HOYT BOWS TO TRY FOR 2010

I will be testing 4 models for the coming year and I am really looking forward to giving them all a go over. The models I will be trying are...

CONTENDER XT2000 with spiral Cam

CONTENDER XT3000 with spiral Cam

MAXXIS 35

CARBON MATRIX

The Maxxis and Carbon Matrix are two that I think will be very interesting, the axle to axle length is a lot shorter than I have used before but the bows overall physical weight will allow me to use a keel system but still keep the total weight under what I am currently shooting. The keel will give a shorter axle bow the feel as if it was a longer axle bow.

Will post photo's and performances of each bow when they arrive.

#1 Comm Games Squad Camp

The very first of the training camps leading up to the Comm Games was held over the 11th-13th of December. This camp "Induction Camp" was held at the AIS in Canberra and it was a great opportunity for everyone who had made the squad to come together and see exactly what is in store and expected for us but also what services will be available for us archers to take advantage of.

I am very much looking forward to working with the sports psych, nutritionist and the strength and conditioning people.

The ball is rolling

Commonwealth Games Squad

Received my invitation this week to be apart of the Commonwealth Games training squad. This is the start of the selection process for the final 3 spots available for the Comm Games. All who were invited will now attend eight 3 day camps and battle it out for the Comm Games spots.

Of course I will post results from these camps and how everything is going with my shooting.

Looking forward to getting things started.

Qualifying Ranking Event 26/11/2009

Today was just about as perfect as a day could be, over cast and about 22-24 degrees with no wind. The only down side for me today is that I did not take full advantage of the conditions. 90 and 70 mtrs were very frustrating with so many arrows just missing the 10 ring but that is the way it goes sometimes. I was very pleased with 50mtrs as it felt comfortable and it scored well and aside from dropping my first arrow in the 9 at 30mtrs I was very happy with the end result.

I shot 1404 (341, 349, 355, 359)

Tiller Tuning for a steady aim

I first heard of this method from watching some tuning video's that American archery legend "Frank Pearson" put out in the early 1990's.... what it showed was Frank with 9 paper plates all with an aiming spot in the middle but each plate was marked with a different tiller measurement... such as 1/4 top, 1/2 top, 3/4 top, 1 full top, even, 1/4 bottom, 1/2 bottom, 3/4 bottom and 1 full bottom... now what this means is that he would start with an even tiller setting and shooting at a comfortable distance (normally 50mtrs) and shoot 6 -8 arrows, aiming and hitting the plate would give him a plot of what the group looked like, he would then put up the next plate... lets say 1/4 top, then add a 1/4 turn to the top limb and shoot at the plate again for another end to get his plot.... he would continue this all the way through both top and bottom adding 1/4 turn each time until he found where it all worked best for him. (Please note that each change in tiller will result in a change in the nock point, so you need to reset nock point and peep sight after each change.)

Although the video showed and based its results on group size and consistency and not purely aiming, it did show improvement with shooting in using this method.

I use this method only to find a steadier aim, no shooting required... I just set up a small aiming spot in the house and then play with moving the tiller. I dont know why, but I have always found that the bow aims better with somewhere between 1/2 and 1 full turn on the bottom limb.

Shoot well

Qualifying Ranking Event 25/11/2009

Today had its good and frustrating moments, the wind was tricky and swapping around nearly every arrow. I was very very happy with my 70mtrs today with shooting 353 in those conditions.

I had made some little changes with nock point, wheel timing and rest position since the last QRE and even though it was hard to tell in the conditions I did feel that the overall set up was working better.

I shot 1386 (335, 353, 343, 355)

Nock Point Tuning

Compound shooting is all about accuracy and to be accurate you need to have a steady aim. 

Nock point tuning is one way you can get your bow and body to work as one by finding the best position for your d-loop to give you the steadiest result.

I start with the d-loop at square and then move it upwards 1/16" at a time until I find where the aiming is best... the thing to remember though is that each adjustment of the d-loop position will put the wheel timing out a fraction, so you need to balance those out each time.

How does it work? well, by raising or lowering the nock point, you are very slightly changing the bow grip angle which transfers to a different pressure point on your bow hand and that helps compensate for the bows physical weight or riser design.

