A place for archery tips, honest mistakes, and lessons learned from my own archery journey.

Welcome

Hi, I’m Dan, and if you’ve found your way here, there’s a decent chance you’re somewhere near the start of your own archery journey, just like I was not so long ago.

This is the first post on the website, so before anything else, I wanted to explain what this site is, what it isn’t, and why I decided to start writing it in the first place.

Why I started this blog

When I first picked up a bow on holiday, I was hooked almost immediately. But I quickly ran into a problem: I couldn’t find a site that felt like it was written for me, someone new to the sport, shooting once a week at a club, trying to make sense of everything from equipment to etiquette to the mental side of the game.

There’s no shortage of archery content out there. Some of it is excellent. But a lot of it is either aimed at competitive archers who already know the basics inside out, or it’s selling something. What I couldn’t find was something in between, a straightforward, honest account of what it’s actually like learning this sport as a regular club archer, including the bits nobody tells you about.

So I decided to write that site myself. Support by Dan is my attempt to be the resource I wish I’d had when I started.

What this blog is

Think of this as a running diary of my own archery journey. I’ll be sharing:

• Things that have worked well for me — small habits, routines, and bits of kit that made a difference.
• Mistakes I’ve made — and there have been plenty! Hopefully, you can avoid a few of them yourself.
• Hints and tips I’ve picked up along the way, whether from other archers at my club, from reading, or from simple trial and error.

This is personal experience, written by someone who is still very much learning. I don’t see myself as a professional, and I don’t have all the answers.

What this blog isn’t

This is important, so I want to be really clear: this blog is not a substitute for proper coaching and instruction.

I won’t be going into detailed breakdowns of shooting technique, form corrections, or equipment tuning here. Archery has a lot of nuance, and getting the fundamentals right safely. You’ll benefit from having a qualified coach watching you shoot in person. Things like your stance, your draw, and how you handle your equipment are best learned face-to-face at your club, where a coach can actually see what you’re doing and correct it in real time.

There are already some excellent, well-structured coaching resources out there, written by people with far more expertise than I have, and I’d always point you to those for anything technical. I’ll link to resources when they’re relevant, rather than reinventing the wheel myself.

Who the blog is for

If you’re:

• new to archery and shooting at a local club,
• curious about the day-to-day reality of learning the sport,
• looking for tips that come from lived experience rather than a manual,

then I hope you’ll find something useful here as I share more content.

What to expect

I’ll be posting regularly about the small, practical things that make club archery more enjoyable, from settling nerves before a shoot, to keeping kit organised, to navigating your first few sessions without feeling completely lost. Nothing here will be technical or exhaustive, but I hope it will feel like a bit of friendly, encouraging company as you find your feet.

Thanks for reading and see you on the line.

Dan.

Featured image created using AI.