Newbie hitting left

[little_feather]

Hey everyone,

Need some help here... Just shot my first round of the year (I know, I'm slacking), and I'm running into the same issues as I was last year. As I increase my distance from the target, I've been noticing that I hit further left than I would like. Obviously the idea is to hit the spot you're aiming for, right?!

It seems to happen when I cant the bow. If I shoot my bow upright, I hit my mark. Is this normal? Anything I should be looking into?

I thought about getting a turkey feather rest, so I can keep the bow more vertical; thoughts?

**Disclaimer**
Shooting a bear grizzly 50# @ 28 with tuned GT trads, 225 up front. I haven't tuned the bow since last season, so my brace and nock point might be a bit off -

Thanks in advance!

[kadbow]

Left or right handed? Left or right eye dominant?

[little_feather]

Right handed, right eye dominant

[Roadkill]

Since you apparently shotwell before your layoff;
Form first. Get your feet in the same place, hips in place in relation, grip string in the finger joint the same place, pull to anchor, using back muscles, anchor same place, loose-did you peek?  Are you over bowed?  If you are not consistent in these things, all the advice you might get on spine-bow rests and brace height will have you walking in circles.
I mark my student's feet location. They say where they are comfortable.
Square up hip to ensure they draw with back,
mark tab or glove so the string and their fingers contact the. String in the same place.
Face contact with stringhand is a place they choose, but repeatable anchor point-somefinger in mouth others knuckles on jaw
String arm elbow up-not chicken winging-helps consistent draw
Smooth loose.
Get someone to video you in slow mo.  Get all the form issues in your favor-repeatable form. This helped me a WHOLE lot!
Them play with the other things
On a personal Note:  I moved my normal back foot slightly back and that forced me to fully engage my back probably increased my draw, but That alone pulled me into the bull after a layoff for several broken ribs.  Ribs take a long time to heal--
just my observations with a whole bunch of students

[YosemiteSam]

When I increase the cant of my bow, my shots go right.  The more I cant, the further right it goes in a nice arc down.  If you're going left, I'm thinking the arrow isn't directly under your eye.  If the nock is just tad outside of your pupil, the arrow will angle to the left.  Try anchoring a little tighter to your face.  Or, as a gear fix, add some point weight to weaken the spine & make the arrow go right more.

[little_feather]

Thanks for the information roadkill. Now that I think about it, I only remember hitting 2 of my 3 anchors... knuckle under cheek bone and feather to my nose. Need to anchor finger tip in the corner of my mouth and work on my hips. I've always been told to use a staggered stance; might be time to reevaluate that part.

Thanks again!

[Josh H]

Agree with Sam. The key for me is arrow under the eye... If not, I'm left almost every time.

Josh

[old_goat2]

Are your arrows flying true? Could be a too stiff of arrow also.

[KSdan]

You may have to reset/reboot your sighting system:
1) Take heal of hand
2) Hit your forehead 1-2 x with stiff and direct blow (no need to hurt yourself, but a good bump works well)
3) shoot and see if the sights are readjusted
4) repeat if necessary

If that does not work try just shooting to the right a little.  

      Please know I am messing with you. . .  

Dan in KS

[little_feather]

Hahaha the stiff knocks to the head might be juuuuuuust the ticket!!

[BRITTMAN]

More than likely your not titling your head with your cant which keeps your eye over the arrow .

[KSdan]

On an honest note. . .  I am right handed and at times left eye dominant and at times right eye  dominant.  I really do no worry about it.  A simple drill is to use some type of vertical "line" like a twine or piece of masking tape on your target.  Don't worry about elevation, just work on hitting the line.  This gets your brain and hand/eye coordination aligned for windage.  Windage never changes from 5 to infinity.

There are many different methods here in the Trad world, but after 35 years of trad I have rarely had any right-left issues.  If I am shooting off a little I just re-align windage and allow my mind to adjust.  Throwing a ball or any other hand/eye coordination is the same.

[Sam McMichael]

Just a thought... What pound bow are you shooting? If you have laid off a while from a heavy bow, your shoulders could be collapsing in just a little bit due lack of conditioning. This would shorten your draw, thus causing the arrow to perform in too stiff a manner. If so, when you get fully used to pulling the bow again, this should clear up. This did happen to me back in the day I pulled a very heavy bow. Let's hope it is something simple to fix. Good luck.

[last arrow]

When I learned to shoot in the early 70's, I was taught that, for a right hand shooter, if your impact point moves left with distance, the arrow spine is too stiff.  IF it moves right it is too weak.  If your form is good and arrow is tuned you should stay  on line no matter the distance.  Your form has to be such that the arrow is parallel to your line of sight.

I generally consider the arrow tuned when it is on line (consistent) no matter the shot distance.  If you consistently hit 4" left no matter the distance, it could be a sighting issue.

[Brock]

if not a spine issue...then I would say you are turning your face into the string...which pushes rear of arrow out to right....or not settling into your anchors right.

I would guess turning your face into string some...which is common when not used to shooting that weight after long layoff or for new archers.  I think turning your face to string rather than bring string to face and anchor is issue as it is moving your arrow further to right away from being aligned with your eye.

Also, stop changing your bow from vertical to canted....while you can do it hunting when needed....if you naturally cant when shooting then that is how you need to sight and work on your anchor.  Going back and forth is always going to cause slight issues...  

Unless you are trying to be more of a target style shooter...I would go with slight cant and if arrows hit where you are intending...go with it.

[M60gunner]

With me it's turning my head to peak. Usually on long shots or with new arrows or bow. I know it, my friends know it.

[little_feather]

Thanks for all the input guys. I shot this morning, working on my feet and hips, my anchors and back tension.

I find that my issues are magnified when not coming to full draw. Also, I worked on a relaxed grip throughout the shot cycle and the combination of the two helped in fixing the issue.

Looks like I need to use my bowfit some more during "down time"...

Any other info you guys have, let me know!!

Thanks again!