# Shot anticipation...



## RCR_III (Mar 19, 2011)

If you're not using a finger sling, get one. http://www.lancasterarchery.com/salesperson/result/?q=Finger+sling

Then, show yourself you can't drop the bow with it on by playing around with it all before shooting. 

Now, curl all your fingers except the index into the palm and keep them there till you see you can't drop the bow on release. 

Curling the fingers into the palm gives your hand something to do and can help with the issue you're describing. I've used that with a few archers I've worked with that are having your problem. 

I watched some still shots last night of my shot too and you can see the bow coming out of my hand and it pushes into the finger sling to be caught and keep it from falling. They work really well.


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

Not fond of the finger sling, but it works. Want to really see and feel how it works curling all fingers and shoot (up close of course). The slings (finger or bow sling) will catch the bow. Dave Cousin gave not to long ago of curling the pinky, ring and middle finger and lightly touching the index finger to the front of riser. 

Slings, they are not to be tight, not even snug, just there so you know they are there. I can slip in and out of my bow sling like it isn't there, that loose.


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

Good advice from RCR_III.

Anticipation is a failure to follow through on the shot. If you set up to follow through until the arrow has cleared the rest, nothing you can do will change the POI.

Follow through starts when you are settling into full draw. You want to develop your form & execution so that you are set up for your release execution AND to follow through. Many of us stop the shot when the explosion happens. The natural reaction to that is to anticipate the explosion. To get over this you need to carry the shot to follow through. This is more a mental thing than physical. Plan and visualize the follow through and you probably will. Work on it at short range until it's a well ingrained habit and you will follow through on every arrow.

JMHO,
Allen


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## Rick! (Aug 10, 2008)

dk_ace1 said:


> . My bow hand is closing around the grip slightly; not a jerk or deathgrip, just gently closing around it. The problem is that it's starting to do that a few fractions of a second BEFORE the release fires.


It's called snatching the bow, a common reflex of a lot of archers.



> Anyone dealt with this before? What do I do to make my bow hand stay relaxed all the way through the shot?


With a proper 45 degree grip and at least the last two fingers _lightly_ curled towards your palm, 
you prevent finger tension and remove some "players" from the snatch reflex. You also remove a bunch 
of hand tension induced torque with this style of grip but that's not the primary goal in your case.

I relax the back of my bow hand as the last action I take prior to raising the bow. 
I breathe in a manner that allows me to draw while keeping the bow hand relaxed while achieving full draw. 
A quick check to verify the hand is still relaxed and then I forget about it and execute the shot.

Find someone you trust to stand next to your bow as you shoot. Take your sling off and relax your bow hand. Have your partner catch your bow as it comes out of your hand after it recoils. Keep doing it until you understand what it feels like to be relaxed through the shot and your partner has to catch the bow every shot.

You can make a string sling with a shoestring and two 1/4" lengths of 1/4" clear tubing. Adjust the "slack" so the bow stops before falling awkwardly. Further adjustment will keep the rest from banging into the top side of the base of your thumb if you use a freakshow type rest.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

I liked the things that I have read in all of the responses in this thread and each of them could be the issue so I am going to try and give another angle to what could be the issue. 

If you are a guy that is just sitting there waiting for the release to fire then as you feel like things are going to happen you have a much more of a chance to kind of help things along and you can get the kind of issue you saw in the slow mo video. 

So 

I would suggest that you think about a more active way of executing the release where you are not just standing there waiting, there is a big difference in how a shot can feel when you make this kind of change. For example I can set my hinge a little slow and come to anchor and I can then engage my fingers and simply rotate the hinge until it clicks, then I can just stand there for a few seconds and the hinge will fire. In the years past especially when I was a entry level hinge shooter I did this kind of shooting on a regular basis and it can be very accurate and you can know when the release is going to fire even though you aren't really doing anything to fire it. 

But

Now I come to anchor and the moment that I settle into the 12 ring I then start my execution and I begin yielding to get to the click and then I continue yielding without pausing and a couple seconds later the arrow is on its way so there is a constant amount of something planned that is happening the whole time and there are no extra efforts or pressures. Just a smooth execution of the shot with the exact pressures that I allow to happen. 

