The Archery Project

If I Were Starting My Archery Journey Over Again | FRIDAY KILL NOTES

• Zakk Plocica • Season 1 • Episode 22

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Ever wonder what experienced archers wish they'd known when they first picked up a bow? Drawing from over a decade of experience, this candid reflection offers crucial guidance for anyone entering the world of archery and bowhunting.

The journey begins with perhaps the most vital piece of advice: find a quality pro shop. Even if it means driving hours away, having professionals properly fit a bow to your specific measurements creates the foundation for everything that follows. A properly fitted bow isn't just about comfort—it's about safety, accuracy, and ultimately success in the field. The stark reality? You cannot simply pick up any bow and expect to shoot effectively. Each bow must be customized to its archer through draw length, draw weight, timing, tuning, and arrow selection.

Beyond equipment setup, understanding proper shooting technique forms the second cornerstone of archery success. Without consistent form—including anchor points, grip position, and release technique—even the most expensive equipment will yield disappointing results. The technical aspects of archery deteriorate quickly without regular practice, making year-round shooting essential for maintaining muscle memory and confidence when that crucial moment arrives.

Perhaps most revealing are the hard lessons learned from first hunting experiences. Testing broadheads before hunting season, understanding how they affect arrow flight compared to practice points, and building confidence through repetition honors both the sport and the animals pursued. The archery journey isn't about chasing the newest gear or lightest equipment—it's about mastering fundamentals and understanding your tools.

Whether you're preparing for your first season or looking to refine your approach, this episode offers practical wisdom that will save you countless hours of frustration and accelerate your progression. Join our welcoming community, avoid these common pitfalls, and discover the deeply rewarding world of archery done right.

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Zakk Plocica:

All right. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of the Archery Project. I'm your host, zach Placica, and today I've got a solo episode and we're starting it close to the season. Some of the depending on where you're at the season may be opening up in the next week or so, or some of us are about a month out and we see a lot of new people getting into the archery world and getting ready to start their bow hunting journey. And it made me do a little bit of reflecting and I kind of wanted to touch on, if I were to start my archery journey over what I would do different, Because when I first got into archery I didn't approach it quite the way I think people should and it really it quite the way I think people should and it really.

Zakk Plocica:

The learning curve was a lot steeper than it should have been for me and partially was due to my own lack of seeking out individuals, but also I just didn't know what I didn't know and there's a lot of great information out there now. My archery journey started. I was a little bit older, a little bit later in life, but it's been over about a. It's been over a decade or so now, so I just didn't start off like I wanted it to, or like I think people should. And, like I said, the learning curve was just steep and I made a lot of mistakes, and the goal with this is to hopefully shorten that learning curve for some of you guys getting into it and give you a little bit of information on maybe a better way to approach it and get involved in it.

Zakk Plocica:

And I want to start off with the first thing I did is I bought a bow secondhand which there's nothing wrong with buying a bow secondhand but I didn't know anything about archery. And if you don't know anything about archery and you buy a bow, you just assume you can shoot the bow. At least I did, and that's what I did. There was no setting the bow up for me, there was no teaching me how to shoot the bow, there was no making sure the bow was tuned, making sure I was shooting the correct arrows None of it. I just had some arrows that came with the bow and started shooting this. I didn't even adjust my peep height, none of that. I just started shooting the bow. And if you know anything about archery, it is critical that a bow is set up correctly for the individual behind that particular bow, and none of that was done for me.

Zakk Plocica:

So the number one thing I can encourage you to do is, if you're getting into it, seek out a good pro shop, your local archery shop. Take the time and find one out. Find one, even if it's not close to you. It's worth making the drive to go and find a good shop because they're going to take and get you set up correctly. You can do your research, do your due diligence, seek out the shop, look on Google, find reviews and make the trip to a shop. It's worth its weight in gold. It is going to enhance and improve your entry or your um, your experience getting into archery that much more. And it's going to take and, like I said, shorten that learning curve for you because they're going to walk you through everything.

