Well,

I picked up my Thunderhorn longbow in January in a trade for my .270. And so I am going on my 8th month shooting her.

I started off at 5 yards away in about 2 feet of snow in January.

I would have some good days and some bad days, and nothing ever really seemed consistent. Like a fawn taking it's first steps stumbling away from it's mother.

My goal was to be able to effectively hunt with the longbow by the time our season starts Sept. 15th.

About 4 months into shooting her I had her sent back to Duane Jessop to shave about 5 lbs. off of her. I think it was at that point that my form started to develop, and I was able to really start the learning process.

Over the past 6 weeks or so groups have tightened up more and I am now to the point where I can shoot 25 arrows at 20 yards, (3 at a time), and only have one or two 'flyers'. I consider a flyer anything that goes out of the red on an FITA target, as that is about the size of the kill zone on a deer.

Most of the flyers barely go out of the red, and most of my arrow are in the yellow, or in the red an inch or two out of the yellow.

I don't want to jinx myself, but after 8 months of shooting every other day, I am finally confident at 20 yards. By Sept. 15th I feel very confident in ethically shooting at Missouri Whitetails.

How long was it for you guys before things started to 'click'???

It is a really great feeling. Especially being 100% self-taught, with the help of tradgang of course, and one specific user here: username: "Friend" who taught me one thing that REALLY helped me breakthrough more than anything else form wise: "Relax your draw wrist and draw arm, and let your arm and wrist naturally straighten out as you draw."

When I switched over from wheels about 18 years ago, the transition for me wasn't that bad because I never did use sights. Common story, I was wicked on targets but when I shot at those Michigan whitetails, I would miss every time. I think I shot at more than my share for 4 or 5 years before I finally settled myself down enough to hit one. After that I went 5 for 5 in the following years and of course my confidence on game is now where it should be. Ain't saying it hasn't wavered from time to time, but a positive attitude and lots of good practice will keep that from disappearing completely. Congrats on sticking with it until you built that confidence, it makes a world of difference. Good luck with those Missouri whitetails this season!  

Good luck from a fellow Missourian!!

I have been shooting my recurve sinc March and am still waiting for things to really "click" like I know they can.

Nice shooting Sam.I to am going after deer here in September.After months of just practing on my form and getting in the feel.I almost feel like that little kid many years ago when dad took my traingwheels off. HA.HA. Good luck.

My journey started much like yours, especially the weight. I've been at it almost 2 years now. I really began improving when I dropped to a comfortable weight bow. Stump shooting and moving targets have really helped as well.

The weight reduction probably helped more than you can imagine.
Congratulations, and good luck.

It's been a year and I still don't think I feel comfortable enough to hunt. I am keeping my groups at 20 yards around 10 inches with an occasional flyer. I don't feel that is good enough yet, but I am keeping after it.

Good deal USN especially when you can mark your progress. Same thing happens in the woods. Best luck.