Quiver Strap

The weather when I got out of work this afternoon was absolutely gorgeous, so I took myself to the range for some solo practice. Now that I've got breathing consistency down as a habit rather than something I have to consciously focus on, I wanted to try paying attention to other variables in my shooting--especially my draw, and my release.

Draw wound up being the main focus today.

I have an inexpensive back quiver that I bought at Pennsic more than a decade ago. It's got a single strap, and it doesn't stay in place very well. For years I've toyed with the notion of adding a second strap to help anchor it in place, but I never actually did it--the slipping was inconvenient in that it made it harder to reach my arrows, but I didn't think it actually affected anything besides my speed round. I'd just adjust it back into place when it slipped too far, and keep shooting.

Well.

Because I was focusing on draw specifically, I noticed that the slipping DOES affect things. At full draw, my string rests against the right side of my chest in a particular spot. However, as the quiver strap slips, it gets in the way. This either causes me to underdraw (because I stop when the string hits the strap, rather than my chest), or to draw at a weird angle (to go around the strap). The results became glaringly obvious as I did a few comparison ends:

Six arrows at twenty yards.
In the photo on the left, I did not adjust the quiver strap at all and let it slip wherever it went as it moved when I shot. The low shots were my last arrows--a product of a shorter draw, because the strap was in the way. In the photo on the right, I adjusted it after every two shots, putting it back into its original position. While there was still some vertical variation, it was a much tighter grouping. The variation may have something to do with my release, or it may yet be related to some other issue with my draw--I'll keep focusing on that over my next couple of practices to see if any other explanations become apparent.

The variation caused by the strap became even more noticeable when I fired twelve arrows. When I did so without adjusting, my shots landed all over the place--and one missed entirely. The vertical variation was again because of the shortened draw. I believe the horizontal variation occurred when the strap slipped even further and I began to draw around it, so the string once again touched my chest, but in a different place. When I adjusted the strap after every two shots, the grouping again improved dramatically and my arrows were all within the blue rings or better.

Having to adjust every two shots is, of course, not an ideal situation--especially for timed ends. I may have to revisit the notion of adding a second strap to my quiver. Or, maybe I should pick up a hip quiver and experiment with that.

Or I could just master the technique of holding all my arrows in my bow hand, and do without a quiver entirely. 😆

Practice and RR Scores 4/17/19

Because today is Easter and John is out of town, we moved this week's practice up to Wednesday. It was a beautifully warm day with no wind, so shooting conditions were ideal.

Despite that, I really struggled to find my groove. I don't know if it's because I had a doctor's appointment right before practice, during which I learned I need to have (minor) surgery next month, or whether it was because I hadn't shot in a week and a half, but something was off.

After several frustrating warm up rounds at 20 and 30 yards, I decided to just start shooting for score.

The first RR went, as expected, more poorly than I've been doing lately. With a disappointing timed end, several shots that missed the target entirely at the 40, and a total of only 44 points, I was super frustrated with myself.

I wasn't going to submit a score at that point--a 44 won't affect my average anyway. But I realized I should go ahead and submit it, to keep a record of the fact that I *am* actively shooting every week (which will hopefully be a plus in my ongoing quest to be warranted?).

That decision made, I decided to work at the 40 for a while. I lined myself up, calmed my frustration as much as I could, and shot.

And something *finally* clicked.

So I began a second RR, starting at the 40. And though not all of my arrows scored, none of them at any distance missed entirely. That was MUCH more like what I expect of myself these days. My 20 yard, untimed end was last. I knew going into it that I needed 18 points to make a total of 50.

I shot a 19.

My takeaway from this practice was to not give in to frustration, but to try and find a way to work through it. Off days will happen. Change focus, work on a particular skill, stand in a new position, whatever. Do *something* to shake it up--something where I don't have a preset expectation of myself, and see what I can accomplish.

Arrow Making Party

A handful of Concordian archers gathered at John and Janna's house last night for the first arrow-making party of the season! We spent a large portion of the night inspecting the loaner arrows on hand, identifying those that needed repairs, and discussing supplies for future sessions.

After a tasty dinner, we got down to work. Our first order of business was to paint two dozen new shafts white (we decided that made the baronial loaner arrows super easy to identify). We tried to set up outside, but it was just windy enough to make that an exercise in futility. So we moved into the basement, where we worked until the paint fumes drove us upstairs.

While the new shafts were drying, we got to work on repairs. John has a six-arrow fletching rig, which is SO much more efficient than my single-arrow jig. Elena and I are both relatively inexperienced fletchers, so John walked us through the process. It's so satisfying when the finished arrows come off the jig!

I was also able to re-tip a dozen of my Pennsic flood arrows. It was my first time using heat-set glue instead of glorified superglue for the tips, so I was a bit nervous. John demonstrated on the first arrow, and then guided me through the second. After that, I was off and running! I need to pick up a crème brule torch so I can do these repairs at home in the future.

We anticipate practice being rained out on Sunday, so we have planned to continue arrow-making activities instead.

4/7/19 Royal Round

I had a very good day at the range today! 😊

20: 22
20T: 17
30: 15 (a new personal record!)
40: 2
Total: 56

Averaged with my last two RR scores, I now have an average in the 50s for the first time ever! 😲 Progress!! 😃

Last week's practices got side-tracked first by the new bow and then by the high winds, so this week I will really focus on honing in on that 40-yard target!

Today's official practice was very well attended. Along with the usual crew, we had several Anglespur archers and two complete newcomers!

We're having an arrow-making night Friday to replenish the baronial stock of loaner arrows, and we'll also be hammering out details for the Roses competition.

New Bow

A couple days ago, I came home from work to a long, skinny package waiting on my front porch. I was confused--when had I ordered a broom handle? It took a minute for reality to click: it was my new bow!

I've been hemming and hawing for months about purchasing an inexpensive travel bow for when I fly to events--a bow I won't be heartbroken over if TSA damages it. I found Ringing Rocks Archery on Etsy, who make all-wood longbows at really low prices. I didn't purchase right away, though, because a new bow was definitely a "want" and not a "need."

But then, when the crack formed in the handle of Sheldon's longbow, I thought it might be time. I went ahead and ordered a 64" hickory longbow with a lefty shelf. The estimated delivery time was 3-4 weeks, but it came in two!

I took it out to the range the very next day. I wasn't sure what to expect from such an inexpensive bow, and I kept reminding myself that it wasn't intended to be my competition weapon, but rather one that I shoot for fun. With that in mind, I set up at 20 yards and began a series of ranging shots to try and figure out my aim point. That point turned out to be quite a bit lower than my recurve's aim point.

With that figured out, I set up to shoot an actual six-arrow end. I was pleasantly surprised with how the first end went, actually. It was comparable to how I've been shooting with the recurve for the past week or so. I couldn't really tally the score, because the target face I have is a smaller rifle target--the store didn't have the 60cm archery target faces in stock. Sigh.

The wind was really gusting at this point, but I wanted to try at least one more end to see if the consistency had been a fluke, or whether this might actually be a decent bow.

Well, I think that answered that!

The grip on this bow is VERY narrow--I'm contemplating wrapping it with leather to make it a bit more comfortable for prolonged shooting. My bow hand was already starting to cramp after only 24 total shots (12 ranging shots + the two ends).

Aside from that, I have no complaints about this bow whatsoever. Best $70 I ever spent! I can't wait to take it out to the range again on Sunday for our official practice--it'll be interesting to see how it performs at 30 and 40 yards.