Want to encourage your employees to bond while providing them with an opportunity to learn and further their career? GHA offers a shared learning experience either at your office, or at our range for an authentic archery experience. The activity could be specifically related to your employees’ jobs, or it could be something broader, like a negotiation or leadership skills workshop.

Archery is a sport of cause and effect. Your actions while at full draw effect the results on target. Come let your team learn the trials and tribulations of archery and experience the lessons learned behind a successful shot by identifying the actions necessary to hit a future goal.

Archery is fun, safe, and easy to get started with.

Come shoot with us!

So many bowhunters have target panic and don’t even realize it. I read a great write up about Stephen Hansen a few weeks ago, one of the top shooters in the world struggling with it. You can tell the by the tone in his response that it’s not new to him and he’s knows there is a long road ahead.

Bottom line is it happens to everyone and you can either choose to live with it until it gets out of control or address it immediately and try to fix it. Some can simply set up at 3 yards , close their eyes, find that slow methodical rhythm and boom all is great on the shooting line again.

Some shooters need the hinge or resistance release like the Stan Element and must do diligent programming with draw holds and walk back execution and never truly get over it when they go back to thumb button or index finger release.

Problem is, if you don’t shoot enough to beat it, it will beat you. The vast majority of novice and recreational hunters have it and have no clue it’s setting up camp and being reinforced with other underlying issues like draw length being too short, improper bow tune, less than efficient form, or instruction from random Facebook groups asking “How’s my form” 🤦🏼‍♂️

Some signs of target panic are….

– punching trigger

– pin stuck off center or bulls eye ( feels like a force field is around it)

– flinching at full draw

– collapsing

– quick shots

– over aiming

– watching pin during aim

– inability to hold groups at longer distance

When you bought your bow and the bow tech said “you simply put the pin on and squeeze the trigger” and that’s what you’re doing, it’s quite the possibility TP will manifest itself quicker than you want.

By nature of being a coach and owning an archery training center I work with a hundreds of new shooters every year. I see youth beginners and competitors as well as adult bow hunters who can’t seem to become accurate past 20-30 yards. I hear from them a few weeks before a scheduled elk hunt or mule deer trip when they can’t hold 4” groups at 60 yards.

There are a few underlying issues around the topic and archery by nature of the industry contributes to the problem. First issue is pursuit of the bow sale. It’s not just the small shop but more so the big box outdoor store. Archery season is the most glorious time to be in nature and when bow technicians are trained to only “get the sale”, we have a problem. If you are not pursuing coaching and lessons for new shooters, you’re not contributing to recruitment and retention of archers or potential bow hunters. With hunting numbers dropping , can we really turn a blind eye? We need to sell the sport first so bow hunting will follow to a new potential shooter.

We need to be setting every new shooter up for as much success as possible from the statement “I’m looking for a bow”. If you as a bow technician aren’t comfortable with the idea lessons, pursue at a minimum USA Archery level 2 certification. If you have a range, or have separate staff already coaching that’s great, just make sure your bow techs are pushing lessons for all new and old customers. Ask them how their shooting is going, quiz them on their results, ask them why they think they missed the last deer or made a bad shot. What you’re really doing and creating future business for yourself if you do things right and that’s a great thing!

Forget what the old timers say about coaching and “all the you need is pie plate accuracy and woodsman-ship” , those days are no longer acceptable. You need to be as accurate and dedicated as possible so you get a quick and ethical kill.

USA Archery Update:

On May 18 & 19th archers from all over PA will be visiting GHA to take their USA Archery Level 1 & 2 certification to teach archery. The certification is the foundation of working with future adult and youth archery athletes. We highly reccomend if you wish to open an archery shop, start coaching, or just want the necessary general knowledge to help your club and work with shooters this is a course you should absolutley take.

The certification will introduce the new and expereinced shooter to the sport while reinforcing safety, instruction, implemtation of training tools and much more. Read more about the Level 1 certification here.

Shooting Clinic Update:

We will also be hosting a shooting clinic with Coach Larry Wise on June 15 & 16.  More inforamtion available  on our certifications and clinics page.

Scholastic 3D Archery Update:

On a date yet to be determined we are looking at hosting another S3DA Basic Coaching certification as well.

Make sure you check out our FB page and follow our events listed there.

Shoot straing!

At a very young age founder and head coach Frank McDonough was part of a program called Junior Olympic Archery Development. Around 8 years old Coach Frank’s Dad drove him to the Reading Archery Club to practice with their team.  At the time JOAD teams were few and far between and traveling 35 minutes to Reading, PA to be a part of a youth archery team was very much a worth while endevour.  Coach Frank traveled as a young competitor to James Madison University, Miami University of Ohio, and Atlantic City to name a few to compete. Today JOAD competitors travel all over the country competiting with the eventual goal of possibly winning a spot of the USA Archery Junior Dream Team.

Since the first conversation between Coach Sarah and Coach Frank the idea of becoming a JOAD program was discussed. However like everything else good things take time and in August 2017 GHA finally established themselves as a Junior Olympic Archery Development program.

Whats cool about JOAD is it recognizes the archers hard work through a scoring and pin system.  The pin system is set up to reward scoring achievments of the shooters as they continue to pursue personal archery goals.

1. Archers participating in the JOAD and Adult Achievement Award Programs will not be asked to re-earn any pins they have already been awarded.

2. Archers should earn pins one at a time, in consecutive order.

3. Archers progressing through the scoring matrices should use the new scoring guidelines starting with the next pin they are working toward.

4. If an award level has more than one distance/target size, the club leader will choose what target face to have the archer positioned at based on the skill level and experience of the archer.

5. To earn an a JOAD Olympian Award the archer will be required to shoot the distance and target face that corresponds to their JOAD Class at National Events (i.e. Bowman, Cub, Cadet, Junior).

