Worse accuracy up close?

[IDspud]

Anyone shoot worse up close? For the last few years I've noticed that my group at 20 yards is usually the same as 30 and 40 yards. I thought it was just an old low end bow, but I just bought a Matthews V3X and am having the same thing. I've moved between 20 and 50 yards and the 20 is always the worst (relatively speaking, it's frequently the same spread as at longer distances). The bow was tuned and set up properly at a good shop.

What may cause this? I thought maybe it was because I start at 20 when cold. But even after warming up further and going back they're still bad. It doesn't really matter for hunting but it's making me scratch my head.

 

[wapitibob]

Most likely your aiming and execution.

 

[IDspud]

Most likely your aiming and execution.

Why/what would that change up close? I would think whatever errors I'm making would be amplified at further ranges.

 

[TheTone]

Maybe rushing the shot and not as focused on form up close?

 

[Samdemarais]

Why/what would that change up close? I would think whatever errors I'm making would be amplified at further ranges.

I have similar experiences. I shoot a 4 inch group at 40 and a 4 inch group at 80. If you can hold your pin on or within the dot you tend to focus too much on aiming and anticipate the shot. If the dot is I’m possible to hold on at longer range you just let the pin float and execute. Try aiming at a bigger softball size dot and just let pin float around the middle and execute your shot at 20

 

[Holocene]

I'm sometimes the same way, especially with broadheads.

Any little bit of nervousness or anticipation can grow the groups up close.

Try a Byron Ferguson trick and aim for something really, really small. When asked how he can hit a flying aspirin, he famously said something like "It's easy. The center of an aspirin is the same size as the center of an orange."

 

[Christopher.Reed]

Academically, it sounds like you are underspined and it’s taking the arrow longer than 20 yards to stabilize. I am fairly new to archery though so take that advice with a grain of salt .


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[Ucsdryder]

I have similar experiences. I shoot a 4 inch group at 40 and a 4 inch group at 80. If you can hold your pin on or within the dot you tend to focus too much on aiming and anticipate the shot. If the dot is I’m possible to hold on at longer range you just let the pin float and execute. Try aiming at a bigger softball size dot and just let pin float around the middle and execute your shot at 20

I too can shoot a 1 shot 4” group at 80…

 

[Samdemarais]

I too can shoot a 1 shot 4” group at 80…

You miss the target by 4” at 80?

 

[Ucsdryder]

You miss the target by 4” at 80?

Sometimes!


I was shooting with the league champion at the local bow club last week. I was wiping the floor with him. We were on the 20th target and I was up 5. I ripped one off into the 8 ring. Luckily he choked too. How far was that target @sndmn11 ?

Point being…anybody shooting a Copenhagen can groups on demand at 80 yards should be shooting tournaments and raking in the sponsors!

 

[LONE HUNTER]

I find that I don't take close shots seriously when I practice so I dont group very well. I also almost never practice closer than 50 that could have something to do with it.

 

[Samdemarais]

Sometimes!


I was shooting with the league champion at the local bow club last week. I was wiping the floor with him. We were on the 20th target and I was up 5. I ripped one off into the 8 ring. Luckily he choked too. How far was that target @sndmn11 ?

Point being…anybody shooting a Copenhagen can groups on demand at 80 yards should be shooting tournaments and raking in the sponsors!

Haha ya man I “can” shoot 4 “ groups at 8 I didn’t mean I do every time. Mostly just saying that I notice the same thing that on some days I seem to shoot just as good at as I do at 40

 

[WMag338]

I find that I don't take close shots seriously when I practice so I dont group very well. I also almost never practice closer than 50 that could have something to do with it.

Same. My 20 & 30 yard groups are acceptable, but not stellar. My shots get much better at 50+ yards since that where I spend most of my time practicing and take my shots seriously.

 

[feanor]

I usually attribute it to thinking 20, 30 is a chip shot and I don’t give the same attention to the shot as I would at 60. I think it’s more mental for me than anything else.

 

[5MilesBack]

Point being…anybody shooting a Copenhagen can groups on demand at 80 yards should be shooting tournaments and raking in the sponsors!

Are Copenhagen cans 4" these days? I figured they'd be 2" and cost three times as much.

I generally don't shoot groups at 20, or even shoot at 20 much at all. But I get it......at 20, I'm not missing the bullseye so I don't really even steady the pin. It's more of a fly-by and shoot.....and whatever I would have been shooting would be dead. I've always said that if anything will give me target panic, it would be constantly shooting at dime sized spots at 20 yards.

 

[Slipnslide]

I suffer from this a little as well. As my eyes get worse I allow more pin float at longer distances and just work through by process. At close range it’s much harder to try and work through the shot when I can clearly see my pin come off the mark

 

[IDspud]

Super weird. I'm mainly shooting 20 because it's all I have in my backyard range set up. But shooting terrible groups at 20 makes it hard to enjoy shooting it. I have tried aiming at a small dot, and putting the same attention to it I do with longer shots since it consists of most of my practice. Today I was shooting 4-5" groups at 20. I guess for hunting it doesn't matter but it's really annoying not knowing why I shoot so bad close up. With my first bow I did notice my arrow fish tailing when released with all the arrows I tried. I swear I'm seeing this one corkscrew when I let it go. The arrow seems straight as can be but it looks like it's spiraling.

 

[MattB]

Very likely a concentration and execution issue.

 

[5MilesBack]

Super weird. I'm mainly shooting 20 because it's all I have in my backyard range set up. But shooting terrible groups at 20 makes it hard to enjoy shooting it.

Here's something you can do. If you're shooting at a target with round bullseyes, shoot an arrow right at the edge of it at 3 o-clock, then 6 o'clock, etc, shoot the line. Shoot all the way around it and then shoot the middle. Pick spots or areas on the target face that aren't normal aiming points. Sometimes I aim at the grommets on each corner of my target faces where I have pins holding the targets up with. I'll do this type of shooting even at 60 yards. Punching foam can get pretty boring.

You can also put up a piece of electrical tape and put it up horizontal or vertical, and try to get all your arrows into the middle of the tape on one of those lines. It's a lot easier to aim and hold on a vertical or horizontal line by itself, than trying to hold on two axis' at the same time.

 

[Marble]

Why/what would that change up close? I would think whatever errors I'm making would be amplified at further ranges.

At closer range, pin movements on the target are very noticeable. Usually what happens is a combination of things, but basically since you can see your pin move more on the target, the shooter trys to hold it perfectly still and then usually ends up putting torque from their hand into the bow.



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