You are totally right. Nusensei once was guest at a turkish horsebow archery school. There you start with one m distance and concentrate only on form and then you start to move away meter by meter. Very slowly, until there is enough confidence and when the groups are good enough. And it makes totally sense.
See, this is why we call you a world class teacher. I mean I see what your saying 💯 percent. This way of shooting is what we use to do with knife throwing, one step back at a time. This is probably the best way to train ever. This will make you an all around super instinctive archer. (Because you will train at every distance going all the way back) this is the best teaching I’ve seen yet on how to accumulate distance while being accurate. When I first started I doubled the distance and I had such an amazingly hard time. I was stuck at 20 meters for like 7 months straight. I gotta share this video so people won’t fall into the same trap I did.
This is a skill which is absolutely critical to the successful hunter. Learning to hit the target not only at a longer distance, but also at varying distances and learning to judge distances. I like to start by playing "Guess that distance" I guess and then confirm the actual distance using a laser rangefinder....Each season begins with this game and you really get good at it over time. Shooting at random distances is important. I never met an Elk that stood still with an open shot at a perfect 30 yards. 😆 Great video as always, Armin!
Practice with a range finder does not require a bow...fun to compete with friends. This only allows you to learn to visually recognize distances in relation to your measurement system. You must then practice at different ranges. First like Armin shows...starting close before gradually moving back. Then using your range finder to confirm the actual distance, try shooting from random distances. Once you become proficient at this...try shooting from random distances and using your own distance judgment skills to hit the target. Then practice shooting from angles (quartering to...and quartering away shots) and shooting uphill and downhill at your target. It becomes more complicated but give you a better sense of real hunting in the field. You can practice shooting from behind or through cover too. Many times I've had the find a gap where I could "thread the needle" through a gap in some twigs of a thicket. Not something you'd want to try for the first time in the midst of an actual hunt. Some 3D ranges even have moving foam targets. The challenge is a blast and you always learn something new. Great question!🙂
Totally agree Armin. I have used this method in fighting the dreaded target panic, no panic with a large target at 3m, gradual increase means no big change from shot to shot to trigger it.
Great advice, thank you! Another technique that I use sometimes is to throw arrows out at various distances and start shooting from wherever they land, either forwards or backwards.
Armin, I watched this video in 4K. And I have to say that I have never seen anyone with such penetrating blue-grey eyes. They remind me of the Greek goddess of Wisdom and Knowledge, Athena. So I would like to thank you on behalf of the archery community for all the wisdom and knowledge you have shared with us!
Hi Meister Armin !! Good lesson !! And when you increase the distance, the village ´s bells ring loud to applaud the result!!!! 😂 Richard "back to bow" Lionheart 👍😎🇫🇷🏹
I had the same problem with decent targets but bought some large woven plastic sand bags and stuffed them with old cloths, towels pillows etc and they are great, at longer distances and blunter tips the arrows quite often bounce off doing no damage to the bag, put a bamboo cane Infront and hang a milk carton on it, feels very rewarding to Pierce it. Archery doesn't need a lot of money, just a lot of practice and great guidance 🙏
@@johncuthbertson2565 I've actually just the other day got an 80cm straw target. I was wondering what people put in those bags. I'd like to know what Armin puts in his hessian sacks actually
Armin i have a question ? I see alot of Turkish bow shooters holding the bow straight up and down when shooting in posture but I hold my bow tip at about 1oclock , is here a reason some do it that way or am I shooting mine in a bad form or posture? I am also not shooting with thumb ring but with 3 finger glove using both 2 fingers and sometimes all 3 I switch it up sometimes.
Hi, as I heard is kind of the official style in Turkish archery to hold the bow fully upright BUT when shooting thumb release. with 3 fingers I would always tilt the bow (me even with thumb) :D
Shooting 2 or more bows of different lbs (instead of 1) is, to a certain degree, a precision killer when talking 30 m +. At least for me. Because I find it basically impossible to make 2 exactly identical set ups (bow - arrow) în terms of both fps and dynamic spine to bow with 2 bows with 16 lbs gap.
When I started archery I started very close to my target, the length of my bow held by a siyah & my arm outstretched. I started so close, so my ego couldn't distract me & I could focus entirely on making sure my form was correct. After 500 arrows, I took one step back.
I did the exact opposite in my archery training and I sometimes shoot with people that do the small increments techniques ( they go to an archery club). The results are quite interesting. So with the small steps increments, they do have better groups than me. But whenever we do the old game of picking a random target and trying to shoot it ( who can hit it the first), I’m way better than them. It might be because they aim and I don’t (I shoot instinctively), or maybe it’s because of the difference in training. I guess different training give you different skills.
