else have a score to post?

I picked up a new bow on Thursday but only got to shoot 3 arrows at the fellows house. 18 meters 2 arrows touching in the 10 ring and the 3rd in the 8... Don't kniw when I will have time to shoot again. Things are getting busy for me again.

Nice. That would average out to 280, top notch!!! My best 3 arrows were two 9"s and a 10x at 28 pts and my worst was 12.

two weeks ago after getting my new 600 spine arrows set up I shot a 203 then a 226 two days later, best yet! Been dealing with some neck and upper back issues and had to lay low after that score, but now I'm back at it. Getting ready for first bare bow 3D shoot.

I was going to shoot on Monday but got busy... I also partially tore my tricep While snowmobiling on Saturday :(

Well I took up your challenge today...sort of. I shot the NFAA 300 today at 18 metres. I made up a 40cm. target last night with scoring rings of 5,4,3,2,1. There were twelve rounds of five arrows each for a total of 300. I shot outside, but under cover.

I used my old Howatt #36 recurve bow with Gold Tech Trad carbon arrows with 4" feather fletch. They are starting to look a little ratty. I gap shoot, using three under. I do use a draw check (Clickety Klick). If my arrows were close or touched the line, I scored them the lower score. I ended up shooting a 226/300.

What were my experiences? Well, I am not in good bow shape to shoot sixty arrows at one sitting. The bow arm started to get a little shaky and scores went down in the eighth to tenth rounds. I even shanked one totally off target in the eleventh for a zero. Also after the eighth round, I realized that I was grouping too high and should have been aiming a little lower, but I was too slow or stupid to figure that out earlier. All in all I was pretty satisfied for my first attempt.

I struggled for years with target panic and took a course last October with Joel Turner. I credit his system with turning my shooting around and putting shot control and joy back into the sport of archery for me.
SD

I took up the challenge again today, only this time the way you wanted. 18 metres, 10 ends of 3 arrows each end. Vegas target withe the smaller scoring rings, 10 down to 1. Today I shot a 211.

What did I learn today? 1. I should have taken a few warm up shots first. 2. I am still grouping too high. 3. I shot better yesterday. 4. This is fun and good practice.
Cheers,
SD

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Originally Posted by buddyrip

Nice. That would average out to 280, top notch!!! My best 3 arrows were two 9"s and a 10x at 28 pts and my worst was 12.

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Doesn't work like that though…...

Why the 300 round is accepted is to gauge consistency and focus throughout the round, especially if done in a league or with others to throw in some pressure.

Maintaining those good arrows throughout is where the game is won and lost.:-P

And that is my experience Outsyder! Last night while shooting with 4 others I was on my way to possibly breaking 230's. The pace was too fast and some minor interruptions and I blew my last 2 sets with a 12 and 17 ending up with a 216. Still good shooting for me. What I learned was the pace was too fast, 1 min to 45 second 3 arrow sets, basically flinging arrows. I will ask if we can slow it down next time, only 3 of us are scoring. later on I took my time and shot some slower arrow sets and went back to good grouping in the red and yellow. Scoring once a week is where I take what I've worked on at home and put it to the test. Very pleased with the results.

Thanks for giving it a whirl Steely. Foxtail and Outsyder, you guys must have some paper to shoot at ?

Shot today again, but this is the last score I will post for a while for fear of boring everyone. It was a 218. I only had one in the ten ring out of thirty arrows but quite a few nines.

Like Marc said, it is a good gauge in showing how consistent you are over the long haul.
SD

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Originally Posted by buddyrip

Thanks for giving it a whirl Steely. Foxtail and Outsyder, you guys must have some paper to shoot at ?

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Right now I am re-building my shot but I will try to get on it!

Focus is my issue…..always has been! I used to shoot 144 arrow rounds up to 100yds in my UK target archery days but now I hate to say but I find circle slaying dull, an attitude I need to work on. I hold my own against most on the 3D's, I suppose I should re-visit some targets for S's and G's

I shot one course of fire each day for the last six days, using the same old equipment. Scores were 221, 236, 238, 225, 234 and 225 today. Average over the six rounds a 229.

Focus is always the main challenge. Flaws or inconsistency in form certainly shows through.

