At-a-Glance
| Pages | First published | ISBN-13 | Format(s) | rating* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 | 27 Aug 2019 | 978-1492588375 | Paperback & Kindle | 4.46 / 5 |
*Rating snapshot, May 2025
What’s Inside the Quiver
- Skill-Sharpening Drills – 40-plus exercises that break down shot timing, release execution, and arrow grouping for compound, recurve, and longbow archers alike.
- Strength & Stability Workouts – resistance band routines and bow draw circuits to build stamina without over-shooting.
- Mental Game Challenges – focus drills, mini-games, and pressure sets to keep target panic at bay and prep for competition day.
Hits 🎯
- Coach approved clarity. Step-by-step instructions plus coaching tips make every drill easy to replicate on the range.
- All bow styles covered. Recurve, compound, longbow—no one’s left out.
- Built-in progressions. Variations let you scale drills from beginner to elite without hunting down extra resources.
Near-Misses 🏹
- Photo-heavy, text-light. Visual learners win, but readers wanting deeper biomechanics theory might crave more prose.
- Gym gear suggested. A few strength drills assume access to resistance bands or free weights.
Who Will Get the Most from It?
- Club shooters who have found themselves stuck at the same classification or handicap.
- Coaches looking for fresh, structured session plans.
- Returners coming back from injury or a long lay-off and needing bite-sized rebuilds.
My Take
Halfway through reading The Archery Drill Book I noticed a rhythm in the way Steve Ruis and Mike Gerard present their drills: they start with “feel only work”, “add timing cues”, then finish with “stress tests”. That gave me an idea. I sketched a triangle in my training diary and called it the “Shot Cycle Pyramid.” The base would be pure execution drills, e.g. blank boss shooting, stacked above that a tier of timing and rhythm work, and at the top a narrow capstone of pressure drills that mimic competition nerves. The name is mine, but every brick in the pyramid comes straight from chapters of the book.
Shot Cycle Pyramid in Action
Each session begins with ten arrows at a blank boss to embed your area of focus e.g. a clean release (foundation layer). Next, shoot eight ends of “Timing Ladder” and “Rhythm Shooting,” (timing layer). Finally, six “Pressure End” arrows where a single outlier resets your score to zero (pressure layer).
This structure helps to kick the old habit of mindlessly flinging shafts down the range and forces intent into every shot.
Bottom line: the book provides you with the raw materials, but the Shot Cycle Pyramid helps to turn them into a purposeful, progression-based system. It’s not a coffee table read; If your practice diary is blank or your motivation flat-lines halfway through the outdoor season, this book hands you a month’s worth of purposeful, progression-based sessions on a plate.
Freddy Score: ★★★★☆ (4 / 5)
Ready to drill it in?
👉 Order your copy through Amazon and turn repetition into golds.
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