Wednesday 9th September 2009

@ Sefton,

Late afternoon, getting dark.

1x 6 arrows 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 pull SPT pumps

4x 18 arrow ends @ 8m

Total 72 arrows shot.

Just shooting to keep strength. Was trying to feel for a good bow hand position with control on follow through, noticed however that half the arrows shot were clipping the armguard considerably.

Tuesday 8th September 2009

@ Sefton, cool, in shade.

4x 18 arrow ends @ 8m, 60cm gold spots
1x 6 arrow end @ 8m, SPT Pumps, 6x pump/arrow before shooting through
1x 6 arrow end @ 8m, aiming relaxed
1x 6 arrow end @ 8m, no aiming, relaxed

Total 90 arrows

SPT Pumps are easier to do than SPT straight, but being able to shoot the arrow after the last pump is very hard. Four out of the six I had to rest briefly before bringing up the shot. Release was a bit flaky today, and I was hitting the arm guard a lot. The new string seems to be behaving okay however, and the fuzz isn't seeming to be a problem.

Sunday 6th September 2009

@ Sefton

2x 18 arrow ends @ 8m

Just shooting in my new string that I made last night.

It's been a while since I made a string, and this was the 2nd full string I completed. The first was too long unfortunately, this one is better but I may have nicked the string slightly because there is fuzz coming off it. Otherwise, it is a good length.

The only thing is my jig I made can't do tension because it is made of wood, otherwise it works.

The jig has wing-nuts that limit the movement of the rails along the jig with the two threaded bolts. As you can see, it isn't exactly a super duper jig, it does the job of length, but has issues with tension.

Tuesday 1st September 2009

@ St Pauls,

Clear skies, warm, sunny.

2x 18 arrow ends @ 5m, blank style shooting
12x 6 arrow ends @ 60m, 122cm face, no gold visible
6x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm face, insert added
1x 6 arrow end @ 5m, blank shooting

Total 150 arrows

I had also one shot with a Sebastian Flute 5.99 Fiberbow, with SB Carbon Stabilizers. Very light, well balanced, sounded like a compound bow in the "snap" of the string sound, quiet for a recurve definitely. Pity they are so expensive.

Shooting was varied, worked on having now a more relaxed release, very different to the prior deep hook I had. I'm finding that the release, when it happens is very clean and the arrows leave the bow extremely smoothly. In poor releases, it kicks and spins out quite badly, but thankfully having the X10 and Tungsten points help keep the flight path relatively well. Other than that, I should stop being so stubborn and let down to reset the cycle when I know the shot isn't happening, and or if my bow shoulder is creeping.

Sunday 30th August 2009

@ Liverpool City Archers

Sunny, but strong gusts of wind.

24x 12 arrow ends @ 70m, 60cm FITA Field face
1x 12 arrow end @ 30m, 20cm FITA Field face

Total 156 arrows.

It's the first time I've ever been to the Liverpool club, and it's quite nice. I am going to join as an associate member in about a months time or so, so I can get the 25% discount since the first quarter of the financial year is nearly over.

I shot on the target range, while their field course is next to it, so I could see people shooting on the first four targets of the field while shooting and collecting my arrows. The ground there is now 30 years old, and used to be a rubbish tip, where they got army engineers to help out convert it into what it is now. The problem is that the ground is slowly sinking as the rubbish subsides, so parts of the grounds are undulating here and there due to that.

The Target targets are the Whitetails, but with replacement centers that are much easier to pull arrows out from, while the Field targets are layered strammit, which is also the same used for their indoor range.

My shooting today was mediocre, with the gusting winds and the different face, aiming was harder, and at times I know I just hauled the arrows through when they weren't happening. Out of all the arrows shot today, I would say possibly 15 of them were any decent that I was fully happy with, but for purposes of just strength, they were okay. I didn't miss any off the target, so at least that is a benefit.

Saturday 29th August 2009

@ Sefton,

Very windy, predicted gale force winds in areas. Clear skies.

4x 18 arrows @ 8m

Total 72

Worked on release, more relaxed release without having a backwards jerk action.
Increase bow mass by adding extra weight units.

Tuesday 25th August 2009

@ St Paul's
Breezy, sunny, clear skies.

9x 12 arrow ends @ 90m, blank target with yellow core visible
3x 12 arrow ends @ 30m, same

Total 144

It took me 2 arrows to get my 90m setting today. I set the sight rack at 90 on the closest hole of the extension as possible and took a shot. The left/right alignment was spot on, but was under the target, so I pulled it down to 100 and, it was into the inner core of the target. Minor adjustment to 98 got me a little more center of the target and I left it there.

I was doing really well considering the wind conditions, out of the 108 arrows shot, I only missed two, the first being without the sight setting, the second was to the left, possibly a bad release, possibly the wind catching it (since it was the right direction for it).

Later on, Ricci came down, and gave me some coaching with his experience of shooting (former Australian Institute of Sport archery, Junior Worlds and World University Games competitor). We worked a little on my release trying to clean it up some. He also told me about how to change the balance of forces used in my arms to bring it more to 50-50 so I wouldn't be getting the head and shoulder jerk movement that I saw previously.

I have strength issues, but they can be resolved if I put in the time and effort (SPT, or SPT pumps), and I need to relax my fingers more to have a smoother release with greater contact along the jaw line. In addition to this, bring my elbow around on the draw arm more sideways than downwards since the subscapularis locks the positions, but I need to find a way to increase my chest expansion, or push with the bow shoulder down and out, to bring the shot through the clicker more efficiently.

It was a pretty good session.