Practice is the key to perfection: Practice every chance you get, even if you only have a few minutes, but don’t just fling a few arrows - make every shot count. When practicing, if you feel like you are not shooting well, stop!   For 3-D competition - always practice on 3-D targets. Imagination is the key to good practice. Get yourself several 3-D targets and practice shooting as if every arrow was aimed at a monster Whitetail - pretend the 3-D target is the next world record rack. Practice shooting as if you were in a tournament - shoot one arrow at a time and make the situation as real as you possibly can. Use a regular target butt and include dot shooting in your practice, so you know exactly where you are hitting. An inexpensive way to shoot 3-D is to buy 3-D target pictures and attach them to your everyday regular target. Once you can afford to shoot the actually 3-D these targets are great.

Yardage: Being able to properly judge yardage is about 60% of your score in a tournament, and about 80% of the shot in bow hunting. Practice yardage estimation as much or more as your shooting. When practicing yardage, use a range finder and leave you bow in the house - you’re not practicing your shooting, you’re practicing your yardage - focus on one thing at a time, and when possible practice estimating yardage on the type of terrain that you will be competing or hunting on. Yardage is where it’s at. If you want to be a great 3-D shooter or bow hunter, I can’t begin to tell you the importance of good yardage estimation. There is not a day that goes by that I am not judging yardage - weather it’s a 3-D target, a stop sign, or a light pole in a parking lot. Turn it into a game and have fun. When shooting or practicing, use trees, clumps of grass, logs, or a bright leaf to find a half way mark. Once you are comfortable on half way, decide how many yards is half way. Now double it to get your total. Get a pair of good rangefinders to practice with and by all means use them while bow hunting.

Equipment: In most cases, maintaining your equipment is a very big thing that many people over look. No matter how you set-up the bow and its accessories, having confidence in your equipment is the key to success. Shooting your bow over and over again in practice and competition will help build your confidence.  When you are confident that your equipment has everything tight and aligned properly, you have less to worry when you are shooting target and or hunting live game.

Competition: Warming up is critical! Before any competition your warm-up should include yardage estimation as well as shooting. While in competition, don’t second guess yourself or your equipment, and don’t blame mistakes on anything but yourself. Take it one shot at a time and don’t let a bad shot bother you. Trust in yourself and your equipment. Your natural skills will do the rest.

Many people ask how 3-D shooting makes you a better bow hunter. First, shooting 3-D competition will make you more accustomed to the actual size of a live animal. This will help in yardage estimation and enable you to pick a spot and make a good clean shot. After a while this becomes second nature, but shooting 3-D will speed-up the process. Being on the range with other people also gives you the opportunity to learn new tips and techniques. Competition also gives you the opportunity to test your equipment and form around others that might give you suggestions on how to address any issues you may be having with your equipment or yourself. This will give you a chance to make changes before you miss a shot when it counts the most.