# Form Issues?



## hoocli (Aug 17, 2012)

I'm getting back into archery after a few years out and I'm running into some issues....

I want to start practicing around 10 yards in my backyard using a recurve/target setup. The problem I'm having is 10 yards seems to close for my sight. 

If I do a proper draw and hold under my jaw (string touching my nose) the sight is literally blocked by my riser. If I lower it I'm shooting over the target. 

If I draw back so my index finger is "hooked" into the side of my mouth I can just see the sight and can nail the target.

Is this something wrong with my form or is this just simply to close.


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## mike 66 (Jan 21, 2010)

sounds like a eye problem, without a video ill guess your rt handed and left eye dom. if you rt handed try shutting you rt eye.......................................................................... this is how to tell eye dom. put both hands together and make a small hole .. then extended both arms.with both eyes open . then bring the hole to your face it will go to the dom. eye.


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

For working on things like alternate anchor points or other parts of your form, 10 yards is too far. Get up to within a couple of yards so that you don't have to think about aiming and can concentrate on your form. It's also easier if the bale is about shoulder high so you can have a relaxed stance.

If any distance is too close for your sight, there may be something wrong with your setup. A good coach could answer your questions and get you started out right. If one is not available, there are thousands of archery videos on youtube. Find some of archers who shoot the same style that you want to shoot and see how they are doing it. If you are shooting an Olympic recurve, the ArcheryTV channel has video of the best in the world. If you are shooting a more traditional recurve, search for video of Rod Jenkins. There are many other great traditional recurve target archers, but he is the one I know about.

Good luck,
Allen


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## Red Cabomba (May 3, 2012)

hoocli said:


> I want to start practicing around 10 yards in my backyard using a recurve/target setup. The problem I'm having is 10 yards seems to close for my sight.
> 
> If I do a proper draw and hold under my jaw (string touching my nose) the sight is literally blocked by my riser. If I lower it I'm shooting over the target.
> 
> ...


I'm no expert.. but it sounds to me like your riser has a relatively small sight window hence raising the sight pin for short range shots literally moves it out of view. So end up keeping the pin where it is and then compensate by "walking" your anchor higher up onto the side of your face. Some people won't see anything really wrong with that. It works. And I myself do the same thing in our backyard range whenever I sling some arrows using the short riser light poundage recurves we have. But I believe there are issues on face walking, particularly in competition...

If you're not comfortable with having to adjust your anchor.. then maybe you should get a riser with bigger window cutout. It would allow you to raise the sight enough so you could maintain the under-the-chin anchor. That is, of course, if you want to keep shooting at 10 yards...


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## hoocli (Aug 17, 2012)

Thanks guys, I'll go out tonight and give some updates. Kinda scared if I am left eye dominant and have been shooting right handed all my life. How fast I'll be able to adjust to shooting left handed.

The bow is a basic white limb wood riser bow. More or less a "club" bow I guess. I believe it is 28lbs.

I can get some pictures and put them up here tonight.


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## hoocli (Aug 17, 2012)

hoocli said:


> Thanks guys, I'll go out tonight and give some updates. Kinda scared if I am left eye dominant and have been shooting right handed all my life. How fast I'll be able to adjust to shooting left handed.
> 
> The bow is a basic white limb wood riser bow. More or less a "club" bow I guess. I believe it is 28lbs.
> 
> I can get some pictures and put them up here tonight.


















It seems that if I just place the arrow on the wooden rest I can shoot anything within 10 yards. If I use the stick on rest I bought i'm shooting to high. Problem is my bow starts to curve at the bottom and doesn't seem I could move the stick on further down. 

Any help on my form and this issue would be nice.


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## Red Cabomba (May 3, 2012)

hoocli said:


> It seems that if I just place the arrow on the wooden rest I can shoot anything within 10 yards. If I use the stick on rest I bought i'm shooting to high. Problem is my bow starts to curve at the bottom and doesn't seem I could move the stick on further down.
> 
> Any help on my form and this issue would be nice.


I really think the issue has less to do with form.. than with the bow; short riser, narrow sight window, arrow rest position, nocking point(?) 

View attachment 1451848


How long is your bow? Looks like less than 60" inches to me.. possibly even much less. If you look at compare the recurves in the following image, you will notice substantial difference in the respective sight window size from the 66" to 62" down to the 48" recurve. The rightmost (48") bow is really intended for shooters of small stature - the lesser chin-to-eye distance would allow them to still see the sight pin even at the highest setting (for short range shots). A taller person using the same short riser with narrow window would have to anchor higher up to the side of the face to get the same result. I say the riser is too short and/or the sight window too small for you.









It could well be in the way/angle the picture was taken.. but it looks like the stick-on arrow rest may be a little high. If not.. then your nocking point may be a little too low. That may well account for shooting high at 10 yards. Using the shelf points the arrow down so, of course, you start hitting... 

View attachment 1451851


Now, I suppose you'd have to decide; 
1) whether to shoot off the shelf or use the elevated arrow rest.. as well as adjust nocking point accordingly
2) to change your riser to maintain standard form/anchor
3) to stick to the bow/riser and adjust your anchor accordingly


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## Supermag1 (Jun 11, 2009)

One thing I'm surprised that no one has mentioned is to shoot the close shots with your long distance pin settings. Sights are set so that the pin intersects with the arrow's path on the way down at 20, 30, 40, etc. At closer ranges, you can use your longer range settings at close ranges to catch the arrow coming up. This practice is really common in field shooting with some of their close range stuff and some of the computer programs can even calculate this out for you.


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## hoocli (Aug 17, 2012)

The bow is marked 66" and 62" on the limbs. I haven't actually measured the bow but I'm using a 56" string on it. I also noticed last night that the nocking point may be slightly off compared to the location of the rest. 

When it comes to the rest I don't know if I can move it further down because the wood starts doing a J shape and curves into the shelf . Its not a straight 90 angle. I'm just worried the shelf will affect my accuracy at longer ranges even with feathers on.


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

Your nock point appears to be very low. The arrow should be perpendicular to the string or slightly above that. 

Move that before you do anything else.

Allen


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## mike 66 (Jan 21, 2010)

aread is right, forms not bad, left eye is closed, no issues there, fix the nock point


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## hoocli (Aug 17, 2012)

Sounds good, I'm getting a new string Tuesday so I'll have to wait until then. I don't have the tools to do it myself. I'll update this then. Thanks guys, hopefully the nocking point is the issue, because that rest can't go very much further down.


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

You probably do have what you need. Most of us use serving thread to tie in a nock point. However, dental floss works just as well and if you have some wax, sewing thread will do in a pinch. You don't need the brass nocks.

Go to the General Archery Discussion forum. Download the sticky at the top called the Nuts & Bolts of Archery. There are instructions for how to tie in a nock. There is a lot of other good information there also. It's worth having.

Allen


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## Red Cabomba (May 3, 2012)

Supermag1 said:


> One thing I'm surprised that no one has mentioned is to shoot the close shots with your long distance pin settings. Sights are set so that the pin intersects with the arrow's path on the way down at 20, 30, 40, etc. At closer ranges, you can use your longer range settings at close ranges to catch the arrow coming up. This practice is really common in field shooting with some of their close range stuff and some of the computer programs can even calculate this out for you.


That would be applicable to heavier poundage bows shooting fast arrows at flatter trajectories.. where the aim/sight line and the upward arrow path converge far enough downrange. Weaker bows have to launch arrows at steeper angle, bringing the convergence much closer, sometimes down to just a few feet in front of the bow (as in this particular case). The sight pin has already been raised to maximum (as would still be visible) but its still not enough to put the convergence at 10 yards.


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