The Ten Basic Steps in Archery Shooting

 


You begin with the stance. If you are right handed (opposite for lefties) point your left index finger at the target, standing at a 90 degree angle to the target.  Place the tips of your toes against an imagined straight line that is towards the center of the target. Place your feet on both sides of the imaginary line. Next, place your feet about shoulder's width apart. Next, get yourself as relaxed as possible.



Next is finger placement on the bow string. You want to place your fingers such that you are holding the string with your index finger above the nock with your ring and middle fingers beneath the nock. Next, you hook the string between your fingers' first and second joints. Make sure you have the strings hooked deeply. The next component of your basic steps in archery is hand placement on the bow. You want to distribute the pressure of the bow along your hand's pressure line. Keep your fingers relaxed, and do not grasp the bow tightly.  Make sure that the back of your hand is making an angle of 45 degrees. The tips of you index finger and thumb can touch each other as long as it is in a relaxed way.

The next step is the extending of your bow arm. You bring your bow arm up to shoulder height. You need to keep your bow arm's elbow turned away from the string of the bow or else the bow string upon release will strike the inside of your forearm with so much force that you may never want to shot a bow again.  If the bow string begins to tweak the inside of your arm you can easily tell its time for a break.  No use in trying to be a macho man or woman.  The only thing that keeping shooting will help is to ruin your shooting form and cause your accuracy level to deteriorate and your frustration level to rise.  Now would be time for a cool drink.

After you have extended your bow arm, you will draw the bow. Along your bow arm, draw the string back in a straight horizontal line to your anchor point. You want to draw with your back muscles, so that your shoulder blades move toward each other, while keeping both of our shoulder as low as possible. Stay relaxed and make sure you are standing with a straight spine. Once you are at this stage, you need to anchor. The string needs to be touching the middle of your chin, with your index finger placed just beneath your chin. Make sure that your mouth is closed and your teeth are held together.

At this point in your basic archery shot you want to "hold." Keeping your back muscles tensed; make sure that your bow hand, elbow, and draw hand are forming a straight line with respect to each other. Still make sure that your shoulders are as low as possible.

At this point, you will take aim. You do your aiming with your dominant eye and close your other eye. Keep the string a little left of the target while keeping your sight on the target (if you are using a sight). Ensure that the bow is perpendicular to the ground, a sight mounted bubble level works wonders for this.  Now you will release the arrow. To do this you keep on pulling your shoulder blades towards each other as you relax the fingers on your draw hand. If your hand is sufficiently relaxed, it will automatically move backwards. Now, relax your bow hand entirely and let the bow drop.  If shooting with a release, slowly pull the trigger on the release. The bow should surprise you when the string is released. 

Concentrate on the front sight when aiming.  If shooting with a peep sight mounted on the string your eye will naturally center it as you are looking through the peep.  The target you are aiming at should not be in focus and the front sight should be in focus.  I know this sounds contrary to logical shooting but this will truly raise your accuracy level.  Try it and you will discover the benefits for yourself.  

And finally, you will follow through. After the arrow is flying, your draw hand should remain relaxed and be up near your ear. Keep aiming just as you were before until the arrow hits the target. By focusing on a proper follow through means that you are aiming and releasing properly. 

BULLS EYE! 

 

 

Paper Tuning your Bow

Possibly the most important thing you can do to ensure hunting success with broadheads is to keep your bow well tuned.  A bow that is not tuned will not shoot broadheads in the same place as field points. 

Tune your bow by shooting it through newspaper using field points at about 8 yards away. They should make a Straight poke through the paper with just an Y where the fletching went through. If not, your bow is out of tune. Tuning it is probably the most important thing you can do to improve your hunting success with broadheads. Broadheads will not fly anywhere near where your field points go if the bow is not tuned properly.  Check your bow to make sure that both cams tip at the exact same time when you pull back

 

To correct vertical flutter (C), move your nocking point down or your arrow rest up.  

To correct vertical flutter (D), move your nocking point up or your arrow rest down.  

To correct fletch left (E), move your arrow rest away from bow.  

To correct fletch right (F), move your arrow rest toward the sight window.  

If you don't seem to be making progress... i.e. the tear seems to be getting worse - make sure you aren't on what I call a "second harmonic."  Move your rest back past the point of where you started and try things there.  It's possible that you have moved the rest SO FAR from where it needs to be that improvement is impossible.  

After you have finished tuning your bow with field points, try a shot through the paper with a broadhead.  Sometimes you will pick up wind planing with a broadhead that you wouldn't see with a field point.  If the broadhead is giving you trouble, try shooting it in several different orientations to the vanes and see which works best for you.