[XQuest]

I've noticed several comments such as "i honestly hate hearing loud bows ! it always make me look dive & duck ! mine is'nt hunting quiet but it's not like shooting a 22 either ." So I wanted to share this with all of you.
When I first started shooting league we were shooting at a place called the "Bullet Hole" or now I believe it's Hodgens Gun Powder facility.They had a pistol range on ground floor for public and police personal which had a bullet dump down range meaning the expended bullets would be diverted down to basement to a pool of water.Here is the catch.
The archery range "you guessed it" was in the basement.In front of the gigantic water dump we had a full net (the kind you see in Vegas) then the target bales and 20yds back we had our line to shoot from.
The sound from some of these pistols was deafening at times and it really made one jumpy.I thought I wouldn't last a week but as the weeks went on and the blasts kept coming at full draw I found that I could block it out to the point that it didn't bother me.I can still do that today and the reason for this thread is to point out that this training (although not appreciated at the time) might have been directly responsible for much of my success in the past.IMHO I think a lot of archers are way to aware of what's going on around them (sounds,movements and distractions) and should apply that concentration to the shot process if possible.

This post intended for helpful info only.I have no axe to burn.

 

[rjjacob]

noise

I am sure with gun fire going of it would make you jumpy .I like my loud bow and if bothers someone else Im sorry (not) hey Im here to shoot not for peace and quite Ishoot my own game I get in my own little world when Im on the shooting line. Its me my bow and that little x im trying to hit

 

[heavy dart]

Good point.Lots of the places I shoot 3-D have skeet shooting,pistol and long gun ranges,and on any given day they are all in full use.Last year I think someone was shooting off a 50cal. Sounded like a cannon going off,but you do get used to it.
Indoors I shoot at a very active club with kids learning to shoot at one end,and guys practicing at the other.5 or 6 of us shoot league in the middle.You would have to tap me on the shoulder to get my attention

 

[JawsDad]

The trosper indoor range is right next to the H&H gun range now. While it's not like being in the range you still get some pretty interesting noises bleeding through the walls.

I think shooting is like most sports. If you can get your mental focus in line the outside distractions are not going to effect you much.

 

[TOOL]

As long as the noise is not coming from my bow, I couldn't care how loud things are. I've shot at clubs that share a gun range, and it's pretty easy to just tune it out. Of course I also have kids.:wink: :darkbeer:

 

[field14]

Yep, in four words, when it comes to noise and distractions, "GET USED TO IT"

When I was a finger/recurve shooter, one of our ranges was in the basement of a bowling alley and we also had an indoor rifle range next door to us....our league nites were at the same time as bowling leagues AND the rifle shooting practice nights.....

Can you imagine THAT when you are trying to shoot with a clicker?

EVERYONE else on the line is under the same conditions....so no ONE individual is any more special than anyone else.

field14

 

[ogles615]

One of the places that I 3-d at when I get a chance. ( haven't been this year at all) is within about a 1/4 mile of a rifle and pistol range, on a Saturday morning shoot it could make you a little jumpy as well.
I trained at martial arts for several years and it taught me to focus beyond the noise or any distraction. When I set up for a shot, I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a second or two to tune out everything around me. I exhale the breath and step forward on my left foot and draw my bow. I don't take another breath until the arrow is in the target. A lot of guys and gals probably do it this way. It's just that when I do it I am so locked in to what I am doing you would probably have to hit me with something to break my consentration. If any of you guys or gals have every thought about improving your focus, I highly recommend most any martial arts disapline. I trained at Korean Tae Kwondo which is really hard. In my book, the harder the better.

 

[heavy dart]

One of the places that I 3-d at when I get a chance. ( haven't been this year at all) is within about a 1/4 mile of a rifle and pistol range, on a Saturday morning shoot it could make you a little jumpy as well.
I trained at martial arts for several years and it taught me to focus beyond the noise or any distraction. When I set up for a shot, I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a second or two to tune out everything around me. I exhale the breath and step forward on my left foot and draw my bow. I don't take another breath until the arrow is in the target. A lot of guys and gals probably do it this way. It's just that when I do it I am so locked in to what I am doing you would probably have to hit me with something to break my consentration. If any of you guys or gals have every thought about improving your focus, I highly recommend most any martial arts disapline. I trained at Korean Tae Kwondo which is really hard. In my book, the harder the better.

Harder the better?Archery is perfect for you LOL

 

[metalarcher]

Heck… Consistent or expected background noises are relatively easy to block out… This ain't golf afterall...

It’s the trash talk and head games that are more interesting.

“Hey isn’t that loose”, or the “you seem to be shaking an awful lot tonight”… or, “you sure don’t want to screw up right now do you?”, or the guy/girl purposely moving his or her bow with the LOONG stab right next to you or “other”. Etc., etc…. when you are on the line and at full draw that is a little tough to deal with sometimes. Fun to watch… though..

 

[strcpy]

Heck, I'm not too good of a shot but even for me background noise becomes - well, background. Now, someone poking me in the back as they draw an arrow from thier quiver (my father - who wants to shoot beside me most of the time - is bad about doing that) disrupts me. But noise or even talking about me dissapears. After being poked in the back too many times to count it only really effects me if my shot goes off when he has pushed me off target, I do not even really feel it any more. It is amazing (at least to me) what a human can learn to ignore or work around.

The default is to have noise - it's really hard to get real quite and most tournaments aren't going to stop because you are having trouble concentrating. It doesn't matter where you are. So the better you can ignore that the better off you are.

To use my father for an example again, his Black Widow recurve sounds like a well tuned Banjo when he shoots it without string dampeners. Yes, - exactly like a banjo (however, with just string leeches or the spider silencers - what he prefers - it isn't even audible from a few feet away so no big deal to control). It is the same note that the Deuling Banjo's from Deliverance start with which makes it even more amusing. It is really quite amusing and distracting to shoot next too. He can use it to his advantage and I couldn't blame him if he did, though I still stomp him in score

If you are going to shoot for money or to win then you *have* to get used to distractions - period. There is no way around it. They will always be there - even in golf. All your oppenents will use that to thier advantage and are right to do so. If you are not shooting to win or money then why care? Just have fun!