Zakk Plocica:

And the great thing about buying from a shop. You know I get it, everybody wants to save money. Maybe you got a good deal secondhand, but the shop is going to make sure that bow is fitted for you. You're going to get these sample, try out other bows and find something that really works for you. But if you are looking at buying used or secondhand, I would do that at the shop. I would encourage you. If you find a deal and you're looking at getting into this, I would go up to the shop and have do the sale within the shop or have that shop look over that bow prior to you buying it, because we've seen a lot of issues with it. People over that bow prior to you buying it, because we've seen a lot of issues with it.

Zakk Plocica:

People buying a bow secondhand and they don't know what they're getting into and maybe the draw length doesn't go long enough, maybe it's a fixed mod or requires a cam to change draw length versus a rotating mod. So now they've got to spend all this money on a new cam or new strings. Or they're right-handed and it's a left-handed bow. We've seen that. So I would highly encourage you to, if you're getting into this, take the time and go to a shop and get set up and fitted correctly, cause there's a lot of variables and there's a lot of moving parts when it comes to archery and if you didn't know, you cannot just pick up a bow and start shooting it.

Zakk Plocica:

Well, you can, but you will not be accurate and proficient with that. The bow has got to be set up to the individual. That's draw length, that's the draw weight to make sure you can draw the bow back. And then it's got to be timed and tuned and set up and you've got to have the arrows built to that bow. So there's a lot of moving parts and you can save yourself a lot of headache by going over to a good pro shop and having somebody qualified to get you set up. It's going to make everything that much better and it's going to be make keep you safe, right, because the last thing you want is a bow that's got that you bought secondhand, that's got issues with it, right, right, whether it's a bent cam, it's cracked limbs, bad strings there's a host of things that if you don't know what you're looking for, you can end up with a dud that could potentially one just fail and you're out all that money or two potentially cause an injury if that bow, something catastrophic happens. So I would highly encourage you to you know, seek out your local pro shop.

Zakk Plocica:

Like I Um, like I said, I didn't and my learning curve was steep. I mean, I went round around and I just assumed that it's a bow. You just can't be that accurate with it, which is false. You can be extremely accurate with these compound bows. Um, you know, when I bought that bow, it was a fixed mod. I believe I had an energy elite 35, um, if I recall correctly, but it was on a fixed mod and I'm a true 28 and a half inch draw length. This bow was only 28 inches. The bow always felt kind of weird, kind of soft, kind of a spongy back wall. Well, the bow was never tuned, it was never timed.

Zakk Plocica:

Um, and when I got into it and I went to a shop and I bought arrows, like I've, I was shooting arrows, I was shooting a victory VAP, I believe, and then I had some rips in there. So a four mil, five mil, I was shooting a three, 50 spine, a 400 spine. They were all cut to different lengths. So if you know anything, if they're different spines, different lengths, overall weight's going to vary, so they're not going to be consistent. So I had all these things that I just was unaware of and just took it for what it was.

Zakk Plocica:

It's an arrow, you can shoot it through a bow, and that's not the case. The bow, the arrow, everything needs a match. It needs to be set up correctly and those arrows need to be built to the bow that you're shooting. So go talk to a professional. It is going to save you a ton of headache in the long run. Um, like I said, it was just my. My experience wasn't great.

Zakk Plocica:

And the other thing too when it goes to you, you seek out a professional in the field to help walk you through it. You're going to have an understanding of, you're going to get a better understanding of the terminology and the verbiage within the archery world, right. You're going to learn about all the different um aspects of the compound bow how it works, how it functions, the accessories, the requirements. You know what's good, what's bad and how they aid in your shooting. And you can do the research on your own. But it's an overwhelming amount of information out there with a lot of opinions, right. That can really easily overwhelm you and then just be frustrating. So it's best to go to a shop that can really walk you through it and put each of these things in your hands too, so you know exactly what you're looking at.

