Anyone here into firearms?

VABAM · 07-02-2021, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bunk

Completely agree on the setup/tuning!! Ive been watching alot of Youtube videos on proper form and have learned ALOT. Been practicing my form (dialed down the draw weight and using a release with my finger off the release trigger) and establishing my anchor points.

I picked up a PSE Stinger Max. I havent gotten it tuned yet and I still need to learn how to adjust the sights. I took it out the other day though and I was shooting pretty good groups - to me anyway. 8 arrows in a 4" grouping at about 20 yards, but was high and right. I think I need the peep sight moved or something because I cant seem to line it up properly to the sight ring

Id also like to shoot a recurve bow someday. Maybe let the gf have the compound or recurve, which ever shes comfortable with. Great cheap way to spend a day!

Looks like you are off to a good start. Having a consistent, repeatable, and comfortable anchor is important. Sights/sight picture should be adjusted to your anchor not the other way around. That was one of my big issues with my first bow. I was adjusting my anchor to my sight picture. It caused me to have an uncomfortable anchor which in turn caused my anchor to be inconsistent and unrepeatable. One thing to try, close your eyes the moment before you establish your anchor. Establish your anchor then open your eyes and see if your sights are lined up. Doing that should point out any major issues with you peep/sights. If you do have an issue with your sights get them fixed right away so you can learn and maintain a good anchor.

WRT to you hitting high and right, a number of things can cause that. As a beginner, the most likely user induced causes is torquing the grip, pushing or pulling the bow with you bow hand/arm etc. while the arrow is accelerating before it leaves the bow. Basically it's like flinching when firing a pistol. With a compound bow this is exaggerated due to the relatively slow initial acceleration of the arrow because of the let off that compound bows have. It's like turbo lag on a car. As a beginner, especially coming from shooting guns, it can feel a little strange not having a firm grip on your bow. TBH if the bow doesn't feel like it might fall out of you hand after you release the arrow you probably are gripping it too firm.

BTW I have a whole bunch of articles written by John Dudley in the late 2000s about various archery techniques and tips in PDF form. Let me know if you would like a copy of them. YouTube can be a great source of information but sometimes it's nice to have an offline article to read rather than stream a video.

PSE makes some good stuff. It's one of the companies I'd consider if I was in the market for a new bow. Recurve bows are fun, I've shot a few over the years. Back when I was really interested in archery I was looking at getting a takedown recurve and try my hand a traditional archery. Regardless of which type of bow you get for your GF make sure it is something that is well suited to her size. Bows are more personal than guns especially compound bows. An ill fitted bow can really discourage a beginner.

I still have the SA special, somewhere. I think it is a Golden Eagle. I dug out my fancy bow earlier today. It's a Hoyt Alpha Elite with all the bells and whistles. Now that I pulled it out I guess I should put some arrows through it.

I have a Rhino Block floating around here some where I guess I better go find it.

Ghostvette · 07-02-2021, 01:32 PM

It took me a minute to figure out what was meant by 'anchor', but when VABAM said 'close your eyes, establish your anchor, then open your eyes', that told me that 'anchor' was what we called 'natural point of aim' in the rifle world. Natural point of aim is critical in any shooting sport, regardless of if it's rifle, pistol, shotgun or archery.

PS... I can't shoot a bow for beans.....

JARblue · 07-02-2021, 02:01 PM

I haven't shot a bow in years. I used to teach archery to the younger kids at camp when I was 14-16. One of the bows was an Indian recurve with a 60 lb draw; most of the kids couldn't even draw it. When the range was slow, I would take it out to 60+ yds to practice. Biggest challenge was the tree limbs and leaves in the trajectory path since we were in the woods (range was cleared out about 30 yds).

VABAM · 07-02-2021, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghostvette

It took me a minute to figure out what was meant by 'anchor', but when VABAM said 'close your eyes, establish your anchor, then open your eyes', that told me that 'anchor' was what we called 'natural point of aim' in the rifle world. Natural point of aim is critical in any shooting sport, regardless of if it's rifle, pistol, shotgun or archery.

……

I was trying to avoid saying anchor point, singular, because you have multiple points making up the total anchor “point”. I was trying not to imply that you should be looking for a singular point.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghostvette

……
PS... I can't shoot a bow for beans.....

That’s why they make crossbows.

bunk · 07-04-2021, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VABAM

Looks like you are off to a good start. Having a consistent, repeatable, and comfortable anchor is important. Sights/sight picture should be adjusted to your anchor not the other way around. That was one of my big issues with my first bow. I was adjusting my anchor to my sight picture. It caused me to have an uncomfortable anchor which in turn caused my anchor to be inconsistent and unrepeatable. One thing to try, close your eyes the moment before you establish your anchor. Establish your anchor then open your eyes and see if your sights are lined up. Doing that should point out any major issues with you peep/sights. If you do have an issue with your sights get them fixed right away so you can learn and maintain a good anchor.

