Archery Help for Son

Alright fellas (and ladies), I'm needing a little help here. I don't shoot a bow, but my 15 year old has been for about a year and a half. We did his first archery hunt last season for deer. It was a blast, but we couldn't close the distance. One issue we have is...I can't teach him how to shoot better with a bow. He is shooting a Diamond Infinite Edge. At 15 yards, he's great. 20 yards starts to open up a bit, and after that, it gets ugly. I gave him a 25 yard MAX range for his hunt this past season, just to be ethical.

I'm wondering if there is anyone who is qualified that wouldn't mind spending an hour or so with a young man trying to get better. He shoots almost everyday in the summer. We have a 3D target in our back yard, and can go behind the house for more range. We're in Parker, CO. I can't pay much, but could compensate a little if needed. I also joined Ben Lomond Gun Club in Kiowa, so if any of you archer guys go there, we could always meet up there as well.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

TM

I wish I could help, but I am little far (Albuquerque). A few things right off.

1. I assume you have checked for his dominate eye? If not do that first. you might even put an eye patch over the non aiming eye while practicing.
2. Make sure he isn't pulling too much poundage. If you are limiting him to 25 yards he doesn't need that much.
3. practice with broadheads. Field tips are great, but you have to shoot your broadheads to make sure everything is good to go. Use a quality cut on contact broadhead too. cheap broadheads equal poor flight. I love the G5 Montec. Lots of other good ones out there.
4. I take it he is shooting with a peep and sight. If not be sure to get him set up with both. If he is just shooting to 25 yards you might want to only shoot with one pin. at that range you don't need much more. it will limit his confusion.
5. watch his grip. if his groups tend to open up horizontally he might be torqueing his bow with too tight of a grip. if they are opening up vertically he is likely dropping his hand and not following through with the shot.
6. might get a stabilizer. if he doesn't have one it will likely help. Something like a Bee Stinger. You should be more concerned with adding weight than noise or vibration reduction.
7. don't skimp on the arrows. cheap arrows are like cheap ammo. they just don't group as well.
8. make sure his bow is in tune. look up the "Quick Tune Meathod" to check things out.
9. set him up with a simple index finger release. my boys (6 and 8) switched over to releases from fingers this year and it made a world of difference. they love shooting them too.

Feel free to PM me with any other questions you have. I am by no means a pro, but I have learned the hard way and try to help others as much as possible.

I think he just nailed it, but with my boys, 10 and 9, I watch them shoot and they sometimes jerk the finger instead of squeezing the finger.

You should be able to take your bow and go to a local archery shop (or closest one) and have them tune your bow and give some help and advice.
Good luck, I hope he enjoys it. I know my kids (AND ME) enjoy archery shooting.

One more thing, take a video of him shooting (if you can) and post a link here and maybe we can help out if there is something we see.

Thanks for all of the ideas fellas. He currently pulls about 35#, does practice with broadheads (G5's) when the season is close, does have a peep sight. I like the idea of removing the other pins, as his groups do change vertically and horizontally. He shoots Gold Tip arrows, so not the most expensive, but not cheap either (unless I'm wrong). We've talked about getting a stabilizer as well, he just needs to pick the one he wants. I'll check out the Bee Stinger mentioned. He also does use a release. I'll try to take a video and post it to see if that shows something I'm missing. It is frustrating for me because I can help him when his rifle shooting gets out of whack, but I just don't know much except what I've learned from youtube on archer shooting. I'll also check out the "Quick Tune Method" and see what that is all about.

Someday I'll get into it. I just love shooting my rifles. My dominant eye is really bad (scar on cornea). I've had to switch to left hand for rifles, and will have to do the same for archery. I just cant see the pins.

Thanks again, and I welcome any more ideas.

Tim

Really concentrate on his "follow through". I am betting that this is where his biggest problem is. Watch him from the side. His arm should stay up and not drop until the arrow hits. I am guessing he is probably dropping his hand at the shot.

I will definitely watch that. Thanks!