Zakk Plocica:

What's the difference between a whisker biscuit, a drop away rest, you know, a blade rest, all of these different things, um, and. And then whenever you decide on what you want, it's mounted correctly, it's set up correctly and you know it works well with your bow. Um, and then and like I said, there's a lot and a good pro shop is going to take and kind of dumb it down for you and simplify it for you so you have a better understanding. And then, two, with that, a good pro shop is going to teach you to shoot the bow right. So I had no idea how to properly shoot a bow. I drew the bow back, the P pipe was already set, so I would figure out how to look through it and then I would shoot the bow. I didn't realize what an anchor point was, how critical an anchor point really is.

Zakk Plocica:

Um, how to grip a bow correctly, because we all know or if you, if you've been in archery for a long time how important a proper grip on a bow is, because if you're death gripping that riser, you're inducing hand torque into that bow which changes the trajectory or the flight of that arrow. So all of these different things and a good pro shop is going to walk you through that process, beginning to end, right. They're going to let you try bows at least that's what we do at extreme outfitters. They're going to let you try these bows so you have an idea what they feel like. They're going to help you go through and pick out your accessories If you're not buying a ready to hunt package, which a ready to hunt package is a great option. So it's everything you already need.

Zakk Plocica:

And then they're going to build the bow. They're going to set it up to you. They're going to get your measurements, make sure the bow is fitted for you, get your draw length, make sure you can pull the bow back, make sure if you're a right-handed shooter, it's a right-handed bow. And then after that they're going to help you find your arrows, which, as a new bow hunter, you don't want to overspend on arrows because you're going to lose them, you're going to break them. They'll build those arrows to your bow and then the biggest takeaway is teaching you to use your bow right.

Zakk Plocica:

So most of your good shops, it's all about the service. They're going to provide a superior service for you so that you get into the archery world and stay with it, because if you get into it and it's set up wrong and you can't shoot the bow, you're not going to stick with it. Nobody wants that. We encourage you. The archery community is a very welcoming community and the more archers we have, the more this grows, the better it is for everybody. So a good pro shop is going to take you and put you on the range and show you how to shoot that bow, help you get that bow sighted in, walk you through the process of sighting that bow in.

Zakk Plocica:

But the biggest thing is is teach you the technique and the fundamentals in order to shoot that bow, and shoot that bow accurately. Because when it comes to accuracy with archery, it's all about repeatability. You have to do the same thing, the same way, over and over again in order to be accurate, and any kind of deviation or change in the way you grip the bow, where you anchor, how you anchor, how you release that shot, is going to change the trajectory or the impact of that arrow, and a good shot is going to make sure you learn those fundamentals that you can build on in order to be successful in the woods. If you decide to opt for the bow hunting side of things, it's going to really lessen that learning curve, because for me, I didn't have that and I was a mess, you know. I just really wasn't consistent and really wasn't as accurate as I could have been if I had somebody show me that process.

Zakk Plocica:

There's a lot of great resources on online, but nothing beats hands on education that can really take and show you how to stand, teach you proper posture, how to actually hold and grip that bow and index that grip, and then how to anchor correctly and look through your peep site so you're not scrunched or you're not overextended. Um, there's a lot of things that hands-on education is just going to be superior and really help expedite that that process. Um, don't get me wrong. There's, like I said, a lot of great resources online podcasts, youtube videos. We have a whole series of YouTube videos on Extreme Outfitters YouTube channel. There's a lot of great ones. You know John Dudley has the School of Knock series where he teaches you every aspect of the shot process and how to work through it. So there's a lot of great resources, but hands-on just makes it that much better and helps you really at least for me grasp the concept a lot better. So I would encourage you, utilize your pro shop. Find one sequin out, if it's, if it's far away, make the drive you're going to. It'll be worth it. Call ahead and make sure they've got time for you and make the drive and go and it'll be worth its weight in gold, I guarantee it, the other thing I would encourage.