WRT to you hitting high and right, a number of things can cause that. As a beginner, the most likely user induced causes is torquing the grip, pushing or pulling the bow with you bow hand/arm etc. while the arrow is accelerating before it leaves the bow. Basically it's like flinching when firing a pistol. With a compound bow this is exaggerated due to the relatively slow initial acceleration of the arrow because of the let off that compound bows have. It's like turbo lag on a car. As a beginner, especially coming from shooting guns, it can feel a little strange not having a firm grip on your bow. TBH if the bow doesn't feel like it might fall out of you hand after you release the arrow you probably are gripping it too firm.

BTW I have a whole bunch of articles written by John Dudley in the late 2000s about various archery techniques and tips in PDF form. Let me know if you would like a copy of them. YouTube can be a great source of information but sometimes it's nice to have an offline article to read rather than stream a video.

PSE makes some good stuff. It's one of the companies I'd consider if I was in the market for a new bow. Recurve bows are fun, I've shot a few over the years. Back when I was really interested in archery I was looking at getting a takedown recurve and try my hand a traditional archery. Regardless of which type of bow you get for your GF make sure it is something that is well suited to her size. Bows are more personal than guns especially compound bows. An ill fitted bow can really discourage a beginner.

I still have the SA special, somewhere. I think it is a Golden Eagle. I dug out my fancy bow earlier today. It's a Hoyt Alpha Elite with all the bells and whistles. Now that I pulled it out I guess I should put some arrows through it.

I have a Rhino Block floating around here some where I guess I better go find it.

The more Im learning, the more variables I find that affects accuracy. Its like a high performance car. Not only does the driver need to know how to handle the car, but the car needs to be fine tuned to perfection for the driver, engine, suspension transmission, tires, etc... Go from a compound to a recurve... a whole different animal...lol

So far, Im extremely happy with the the PSE. I did some research before jumping in, and it seems to be a great bow if youre a beginner or a seasoned hunter.

I need to invest in a real archery target. I bought some paper targets and realized how useless they are after a few arrows..

VABAM · 07-04-2021, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bunk

The more Im learning, the more variables I find that affects accuracy. Its like a high performance car. Not only does the driver need to know how to handle the car, but the car needs to be fine tuned to perfection for the driver, engine, suspension transmission, tires, etc... Go from a compound to a recurve... a whole different animal...lol
....

"Best mod is the nut behind the wheel." You hear that said a lot in the automotive world and it is definitely true in archery and other equipment based sports. Once you have solid fundamentals, going to different bows and different styles of bows will be easier. The biggest challenges with recurves is the constant draw weight (aka no let off) and pulling back the same amount each time. Recurve accuracy is affected by the amount you pull it back and there is no stopping point like there is on a compound. If you watch competition recurve you'll see "clickers" being used. The clicker tells the archer when they have pulled the arrow back far enough.

Just in case you're wondering what a recurve clicker looks like.

( Click to show/hide )

Quote:

Originally Posted by bunk

....
So far, Im extremely happy with the the PSE. I did some research before jumping in, and it seems to be a great bow if youre a beginner or a seasoned hunter.
....

That PSE will serve you well for a long time. I took a look at it and agree its a good bow to start with and will be a good bow to grow into. TBH unless you want to get something fancier, I see no reason to get something else later on. Read up on how to maintain a compound bow and the warning signs that something is about to fail (frayed/nicked string, cracked/de-laminating limb etc.). While rare, a catastrophic failure on a compound, especially at full draw is not pretty.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bunk

....
I need to invest in a real archery target. I bought some paper targets and realized how useless they are after a few arrows..

IMO Paper targets are really only good for competition/scoring. I've seen competitions where they have replaced the paper target after only one arrow. I would be looking at "foam" style block targets. They're the more expensive option but they tend to be more durable, repairable and usually easier to repaint bullseyes on. The "bag" style while cheaper wear out faster and are harder to repair. What ever you get, get something with multiple bullseyes so you are not wearing out one spot on the target. Also when your skill level improves you can avoid having to repair arrows by putting one arrow into each bullseye. Unless you want to try and Robin Hood an arrow.

Rusty · 07-04-2021, 06:17 PM

Wifey and me went to the range today. Shoot like chit until I settled down. Everything was low and to the left.

The last 20 rounds was center mass.

Wifey's Parkingson's makes it tough for her to shoot constant.

She gets frustrated, but she was putting holes in a man size target.

Sighted in my AR. Hasn't been shot since the gunsmith cut the barrel to install the muzzle brake. At a 100 yards. It wasn't even on a 2ftx2ft square piece of paper.

