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Archery Project
Archery Project
In the Archery project youth will:
Learn safe and responsible use of bow and arrow
Shoot with proper form
Care for bows and arrows
Score targets and shoot with a recurve bow
Prepare to compete in tournaments
Age: 9 and older (must turn 9 before December 31, 2024)
Limit: 8 archers per meeting due to space and equipment limitations
When: Sundays ~10:30-12:30pm Sept-Nov and Mar-May weather dependent.
Where: Meetings in Castro Valley near Vannoy. Target shooting at Redwood Bowmen Archery Club in Oakland.
Cost: ~$20-40 to purchase your own arrows*. + Redwood Bowmen Club has a suggested $5 donation to use their archery range per visit. You will need to pay any Tournament fees you sign up for.
Project Leaders: Megan Hornbecker and Jennifer Zaretzka
Teen Leader: Fiona
Members need to attend a Safety meeting before attending a Target practice. Contact Megan at 4hredwoodclub@gmail.com if you signed up but have not been receiving emails.
*We have arrows you can use until you purchase your own. We will help size and suggest which arrows to buy. You do not need to purchase any other equipment; we have recurve bows, quivers, arm guards and finger tabs.
Wear long sleeves to protect your arm. Bring snack, water bottle and jacket as it can get windy and cold at Redwood Bowman.
Tentative Meeting Plan:
Sep 29 Safety Meeting, instructions, target practice
Oct 6 Safety Meeting, skills and technique
Nov 3 Safety Meeting, target practice
Nov 24 Optional Turkey Shoot at Redwood Bowman - (for advanced beginner and higher, sign up on your own)
Dec 8 2:30-3:30 Make auction items in Castro Valley
Jan-Feb No meetings
Mar TBD - Weather dependent (archery is difficult in the cold, and the wet weather and range conditions can damage equipment)
Mar 16 Safety Review, archery practice
Apr 19 10:30-12:30pm Redwood Bowmen Target practice (Sat as Sun is Easter)
Apr 27 1:0-2:30pm Redwood Bowmen Target practice
May 4 10:30-12:30pm Redwood Bowmen Target practice
TBD 4-H Archery Postal Tournament
Requirements to complete Project: pass proficiency test
Help us find a local space
Do you know anyone with a large enough property that we could set up a range so all members could participate at the same time? If they meet the 4-H range layout requirements all meetings would be fully covered by 4-H insurance so no homeowner risk is involved. We have volunteers that can set up and maintain the range.
1. Improves your focus
Remaining focused during a shot is important for every archer. An archer must focus on their target, focus on their form, and ignore the distractions around them. By constantly being focused, it can help you focus and keep calm in high-pressure situations.
2. Improves your hand-eye coordination
Archery trains your hands to aim based on the feedback from your eyes. With continuous practice and repetition your coordination becomes better. The better coordination an archer has, the better the aiming.
3. Improves your upper strength
The arms, core, chest, and shoulders are all used when practicing a proper draw. Similar to lifting weights, an archer usually holds their draw for a couple seconds, which allows for tension in the muscles. Repetition of this action leads to muscle development.
4. Improves your social skills
Archery can be an individual sport or a team sport. When an archer competes in a tournament they are usually grouped together with other archers for scoring. Archers can get to know each other while they walk the course together. Teams are important in archer too. Working as a team and supporting one another is important for the success of the group.
5. Improves your confidence
Archery provides a boost of self-esteem to archers when they see their mental and physical skills improving during practice and tournaments.
Member Information
Member Information
We will be using this 4-H Archery Member Manual.
The Ten Commandments of Archery Safety
The Ten Commandments of Archery Safety
I will always treat my bow and arrows as a firearm and not point them at anything that I do not intend to kill.
I will not nock an arrow or draw a bow when a person is in front of me.
I will never release an arrow where I cannot see the entire flight of the arrow.
I will not shoot an arrow straight up.
I will not release a drawn bow without an arrow (dry fire).
I will not shoot an arrow that is too short for my draw or one that is damaged or too weak for my bow.