I agree totally I shoot close and get my form perfect shooting and release feeling comfortable even before every competition or practice by shooting close groups at 3 yards Then 5 then 7 and so on I change the starting distance each time so that I feel good at all distance. Nice tutorial Armin thanks great help Mark Washtock
This is how I train also for longer shoots, increments of 3-5 steps back and so on, not for the impatient archer hehehe. But you presented it nicely as always in this video how to do it :)
Ist es überhaupt möglich eine gute Gruppe auf sagen wir mal 35m zu schießen mit dem Thumb draw? Oder ist es möglich konstant ein ziel von 10cmx10cm auf 25 meter zu treffen?
Thank you for using the Snake bow for this demonstration. It's low poundage/lower velocity makes the adjustments more dramatic. I have found that this technique is needed for each bow and arrow combination, as they each are unique. Once you have selected your favorite it becomes instinctive, with enough practice.
We apply the same ideas at Braveheart Archery Range. We have an indoor Range with distances up to 25m. Shooting lines from 11m, 13m, 16m, 18m, 20m, 23m & 25m.
YES! I haven’t even watched this yet, and I know that I will love it! Many thanks for this learning focus, Armin! ... I did! Excellent advice and reassurance of a practical and effective learning approach.
Confidence is key! It is really a mental game with your brain controlling everything. No matter how much we try to remove the emotion, fight or flight will always remain in your brain. Confidence I believe is connected to the fight response in your brain. Any kind of fear or anxiety or doubt in your shot will turn on the flight response in your brain and your focus is removed from the mechanics of executing a good shot. Any sense of doubt when I shoot makes me miss. Great video Armin!
Until you katra is good, all your shots will suck. Ive dropped longboiiwe, I shot it for 20 years, im not standing maybe 10 yards or less from the target relearning how to shoot with a turkish bow. Its a lot of fun, and I am seeing how amazing these bows are. They really are the greatest bows ever made.
Have you ever seen how Mihai does his attack and retreat attack and retreat ...firing as he steps back left foot retrieve arrow and nock ..right foot back draw and release?? It's very very gradual and so the idea is that you adapt very quickly....this is what I practice because of how quickly you adapt at further and further distance and because combatively it makes sense . So this is the very same idea just different movement which you may or may not be able to keep connected from one shot to the next, but for me I like the flow . Excellent video Armin....going back to basics is exactly what I needed ...thanks buddy
Armin I want to thank you for all your videos, you have made my shooting bow experiences and knowledge of them so much more and shooting skills better due to your videos and knowledge you've handed down to us, I have become a Huge fan of the composite bow world because of your videos ..thank you..
the distances for the classic recurve in clubs are 10,12,15,18 meters (with 80cm target) for each distance, 6 training sessions 30, 50 meter outside (with 122 cm target) so, the properties of archery : patience and concentration... a good school before choosing your way
Great discussion I use fairly heavy arrows - 500 spine / 560 grain range on #45 and #55 bows and boy they drop a lot and when I go beyond 25 yards, probably a foot! Thanks for the lesson.
when i started archery in 2019 by following your advice . 1 meter 3 meters 6 meters 9 meters beyond 9m when changeing distances i would walk backwards and shoot i managed out to 100m then the bow angle was to high as my anchor point was level with my heart so changed tactics ... 150-200m with good grouping thank you again Armin
Are you shooting with your thumb? Why do you shoot on the right side of the bow? Seems like being a right hand shooter you would have problems keeping the arrow on your hand.
I’m having archery withdrawals ☹️ we have moved to a house with a tiny backyard, and can’t shoot here. Need to get one of those foam targets and find somewhere to practice.
If we have a couple of bad days weather ( we live in UK 🤷🏻♂️) I go in my garage/wife cave and put lots of small circles on a large piece of foam, get a low powered long draw bow and pick a random circle, one arrow attempt so I don't robin hood arrows, try stuff out like opposite hand, different releases and thumb rings etc. I could spend days in there and practice is practice 🤷🏻♂️
Agree completely. I enjoy starting w/ Torba, typically @ 7’. Shoot a dozen in the Torba target. Then start “walk back. Go to 5 yds. Shoot at least three. If it’s a good group, step back two good steps. Repeat, as long as you are producing good groups. If your groups fall apart, stop at that distance until I can correct.
I've finally got good enough to try movement in my archery. I got my plastic 26# horse bow with my 34" arrows and made a leather thumb ring out of an old belt then proceeded to walk around my garden shooting lots of different targets/plastic bottles etc and loved it more than anything, shooting for accuracy is mostly disappointing in my case but just hitting the target while moving is more positive feedback . So different from a compound bow at an archery club. 🙏
Been shooting recurves and longbows for 60 years now. I can hit balloons and beverage cans constantly at 25 to 50 yards. BUT can't get good groups constantly at these ranges. Never really tried shooting in increments as you've shown. Glad I watched this video, perhaps this is the "secret" to tightening groups. I'm a hunter, and never take shots a game beyond 20 yards.