Took 5 rounds to get it on the paper.

After that. It groups 10 rounds in a quarter size hole.

I got to do some load devolvement with the AR.

VABAM · 07-05-2021, 11:02 PM

Scott is back!
Sooooo much carnage!

bunk · 07-07-2021, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VABAM

"Best mod is the nut behind the wheel." You hear that said a lot in the automotive world and it is definitely true in archery and other equipment based sports. Once you have solid fundamentals, going to different bows and different styles of bows will be easier. The biggest challenges with recurves is the constant draw weight (aka no let off) and pulling back the same amount each time. Recurve accuracy is affected by the amount you pull it back and there is no stopping point like there is on a compound. If you watch competition recurve you'll see "clickers" being used. The clicker tells the archer when they have pulled the arrow back far enough.

Just in case you're wondering what a recurve clicker looks like.

( Click to show/hide )

That PSE will serve you well for a long time. I took a look at it and agree its a good bow to start with and will be a good bow to grow into. TBH unless you want to get something fancier, I see no reason to get something else later on. Read up on how to maintain a compound bow and the warning signs that something is about to fail (frayed/nicked string, cracked/de-laminating limb etc.). While rare, a catastrophic failure on a compound, especially at full draw is not pretty.

IMO Paper targets are really only good for competition/scoring. I've seen competitions where they have replaced the paper target after only one arrow. I would be looking at "foam" style block targets. They're the more expensive option but they tend to be more durable, repairable and usually easier to repaint bullseyes on. The "bag" style while cheaper wear out faster and are harder to repair. What ever you get, get something with multiple bullseyes so you are not wearing out one spot on the target. Also when your skill level improves you can avoid having to repair arrows by putting one arrow into each bullseye. Unless you want to try and Robin Hood an arrow.

Got the bow tuned yesterday at a local archery shop. OMG, what a difference! The knuckle heads at Bass Pro Shop had set it up pretty badly.
The whisker biscuit was set too high, the peep sight wasnt aligned, the draw stops werent set correctly. The draw length they set for me was way off.

The bow tech had me dialed in and the bow fits like a glove. Took it out to the park and my shot grouping got alot smaller. I still need to zero in the sights though.

Question, so I have a 5 pin sight. What distance would each pin represent? Is there a standard or do I zero each pin to whatever distance I want, ie, 10 yd increments, etc?

Side note, thank god the range was pretty empty. The gf had Pepper and they were sitting off to the side of the range. Pepper was crying like there was no tomorrow, wanting to run to me. As I was retrieving my arrows, I hear the clanking of her dog tags. I turn around and here she come barrelling down on me, then running around the range like a lunatic..

VABAM · 07-07-2021, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bunk

Got the bow tuned yesterday at a local archery shop. OMG, what a difference! The knuckle heads at Bass Pro Shop had set it up pretty badly.
The whisker biscuit was set too high, the peep sight wasnt aligned, the draw stops werent set correctly. The draw length they set for me was way off.

The bow tech had me dialed in and the bow fits like a glove. Took it out to the park and my shot grouping got alot smaller. I still need to zero in the sights though.
....

Glad to hear that! Bass Pro and archery pro shops in general came sometimes be hit or miss.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bunk

....
Question, so I have a 5 pin sight. What distance would each pin represent? Is there a standard or do I zero each pin to whatever distance I want, ie, 10 yd increments, etc?
....

There isn't a standard that I know of. Set them to what ever you like. IIRC I had mine set to 10, 20, 25, 30, 35 (yards) on my SA Special. FYI I originally bought it for hunting in dense woods. Of course there are plenty of opinions out there on what to set them to but IMO

it's down to what works for you. Obviously multi-pin sight are more meant for hunting. In competition archery you usually do not see multi-pin sights with 3D Archery being the exception because 3D Archery is like hunting, unknown distances shooting at life size animal targets. One thing that multi-pin sights are good for is measuring distance. You can use the pins to measure the height of the target and based off of that you can estimate distance like you can do with rifle scopes. Unlike rifle scopes there isn't a standard for measuring objects so you would have to come up with your own based on your sights.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bunk

....
Side note, thank god the range was pretty empty. The gf had Pepper and they were sitting off to the side of the range. Pepper was crying like there was no tomorrow, wanting to run to me. As I was retrieving my arrows, I hear the clanking of her dog tags. I turn around and here she come barrelling down on me, then running around the range like a lunatic..

Rusty · 07-07-2021, 11:02 PM

Had the monthly gun club meeting today. Decided to go early and sight in the Ruger PR 338LM. Lets just say that the rifle shoots lights out.. 10 shot group at 600 yrds.