Have fun playing

Qualifying Ranking Event 13/11/2009

Today was a little windier than on wednesday but over all not too bad. Just had to watch the shot timing more closely with the wind.... pretty happy with how it all went. 

I shot 1392 (337-349-350-356)

Qualifying Ranking Event 11/11/2009

Today was the first of a few QRE's to come, the weather was pretty good and only had to deal with a tricky breeze at 90 and 70 meters... there was no real wind at all for 50 and 30 meters.

I was pretty happy with my shooting being it was only my second day back after the AusOpen (I like to take a little break after each major tournament). I had made some changes to my equipment including a slightly shorter draw length (it felt better and comfortable), shorter arrows due to the over draw rest and shorter strings and cables.... all felt really good and I ended up shooting 1399 (338-349-353-359).

Very happy, things are getting better.

TASMANIAN INSTITUTE OF SPORT SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED

Just got home from work to find a nice big envelope from the Tasmanian Institute of Sport, I rip it open with excitement to see that they have awarded me with a scholarship for 2010. This is to help with costs, training and testing to give me the best possible chance of making the Commonwealth Games team.

This will be my 15th year on scholarship since obtaining my first scholarship back in 1993.

The T.I.S has supported me a lot over the years and without their support I doubt I would have achieved all that I have.

Looking forward to 2010

WORLD RECORDS I HAVE ACHIEVED

1994 - 70mtr - 338(old record-332)(inner ten) 

1995 - Team Event - 248(old record-243)(inner ten)

1997 - 50mtr - 339(old record-338)(inner ten)

1997 - 30mtr - 351(old record-350)(inner ten)

1997 - 30mtr - 353(old record-351)(inner ten)

1997 - Fita90 - 1348(old record-1346)(inner ten)

1997 - Final36 - 336(old record-333)(inner ten)

1998 - 90mtr - 347(broken in 2007-348)

1998 - 70mtr - 354(broken in 2001-355)

1998 - 50mtr - 349(broken in 1998-351)

1998 - 30mtr - 359(broken in 1998-360/18x)

1998 - Fita90 - 1409*(broken in 2001-1414)

*This was the first time that 1400 had been shot in the world(25th April 1998)

MY INTERNATIONAL/WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PODIUM FINISHES

SILVER - 1992 New Zealand National Target Championships

GOLD - 1992 World Field Championships (Team Event)

BRONZE - 1995 World Target Championships (Team Event)

BRONZE - 1997 US National Championships-Matchplay 

BRONZE - 1997 World Target Championships

GOLD - 2003 World Target Championships

SILVER - 2004 Turkey Grand Prix

BRONZE - 2005 World Target Championships (Team Event)

BRONZE - 2005 Bulgarian Grand Prix

SILVER - 2006 Arizona Cup

GOLD - 2006 World IFAA Championships - Hervey Bay

HIGH SCORE - 2006 Swiss Target Championships

SILVER - 2007 World Target Championships (Team Event)

BRACE HEIGHT-TO INCREASE OR NOT?

I was asked at the AusOpen as to why my bow was so loud or noisy?... well over the years I don't believe that I have really had a quiet bow due to that I only shoot with a long rod so the vibration does not all get absorbed... the long rod can only do so much, so I try and reduce more of the vibration by increasing the brace height(reducing the axle to axle length) from the factory setting. By increasing the brace height(reducing AtA) I am making sure that the limbs are working a little harder and don't have a lot of movement when at rest..... you can test this by grabing your center serving tightly and try and move it up and down, if there is a lot of movement then you may need to work on the brace height/AtA... if there is little to no movement, then it should be fine.

I normally increase the brace height by 1/8" to 1/4" from the factory setting and that does the trick. With majority of bows these days though it might be better to take the AtA length and just reduce that as the limbs are lying flatter so this means they wont be able to extend back to you to increase the brace height but you will be able to see the AtA shorten.

It is quite easy to adjust, all you need to do is shorten the length of your string and cables by 1/4" to 3/4".... what other effects does it have on the bow? you will increase the holding weight of the bow, somewhere between 2-10 pounds depending on how much you shorten the string and cables by.

