Traditional Shooting Form

[Jtaylor]

The first shot of the day is the only one that matters if you're practicing for hunting. If you can walk to your target fresh each day and hit the target where you're aiming you're ready to hunt! I've been guilty of shooting way too many arrows, losing focus, getting fatigued, etc.

 

[gcr0003]

If you were playing with different amounts of cant, That will change your arrow flight.

Not yet, yesterday was straight up and down. I was playing with anchor points and where my left eye was.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

The first shot of the day is the only one that matters if you're practicing for hunting. If you can walk to your target fresh each day and hit the target where you're aiming you're ready to hunt! I've been guilty of shooting way too many arrows, losing focus, getting fatigued, etc.

Absolutely!

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Not yet, yesterday was straight up and down. I was playing with anchor points and where my left eye was.

IMO, canting the bow is better suited to shooting from the ground.
When hunting from a tree, canting is often problematic with clearance of bow limbs on the tree trunk.
If you can shoot well with a vertical bow, I would advise working on that as your personal form.

 

[tmattson]

What is the primary cause of the string hitting the nose? last year I always had to aim a little bit right of my intended point of impact, using tip of arrow (point on). Shoot 68 inch one piece long bow, tab and three under. This thread got me thinking, time to start working on that.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

What is the primary cause of the string hitting the nose? last year I always had to aim a little bit right of my intended point of impact, using tip of arrow (point on). Shoot 68 inch one piece long bow, tab and three under. This thread got me thinking, time to start working on that.

I occasionally experience the string hitting my nose upon release. I never quite figured out exactly why, but I suspect it could be a combination of things. Torquing the bow handle, turning your head to meet the anchor (you shouldn't change your head position as you anchor), and/or collapsing upon release.
OR (in my case) a big nose!

 

[gcr0003]

I’m wondering if the shelf has something to with it because I was shooting darts with my RH bow bareshaft the other day, but it has a different string, length, and shelf. I was hoping to use the same arrows with both bows.

 

[gcr0003]

Canting the bow just barely to get my eye over the arrow is working wonders in combination with pulling my hand away as is it rotates about my shoulder naturally. Maybe it was just luck but I’m hitting some major bulls eyes. Thanks for the tips.

 

[swampsnyper]

I occasionally experience the string hitting my nose upon release. I never quite figured out exactly why, but I suspect it could be a combination of things. Torquing the bow handle, turning your head to meet the anchor (you shouldn't change your head position as you anchor), and/or collapsing upon release.
OR (in my case) a big nose!

I hit my nose sometimes also. I think you nailed it. Torquing the bow or the bow string.

 

[gcr0003]

Something is off on my release occasionally it’s causing the bow to turn in my hand and thus string slapping my arm. It seems like when I opened my fingers quicker it shot straighter and didn’t slap my arm.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Something is off on my release occasionally it’s causing the bow to turn in my hand and thus string slapping my arm. It seems like when I opened my fingers quicker it shot straighter and didn’t slap my arm.

Sounds like you are torquing the handle.


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[gcr0003]

Sounds like you are torquing the handle.


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You would think but I think it’s the release. The bow is just pressing against my palm, I almost drop it when I let it go.

 

[swampsnyper]

You would think but I think it’s the release. The bow is just pressing against my palm, I almost drop it when I let it go.

Try gripping the handle. I don’t use a loose grip with my Tradbow. It’s not smooth like a compound or has a wrist strap, so I hold it the same throughout the shot. No need to try and grab it as I release. That just causes problems.

 

[gcr0003]

Try gripping the handle. I don’t use a loose grip with my Tradbow. It’s not smooth like a compound or has a wrist strap, so I hold it the same throughout the shot. No need to try and grab it as I release. That just causes problems.

I’m up for trying anything as I try to develop my own style and form that’ll produce consistently for me.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Try gripping the handle. I don’t use a loose grip with my Tradbow. It’s not smooth like a compound or has a wrist strap, so I hold it the same throughout the shot. No need to try and grab it as I release. That just causes problems.

Yes, a very light grip on the handle.

And yeah, a shooter can still be torquing the handle even with an open hand and a sling.

Also...collapsing upon release can essentially cause torquing.
Follow-through is extremely important to accuracy.


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[gcr0003]

Yes, a very light grip on the handle.

And yeah, a shooter can still be torquing the handle even with an open hand and a sling.

Also...collapsing upon release can essentially cause torquing.
Follow-through is extremely important to accuracy.


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What is considered collapsing? Maybe you’re right, maybe I’m still torquing the bow. I’m gonna keep working on it. I think some of y’all said in another thread that you keep your arm completely straight. If I do this I think I get a straighter release, but then I’m hitting my arm for another reason. I’m really not wanting to have to wear a arm bracelet to protect my frail skin. My arm is currently bruised haha.

 

[BTaylor]

Something else that helps me a lot with a stickbow and compound is to not shoot store bought targets. Get a piece of cardboard and draw a circle about the size of a quarter on it or smaller. a tiny aim point forces you to concentrate on a tiny spot you want to hit. If I shoot at a 3" dot my groups will be the size of a softball but if I shoot at a dime size target my groups get real tight.

