Hello all:

I signed up here a little more than a year ago when I became bored with modern archery and turned to traditional archery. With no real previous experience and no local mentor I relied on this forum for answers to my questions. Some information was instantly useful and some has been applied in doses necessary to achieve the results I wanted. After 5 misses on big game last year I finally killed a little deer with my longbow and Zwickey BH.

Anyway, I continued all Spring and Summer to work through this new hobby. Probably the most enlightening and rewarding thing that I discovered was the proper anchor point for my set-up. I started split finger, went to 3-under, string-walked, etc. and the impact was never where I aimed, always requiring compensation. Again through interaction on this forum I figured out a 3-under with my middle finger set in the corner of my lip. This has resulted in a dead-on impact with all of my bow and eliminated any need to compensate point of aim for point of impact. At least on 3D animals the results are repeatable and deadly.

Another thing I realized was that even though I got a few BH's to cut paper they really weren't archery killing sharp. I have recently purchased some equipment to bring my edge up a few notches to razors.

Lastly, the actual arrows I decided on make quite a difference. I figured out the type, length, fletching, weight, etc. I also came to realize a few grains either way in overall weight or BH weight is barely noticable on 20-yard shots. I have all my arrows now within 10-grains total weight. I've been blessed with the ability to use the same arrows out of 3 different bows. Although all longbows, one is a Hill Style D, another a R/D and the last a slightly modern variant. Two are in the low 50# DW and on is squarely 45#, however the point of aim and impact with the same arrows is the same for each bow. How convenient is that?

So, thanks again for great people that took the time to share knowledge, equipment and resources. I am looking forward to a successful traditional archery year that begins next weekend. I wish a great, safe and blessed year to you all too!