Zakk Plocica:

So one of the hard lessons for me whenever I first got into it was when I first went out and shot my first deer. So I did not realize that when you strap a broadhead on the front of an arrow it can change the flight and the point of impact of that arrow. I was unaware, as I think most new people are. Um, it was just my own lack of knowledge, I guess you could say. And it was a hard lesson. So I took, like I said, I was shooting different arrows, different spines, different lengths, different diameters, and I had my four or five in my quiver and I had these broadheads that I had purchased and I shot my first year and it was a bad shot and I did not know, I did not understand what happened, what went wrong. I felt like I did everything right. It turns out I probably did everything wrong from my form, my technique, um, to not having a bow tuned, to not testing the broadheads that I was shooting, to not shooting the same consistent arrow. So there was a stack of variables against me and, as we all know as bow hunters, there's already a ton of variables stacked against you.

Zakk Plocica:

Bow hunting is hard, it requires effort, it requires dedication, it requires years and years of building and learning and failing and all sorts of stuff. But you can take and minimize those failures or reduce those failures by having quality equipment, equipment set up correctly for you and you know. Then it comes down ultimately to the shooter, the fundamentals and your ability, your woodsmanship skills. But you know this was a host of issues for me and I shot that deer. It was a bad shot, terrible feeling. I recovered the deer but it didn't go as I had thought it would or imagined it would have.

Zakk Plocica:

And so I always encourage everyone, whenever you're buying any new equipment, whatever it is it's new arrows, it's broadheadsheads, and you need to do your own testing right. You need to understand how that equipment works, how it performs in the field, based on not just theoretically but like actually go out and test the equipment. You know everybody says they have the best performing broadhead or they have the truest shooting broadhead. But depending on your arrow build and your arrow setup, what veins you have on the back of that shaft can determine how that arrow flies when you strap something on the front of that arrow. It's going to change the flight of that arrow, especially when you move into fixed blade broad heads or bigger broad heads. So I always encourage people now to sacrifice one of their broad heads and use it for testing so you can see the point of impact on that arrow. You need to know how that arrow flies with that, with that broadhead. I did not do that and I paid for it and it was a terrible feeling.

Zakk Plocica:

So I encourage you spend time practice with your equipment, whatever it is new stand, new sticks. You need to take it out in the woods and test it before it's game day. You need to build that confidence because when you have confidence in your equipment and your, your bow and everything you're using, it is going to make your bow hunting experience that much better. And there's, you know, being comfortable and confident in the woods is key to being successful and you owe it to the animals anyways. You need to be proficient and confident with that equipment. If you're planning on shooting an animal, I think you owe it to them. So take time, spend time behind that equipment, test out your equipment, test those broadheads, test those arrows, make sure that they are shooting and performing as they should. The other thing I encourage is you need to take that bow at least once a year and have it looked over right, have your strings inspected, make sure it's in time, make sure it's tuned. Take it to your shop at least once a year, prior to the season, a month or so out, so that you know it's still performing as it should, because we see a lot of guys who put their bow down after the season and then pick it back up right before the season, and I don't necessarily think that's the best move. You need to make sure that bow is still performing and that's where it comes to spending time behind the riser, behind the bow that you're shooting right. You need. I'm I'm big on.

Zakk Plocica:

I shoot a bow all year round. I know not everyone does and I don't expect everybody to. It is my life. I mean. Everything I do is based around archery and bow hunting and what we see is a lot of guys who, like I said, put their bow down and don't start shooting it again until the season is back.

Zakk Plocica:

And if you've ever shot a bow and you have not shot it consistently, you know there's.

Zakk Plocica:

It's very technical and when it comes to the shot process and the fundamentals.

Zakk Plocica:

They deteriorate very quickly when you do not spend time behind that riser.

Zakk Plocica:

You need to shoot the bow.