Love everyone's input. All great stuff for the young shooter. My Grandson was in the same boat a while back and about the same poundage.

I would suggest a couple things some already mentioned to attempt to tighten up he groups at longer ranges. As stated before make sure his draw weight is not to heavy. If he can't draw back and target practice shooting at least 25 shots per session then his draw weight will effect form and holding the pin steady on target and a smooth release....all needed to be accurate at longer ranges. Don't expect your son to be able to accurately shoot more than several shots a session at longer yard ages. When hunting it only hopefully takes one or two shots. When he is fresh after a couple warm up shots have your son shoot the longer shots before his arms start getting tired. That will give you a more representative idea of his capabilities.

We contacted Easton regarding a quality hunting arrow for the lower poundage not just an arrow, a target arrow but a quality low poundage hunting arrow for low poundage archery hunting. Easton recommended their ION 600 carbon arrow for the lower draw weights .

Last but very important : you always want to make sure your son has the dot of is pin perfectly centered in the peep sight. If not that is a deal breaker at longer yardages. I mention this because the margin of error increases exponentially as yardage is increased. SO: make sure your sons setup is correct and dialed in to help him be the best he can be. Check out his peep size diameter.he should not be using and larger that a MED. diameter peep sight. The larger diameter peeps make it more difficult for little ones to get that pin exactly in the middle of that big circle. The Med. peep gives them less margin of error.

Last: and for us I never caught it....until last year. His Release. I felt so bad. I always told him at the longer ranges how important it was to hold steady, center his pin in the peep then a slow smooth release. I told him just to continue pressure until the release just fired off then follow through watching the arrow through his sight all the way to the target. Well dumb me. His youth release when I got it was all that would fit his wrist. But it was a piece of crap. He could never get a smooth release he had to jerk the trigger to release the arrow. It was only after I picked him up an adult Scott Little Goose release for last years hunting that I figured it out. First shot he released before perfect shot then more shots After a few shots, he says wow Grandpa, now I know what you were talking about. This release is so smooth you can't feel when it goes off. I really had to pull hard on the trigger of my old release. Dumb Me tried to make things so perfect for him and never thought about the quality of the release as he grew older.
Hope you pic through this and find something that might help.

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Thanks for all of the input. Last we started his draw weight off lower, then built it up. He's a tall but very thin kid, so he's lacking a bit in the strength department. He'd typically shoot 30-35 arrows per session. I like your point of the groups opening up towards the end of the session due to fatigue. We usually started close, then moved back, but I think the other way around is a good thought.

I'm not sure of his peep size, as it came with the bow. When I make it to a bow shop I'll have them check that as well.

He has a decent/good release. I don't remember the brand/type, but if I recall he paid $50 or so for it (I try to have him use the money he earns for upgrades...teach him some responsibility).

Thanks again to all of you who have provided input. I really do appreciate it.

Tim

Toolman sounds like you have it handeled. Also we set our arrows with the Blazer ##### vane straight up.

Good Shoot'n

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I know my boys tend to take pointers better from their coach than they do dad.

Take him down to your local arhcery shop (not Cabelas or Sportsmans Warehouse, but a bonafide archery shop). The guys working the shops really know their stuff, many are prostaffers. Go like 2pm on a weekday when there are few if any costumers there. They'll probably be more than happy to help him out and give hime some pointers on shooting and form. Every decent arhcery shop has at least a 20 yard range.

LAST EDITED ON May-24-15 AT 06:26PM (MST)[p]There is more to follow through than holding up the bow arm. There is also follow through on the release arm. You've got to maintain the tension up to the point of release and then follow through. You can watch him shoot from behind and watch his back. Notice if the points of his shoulder blades are coming together to create that tension. Then when he releases his release hand should recoil back toward his ear. If he hasn't maintained that tension the hand won't recoil. Torquing the bow with the bow hand can also create some issues that get worse with range. A good wrist strap can help if he gets used to not gripping the bow when he releases. There are several good Junior Olympic Archery clubs in the Denver area that aren't too expensive to participate in. They have good volunteer coaches.