Greg, although I love bows and archery, because of a bad shoulder it has been a few years since I shot a bow. However, I shoot quite a bit when it comes to handguns and rifles, and although the delivery systems are obviously pretty different, there are some parallels. First, the advice to just give it a rest is spot on. I am a darn good shot with a rifle, but my pistol shooting flucuates from being downright impressive to downright sad. When I go out, I work on fundamentals, and if it doesn't happen in the first 20 shots or so, I put them down. Frustration is severely detrimental to marksmanship, be it bow, rifle or atlatl. The second thing I do is that I purposely work on things that I know I am bad at. Because I go into it expecting only incremental improvement, my frustration levels stay very low, and my skill levels build, albeit slowly. A year ago, I couldn't hit a paper plate at 50 yards with my handgun with anything approaching frequency or accuracy. Now, I know that I can do it moderately well. Third, and I mentioned it above, I focus on the fundamentals. Whenever I take shots, I have a little checklist I go over in my head. Before I pull the trigger, I know that I am setting myself up for a succesful shot, and when I don't succeed, I have a basis for examination on what went wrong. I should think that prinicipal would be the same with a bow as it is with a firearm. At a certain point, things become easier. As I mentioned, I am a good shot with a rifle, and thats the result of thousands upon thousands of shots with everything from a .22 on up. I don't mean to imply that I am some Olympic champion shot, but I will say that good marksmanship comes easy to me with a rifle now. Again, this translates to the bow because marksmanship is as much about repetition as it is about technique. I have seen guys with fairly bad technique shoot like you wouldn't believe because they shoot a ton. I am obviously not trying to advocate poor technique, but the old saw practice makes perfect is never more applicable than when it comes to marksmanship. I know this isn't exactly primitive, but it seems to me that the methods behind building the skills are pretty much the same. Also, and this is key, remember to have fun. It's silly to say it, but if your not having a good time shooting your bow, whats the point? It sounds so new-agey to say this, but if your having fun, your probably in a positive state of mind, and if you have that, even a "bad" day of shooting your bow will be useful.
