Anchor -- Thumb on back of head

[TexasTrad]

Does anyone anchor with their thumb on the back of their head right behind their ear?  For clarity, I am not talking about anchoring with the thumb knuckle under the earlobe but rather the thumb sticking straight up and being placed against the back of your head.  When I do this, I am able to settle my middle finger in the corner of my mouth and the feather touches the tip of my nose.  

I attended Rick Welch's shooting school and shot for a long time with the thumb knuckle under the earlobe.  I starting playing around with this new method because it is very easy to get good back tension and it seems almost impossible to collapse on release.  I go to alot of 3d tournaments and have never seen anyone else shoot like this.    

Anyone else shoot like this?

[mahantango]

You must have a REALLY tiny head, or REALLY large hands. Seriously, it always amazes me how differently we all are built, and how facial shape/structure affects anchor point. I don't feel that this is often taken into consideration in shooting clinics. What is comfortable for one can be absolute contorsion for another.

[njloco]

I can do it, I'm gonna try it next time I shoot. that won't be until Saturday due to work, I'll let you know how it works out.

Thanks

[longbowguy]

A few archers have done it as you describe since at least the 1930s, including an occasional national champion or Olympic team member. It has never caught on with most archers. It seems to me it adds a step or two to the draw process, and as thumbs can wiggle, limited benefit in stability. But if it works for you, that is OK with me. - lbg

[Ragnarok Forge]

I have shot that way and found that it causes torque on the string at the shot.

[ncsaknech1ydh]

I bought Ricks latest video about a year ago, and had problems with the way my facial features are I guess to place my thumb knuckle on my ear lobe or tilting my head for my nose to touch the feather the way he suggests. So yes, I to after playing around now anchor with my thumb knuckle to the very back of my jaw bone, which is well under my ear lobe the way you suggest, and with me, I then tilt my head just a bit and have the feathers rotated so I can lay my jaw just into the arrow lightly between the feathers while the string just touches my face, kind of a 3 point anchor, I to think everyone has to experiment as everyones features are a bit different. No doubt, Ricks method really helped me once I found a natural anchor for myself as It extended my draw length by a couple inches from when I used to anchor finger to my tooth, thus also improving my alignment. DK.

[reddogge]

I can't begin to do it but I have a friend who does and is a very good shot (Hatrick).

[Kurt Miller]

I used to anchor this way in my wheelie days with a mechanical release.  Now that I am trad, the geometry didn't quite feel right.  I have been trying a few different anchors lately so I just went out and tried the thumb behind the neck again.  I am now much better about using back tension and getting a good "clock " position so I was curious if it work better now.  Well, it didn't feel quite right, and I shot way right.  I switched back to by "new" and hopefully final anchor and hit dead on.  I think with a little more practice I could make the thumb behind neck work if I was still searching for a natural anchor. But if it works for you and aids in consistent anchor, go for it.

[kennyb]

you know guys, I keep hearing about this 'anchoring' behind the ear or jaw and I've tried both and I guess I'm not doing something right. But, I just don't get it! It is the most uncomfortable feeling of all, so maybe I need a picture to see what y'all mean! lol
Kenny  

[Dave Bowers]

Anchoring like that is an old method of shooting with a mechanical release with a compound.
I not even sure it would be physically possible with a recurve or longbow. IMO if you are able to do this then you have to be over drawling your bow.

Originally posted by Dave Bowers:
Anchoring like that is an old method of shooting with a mechanical release with a compound.
I not even sure it would be physically possible with a recurve or longbow. IMO if you are able to do this then you have to be over drawling your bow.

Dave,

I've known several folks who anchor in a similar manner, and yes they shoot longbows and recurves--very well I might add.


It's been my observation, and just my opinion, that most "trad" archers never reach proper alignment and seriously short-draw.

[AllenR]

World Champion Michele Frangili of Italy anchors like this.  There are several videos of him on Youtube.

Jim, I agree with you on alignment, but wouldn't restrict it to stickbow archers.  Most compound archers don't do it either.

Allen

[Pat B.]

Paul, I used to shoot a lot of field archery in the Houston area (back in the 70's) and I anchored with my thumb behind my neck.. It was during my compound days and was very effective, I thought. I've been shooting recurves and longbows since that time period as well, exclusively since the end of the 70's and that anchor didn't make the transition to them.. I'm sure it could work though.