Accuracy?

[30coupe]

Originally posted by Longtoke:
I think a grip that fits the hand well can help a lot.

There you go! Just what I have been thinking while reading this thread. I've owned more bows than I will admit to my wife, and they were all accurate. Very few, however, fit my hand well enough for me to be CONSISTENTLY accurate. Those few are the ones that, as Pavan pointed out, allow me to just shoot without thought. The grip just made the bow an extension of me.

My Kanati was one of those bows, as was my Orion. I have neither to shoot now as one of the bamboo lams broke on the Kanati and my shoulders told me the Orion was just a tad too heavy. Now my Kiowa seems like it is going to be another keeper.

All the rest have been accurate if I did everything just so. For someone else, hopefully, they are consistently accurate. If the bow really didn't matter, we wouldn't have so many different designs. We'd all be shooting the same thing. Dang, that would be boring!

Yes, the grip is a primary thing, especially with Hill style bows. The thing is, when you find that correct size grip, every thing else seems odd and distracting.

[BWallace10327]

The bow must fit the archer. I have had a bunch of bows and firmly believe that some bows are better than others for me.  Those bows that don't work for me will surely work for someone else.  There is more too it than the grip; the balance, the length, the draw force curve, limb length, string angle especially. What method does the archer shoot with?  How is their release?  These are important factors.  Of course the arrow is important, as is tuning and good form, but I will never believe that any bow is just as good as the next for every person.

[MarlinMark]

Originally posted by Chain2:
The age old question, "Is it the arrow or the Indian?"

I grew up with that as a statement...never a question.  It's the Indian, not the arrow.

[Matabele]

Not to derail this thread, but what exactly is considered good accuracy? Could be a lot of difference in that definition between folks.

Is a three shot, three inch group at 30 yards good, excellent or average?

Originally posted by Matabele:
Is a three shot, three inch group at 30 yards good, excellent or average?

No doubt, that would be excellent!

Bisch

[McDave]

Originally posted by Matabele:
Not to derail this thread, but what exactly is considered good accuracy? Could be a lot of difference in that definition between folks.

Is a three shot, three inch group at 30 yards good, excellent or average?

You might want to check out a topic in the Shooting Form Forum asking this question.  People have widely varying opinions of what level of accuracy should be expected from a trad bow.

[Chain2]

Marlin, Don't say that to a golf club salesman!

[Bladepeek]

I have quite a few "nice" bows, which on some days I can shoot reasonably well. On other days; not so well. We just finished an indoor league shoot. There were a bunch of compound shooters and a dozen trad guys. Usually we had 21 3-D targets at ranges from 10 yards to about 22 yds. It didn't seem to matter too much which bow I used, some nights I could call my shot and it wasn't bad. Other nights, everything seemed right, but that arrow sure didn't go where I thought I had it pointed.

I would have to say, in order of importance from low to high

1. Bow - mine are all good bows and fit me quite well

2.Arrow - I've tried to tune mine to fit the bows I was shooting.

3. The shooter. I've tried to tune him, but he's inconsistent and has a lot of bad days to go with the good ones. This is the factor that always beats the above two.

[Archie]

They say a poor workman blames his tools.  

The hobby at which I am most proficient is playing piano.  I can play just about any piano I come across, but there is certainly a lot to be gained by having a good performing, consistent, well-tuned instrument that can hold a tune and that is enjoyable to utilize.  And the instrument does affect the quality of the output.  I know that is the same with guitars and banjos, and I believe it is the same with traditional bows.  I've shot some bows that are great, and some that are uncomfortable and temperamental and unsatisfying to shoot.  And accuracy is definitely going to be affected by those factors.

[J-dog]

Dad was never a bow shooter but a serious rifle shooter USMC. He always said "it's not the dope you out on the gun but the dope holding the gun that makes it accurate." Easily be applied to any weapon and very true.

J

[BWallace10327]

I suppose if someone were asked to lift a 10,000 pound box by hand and then try the same with a 15,000 pound box, the person would be the factor failing to accomplish this, but one box would still be heavier than the other, even if a person was unable to see the difference.

[Roy from Pa]

My groups are pretty good..  

[Bamboozle]

Roy....that is awesome but would have looked more realistic had you removed the fire extinguisher that took a bunch of hits from the picture! Ha....just saying....

[Ulysseys]

I save money by keeping my bow and buying new targets....haven't found one that doesn't dodge my arrows yet

[Roy from Pa]

Dog gonnit, I gotta move that fire extinguisher..
LOL

[forestdweller]

I'd have to agree that any archer can be accurate with any bow to a certain extent. The differences lie within forgiveness and feel.

A bow that's "more accurate" could be the difference between hitting a 5" pie plate from 30 yards or missing left by 1".

Regarding the analogy with a golfer, a professional golfer can score amazing with any set of golf clubs even junk ones BUT if he has tailor fit golf clubs of the highest quality than he might shave off 3-5 strokes which will make all the difference and is well worth it.

This would be the same in a hunting situation as missing the vitals by 2" to the left because you over griped the bow and torqued the limb. Or shooting a 6 instead of an 8 in a target round.

So a good shot can be accurate with any bow but will be even more accurate with a bow fit to them.