I think that if I took the game really seriously, I would upgrade some equipment, work on the mental game and get a good coach if I could find one.
SD

What draw weight are you using steely? Last night I switched to 40lb limbs from the usual 30lb as I plan on using 40lb in the 3d shoot. Shot a 209, some good 3 arrow sets and some not. I am not in complete control of 40lbs and that many arrows in that short of time. Being fairly new I am not in complete control of 30lbs yet.

Oh ya, 36# howat!

After a couple of days off I shot the 18 Meter Challenge again. I shot very poorly and managed a 200 only because I got a 10,9,9 on the ninth end to save myself. I realized that was not right and that I was holding most of the weight with my bow arm and not getting good back tension. Arrows were being scattered and I found myself plucking a few arrows much to my dismay.

The beauty of the NFAA 300 is that it gave me a gauge to realize that something was wrong with my form and the ability to adapt and make a change.

This morning started out the same with arrows in the first end being a 3,10,3. I made a correction in my form and tried to focus on proper back tension and clean release. Result was a final 225. Whew.
Keep on Shooting.
SD

Steely are you using a deep hook or a shallow hook with your release? I learned about another release method the last couple weeks. When you engage your back muscles for back tension start to slowly squeeze your fingers. Like increasing the hook very very slowly... I don't know how or why but when you do this, the string explodes of your fingers in a true surprise release. The only way I could get it to work for me though was to mainly squeeze my ring finger and the other 2 follow and "bang" it is very consistent.

I never gave much thought to my hook; natural and comfortable position is the string on the first joint of both the middle and index finger. The ring finger pad bears a little weight but is mostly along for the ride. I get that good explosive release when I have proper back tension and good form.

As a side note, I am now using an American Leathers Big Shot glove. Expensive, but oh so nice.
SD

Shot a 223 and a 221 back to back tonight with a 1, a 2, and a couple of 3's in there somewhere. Lowest end was a 12. I knew the bad shots as soon as I released, mostly bow arm jumping on me. I am volunteering for the BC winter games archery this weekend, will get to see how an 18 meter competition is run. Glad to see you are enjoying the Challenge Steely Dan.

well I watched the archers compete in the BC games yesterday. Some very good shooters in compound, recurve and bare bow categories. They get 2 minutes to get 3 arrows away with about 5 minutes to score them. After 30 arrows they get a 15 minute break then on to the next 30 arrows. 60 arrows takes all of 2 hours. The cool cats that used up all of their 2 minutes away seemed to be the best shooters. Recovery time between arrows and ends is essential. Today I shot a 230 and a 218 back to back all in less than 60 minutes lowest arrows were a couple of 4's. The last 5 ends is where I faltered and could feel myself losing control because of fatigue. I will have to take more time the next session. Overall things are coming together well and I'm starting to show consistency while practicing at home and at the range.

Showed up today at the range and there were a couple beginners and some kids learning to shoot. So between helping out with technical stuff and pulling a couple arrows out of plywood it took longer to shoot 30 arrows, about one hour, resulting in a 237 score. Best so far ! Seems like I'm get a good sight picture for 18 meters. Will be moving outdoors now and working at longer distances but will still test myself now and then at 18 meters. Am putting some thought into what my next bow will be, all very exciting!!

Have you checked out the US Indoor Nationals scores just held? Dewayne Martin and John Demmer shooting in the Traditional class are in the 270 and 280's. That is a nine or ten on every shot! I stand in absolute awe of their shooting and mental discipline.

Until 3D outdoor competitions start full blown (starting with Abbotsford and the Kamloops), I continue to practice at 18 meters. My average has dropped a little, to 219, with a couple of bad scores shot back to back. It has been a learning experience.
SD

Are any of you guys coming to the indoor nationals in Cloverdale? I will be there.

Steelydan... I believe Demmer set a record last year and Dewayne wasn't far behind. They are both really decent and helpful guys. I talk to them a bit over on Tradtalk.

Those guys are shooting at a blue face nfaa target, 5-4-3-2-1, where the 5 score like the fita 9-10 (yellow) and the 4 score is like fita 7-8 (red). They are getting 80% in the nfaa 5 which is amazing. One day when I grow up and after thousands of arrows I hope to get 80% in the fita red and yellow. Maybe score over 300 in 3D shoot. Maybe even get an elk!

Because of the difference in weather and ground , progress is hard to judge in 3-D events . Suggest personnel goals , two misses per event then none . Then number of fives per twenty , get down to two and your in some serious country .
Remember , Winners hit all the close ones and the long stuff sort of evens out . Beer is lost on those so called gimmies .
Chers