New never fired Lapua brass, CCI 250 primers, 95grs of H1000, Hornady 285gr ELD Match bullets. Can't wait to see what it will do once I work up a load for it.

bunk · 07-08-2021, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty

Had the monthly gun club meeting today. Decided to go early and sight in the Ruger PR 338LM. Lets just say that the rifle shoots lights out.. 10 shot group at 600 yrds.

New never fired Lapua brass, CCI 250 primers, 95grs of H1000, Hornady 285gr ELD Match bullets. Can't wait to see what it will do once I work up a load for it.

Thats a really nice load you got!

Were you able to put a chronograph on it? You got the consistency down, thats for sure!

My best shot group ever was from my brothers Henry Classic Lever .22. Off the shelf Browning BPR .22lr Shot at 25 yards with iron sight, standing position. 10 shots, 1 hole just under half an inch. I have a pic of it somewhere.

VABAM · 07-13-2021, 12:09 PM

It's awesome to see Scott shoot a 50 BMG.

No one would have faulted him for taking a long break from shooting 50 BMG or stop shooting 50 BMG entirely.

VABAM · 07-13-2021, 07:01 PM

What do you guys think of that lego themed Glock 19 aka “The Block 19”. Personally I don’t have any issue with it. I like the fact that it is triggering all sorts of people.

Rusty · 07-13-2021, 07:14 PM

Love it!

07-02-2021, 01:32 PM	#5897 (permalink)
Ghostvette A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Shawnee KS Posts: 5,698 Drives: 15 Magma Red 6MT Rep Power: 2684376	It took me a minute to figure out what was meant by 'anchor', but when VABAM said 'close your eyes, establish your anchor, then open your eyes', that told me that 'anchor' was what we called 'natural point of aim' in the rifle world. Natural point of aim is critical in any shooting sport, regardless of if it's rifle, pistol, shotgun or archery. PS... I can't shoot a bow for beans..... VABAM and Rusty like this. __________________ 2015 Magma Red 6MT Sport Tech/2012 Fairlady MB 6MT Base (RIP 08032018)https://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/370Z/Coupe/

07-02-2021, 02:01 PM	#5898 (permalink)
JARblue A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Austin, TX Age: 43 Posts: 36,449 Drives: 11 Z34, 98 E36 M3 Rep Power: 2684440	I haven't shot a bow in years. I used to teach archery to the younger kids at camp when I was 14-16. One of the bows was an Indian recurve with a 60 lb draw; most of the kids couldn't even draw it. When the range was slow, I would take it out to 60+ yds to practice. Biggest challenge was the tree limbs and leaves in the trajectory path since we were in the woods (range was cleared out about 30 yds). VABAM likes this. __________________ 2011 370Z 6MT Sport Gun Metallic \| ARC \| CJM \| Ecutek \| FI \| Fujimura \| R2C \| SPL \| Stillen \| TWM \| Z1 \| ZSpeed \|

07-04-2021, 06:17 PM	#5902 (permalink)
Rusty Ronin Samurai - Assassin Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Fayettenam,Pennsyltucky Age: 68 Posts: 34,900 Drives: 2011 Nismo GM 6M Rep Power: 2684436	Wifey and me went to the range today. Shoot like chit until I settled down. Everything was low and to the left. The last 20 rounds was center mass. Wifey's Parkingson's makes it tough for her to shoot constant. She gets frustrated, but she was putting holes in a man size target. Sighted in my AR. Hasn't been shot since the gunsmith cut the barrel to install the muzzle brake. At a 100 yards. It wasn't even on a 2ftx2ft square piece of paper. Took 5 rounds to get it on the paper. After that. It groups 10 rounds in a quarter size hole. I got to do some load devolvement with the AR. VABAM, JARblue, Ghostvette and 1 others like this. __________________ 浪人 - 殺し屋 "The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only" http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html

07-05-2021, 11:02 PM	#5903 (permalink)
VABAM A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2010 Location: No Where VA Posts: 4,003 Drives: with VDC off. Rep Power: 196	Scott is back! Sooooo much carnage! Rusty, Ghostvette and bunk like this. __________________ 2009 370Z Touring W/SP

07-13-2021, 12:09 PM	#5908 (permalink)
VABAM A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2010 Location: No Where VA Posts: 4,003 Drives: with VDC off. Rep Power: 196	It's awesome to see Scott shoot a 50 BMG. No one would have faulted him for taking a long break from shooting 50 BMG or stop shooting 50 BMG entirely. Rusty and Ghostvette like this. __________________ 2009 370Z Touring W/SP

07-13-2021, 07:14 PM	#5910 (permalink)
Rusty Ronin Samurai - Assassin Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Fayettenam,Pennsyltucky Age: 68 Posts: 34,900 Drives: 2011 Nismo GM 6M Rep Power: 2684436	Love it! VABAM and Ghostvette like this. __________________ 浪人 - 殺し屋 "The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only" http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html