coming up or down on spot with bow arm?

[2bird]

I have alway drawn and then raised my bow arm to the spot I am going to aim at. I was told this weekend to draw high then lower my bow arm to my spot and it will help with a more steady bow arm... any thoughts?

[McDave]

I have had horrible results drawing high and trying to lower the bow to the spot. Don't know how I got into that habit, but one of my friends noticed me doing it when I was going through a slump.  Now I try to hold on target through most of the draw, except for maybe the first half of my draw as I'm raising the bow, and my shooting has improved a lot.

I think the problem is "lowering the bow arm."  If instead you drew in a good solid "T" position, and then flexed your hips to bring the bow up or down if the target was higher or lower, maintaining the "T" throughout, it might work better. I've heard Arne recommend this before.  I prefer to establish my body alignment and hip tilt prior to coming to full draw.

[2bird]

hmmm now you have me thinking, sometimes I feel like my bow arm is floating, like where I want to put my point and my bow arm are like holding 2 - sides of magnet together.

[McDave]

The floating feeling is disastrous for my shooting. That's what I was feeling when I went through my slump.  I shoot best when my bow arm feels solid.

[2bird]

I agree, my shooting fell apart this weekend and i fought it bad...

[knobby]

I tend to start low and bring the bow up to the target/animal. I don't have to move it too much, as I'm fairly close to where I want to be when I reach anchor.
As a hunter,if I should rush the shot a bit, I'd certainly rather be low in the animal than high.

[Terry Green]

Drawing high will block your view of the target, as well as some of the rest of the 'playing field'....knocking out peripheral vision of other critters that might come into play or pick you off.

[2bird]

Well I tried lowering my shoulder a bit more and it really helped my "floating" bow arm. I started drawing on my target and it didnt seem to be a problem anymore.

[JamesKerr]

I can do either and shoot very well. In the yard when I am shooting I tend to pick a spot on the target and bring my bow arm up to it then draw the bow. In the woods though I let the situation dictate how I need to shoot (swing draw vs. stationary) As long as you reach proper alignment at full draw your shooting will be fine. I find for me it doesn't matter as much how I get there.

[Terry Green]

Yes, like James, I pre point at times below the target and raise slightly on the draw, and other times when called for I swing draw.  But I never draw high and then come down.

[LongStick64]

I like to push towards the target as I draw, I feel it gets me to focus stronger on the spot as well as reduce the chance of me swinging past the target and be forced to stop.

[hunterr]

Shooting target I like to draw slightly above the spot and lower down. I find my hand balance better and slightly more accurate. But hunting I get better vision, Less stuff in the way and have less motion the accuracy is still good.

[KSCATTRAPR]

A lot of compound shooters will draw above the target then slowly lower the bow and rest their pin on the target as opposed to drawing below the target then raising up. The theory behind this is it is easier to lower weight (eccentric movement) than it is to raise it (concentric movement) just like lifting weights. Compare this to a bicep curl. When you raise the weight up your muscles contract, if it is a heavy weight you might struggle, this is concentric movement just like raising your bow on target. But once you lower the weight, it is much easier to control, this is eccentric movement, like lowering your bow on target. Drawing like either one of these, at least for me, messes my shot up terribly bad. I do better drawing on target and going through my shot process from there.

[Gene R]

I have  improved my shooting with the rotational draw method taught here on line by Mebow. I have had a terrible time either coming up or down on target ,with this method like Dave said you pretty much hold on target through the draw. This has been the most effective thing for improving my shooting in a long time, gives me way better control of the shot proper back tension  and has  greatly reduced the need to release that leads to TP.