Zakk Plocica:

If you don't, your form is going to break down. I notice it and I shoot all the time. If I go a couple of weeks without shooting my bow and I come back to it and it seems like I'm missing, you know, a little left or a little right or or whatnot, you know the first thing you want to do is blame the bow and blame that it's not tuned and it turns out it's the individual behind the bow. Your technique and form has broken down. You've got to kind of redevelop that and rehome those skills. So I would encourage you to make sure, just shoot the bow. Shoot the bow more often and if you are somebody that puts it down, you need to pick it up a little bit earlier than right before the season. So again, you can rebuild those uh fundamentals and make sure, one, the bow is shooting well and, two, that you're confident in hitting where you need to.

Zakk Plocica:

Um again, a lot of variables when it comes to shooting a bow and um, it's very, very easy to, especially when you get in the heat of the moment you know adrenaline's high, that animal walks out and you don't have that muscle memory and you have not been considering consistently shooting that bow, you can really shank that shot or pull that shot and have a bad shot just because you break down in the heat of the moment. So one way to help alleviate that a little bit is being comfortable and confident with your equipment and shooting your equipment a lot. There's a lot of local things you can get involved in in the archery community in the offseason there's 3D events, there's indoor leagues, there's a lot, and there's a lot of places that offer those. I mean, we do 3D stuff January through June just to keep it fun and keep people behind the bow and keep people shooting Because, like I said, with archery it's very technical and there's a lot of technique that is required in order to shoot a bow consistently and confidently. And the more you can stay behind the riser, the better off you're going to be. So don't make the mistakes that I did. Make sure that bow is set up for you. The bow is built for you, the arrows are built for the bow. You're shooting and you're testing your equipment.

Zakk Plocica:

So moving into that or moving from that is the other focus that I see and I think most people are guilty of it, especially when you get into new things um is focusing on gear and not the basics or the fundamentals. So I've been guilty of it. Um, buying gear is fun, right? I own a bow shop. I mean I'm that's what we do, is we sell equipment? But I'll be the first to tell you that the gear does not make the shooter right.

Zakk Plocica:

You do not need to go chasing the latest and greatest to save, you know, a couple ounces on your stand, or the newest bow site or the latest arrow that's going to, you know, increase your FOC by 2%. It's, in the big scheme of things, it doesn't matter. You need to spend time behind the equipment that you've got and you need to become proficient with that. You can become very, very good with very little or minimal. You don't have to have the flagship bow For me. I'm always going to shoot a flagship bow.

Zakk Plocica:

I take the buy once, a cry once approach to pretty much everything in my life that I'm very heavily involved in or pursue or very passionate about. I have no problem spending money on my hobbies. I love it, but you don't have to. You can get into this in a mid price point bow and not break the bank and be very, very successful. We see a lot of some really fantastic hunters that do that and do that repeatedly, so don't be the guy that chases the gear.

Zakk Plocica:

You need to make sure you're spending time behind that bow. It goes back to spending time behind the riser during the off season. You know it's very easy to want to buy that new flashy thing, but it's not a requirement. You don't have to do that. Can it improve in some aspect? Of course, right, maybe it's a little bit lighter. Or you know there's a host of things A little bit better string, which is not never a bad investment in getting a good string. But you know, don't go chasing all the shiny things.

Zakk Plocica:

I, I, I encourage you when you do invest in something, invest in something that is quality, especially when it comes to the platform itself or your arrow rest um. Make sure your site has second and third axis adjustment, if you don't know what that is. That's for whenever you're shooting any kind of elevation or steep terrain so you don't miss left or right. But you don't have to spend all the money in the world in order to be good in this game. I see a lot of people talk about it.

