Tech Tip: Indoor League

[MnArch]

Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

            Every year many hours and dollars are spent to increase the odds of arrowing your favorite game species.  It seems that the latest bow or bow accessory is always a great idea to achieve the best accuracy, but really, a new bow is not going to turn a below average shooter into a pro.  It would be unfair of me to say to a customer “buy this new arrow rest and your groups will shrink.”  There are many technological advancements to new equipment and I’m not here to tell you that updating your archery setup is not going to attribute to success.  What I am saying is that the best bow does not produce the best shooter.  Practicing correctly produces the best shooter.

             Backyard practice can be good, but the controlled conditions of an indoor range and record of each arrow you shoot is the best way to establish your proficiency and progress.  Get involved in your local pro shop’s or local archery club’s league.  Leagues are a wonderful way to judge the progression of each practice session.  Instead of saying “my groups looked pretty tight tonight,” you can say, “I shot five points better than last night, yes, I am improving.” Plus, you are shooting around archers that may have some valuable advice.

            Remember, a good archer is a good archer.  Leagues are designed for all archers, not just target shooters.  In fact most people involved in leagues are avid bow hunters. Check this issue of Outdoors Weekly for a list of excellent pro shops near you, or log onto www.mnarchery.org for a list of MSAA archery clubs.