# Question about different techniques drawing back...



## JeffShrugged (Dec 7, 2012)

*Question about different techniques drawing...*

I am quite new to archery. I have had a couple lessons and have been working hard on my form. One thing I notice quite a often watching archery videos is that a lot of people point their bow way upward, and as they draw back, they bring the bow down to the horizontal plane. 

My instructor has taught me to start my shot by finding my target in the scope, and keeping my bow pointed directly at it as much as possible while I draw the string back. This has really worked for me because I find it minimizes or eliminates the time I spend locating the target when I line up the peep with the scope dot.

Is there some advantage to starting with the bow pointing upward and bringing it down to the target? Or are they doing it because it makes it easier to draw back a very high weight? The way I learned it is really working for me, but I was wondering about this. Thanks!


----------



## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

Your instructor is right. Drawing with the bow on target does two good things. One, it minimizes the amount of movement and adjustment that you need to get on the X once you begin aiming. Movement tends to de-stabilize your shot, especially for beginning archers. One of the rules of thumb is that things that are set together tend to hold together. An example is that if you come to full draw and then adjust your shoulder position, there is a greater likelyhood that the new shoulder position will not hold together during the shot. If you set the shoulder as part of your draw, it will tend to stay.

Second, drawing on target will save your scores. Everyone lets one get away every now and then. If the bow happens to be pointed at the target, you may get some points out of it. If it's pointed at the ceiling, the only thing you get is a bill for the new light fixture. 

The guys who draw way high and then come down are lazy or overbowed. They will often justify the high draw by saying that they need to do it in order to set their bow shoulder. It's a little easier to draw this way, but you'll do much better to do it like your instructor is teaching you. 

Many ranges prohibit "sky drawing" and if an archer persists in doing it, they will demand that he leave. In many situations, it really is a dangerous practice.

You seem to have a good instructor. Stick with him (or her).

Allen


----------



## mike 66 (Jan 21, 2010)

:shade: bill for a new light fixture thats funny Allen ............ good post


----------



## Geoff.Gonseth (Nov 5, 2012)

It isn't funny. Note at my range says that any damage to ceiling is mandatory $50 plus damages. Light fixture is $350.


----------



## Ray Ray (Aug 1, 2005)

At the club I shoot 3-D at, some one was drawing back while skying his bow. When his loop broke, sending an arrow thru the woods. Skying can become a dangerous situation if some thing breaks.


----------



## STORMINMOOSE (Dec 20, 2009)

There is a reason for doing this other than leverage to draw to much weight, it actually keeps you from rolling the bow arm shoulder in while drawing.


----------



## slicer (Dec 18, 2008)

The top pros use a drawing motion that starts the arms up high and as they drop them the draw is engaged....but if you watch closely the arrow comes back level. This isn't sky drawing, it's closing the chain binder in the back and setting the bow shoulder.


----------



## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

if you simply raise your draw arm's elbow as high as it will comfortably go before you start your draw, you can keep the draw fairly level and your deltoids will be used to draw the bow right away, thus setting your shoulder as you reach full draw. if you have to go beyond that to draw, you're over bowed.....the average person's deltoids are strong enough to easily lift their body weight.


----------



## oldpro888 (Dec 31, 2010)

So I will disagree respectively, you will expend To much energy pulling straight back, you eliminate your left side from the motion. I have shot on many of the best lines in the last 30 years and have never seen a good shooter draw on the target at the beginning of the cycle. It should be a push pull starting at about a 30 degree up angle. Now when a pro settles in to the peep and looks through the scope, the dot is usually close to the X, ( depending on the distance). And floats there until it goes off. I won a shoot off years ago with a dead X that went off from nerves before I even looked through the peep. I agree, that once at full draw, you should be in the spot not start out and come in, I believe the latter can cause TP


----------

