# Complete FNG to archery, but want to learn!



## da white shoe (Mar 10, 2009)

The first thing I would be concerned with is... which of my eyes is dominant. A lefty with a dominant right eye, should be shooting right handed and vica versa.

To find your doninant eye, point at a small object with your finger... put your finger right on the object... with both eyes open. Now, close your left eye. If your finger is still on the object... you are right eye dominant and should be shooting a right-handed bow.
A decent pro shop should be able to determine the soundness of your bow.
That old of a bow will be a deterant to your accuracy, but it will work for a start.
Start off with the correct form and you'll be way ahead of the game.

Most compound shooters use a sight, peep, arrow rest and a release. Maybe a stabilizer and quiver also. You'll need the right arrows for your setup too. There are charts to determine what's right for your bow, but a good pro shop will find the right arrows for you. They should be able to make sure your draw length is right too.

You do not need to have an expensive bow and arrows, sight, rest, ect.... to have fun! Unfortunately, it is very easy to learn to shoot the WRONG way! Shooting a bow the wrong way is fun too, just not nearly AS fun! And it will someday lead to frustration and disappointment. It is a lot harder to re-learn how to shoot a bow than it is to just learn it correctly from the beginning. Believe me! This is some of the things that I would've loved to have known when I was just starting out... learn to shoot a bow this way, even with inexpensive equipment, and you'll be shooting better than most of the guys with the top of the line stuff! So, here you go....

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. To reduce torque, 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. 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.

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.

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. The best way to eliminate human error when shooting a bow is by using correct form, a back tension shot and a surprise release.

1. Form... Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, 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 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.

2. Back tension... 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. 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. 

3. 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.

4. 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. This is where a stabilizer comes into play. It will force the bow into falling the same way every time. 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. 

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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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

Most compound bows that age have long been retired. However, since yours hasn't been shot much, it may still be shootable. Take it to a competent shop and get it thoroughly checked out. At the minimum, you will need new strings and cables. That will likely cost much more than the bow is worth.

If you want to get into archery cheaply, a top of the line bow in the 5 to 10 year old range can be found for less than $200.

Good luck,
Allen

Otherwise, the advice from da white shoe is as good as you can get.

Allen


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## kohawk13 (Oct 16, 2011)

Gentlemen, thanks for the tips and advice. I appreciate it! I plan on hitting my local sporting goods store for their bow guys to give the bow a look over before I start trying to shoot it. I am hesitant about something snapping into my face

I will also look into any alternatives that may be suggested by anyone. Price is a factor as my Masters Degree is sucking every penny outta me right now. I'm also open to recurves or long bows too at this point since I'm so new.

Thanks again folks.

Rich


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