So many people who shoot hinges do not have a specific firing engine that they run to rotate the hinge so they end up standing there and waiting and then when the hinge isn't firing then they add pressures or rotation to the hinge right at the moment of truth and little things happen to the float right as the shot breaks.


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## dk_ace1 (Mar 31, 2015)

RCR_III said:


> If you're not using a finger sling, get one. http://www.lancasterarchery.com/salesperson/result/?q=Finger+sling
> 
> Then, show yourself you can't drop the bow with it on by playing around with it all before shooting.
> 
> ...


I've never used a finger sling. I'll give it a try. I used a wrist sling for years, but when I bought a parallel limb bow a couple years ago I quit using them. I meant to get one, but never got around to it and after a little while decided I didn't need one because I thought I quit catching the bow years ago and that bow had very little movement at the shot. I don't really like the idea of curling my fingers into my palm, but that sounds like the best way to beat this.

To be clear, the bow is still coming out of my hand for the most part. It leaves my hand for a bit as the shot happens and then my fingers stop it. The biggest problem I see is that my fingers start to move just before the shot actually breaks. Even though I'm not grabbing the bow or really stopping it's movement, any hand movement is bad as I see it and I want to eliminate it.

Thanks, this sounds like a good plan.

D


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## dk_ace1 (Mar 31, 2015)

Padgett said:


> I liked the things that I have read in all of the responses in this thread and each of them could be the issue so I am going to try and give another angle to what could be the issue.
> 
> If you are a guy that is just sitting there waiting for the release to fire then as you feel like things are going to happen you have a much more of a chance to kind of help things along and you can get the kind of issue you saw in the slow mo video.
> 
> ...


I am consciously executing the shot on the hinge. I relax to the click once I'm close to the bull, then I pause slightly as I verify that I'm on the center, then I continue pulling as I yield with my index finger. Sometimes I get too focused on the aiming, stop pulling, and rotate the release. That's a habit I sometimes fall into that I'm trying to break. Last night, these were good shots that I noticed my bow hand issue on though. 

D


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## dk_ace1 (Mar 31, 2015)

aread said:


> Good advice from RCR_III.
> 
> Anticipation is a failure to follow through on the shot. If you set up to follow through until the arrow has cleared the rest, nothing you can do will change the POI.
> 
> ...


My follow through on my release hand is good. I didn't work up to that though, it just happens for me. I have seen the follow through you're talking through from other shooters on the bow arm, and I never do anything like that and previously saw no value in it (most of it happens long after the arrow is gone). Now, I'm thinking it may have more value than I realized. 

D


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## quickshot22 (Jul 8, 2016)

ttt


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## PLK (Feb 17, 2015)

I have seen someone teaching a junior archer to relax their death grip on the bow by placing a pen cover between the tip of their index finger and thumb. Give it a try.....


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## oldpro888 (Dec 31, 2010)

RCR_III said:


> If you're not using a finger sling, get one. http://www.lancasterarchery.com/salesperson/result/?q=Finger+sling
> 
> Then, show yourself you can't drop the bow with it on by playing around with it all before shooting.
> 
> ...


What Robert said. A few times in 30 years I have forgotten to put the sling on, my bow will explode from my hand on the ground. I haven't done it in at least 10 years, can be very expensive. My point is, the front hand can tell you volumes on if your release is free of Target panic


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Mahly (Dec 18, 2002)

This to me is a bit concerning. This doesn't sound like the typical "I know that the bow will fire inside this (X number of seconds) shot window", this sounds more like you are actively commanding the shot to fire.
For me the "surprise" shot is THE foundation for follow through. And THE most important part of follow through.
A finger sling is a great tool, but if you're commanding your shots, you will, have other follow through issues as well.

Personally, I think I would re-think my firing engine, NOT because the one you are using now is a "bad" one. But because you sound like you are commanding the shot. A little more variability inside your window would likely do you a lot of good.


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