Yes, patience and concentration i'm waiting for my (new) second bow (recurve Eburon red wing, 60"@30#) for tomorrow, i think 5,10,15,20 meters on my 40cm targets is a good variation for intuitive bow, different from the classic recurve but interesting to increase the coordination eye-hand-target !
great videos. i just recently started archery. what is the best takedown bow out there in the market right now and what bow did you use for this video???
I've started outdoor season again, and when my arrows miss the target they tend to bury quite a bit more than my olympic style sports mates. Why might that be ?
@@johncuthbertson2565 doesn't seem likely, it does it with both aluminium and wooden arrows, and the wooden arrows I purchased from alibow for that bow. 30# long tatar. I'm wondering whether I may nock too high
@@dumboy886 easy to find out if that's the cause 👍, there's always something to figure out isn't there 🙄, my arrows arrive at the target just a little tilted to the left....still haven't managed to rectify that 🤷🏻♂️
Been shooting thumb release for a few weeks now and I'm almost as good if not better than with Mediterranean release but I feel I'm doing something wrong as my thumb knuckle is really rather tender is this normal and will it fade as I shoot more over time?
@@ArminHirmer I'll stick to my 25lb and stop having the odd play with my 40 and 50lbs for now then. I'm using a leather thumb tab but would a shallow hook ring be better for my knuckle long term? Thank you very much for your timely reply I've watched your channel for a few years now but have finally decided to have a real go at thumb release and am having fun with archery again.
@@ArminHirmer thank you very much I'll have a look for a good ring and stick to the 25 for now. Thoroughly enjoy your videos thank you very much for keeping me entertained and informed about all things Asiatic recurve related.
Personally my idea was to learn archery in 2m increments also., My archery club only shoots at the standard distances and everyone at the same distance. Which annoys me a bit, but most are recurve or compound shooters. The bare bow shooters are mainly experienced (30+ years). Trying to setup something in my garden to shoot short distances. However, what would you say is a decent grouping? Like a 10 cm circle or does it change at different distances?
Personally I'm happy if I hit the area corresponding to the kill zone of a medium size animal (behind fore leg junction, heart and lungs location). Used to this from 3D targets, but if I get this kind of group on a 2D flat target I'm happy with it. . If the group is smaller then it's super cool, if not but still in the kill zone I am also very happy. I never measure the distance between arrows like them Olympics style shooters, I shoot only traditional bows. That's also something you have to keep in mind, a fine group is way more difficult to score with traditional equipment than it is for a modern bow with all the fancy stuff hanging from these. Plenty of guys capable of scoring super tight groups using modern bows on a set distance. And as soon as they don't know the exact range, or have to change a bit their stance, or switch to a traditional bow they can't shoot a damn thing at 10 yards.
@@KroM234 @Armin Hirmer Thanks for both your input. My idea now is to make it as follows: 0m to 5m: 7,5 cm 5m to 10m: 10 cm 10m to 15m: 12,5 cm 15m to 20m: 15 cm Since my garden isn’t any longer I’ll stop there. And it’s only for practice/training purpose anyway. Since I’ve never hunted or shot 3D targets, I don’t know what approximate size the “kill zone” would be. And since I’m making my own target I need something to start with.
@@Jonsoh811 Ok, well I used the distance increments to "re-learn" shooting after switching to thumb release. Worked great for me, I used 2m increments. If you do instinctive shooting, you'll have better groups on 3D targets than 2D flat ones. I struggle a lot to have groups under 12ish cm diameter on 2Ds while shooting same distance on a 3D will often result in crazy tight groups (sometimes arrows touching or nearly touching). 3D targets doesn't necessarly involve a fake animal or something. Just something with enough shape and 3D aspect that your eye can catch upon it better, and perceive the distance, and then aim towards something smaller upon it.
@@сергейЛавров-у9э Agree, but my point is that accuracy is relative to what bow you shoot and what type of target. You cannot expect the same groups depending on which setting and which bow you consider.
Thanks Armin, i couldnt wait to get my bow and try this. I haven't shot an arrow for months with whats been happening in the world and suffering a bad shoulder and neck. I've lost the skill i learnt before. Would using mixed arrow weights have the same effect ? I have several sets of arrows at different grain and find it takes practice to conform to shooting one grain weight to another. Say, if shooting 3 different grain arrows in a set of 10 as an example, all mixed up, would one automatically adjust to the aim without thinking after much practice ?
Excellent video - thank you. Question: I see you were using both sides of bow. Med. draw and thumb draw. Do you find at greater distance the Med. is more accurate?
good question. I always "think" so, as I stared way earlier with 3 finger draw and "think" I would be more accurate. But no :) its the same and just a matter of practice