A student's review of Lessons

~Archery Lessons with instructor David McDowell ~

After 70 years (yup, 70 years) shooting “bows” of one kind or another, I decided to seek out someone to give me lessons on how to do archery RIGHT. Luckily, I happened to meet David McDowell at the Daytona Archers’ Club, off Pioneer Trail in New Smyrna Beach. I’ve now finished a four week program with him and my understanding of archery technique has grown and my capability too.

David is a successful tournament-level archer with many ribbons and medals. He is also a student of the art, so his teachings are based on the most up-to-date and relevant info. His teaching approach is technically detailed, calm mannered, and individually personalized to address the outcomes you want. And, his fee, (at $35/hour) is well in line with other types of athletic instructions.

During my first lesson (ever), he first gathered info from me about what I wanted to accomplish with formal archery lessons. Then, he watched me shoot and began to suggest changes to fit my needs and correct my shortcomings; all done in a quiet and professional manner and without pressure of any kind. In fact, most of our lessons were at 10 yards!

His motto: “Learn and practice the right techniques and good shots will follow”.

I can tell that my form now is better, my draw elbow straighter, and my release improving. While I don’t aspire to anything more than shooting static target bales and 3-D animals set in the woods, being able to hit things more consistently makes the archery game more fun for me. I’m even thinking about joining the weekly bare-bow 3D shooting group at the club.

So, if you’d like to learn how to shoot a bow, or improve your current level of shooting, I would highly recommend spending time with David. And, if you’re starting from scratch, he has loner equipment for you too.

M. Schmidt 6/3