So anyway, to get back to the original question... the reason my bow was a little noisy at the AusOpen was that I had not at this stage had time to play with reducing the AtA. I have this week made up a new string and cables and they are 3/4" shorter than factory length and now looking forward to having a play and not wearing ear plugs.

Me and the Australian Open Trophy

SPEED BUTTON TUNING ON THE BOW STRING-WHAT DO THEY DO?

When I first heard of this, I though... how can this work when normally adding items to your bow string will slow things down not speed them up.....anyway, I was speaking to a Hoyt Engineer at the 2006 World Field Championships and he was telling me that they had done some testing and found that placing 3 brass nocking points at either end of the string at a distance of 2" from where the string leaves the wheel, would increase the bow speed from 6-8fps.

I did some testing with this at 70 meters and found with no speed buttons and hitting the X or close to it and then adding the speed buttons that my arrows started hitting high on the 9/8 line... that is quite a bit of a pick up in speed. I dont know the exact increase in speed as I have no chrono thingy but there was a definite pick up.

So how does it work? well normally when the string in released, it travels forward past the resting position(lets say for example 4") and then the arrow is released... by adding the speed buttons it snaps the string into position quicker and reduces the forward travel(I dont know exactly how much)which gives the extra speed.

I plan on doing more testing soon with the hooter shooter to find the optimum position to get the most out of the bow.

Happy shooting

A WIN AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN 24/25-10-2009

The AusOpen (which is our National Matchplay Championships) was held over the weekend at the Diamond Valley Archery Club in Melbourne. It consisted of two parts over two days with a FITA90(36 arrows at each distance 90, 70, 50 and 30mtrs) on the first day to rank us for starting position on the second days matchplay elimination.

I was very pleased with the way day 1 panned out, 90mtrs did not score as high as I would have liked but I shot all arrows well and ended up with 333... 70mtrs was great and I felt very comfortable and relaxed and shot 354 which was the top score by 2 points for the distance. 50mtrs also went well and I shot 350 and for the final 30mtr distance I shot a perfect 360. My total FITA90 score was 1397 and this ranked me second behind Pat Coghlan(1406). The 1397 also gave me my third qualifying score for the Commonwealth Games squad.

Day 2, we were all expecting the wind to turn up and we were not disappointed... the wind came in gusts and made for some difficult shooting at times...but even though the wind made shooting that little bit harder, I managed to win my way match by match into the final against Pat Coghlan.

The final was great and I had a lot of support from fellow archers watching on... the match was shot in 4 lots of 3 arrow ends and I shot 27 to 28(Pat), 28 to 28(Pat), 28 to 26(Pat) and a perfect 30 to 28(Pat) and the final total was 113 to Pat's 110.

I was obviously very happy with the result being it was my first National Tournament for 2 years... I do still feel like I can improve on my shooting and I am looking forward to making some adjustments and hopefully shooting some big scores.

Thanks to all my sponsors for their support.

Cheers

Clint

HOYT LINE UP FOR 2010 SEASON

Hoyt has just released their new line of bows for 2010. One that really caught my eye is the "CARBON MATRIX"... WOW!!  this bow is going to make waves and could lead to bigger and better things for future bows with bringing carbon fibre into the riser development.

The bow might be shorter in axle to axle length than I normally like to use but the overall weight of the bow would mean I could use the "keel" stabilizer system to make the bow balance out as if it was longer in the axle to axle but yet have a faster set up to help out in the wind more... 

Hope to get my hands on one soon!!!

Check it out at www.hoyt.com

Physical weight of the bow and adding weight to the bow... is it good or bad?

I try and look at things in a simple way, the more you add to the bow... the more you have to hold up. For me, Compound shooting is all about how steady I can aim as I like to sit and squeeze off the shot, so I need to be able to sit there for as long as I can until the shot is shot... so the more I have to hold up, the harder it becomes with the more weight I have hanging out there. I have always only shot with a long rod... normally 34" and with no more than 3 weights on the end. Depending on which model bow I am shooting and because of the riser shape and the way the bow will tilt after the shot due to the weight distribution over the wrist it will determine how many weights I use. I find if I am shooting a reflex model bow such as the Hoyt Vantage Elite or Ultra Elite that I will only need two weights at the end of the stabilizer but if its the Hoyt Pro Elite which is a deflex shape riser I will use three weights to help the bow not kick up after the shot but kick forward and then tilt down.

