Shooting a consistant shot group.

[Deer Hunter]

I am having trouble shooting a consistant shot group. At 30 yards I am lucky to group my arrows into a 5 inch shot group. At 40 i might be able to group them in at 10 inches. It has been alot of years since i last shot a bow. But a 5 inch shot group at 30 yards is not very good is it ? I dont know what i am doing wrong ? Any suggestions ?

[leggyarcher]

I am new to archery, but here are my thoughts on this issue. First, I would try to readjust my sights. Highbow, Duster, and Art all worked on my bow. I was able to group my shots together more after the adjustment. Highbow then done some other things, which I am not sure what all was done, but I am shooting great now. What type of bow do you shoot? Also, as the others suggested to me, start out shooting at a closer range, 10 yards and then move on. Hope this helps a little. TL

[Tim Morris]

This is my theory, if you are hitting a five inch circle at 30 yards, then you are doing fine. If you were in a ten inch circle, it would be in the kill zone of a deer. Dont concentrate on being perfect, you will get better with practice. You do need to ensure that your bow is set up correctly and tuned but as far as the group of a 5 inch circle is concerned......hunt on baby, hunt on!!!

[Multidigits]

Tim is correct. 5" is fine at 30 yards. The point is that you have confidence in your yardage, and it sounds like you don't I'd stick with a self imposed 20 yards maximum shot for this year and ntil you kill a deer or two at that range. The confidence factor is very important in archery. If you take shots that are marginal for youself, then you'll likely be disappointed. With the better than average acorn crop on this year, you should be able to locate a tree to get those close shots that you need.

[Highbow]

Deerhunter, If I could ask, are all your arrows matched, meaning same fletch, size, length and tips same, nocks can be different too. I found some of Leggy's arrows had as much as 100 grain difference in them. I use a small scale, weigh each finished shafts after making sure the total length is very close to exact. I make sure if one arrow has a helical fletch the rest do also.
Are you shooting with fingers or using a release? It is usually easier to get good groups with a release but more experience and confidence will get good results with fingers. I have found field tips to have as much as 8 grain difference in weight when they should be identical, these same results can be found with some broadheads. Just a bit of information and I hope that some of it can be helpful.

[ducknbuckhunter]

pick up the latest issue of field and stream i just glanced through it and saw some good tips, there was a competion archery coach, plus he is a veteran hunter that was telling a writer how to shoot properly, (practice makes perfect but shooting to fatigue can make bad habits.)

[GSP]

pick up the latest issue of field and stream i just glanced through it and saw some good tips, there was a competion archery coach, plus he is a veteran hunter that was telling a writer how to shoot properly, (practice makes perfect but shooting to fatigue can make bad habits.)

I read that one too, very good article.
Consistant pinpoint shots is all about form, not "aiming".
About the same in every game, do the EXACT same thing EVERY time, be it archery, rifle, throwing darts, bowling or breaking a clay bird with a shotgun.

[Deer Hunter]

Highbow, I bought a dozen beamon carbon shafts and a friend fixed them for me. He put the fletching, notches etc..., and all on them. I never thought anything about them not matching. He done a really good job on glueing the fletching on, real clean with no glue beads anywhere. I have just been practing with 100 grain field tips using six of the 12 arrows saving the other six for hunting. But anyhow i measured the six that i have been using. And found 3 different lengths. With the longest arrows being about 3/16 of an inch longer than the rest of the arrows. I have noticed that it seems like some of the arrows group in pairs. I marked them and i am going to see if that might be part of the problem. I am shooting a Mathews LX with a Muzzy zero effect drop away rest. Trophy ridge sights & fixed 2 peace quiver. I am using a Little goose release made by Scott. I am also using a strike wave 7 oz stablizer. I think i may need a heavier stablizer though. I apprechaite all of the tips. Thanks

[Hammer]

That's how I used to shoot until I bought a Matthews (not an ad, but very serious here).

I bet you're also canting your bow a little, especially if you are shooting a lot and get tired.

[dgc4]

Listen to hammer. Canting leads to inconsistent accuracy. As does arrow matching.

[Highbow]

Deer Hunter, 3/16 isn't much but enough to make a slight difference, when you put them a frain scale is where you realize the difference. Sounds like you have a good setup, like others pointed out don't over shoot, you get tired and everything is way off from what you started, just take the time to condition, 10-12 shots a day is great if you make them good ones. Be sure you adjust the poundage to something you can pull without fighting it.

[keith meador]

number your arrows, then shoot them. take notes on arrow impact. if the arrows impact the same point every time, and are identical to each other, you are good....if the impact point moves around, meaning one shot high, one low, then start checking for tuning/contact issues.

as stated before, repeatable form is key to shooting well. instead of starting at 20 yards and then shooting for a while and moving out to 30 yards, shoot your first arrows at 30 yards and see how your groups are. it may be a simple case of fatigue. shooting after you get tired may bring bad habits. shoot 20 real good shots, using correct form, and then quit for the day, or at least take a hour break and come back to it.

[Hammer]

I have a Copper John Dead Nutz site on my bow, and it has a level on it. Makes it easy to see when you are canting the bow (My form error is always canting the bow to the right), and this site has helped me immensely. Make sure you also have the same anchor points too.

[Blevins Gap Outdoors]

My question is what kind of groups are you getting at 20 yards. If you are getting good tight groups at 20 and they increase with range the advice you have been given is right on. If you are getting poor groups at 20 yards your bow could be out of tune.

[DCCD]

Sounds like to me you just need to shoot more. Archery is muscle memorey and being able to do do the same thing exactly the same way shot after shot if your muscles are not use to it it is hard to hold the bow half way steady and not be allover the target.And the further away you shoot the worst it will be. Like someone said try 20 yards. If I dont shoot my bow for awhile my groups are not near as tight then when Im shooting 4or5 times a week. Good luck

[Ol T Rex]

3/16" would be about 2 grains or less on most beman shafts. Your arrows will probably have more variance than that even if they were all the same length.