I think I might be an Archery Nerd.

[warwick.hoy]

So today; I went out and took the intro Archery Class. I dig it. It was a lot of fun. I still have plenty to learn,...but I was shooting groups of three and by the end of the class they were getting pretty tight.

I notice that my shoulders feel really weak when I'm holding draw and that is cause me to be shaky and unsteady. I usually take my time aiming. I figure the unsteadiness will go away with more practice. Maybe I should start a regiment of pushups and doing some yoga poses (at the wife's suggestion).

I think I'm going to just keep renting and taking classes for the time being,...save up all the while,...and when I know I'm committed,...look into getting a quality setup.

[devnulljp]

Some of my Canadian friends said it is pretty difficult to procure firearms up there. Not sure if they just meant handguns though.

Who the fuck needs a handgun? I have this...

[D.o.S.]

Nothing says don't fuck with me like a mirror on a wooden floor.

[warwick.hoy]

[Bassus Sanguinis]

archery is cool

Did someone just see The Hunger Games :P

http://jezebel.com/5897734/hunger-games ... ew-archers

it might be my age but archery always reminds me of the Osterman Weekend

[tuffteef]

http://www.wimp.com/bullwhipsversatile/

yall need to get into the art of the whip

[devnulljp]

Nothing says don't fuck with me like a mirror on a wooden floor.

[alexa.]

Some of my Canadian friends said it is pretty difficult to procure firearms up there. Not sure if they just meant handguns though.

Who the fuck needs a handgun? I have this...

[Jeff-7]

So today; I went out and took the intro Archery Class. I dig it. It was a lot of fun. I still have plenty to learn,...but I was shooting groups of three and by the end of the class they were getting pretty tight.

I notice that my shoulders feel really weak when I'm holding draw and that is cause me to be shaky and unsteady. I usually take my time aiming. I figure the unsteadiness will go away with more practice. Maybe I should start a regiment of pushups and doing some yoga poses (at the wife's suggestion).

I think I'm going to just keep renting and taking classes for the time being,...save up all the while,...and when I know I'm committed,...look into getting a quality setup.

Rowing exercises should help build the correct muscles quickly, your shoulder and back should be doing the work on the draw and your Trapezius should do the brunt of the work holding it at full draw. Did you try both styles of bow?

[warwick.hoy]

No,...there seemed to be little give in the "coaching". No real chance for Q&A or trying different things. There are 3 more classes which I'm hoping to get signed up for,...but the are booked out for about 2 weeks. There were a lot of kids there.

If I'm honest the bowhunting is just an afterthought/last resort if need be. I'm more interested in archery as a hobby and while I won't discount compounds,...I'm definitely enjoying the recurve. I'm now able to use the facility without coaching and can rent bows and the range out so I'll certainly give compounds a try in the near future.

I should mention that I whacked the shit out of the inner portion of my elbow with the string. There is quite a nice bruise as a result.

[Jeff-7]

Yeah if the inside of your elbow isn't parallel to the bow you'll probably get slapped a few times with the string. It all fixes itself when you practice with the proper form. Shoot what you enjoy and are comfortable with, just wanted to see if you gave a compound a try.

[warwick.hoy]

We went back out to Spokane Valley Archery with the intent to just rent bows and get some range time. We wound up putting two bows on layaway. The wife for some reason is pretty sold on a wooden riser. I prefer the weight of a metal riser.

Amelia picked up a beginner recurve Samick Polaris, she may wind up upgrading the riser or the bow all together. I got a KAP riser with Samick Limbs. We also signed up for the family membership to the range which gives us access to the facility at anytime (before and after hours even),...no charge for range time, half off league entry fees. I may find myself interested in the league as my skills develop. Seems like competition archery is a gentleman's sport and you are playing to improve yourself as much as you are playing against the guy or girl next to you.

We picked up a bunch of accessories which seems to be the most expensive part, release gloves, arm gaurds, stringer, case, etc etc. I wanted a bit of extra weight on the riser so I had a weight added as did the wife to hers.

The nice thing about the layaway is SVA will let us use the gear at anytime while we are paying it down. I do feel like we got upsold a little bit on the membership,...but I definitely do see the benefit. The wife and I got more personalized service from the owner of SVA and he helped to tune the bows. He is also available to continue to help fine tuning our bows while we are there. I'm hoping to get out there before work sometime this week, then once again with the wife on the weekend.

The only drawback is that SVA is a little ways out from where we live (about a 30 minute drive), but we can always find other errands to run out in the valley to make our time worthwhile.

Even though I'm not technically allow to fire a bow within city limits,...I talked to my neighbor and he said that as long as I'm respectful,....he doesn't care if I shoot in the backyard, so once we get our gear paid off and take possession of it; I'll probably setup a range at home.

At any rate,....I've been circulating this photo pretty heavily on teh facebooks,...to the point of driving it into the ground,...but I can't resist putting up here as well.



It's definitely a recreation that I'm fascinated with. I've been keeping up on the World Cup of Archery Youtube Channel, watching all the medal matches. It's interesting to watch the techniques of these professionals and I'm picking up a lot of ideas on how to load and hold the bow (that real relaxed grip),...stance, release and follow through,...etc etc.

Good times.



Oh and here is the wife trying out the "holy bow" all white Hoyt. This bow runs about $500,...and could be the one she winds up upgrading to.

[warwick.hoy]

And no,...I still haven't seen Hunger Games, but it would seem that Archery is experiencing an upsurge in popularity cause of that movie. Kinda makes me want to watch it so I can pick out the inaccuracies in the actors techniques (unless it's a well researched movie).

[Jeff-7]

Excited to hear that you and the Mrs. are enjoying it I've been wanting to get a black widow recurve for the longest time, gorgeous bows. Not sure if your shop only does indoor ranges but if you get the chance jump on an outdoor 3D competition, they're a lot of fun. Lifelike animal targets (and placement of the rings on the vitals) various inclines/declines and distances all in field settings. They're a blast and entry fees are usually very cheap.

[warwick.hoy]

These are the member benefits. He usually charges $360 annually. We get into it for $135 since we are buying bows.

1/2 Price on Leagues & Tournaments.

Unlimited Outdoor 3-D Shooting

Indoor Lane Shooting

90 yard Outdoor Flat Range

N.F.A.A. 14 target Field Course

Broadhead Targets to 60 yards

Chronograph and paper Tuning

Members Only outside, before or after hours.

So yeah,...there is an 18 target 3D course plus the outdoor flat range. We shot on the indoor range mainly so we could get our bows tuned.

The wife expressed interest in the 3D course. As the weather warms up a little we will probably hit that up.