Zakk Plocica:

I'm priced out. I'm priced out of this, I'm priced out of that. You're not priced out necessarily. Yeah, maybe you don't want to spend $2,000 on a carbon bow I get that. But you don't have to to be a bow hunter. You can spend 600, $800 on a mid price point bow. It's still be just as successful and just as capable. So do not get caught up in the flashy. Everyone's got a Matthews X or everyone's got this carbon bow. I've got to chase that. You don't. You can get into it with a quality bow or a last year's flagship bow or flagship model. That is flagship bow with all those great features. That is, the price has been cut in half. So I just encourage you find something that's going to be reliable, that's going to be quality, that's going to be good, and invest your time in shooting and being proficient with that particular platform that you've got.

Zakk Plocica:

Don't go chasing the latest and greatest. We see it all the time, especially when it comes to hunting equipment, stands, sticks, saddles, any of that. The latest and greatest, the lightest, I mean, let's be real. A couple ounces ain't going to make or break you. So get what you got. Make it work, spend the time behind it, use it, become proficient with it, uh, and you can be as deadly as anybody.

Zakk Plocica:

One of the other things that I would encourage you is have a basic understanding of the tuning process of a bow. You don't need to be able to tune the bow, but I think you should understand how the equipment works in order to diagnose any issues within the bow that you're shooting right. So maybe the back wall feels a little bit spongy, maybe you need to check your center shot because your rest was bumped, maybe you need to there's a host of things Understand your axes on your sight. You don't need to be able to make the adjustments, but if you have an understanding of how the equipment works, you can self-diagnose an issue and take it to your shop and have it fixed. I think it's great. It's knowledge that's important, and as you dive further in the rabbit hole, we see more and more people who tinker and tune their own things, which is great.

Zakk Plocica:

These new platforms really make the tuning process very easy, very easy, but understanding how these bows work is going to really make and, like I said, you don't got to be super technical about it, but just having a basic understanding is going to improve your archery journey when it comes to issues and diagnosing issues. You know you hear a rattle in the cam, you might need to tighten down your mod, and that comes back to maintenance too. When you understand the basic fundamentals of how the bow works and how to maintain the equipment one, the equipment's going to last you a lot longer and it's going to save you heartache and headache in the longterm when it comes to diagnosing issues within your bow, because things happen. There's a lot of vibration, there's a lot of moving parts on these. Things come loose, things come out of tune. We've seen it. We've seen it before A mod comes loose, the individual keeps shooting the bow, even though there's a rattle, and they shear off their mod screws and then you know it messes up the cams, it messes up cables and ultimately that's your fault for neglecting and not maintaining your equipment.

Zakk Plocica:

So going to a pro shop is going to help eliminate that, because you're going to understand how the equipment works. So make sure you maintain your equipment. You kind of learn the basics of it. And one of the other things that I've seen before too, when it comes back to maintaining equipment, is like a limb driven rest right. The launcher pad is supposed to be down on some of these when the bow is not at full draw. Well, whenever the blancher pad is always up and your arrows start flying weird, you know, you could have self-diagnosed that instead of losing arrows or losing fletchings or whatnot, by simply, you know your limb driven cable has stretched a little bit. That's something you can maintain yourself, and you don't got to make the trip all the way to the archery shop, which there's nothing wrong with it to have them once over it, but it can save you a little bit of headache and a little bit of time and a little bit of money. So I would encourage you to understand your equipment a little bit better. But yeah, that's about it.

Zakk Plocica:

Archery season's almost here. I think it's important, especially all the new shooters, that we coming in, the guys and the girls that are looking at getting to archery, which is absolutely fantastic. I think if we can introduce, or you can be introduced, into the sport in a better way than I was, you're going to have more success. Success, you're going to develop confidence faster and, uh, it's really going to lessen your learning curve. So I hope this episode was helpful. Like I said, these are just doing a little bit of reflecting and some of the experiences that I've dealt with or that I've seen internally here and uh, you know, our goal is to, you know, make your archery journey a little bit smoother, uh, and enjoyable. So, as always, I appreciate you guys following along and watching, drop some comments, give us some feedback and that's it, guys. We'll see you guys in the next episode.