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working into a heavier bow,,

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bradsmith2010:
  i was pretty out of shape a few months ago,, didnt realize how little I had practiced the last year,, so my elk bow was too heavy for me,, i started shooting and was so rusty I didnt know if I could work back into it again,, Im 67 and thought I might have to drop some weight,, the first few weeks shooting it, was tough,,I couldnt feel much progress but I decided to just stick with it,,we were sharing pics of our shots,, and mine were so bad I almost didnt show them, but decided i needed the reality check to get better,, and after a few weeks it started to come together,
   Im gonna tell you what I did and how I practiced to get back in shape,,now the bow feels perfect for me and Im glad I did,,but basically I shot a little every day,, and tried not to overdo it or expect to much too fast,,after 3 months of practice every day, I have my accuracy as good as ever and feel confident if I get in shape on the mountain I can execute a good shot when I need to,,
  let me give this some more thought and I will start at the very rusty beginning of my process,, which I feel would work for anyone wanting to shoot a bow a bit heavier,, :)

bradsmith2010:
 the first thing is not to get impatient,, progress with a bow can take days or weeks or months, and be slow,,you just have to keep working and make a little progress at a time,,
  when I started back with my elk bow, I put a piece of tape at 28 inches of draw so I would know I was drawing the bow consistantly,,I shot so many different bows this year I needed that for a guide,,
   I would pull the bow to full draw looking at the tape then aim and shoot,, and not so well I may add,,sometimes i would hit where I was looking and it seemed like an accident, but,,, the accicents got more consistant,,
   I did warm up with some pushups and stretches, and half draws before each shooting session, I think that was key to not getting an injury,,
   I shot one arrow at a time walking to the target after each shot and didnt keep exact count, but like 20 arrows a session trying to not overdo it,,
   I will say I felt like giving up a couple times and trying a different bow, but then I would make a little progress and keep going,,
   ok more to come let me think,,
   my Main concern was consistency of my first arrow with no warm up shots,,this was a hard look in the mirror,,  its easy to get warmed up and hit the mark a few times and think, ,well Im shooting great,, but that first shot is a little more telling, so I concentrated on that, keeping track each day if I would have killed my elk or not,, its takes more concentration to shoot a great first shot for me,, so that was my guage of inprovement, not if I shot an impressive group later in the day,,
     

bradsmith2010:
   as I gradually got stronger, I was able to shoot more arrows and over did it, injuring my first finger, from wear and tear, so stop before you do that,,
my shoulders were a bit sore too,, i reeled back the amount of arrows I was shooting and my accuracy became more and more consistant, and pulling the bow to anchor was very comfortable,, so I just continued to shoot average 20 arrows a day till now,, and I am ready for elk season with my shooting, now I have to put my pack on and do some hiking and stump shooting,
   as far as defining my accuracy,,, I feel like if I am a couple of inches from the bottle cap at 15 yards I am happy with that,that should translate out to 25 yards or so,,,, and if my first shot is consistantly close to the bottle cap,, Im good to go,, executing a shot at the elk ,, no way to practice that,,just hope that my practice kicks in and I hit where I am looking,
   ok forgot to mention,, after a few weeks I didnt need to look at the tape on my arrow, my draw was pretty set, so I could just look at where I wanted to hit, draw the bow and shoot,, I did practice shooting quicky and also holding a bit,, reasoning a different lenght time in holding for the shot might depend on the shooting situation at a live animal,, I have a beatiful peace of yew, and thinking of making a bow for elk season at the draw I am shooting now ,, not sure if I have time,, but might give it a try,,

Pat B:
Back in 2006 I was invited out to the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado by a PA member("Little John"...Kenneth)for a stick bow elk hunt. I had 8 months to get ready and spent much of that time getting myself in shape. I was comfortable shooting a 55# bow which I was making for this trip. I started with my back pack and 25# and did a lot of walking with my pack on all around our property, not only on the trails but through the bush, down in creeks, up steep hills and so on. Later that summer, after working up to 60# in my back pack I went up to the Blue Ridge Parkway which is at 5000' and hiked up to Black Balsam Knob at 6200' a few times. That as high as I can get around here. My property is at 2600'.
 In Colorado we entered Salt Creek Trail at 10,000' and hiked down to 9000' where our camp was. We hunted between 9500' and 9000'.
 I was sure glad I'd put so much time and energy into the prep work. Unfortunately someone forgot to tell the elk we were there and a few days in the trip I sprained my ankle and had to be hauled out on horseback. Still it was a great experience.
 I went back in 2010 but the elk still hadn't been informed but again another great trip. I did have a wolf within 25 yards one day which made the trip even more special.
 Looking forward to your elk hunt and wishing you the best of luck. I know if you get the opportunity you will be bringing home the meat.

bradsmith2010:
thanks Pat,, I will be at about 11,000 feet,, here in Santa Fe its 7000 so I am used to the lack of air a little bit , ,but need to get up there,,
with my pack to get ready, thank you for the positive support,, Ill do my best if I get a shot,, may need some help getting it out,,  (SH)

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