# newbie archery



## tpcowfish (Aug 11, 2008)

Read all ya can from nuts and bolts on here


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## smgbad (Apr 30, 2012)

I'm with ya, man. Just took up archery last week. Best of luck to you


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## da white shoe (Mar 10, 2009)

Most of the people who start out shooting a bow without any instruction, learn to shoot the wrong way... right from the start. How hard could it be? It looks easy enough... pull the string back, aim and release the string. They quickly find out that it is very hard to be consistant. To add to that problem, they usually start out with equipment that doesn't fit them properly and they end up just adapting their form to an ill-fitting bow. Still... they have fun shooting it!

ANY way you shoot a bow is FUN! I'm here to tell you though... shooting a bow accurately is MORE fun! A lot more! To be accurate, you must be consistant. To be consistant, you have to remove as much of the "human element" as you can. 
Think of it this way... if you had a deer rifle at the range, bench rested over sandbags and you were trying to hit a 3" spot at 300 yards, my guess is you would seldom, *if ever *hit it unless the shot took you by surprise. The minute you try to control the trigger on that rifle, that 3" spot is going to be pretty safe. Bows are different, in that we can't bench them down to shoot. We have to physically hold the weight of the bowstring back at full draw, yet, at the same time we have to find a way for the bow to launch the arrow while introducing the least amount of influence on that shot with our muscles and minds. Your mind is always going to be faster than your reflexes. Trying to time the release to the moment the sight pin is crossing the target does work... to some extent, but it has many, many failings and weak spots. The best way to eliminate human error when shooting a bow is by using correct form, a back tension shot and a surprise release. Here is some stuff you need to know....

.....................................................THE GRIP............................................................................
Before drawing the bow, position your hand on the grip and start pulling with your release hand to put pressure on the string. You are trying to find the exact spot for your bow hand to be in on the grip. You want to feel all of the pressure from the bow at one point on your bow hand when you're at full draw. Pretend there is a steel rod running parallel and exactly between the two bones in your forearm. Where that rod would exit your palm is where this point is. If you find this spot, it will help keep you from torquing the bow handle. Your hand needs to be touching the grip in the exact same spot... every shot. A vertical, thin handle is much better to have than a fat, round one. You may want to just take the grip off your bow and wrap the handle section with tennis racket tape. I have done this with bows that had a rounded grip and it makes a huge difference! Also, if you will rotate the bottom of your bow hand away from the bow a few degrees for your grip, you will clear a path for the bowstring and negate torque at the same time. Learn to find your grip before you draw the bow on every shot, but once you start your draw, do not move your bow hand AT ALL.

..........................................MUSCLE RELAXATION................................................................................
At full draw, your release hand as well as your bow hand, should be completely relaxed. You don't want to be grasping or squeezing the barrel of the release or the grip of your bow handle. Also, do not force either of your hands open. Your fingers should be hanging limp and relaxed. I lightly touch my first finger and my thumb together around the bow handle, but some people use a wrist sling. Use the bones in your arms and the muscles in your back to hold as much of the weight of the bow at full draw as you can. Relax every muscle in your arms that you don't need to use to stay at full draw. That goes for the muscles in your shoulders, torso and legs, too. Remember; tension in your muscles is what causes your sights to wobble and jump around. If you can learn to relax everything that isn't needed to hold at full draw, your sight pins will barely even move. It is very important that your bow is set at the correct draw length. If it is too long, you will have a very hard time relaxing fully.

.....................................................STANCE & ANCHOR........................................................................
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, equal weight on both feet, slightly facing the target. A line drawn straight from the target to you should have the big toe of your forward foot just touching this line... and the heel of your rearward foot just touching that same line. At full draw, stand with your head held straight up... don't lean with your torso or tip your head to the side or forward. Your draw length is very important! If you have to draw the bow too far back, it will throw everything else you do off. The string should just touch the tip of your nose, with the nock directly under your eye. For an index-finger triggered release, anchor with your thumb under your lower jaw and the V created by the junction of your thumb and trigger finger locked behind the L shaped part of the back of your jawbone.

