After several weeks away from the range, I finally got my bow back out this week.

I had no intention of scoring. I just went to get a target out at a comfortable distance, shoot some arrows and start getting back into the habit. For me, that meant 30 yards by the end of the evening. I did a few ends of arrows at 10 yards to warm up. It wasn’t to be too ambitious, just enough to start rebuilding some muscle memory and getting comfortable with the bow again.

There was something quite refreshing about taking the pressure off. I wasn’t thinking scores. Just focused on shooting and enjoying being back on the range.

Interestingly, I actually did okay. Without the pressure, I found myself noticing the basics again. My anchor point, posture and the need to relax my grip on the bow rather than squeezing it. Small things that can easily get lost when I’m too focused on the result.

It was a good reminder that sometimes the best way to improve is to stop worrying about improving.

The aim of the evening wasn’t to shoot a great score. It was simply to shoot.

Thirty yards, a target, a bow and a few hours to switch off.

Featured image generated using AI.