Summer is here and with it the outdoor archery season. One of the biggest differences between indoor and outdoor archery, other than weather, is distance to the target.
Indoors everyone typically shoots at 18M however outdoors, depending on your age, division and category, you can shoot anywhere from 15M (Peewee) to 90M (Senior Male). As young archers get older and move up in division so do the distances they are asked to shoot. For instance, a pre-cub only needs to shoot maximum 30M in a target competition, however as a cub they need to shoot 50M. I remember trying to shoot Junior/Senior distances as a Cadet; 70 meters was a challenge. My sight was at the bottom and I was still not getting the distance I needed.
If you are struggling with a new distance you can make some equipment changes that can help such as ….
- Heavier Limbs
Increasing draw weight will give you more force and therefore greater distance.
- Move the entire sight down
Some sights, like the Cartel Mighty sight, you can move the entire T-bar lower. This allows you to lower the scope. Just remember to keep it out of the arrows flight.
- Finger tab with a Shelf
Some finger tabs, like the Cartel Midas Finger Tab, have a shelf. If you adjust the shelf to be fully extended, you can lower your anchor point.
- Spin vanes
For target archers you use synthetic feather fletchings, switching to plastic spin-wing vanes manufactured by Range-O-Matic can help a lot. Spin-wing vanes are lighter, offer less drag and are more forgiving as they help the arrows get into a tighter spin earlier.
Some times equipment changes are not an option because of cost, physical limitations and some times they only get you part way. Here are a couple of simple tricks that may help you reach those last couple of meters.
- Wear a Mouth-Guard
Using a mouth-guard (or a piece Lego between your teeth) keeps your jaw open lowering your anchor point.
- Mount your Sight Backwards
Mounting your sight backwards inside your bow, moves your sight marks lower and therefore changes the trajectory.
- Use your Limbs as a Sight
In clout, a long distance (100M to 200M) sport you use your bottom limb as the sight. This can work for target archery as well. Pick a spot near the top of your lower limb to aim with for your possible distance.
If you have any tricks or tips to help gain more distance, I encourage you to share them.
Jordan Sequillion 