......................................................BACK TENSION...........................................................................................
If you're using an index-finger triggered release, adjust your release so that the 2nd pad back from the tip of your finger is curled over the trigger. Don't use the tip of your finger. It is too sensitive and easy to move. Put as much pressure on the trigger as you can without making it fire and then squeeze just your back muscles until it goes off. Do not move your trigger finger at all. Your entire arm becomes the "trigger finger". That's why it's important to keep the release free-floating from your wrist to the string. The trigger is set off by flexing or squeezing the muscles of your back so that your shoulder blades are trying to touch, not by moving your finger. To find the right muscles to use, have someone stand facing you while you pretend to hold a bow at full draw. Have them grasp your elbows and try to force you to give them a hug while you resist, all the while keeping your arms relaxed. The back muscles you feel resisting are the ones you need to flex to make the release fire. 

.......................................AIMING & SHOOTING USING A SURPRISE RELEASE.............................................................
Reach full draw with perfect T form... meaning that your upper body forms a T shape with your shoulders and arms. Next, line up your bubble level... your bow needs to be perfectly vertical... pick the right pin and center it all in the peep. Then, move your whole upper body to get on target. You don't want to just move your arm up and down or side to side. That introduces torque in your grip and throws the arrow to the sides when you shoot. At full draw, your upper body and arms should at all times form a perfect T shape. When everything is lined up, start consciously relaxing muscles. Hold the bow back with your back muscles. Start with relaxing your hands and work your way up your arms and through the shoulders. When you've shot this way enough, you won't have to even think about this step. Then go into aiming mode. Your full concentration switches to the spot and only the spot. The pin is blurry and it will still seem to float around the spot, but you need to forget about the pin. You will naturally try to keep it on the spot without even thinking about it. You should be focusing on the spot and nothing else. Keep your concentration while slowly squeezing through the shot, making sure to follow through after the release. The first few times the bow goes off, it will scare the heck out of you. Keep at it! You will get used to it and it's important to never be able to anticipate the shot. Focus... concentrate on the spot you want to hit and just squeeze through until the shot breaks.

...............................................THE FOLLOW THROUGH................................................................................
When you "follow through" after the bow goes off, keep your T form until you hear the arrow hit, do not drop your bow arm or move your head, stay relaxed and let the bow go where it wants to with out grabbing it. If the top of the bow is trying to fall to the side or back toward you at the shot, you may need to add some weight to your bow to offset this. This is where a stabilizer comes into play. It will force the bow to act the same way on every shot. Good follow through takes a lot of practice. 

It's tempting to just go right out and try all of this on a target at 20 yards, but DON'T DO IT! When you start trying all of this for the first time, it is very important, and it will speed up the learning process... if you completely eliminate the aiming part of shooting the bow. Work on relaxation and a surprise release before you ever have to worry about aiming. You need to ingrain the feel of the shot process so that it becomes automatic... as in the term, "muscle memory." You do this with your eyes closed at first. Your target needs to be at the same height as your arrow. I hang my target from a rafter and stand close, so that the tip of my arrow is about 3 1/2 feet away from the target at full draw. After you reach full draw and have lined everything up, close your eyes, relax and think through every step of the shot. After that is comfortable, use a target with a spot, but start close... 5 yards or so. Work your way out to 20 yards over the coarse of a couple weeks, at least.

In my first years with a compound bow, I felt that I needed to "shoot the bow." Instead, I came to the conclusion that I needed to let the bow shoot itself! To just stay out of the way and allow the arrow to leave the bow with no outside influences working against it... namely me! After all, if my bow was being shot out of a shooting machine... the arrows would all be going in the same hole! Just that little bit of attitude adjustment, that little change in my approach to shooting, was all that it took to get my mind right. You will be much more accurate and have a lot more fun shooting this way! I guarantee it! Shooting in this way is truly amazing! It defies logic, really, and at some point while learning this method, you will know you are doing it right because your arrows will keep going dead center of the bull's-eye... even when you know the pin was not on the spot at the time your bow went off! 

I hope this will all help in some way... remember to keep it fun though, however you decide to shoot a bow!

Good luck, Zane


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## mike 66 (Jan 21, 2010)

if you want to EXCELL in the sport fast. get a coach....... they are full of information..


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## Shooter6 (Jan 5, 2012)

Da white you have pm.


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