I don't like using a side rod or rods to help keep the bow level as that is what the bubble is for in the scope. Sometimes I find the bow will have a natural cant (tilt to one side) feel about it... so I will just compensate by offsetting the front vertical sight bar.

The other problem these days is the let off that certain wheels have. I believe that when you start shooting with 70%, 75%, 80% or higher that the holding weight is not enough to help cope with the physical weight of the bow. I shoot with the Hoyt Spiral X Cam 1/2 which has the option or either 60% or 55% let off... the Vantage Elite is moderately heavy bow so the extra holding weight of the Spiral X Cam helps make this bow a very steady bow.

The only extra added weight option I have played with recently is what I call the "KEEL", this is a short rod (18") from the bottom limb bolt angled down so it hangs under the wheel. I find it helps out alot in the wind but at this stage is a little too heavy to hold up.... will keep building my strength to help cope with this as I think this option will be a big help in windy conditions.

All I can really say is, work out what you are wanting to achieve before you start adding weight as by adding weight just might cause you more problems with injuries than fixes.

Good shooting!!

Qualifying Ranking Event 04/10/2009

Held a QRE at Paringa Archers with the aim of gaining a second qualifying score for the Commonwealth Games squad... minimum score to make the squad is 1360 points and I need 3 scores of 1360 or better to qualify for the squad. I had already shot 1 qualifying score of 1376. The day was great weather wise, I was feeling ok with my shooting and I was trying a couple of different things with my equipment. 

1: slightly shorter draw length - I was thinking that this might help out a little more in windy conditions but it felt cramped and aiming was not as steady.

2: different positioning of the arrow rest - No real problems here, I have the blade of the rest positioned over the wrist. I had read about Jesse Broadwater of USA using this set up and his reasons for doing so... so, I thought I would give it a try. It has not made things worse, so I will keep playing with that one.

The day ended with me shooting 1385 (331-350-345-359)... happy to get my second qualifying score..... now just 1 score to go.

Australian Institute of Sport - Training

Just recently went to the AIS to give the guys some practice before they headed off to the World Target Championships.

I shot 1 x 12 arrow match against each archer and I was pretty pleased with my results.

(120 pts possible)

119 defeated Pat Coghlan 117

116 tied Brendan Wallace 116

118 defeated Rob Turner 112

115 defeated Rob Timms 114

115 defeated by Dennis Carson 116

Countries I have shot in representing Australia

1992 - New Zealand and Netherlands

1993 - New Zealand

1994 - France

1995 - Indonesia

1997 - USA, Canada

1998 - Czech. Republic

1999 - Turkey, France and Korea

2001 - Japan and China

2003 - USA

2004 - Korea, Mexico, Croatia and Turkey

2005 - USA, Spain, Bulgaria and Germany

2006 - USA, Croatia, Turkey, Switzerland and Sweden

2007 - Turkey, Korea, Italy, Germany and England

2008 - Turkey

National Championships Results

Target -

1st- '92, '93, '95, '96, '97, '00, '01, '02, '06 

2nd - '94, '04, '05

3rd - '07

Field - 

1st - '92, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98, '00, '01, '02, '04, '05

2nd - '93

3rd - '06 

5th - '07

Matchplay - 

1st - ''96, '00, '06, '09

2nd - '97, '01, '04

3rd - '02

Indoor

1st - '97, '01, '04

2nd - '06, '08

3rd - '94, '09

IFAA Field

1st - '02, '04

When was my first arrow shot?

My first arrow was shot when I was 13(1986) at Paringa Archers in Launceston-Tasmania. I completed the 6 week introductory course with a recurve bow and then went straight to shooting a compound bow after the 6 weeks.  It took a while before my shooting started going places but in 1992 I made my first National Team(World Field Championships) after winning my first Australian Championships. 

Sponors

www.wernerbeiter.com

www.trophytaker.com

Sponors

http://www.hoyt.com/

http://www.carbonexpressarrows.com/

http://www.copperjohn.com/

http://www.bcyfibers.com/

http://www.doinker.com/