I will not shoot toward houses, highways, livestock, or where there are people.
I will not go forward to retrieve my arrows until all are through shooting.
When looking for an arrow beyond the target, I will set an arrow in the top of the target, or set my bow in front of the target to warn others that I am behind the target.
I will always be courteous to others, conserve wildlife, and preserve the natural beauty of my country.
11 Steps to the 10 ring
11 Steps to the 10 ring
The key to becoming an accurate archer is being consistent every time you shoot. Practice these eleven steps until you have mastered your shooting skills.
1. STANCE:
Open stance and shoulder width position, with imaginary line between heals and arm-pits.
2. NOCK ARROW:
Grab below fletching, up & over a vertical bow with index fletching toward you.
3. DRAWING HAND SET:
Hook the bowstring in the archer’s groove - 3 fingers under using a semi-shallow hook - NOT a deep hook. Do not create tension or pressure on arrow nock. Do not leave large gap between fingers and nock.
4. BOW HAND SET:
Center the bow’s grip under the lifeline of the relaxed bow hand. Bow hand knuckles should for 30 - 45 degree angle
5. PRE-DRAW:
Hinge the bow arm and drawing arm to eye level. Rotate bow arm elbow down and away. Do not begin to draw until after bow is raised. Beginning draw while bow is down will create tension on the bottom of arrow and can cause bad arrow flight.
6. DRAW:
With draw arm parallel to the ground, smoothly pull the string towards the face.
7. ANCHOR:
Index finger tip at the corner of the mouth, string on nose and thumb under jaw. (or however coach and archer determine what is most suitable for the archer's face shape and hand size)
8. AIM:
Align the string and arrow point on the target
9. SHOT SET-UP:
While the eye continues to aim, check string alignment, think about and maintain a tight anchor, active bow muscles
10. RELEASE: (Remember the String Bow)
Relax the hooked fingers and the back of the drawing hand all at once, slight rearward movement of the drawing shoulder, arm and elbow. It should feel like letting go of a heavy pail of water.
11. FOLLOW THROUGH/REFLECT: (Remember the String Bow)
The drawing hand continues rearward, under the ear and painting the face, until the thumb touches or is near the shoulder. The drawing elbow should relax and hinge downward. The bow arm remains steady and up until AFTER the arrow hits the target
Reflect - did the shot feel and look right? Where did the arrow go? If it went dead center, then rinse and repeat. If not, why was it not dead center? Did you drop your bow arm? Was your release clean? Did you come to full anchor? Did you get to your aim point?
Equipment Recommendations (only when youth is ready for the next level)
Equipment Recommendations (only when youth is ready for the next level)
Members DO NOT need to buy equipment. We have basic equipment for beginners. When youth are commited and ready to improve their skills they will need better equipment.
Go to Fat Shafts in Benicia or Archery Only in Newark to get sized for a bow and correct arrow length. They get busy on the weekends so calling first to ask what the best time to come in will be helpful.
https://www.fatshaftsarchery.com/
Their arrows are likely $7-15 each and you should get a set of 6 (they get way more expensive). Avoid yellow and green fletchings as those are harder to find in the grass (blue and orange are better than red in my opinion). They have much better quality than the amazon arrows we have.
They both have indoor ranges so you can test the equipment. The 4-H equipment we use is recurve bows with no sights. Compound bows are more accurate and have a breakpoint that takes the pressure off your fingers/arm, so once pulled into position the pulleys hold the string weight instead of your fingers holding the full draw weight. They require more maintenance as they have many more parts and we don't cover that maintenance in our Project since we only have recurves.
Let them know your price range up front. Bows are expensive!!!! They should have some good options between $125-$200, but they get expensive.
Test out different draw weights to see what feels best. Too high will tire your arm out and lead to possible injury, so you don't want to go too high. 20-25lbs is typically the ideal draw weight for youth. 30lbs can lead to injuries.
Below are the arrows we use in 4-H. $30-40 for 12. You can test out arrows at the shops above to feel the difference higher quality arrows make.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08R5KPL4J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09YY9Y1JR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
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