What's your cure for plucking the string?

[DanielB89]

I am curious to know how others have found a cure to plucking the string?  

And what effect did it have on your arrow?  If you plucked did the arrow show stiff or weak?

[mt zion]

close bail shoot with your eyes closed, feel what a good release feels like. Do this for a little while before you practice, before you ever aim at anything.

[McDave]

For me, a pluck is always preceded by a creep or collapse.  Not a slow creep, that I could either reverse or let down, but a sudden relaxation of the wrong muscles when I'm still holding on to the string.  If I focus on maintaining back tension, it usually prevents a second pluck from following the first one, but I don't really know how to stop the first one, since it doesn't happen very often and is always unexpected.

Don't know about the arrow showing stiff or weak, but the arrow always ends up missing to the right, usually high, and my right hand ends up flying away from my face.

[longbow fanatic 1]

My cure for a pluck is anchoring my string hand solidly on my face, then aiming hard and pulling through the shot with my rhomboids. If I do that, I won't pluck the string. For me, I've found that I pluck the string when I don't settle into the aiming process. Mentally I feel rushed at anchor, which precedes my pluck. Sometimes I take an extra second or two, during the aiming process, to assure I get though the back tension.

If I pluck, the arrow always shows weak (impacting right of the bullseye).

[Scott Barr]

What Longbow Fanatic 1 said for me including the arrow showing weak.

[ChiefStingingArrow]

If I just hold my back tension I am more likely to pluck..really focusing on squeezing that elbow back and around into my back really helps....Doing it everytime is my problem. lol

[WVbowhunter]

Draw and release in one motion. Simplifies things and gives me less time to make the mistakes that cause me to pluck.

[stonewall]

My son had a plucking problem, I made him an extra thick tab where he couldn't feel the string as good. Problem solved

[Sam McMichael]

I have less problems with plucking the string when I pay good attention to back tension. That tension has been the most significant thing to avoid a pluck. When I do pluck, the shot usually goes high and right.

[elkhunter45]

For me it has been the addition of the double anchor points of middle finger in the corner of my mouth and the thumb knuckle firmly pressed between jaw joint and ear lobe. As long as I do not move thumb knuckle during release I have notice it is very hard to have a bad release. I learned this technique from the Terry Green shooting tutorial at the end of the Tradgang hunting video I purchased a couple years ago. My shooting consistency has improved drastically last couple of years.

[Terry Green]

form clock thread....double anchor....deep hook...

stop telling yourself to "let go" and just let it happen....don't "release"....just stop holding.....Tradgang DVD

[Tradcat]

don't "release"....just stop holding
 
AMEN Terry !

[kat]

Originally posted by longbow fanatic 1:
My cure for a pluck is anchoring my string hand solidly on my face, then aiming hard and pulling through the shot with my rhomboids. If I do that, I won't pluck the string. For me, I've found that I pluck the string when I don't settle into the aiming process. Mentally I feel rushed at anchor, which precedes my pluck. Sometimes I take an extra second or two, during the aiming process, to assure I get though the back tension.

 

Bingo.

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by kat:
 

Originally posted by longbow fanatic 1:
My cure for a pluck is anchoring my string hand solidly on my face, then aiming hard and pulling through the shot with my rhomboids. If I do that, I won't pluck the string. For me, I've found that I pluck the string when I don't settle into the aiming process. Mentally I feel rushed at anchor, which precedes my pluck. Sometimes I take an extra second or two, during the aiming process, to assure I get though the back tension.

 

Bingo. [/b]

Yep.....

form clock thread....double anchor....deep hook...

stop telling yourself to "let go" and just let it happen....don't "release"....just stop holding.....Tradgang DVD

[cjgregory]

Just an opinion here.  When Rod Jenkins helped me find my back muscles and I truly starting shooting that way...there was no more plucking.  When you are using mostly your arm there can be plucking, creeping, all kinds of weird stuff.
Finding your back muscles is like developing the ability to wiggle your ears.

If someone put their fingers on your back muscles for a few shots you would know where the muscle is and develop it.

[8upbowhunter]

I have been plucking the string on and off since I started trad some 16 months ago. Never had anyone near me to teach me proper form so everything I learned was from here and youtube but never could follow through with my release. I have a 45# Hill style longbow a friend made me when I started trad but have not shot it much over the last 10 months. It draws like a 30# bow and I can hold it at full draw for ever. 4-5 days ago I decided I was going to learn proper form and follow through and set out on a mission. I watched several of Arnes videos on form and release and decided I will shoot this 45# bow until I got it right. I've probably shot 500 or so arrows from 8-15 yards concentrating only on my form and release. It took a lot of experimenting with my anchor to get something solid but as soon as I got my anchor solid and started releasing straight back with good follow through my groups instantly got tighter. I've only shot 8 arrows from my RD longbow since I started and I shot 3 bulls eyes and the other 5 were just off by an inch or so. I will continue practicing with this bow until everything is automatic. My advice is to get a low poundage easy to draw bow and practice until it becomes automatic. So far I am happy with my progress and hope this helps you.

[riivioristo]

My thoughts too, that when I pluck - I have missed my proper back tension - quick focus between shoulder blades and tension there and problem solved  

[slowbowjoe]

Concentrate on keeping a "deep hook" right thru to the release. Perhaps try a "dead release"... personal thing, but it helps me.
(Hold your sight picture as well.)
Read what McDave says.

[wingstrut]

I do like elkhunter stated, anchor my thumb knuckle under my cheek bone and my middle finger to the corner of my mouth, If you look in the dictionary under plucking you will find my picture. Ha!Ha!
I believe Fred Bear anchored his thumb to the side of his face to get a good anchor and release.....wing

[Green]

Pretty sure you'll find the answers in "The Wedge" videos referenced in the other thread.