For now though while you are working on form dont worry at all about shooting bullseyes or at a dot, just blank piece of cardboard will work fine for form development. You will for sure know when a shot breaks clean on a well executed shot. Work on duplicating that until you start doing it consistently, then move to a target. The other thing I have to do a lot of the time when I have had much of a layoff is limit the number of shots for a day and stick to it. For me it may be a dozen. That makes me slow down and focus on executing a clean shot.

 

[gcr0003]

Something else that helps me a lot with a stickbow and compound is to not shoot store bought targets. Get a piece of cardboard and draw a circle about the size of a quarter on it or smaller. a tiny aim point forces you to concentrate on a tiny spot you want to hit. If I shoot at a 3" dot my groups will be the size of a softball but if I shoot at a dime size target my groups get real tight.

For now though while you are working on form dont worry at all about shooting bullseyes or at a dot, just blank piece of cardboard will work fine for form development. You will for sure know when a shot breaks clean on a well executed shot. Work on duplicating that until you start doing it consistently, then move to a target. The other thing I have to do a lot of the time when I have had much of a layoff is limit the number of shots for a day and stick to it. For me it may be a dozen. That makes me slow down and focus on executing a clean shot.

All good tips. I think we all struggle with not over shooting. Idk if it’s the desire to get it right or because shooting is just so fun but I can’t hardly lay the bow down. That’s bad for picking and forming bad habits I know.

 

[bowhunter15]

To me, it looks like you're not hitting full expansion and likely not getting into your back as good as you could be. I notice that you're starting your draw by sticking your arm out at the target and pulling straight back. When you do that, your spine has no choice but to contort a little, pulling your head closer to the target. Your head comes into a little better alignment by the time you hit anchor, but it still looks like you're selling yourself a little short. If you get your head in alignment with your spine in that plane, itll allow your draw to be more consistent, increase your draw length, and allow you to more easily get good tension in your back.

It's a little tough to tell with the shirt, but your bow arm shoulder might be getting pushed up and into the socket a little. If that's the case, it could be shortening draw length and create pain issues down the road. Keeping the bow arm shoulder low and forward will be a solid position, and keeping the elbow bump rotated outward will help create bone-on-bone alignment for stability.

Regarding anchor, I definitively think you could come back a little further. When I did a session with Arne Moe, he had me focus on expanding until I was in the correct alignment, and then finding anchor points that match that position. In general, with higher anchors like we use for bowhunting or barebow shooting, it can be tough to get great back tension, so it could take some experimenting. Lots of guys sacrifice some alignment in order to get the arrow closer to their eye. Others will crawl down the string with a lower anchor, which also gets the arrow closer to their eye.

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[gcr0003]

To me, it looks like you're not hitting full expansion and likely not getting into your back as good as you could be. I notice that you're starting your draw by sticking your arm out at the target and pulling straight back. When you do that, your spine has no choice but to contort a little, pulling your head closer to the target. Your head comes into a little better alignment by the time you hit anchor, but it still looks like you're selling yourself a little short. If you get your head in alignment with your spine in that plane, itll allow your draw to be more consistent, increase your draw length, and allow you to more easily get good tension in your back.

It's a little tough to tell with the shirt, but your bow arm shoulder might be getting pushed up and into the socket a little. If that's the case, it could be shortening draw length and create pain issues down the road. Keeping the bow arm shoulder low and forward will be a solid position, and keeping the elbow bump rotated outward will help create bone-on-bone alignment for stability.

Regarding anchor, I definitively think you could come back a little further. When I did a session with Arne Moe, he had me focus on expanding until I was in the correct alignment, and then finding anchor points that match that position. In general, with higher anchors like we use for bowhunting or barebow shooting, it can be tough to get great back tension, so it could take some experimenting. Lots of guys sacrifice some alignment in order to get the arrow closer to their eye. Others will crawl down the string with a lower anchor, which also gets the arrow closer to their eye.

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Wow, lots to unpack there! Thanks for taking the time to give an in depth assessment. I am shooting an older bow and I worry about drawing back too much more; however, I do feel like my release arm/elbow is pushed more outward because of my short draw. The other thing is I’m feeling a lot of stack in this 45# bow past 29”. So maybe I need to get another bow that’s not limiting me in those areas? The couple draw length tests I’ve done put me at 30-31” but my bow draw never quite reaches that because of the reasons I stated above and likely due to the reasons you stated.

How would you recommend drawing back? Do you pull the release arm and push bow arm equally instead of extending the bow arm followed by only pulling the string?

Maybe I’m leaning my head forward in an attempt to touch my nose to the string like I do with the compound.

I’ve noticed the shoulder thing before but I never thought it could cause pain or issues. I’ll try out your recommendation to mitigate it pushing back into my shoulder.

I took this at the same time as the previous shots
Trad Shooting, Back View, No Shirt - For Science