6. The Achievement Program is not based on gender.

Year after year bowhunters are frustrated because they make the switch sometime late summer and they have to move their sights. And technically moving your sight is fine but it still doesn’t fix the reason you’re moving it to begin with.  If your bow is  tuned and form is on-point, the vast majority shouldn’t have any need to move anything. 

The age old arguement fixed blade vs mechanical is always a topic of disscussion amongst the droves of bowhunters across the land but mechanical seems to be the primary go to, especially for those who can’t get those pesky (not really) fixed / cut on contact broadheads to fly.

Regardless of broadhead,  nothing replaces shot execution and accuracy but when we are under stress and anxiety at full draw we want our bows shooting as efficient as possible. Our form irregularities are amplified by an un-tuned bow. 

Here are a handful of things to consider and look for prior to shooting those broadheads mid to late summer.

1. Are your marks  on at 20 yards and 2-3″ (+/-) left or right at 30,40, or whatever you max effective range is?

2. You got some tail whip going on? Back end of he arrow seem to be traveling as it leaves the bow?  

3. Markings changing on you? Seem like your chasing the arrow with you sight?  

4. Bow seems “ok” but you hear noises coming to full draw?

5. Site picture change when looking through your peep and arrows started crawling higher or lower?  

If you answered yes to any of these by all means message GHA on FB or email us at grasshollowarchery@gmail.com if you need help. We will teach you the right way to fix these issues or address them as necessary. Shooting form evaluation included in that session.  If we can simply help you figure it out on your own we will do that as well. 

Your local bow shop should be able to fix this as well and in some cases maybe you didn’t buy a bow locally and need help that way. Come to GHA we have worked on them all.

GHA brings the target archers narrative of accuracy to the hunter’s agenda. We do not settle for pie plate accuracy, we only settle for pin point accuracy. You just have to be willing to put in the work. 

Sponsored by: 

I started shooting a bow at a young age. I’m not sure I remember the first time. Dad had a black longbow for us to shoot early on. The first lessons were just to get the bow pulled back all the way and get the arrow to hit the target. When we were older and strong enough, we graduated to an old Bear recurve. And if we were serious enough, we could save up for a compound. I shot quite a bit as a teenager. After several years off, and after I graduated college, my husband Doug and I started shooting competitively. Picking up a bow after all those years was like riding a bike. And then just recently, after probably 15 years away, I picked up the bow yet again. Love of archery is like one of those dormant viruses that creeps up every now and then. Except instead of making you feel like lying in bed all day, it makes you want to get outside with a bow in your hand! Looking back, I can see I’ve learned many valuable life lessons from archery.
The first was to take instruction patiently. Sometimes it seemed Dad would say the same thing for each shot, and yet I couldn’t execute. I could choose either to keep trying to do what he was saying, or to decide he didn’t know what he was talking about. I wasn’t always willing to take instruction and guidance from my Dad. But when it came to archery, the evidence was all around what a great teacher he was. Dad was a really good shot. But he was even better at teaching others, setting up bows, critiquing form and follow through. Most of the people he taught ended up beating him by a few points. No skin off his back. He was glad to see them develop the passion for the sport. But in order to learn, it was critical to realize that his perspective was different than mine. He could see things I couldn’t see or feel.
I also learned that consistent practice is key to success. Archery can be a very frustrating sport. Even little changes can send your arrows all over the target, or off of it completely. I learned to push through those frustrating times when I wasn’t shooting consistently. Those times often came and went, with the frustration peaking when I felt like I was doing the same thing each time, but seeing arrows all over the target. Sometimes it seemed to be equipment related, but usually it was human error. Often brain error. The key is to not take those times so seriously. Just keep going. Hours and hours of practice pay off.
Anyone who shoots a bow seriously knows that every little thing matters. Slight adjustments to the sight. The alignment of the rest. The fletching of the arrows. Where your hand anchors. The position of your bow hand. Breathing. The follow through after you release. It all matters. A lot. Making corrections to shoot better may not mean big adjustments. It may be just one little thing. And then once you have some consistency and success, you have to remember what that felt like. It’s called muscle memory. Doing the same thing over and over, arrow after arrow. Hit that same position over and over. Same muscle tension and position. It’s what allows someone who’s been away to pick up the bow and shoot a nice group right off the bat. And then when another round is not so good, we go back to those slight adjustments, and experience tells us it’s probably a minor tweak that’s needed.
Finally, archery teaches you the value of focus and concentration. In high pressure situations, in competition, in stressful and challenging times, it’s hard to stay focused. We tend to question everything, get all bugged out, mentally distracted. You’ll never be able to get those little adjustments made until you get your thoughts corrected first. You have to know that you have good coaches, have good equipment, have learned the fundamentals, and can do what you’ve practiced over and over again. It’s kind of funny, that concentration and focus isn’t on any one thing in particular. You can’t possibly think about all those little details for every shot. You just focus on concentrating. Concentrate on focusing. One or the other. Or both.
Funny thing – those lessons carry into other sports and situations, and into life in general. If you aren’t teachable or coachable, if you refuse to take instruction, how will you ever learn anything? We aren’t willing to learn if we think we’ve got all the answers. If you want to get to be good at anything, you need to practice it. To develop any craft, any skill, any sport, practice makes perfect. Well, practice makes better. Any coach will tell you he’d rather the kid with mediocre talent who’s willing to practice hard than the head case who thinks practice is a waste of his time. The details in life matter. If what you are doing has value, you need to take care of the small stuff. And you have to keep your head in the game. Archery taught me all of this, and I sure use these lessons more often than not.

Author: Marci Howell

“Shoot straight or shoot often” ~R.L.McDonough