Long Bow Guys

[jimbob91]

oops

[BRITTMAN]

Steve ,
With any new to you bow you will have to adjust your site picture and get use to the grip wether its a longbow or recurve  . With a longbow really work on holding that bow arm steady before and after the shot " I can not stress that enough" , longbows are lighter in weight than a recurve  and for me at least I had to do alot of work steading my bow arm. Also like others have said you will have to grip the longbow more from the side than more center like you would a recurve or even a compound . Trust me though , if you give the longbow enough time you will be able to shoot it as well as a recurve .

Mike

[Big Dave]

:D   Cant the bow till it moves over.  

[Biggie Hoffman]

shoot.shoot.shoot.shoot.shoot.shoot.shoot.shoot.
get the picture?
If you're shooting instinctively, it will eventually correct iteself.

[PastorSteveHill]

Hi guys.  I have a problem with my bare shafts and fletched arrows grouping.. Here is why..

I learned to shoot from Rick Welch. So I use the fletching to touch my nose as a second anchor point. Without my nose touching that feather, I don't know where the arrow will hit. With it touching the fletching I am confident I'll hit pretty close. So O.L's method doesn't work to good for me. I bare shaft and go from there...

I have been shooting a Roy Hall Apache/ 47 lbs.  and I shoot Carbon Express Heritage 150's out of it.. NO point weight.  

I did get some velcro (female sided) and used it as my strike plate and this seemed to do the trick??? Who knows, tommorrow is another day. HOpe it did the trick anyway....

[kawika b]

did you fletch your own arrows to compensate for using the cockfeather? if not then it may be a form issue,,, i think.

[AkDan]

just because you use the fletching to touch your nose at anchor doesnt mean you cant do OL's group testing method.

If you are consistently shooting left and you find out the bow is tuned pretty good.

Take a look at a few things:

yur body alignment (draw arm, shoulder, arrow alignment).  I've never videoed myself but I should!!!  It's fun watching everyone else on the shooters forum.  Atleast makes me think about what I'm doing when I'm practicing for form in the house.

Are you dead releasing or pulling through?  dead release can give you a left impact.

Lastly, and I would check this first, is your arrow alignment.  For a right hander, over drawing, you'll shoot left all day long!  it's like moving your rear site to the left.

There is a lot of factors, you need to work through them one by one.  Bow tuning is where I'd start here, so I should have mentioned this first.

Once the bow is tuned, I'd look at you, the shooter.  If you are doing things right....the only thing left is where you're pointing the bow.

I like to bareshaft, then paper tune, then try Ol's group testing.  Used to finish on the paper and shoot my bh's before season, just started trying this method, definatly interesting and it works.   But I dont like starting off in the blind, breaking wood arrows in hard targets because they are off.   Bareshaft up close and moving to paper tuning will help fix this.  Ol's method seems to confirm what I'm doing.  WOrks for me, my 14 fingers and 5 eyeballs  

[String Cutter]

I don't know about the other guys but, I was having trouble switching back and forth from longbows to recurves. I just couldn't get good groups at all while shooting both. So, I finally had to sell all my recurves and just shoot longbows. But that seems to even have it's downside. I have one TD cut past center and another one piece that's not. still having the same problems...Think I'm going to just become a one bow kinda man.......

[pine nut]

What scattershot said gets my vote!  I'm an expert at doing what he said.
pinenut

[LBR]

Don't think of it as "shooting a longbow".  You are shooting a bow, period.  Don't put a death grip on it, don't torque, work on getting a good release, cant you head at the same angle as the bow, have your bow and arrows matched adn tuned........the same things you do shooting any bow.

I'm no pro by any stretch of the imagination, but I can pick up my longbow, recurve, or selfbow--or pretty much any bow--and within a few shots be "on" within reasonable distances. Convince yourself you can't shoot this or that bow, and you won't ever be able to shoot it.

Chad

[PastorSteveHill]

Thanks Boys, learned alot on this post...  Great place to learn.... Many blessings

[mahantango]

Right on Chad. I have been saying that for years. If you are an experienced archer with decent form you can pick up almost any bow and shoot it well provided it and arrows are tuned. Sounds like a form problem.

[Builder]

Hi Pastor,
I have had a number of longbows and recurves over the years and everyone I have had when I switch from recurves to longbows I shoot left. Now after shooting the longbow for a couple of years my mind has adjusted and I hit right on. When I shoot my recurves I shoot to the right.

[tamure]

Many good suggestions.

Concerning the form issues, are there any experienced trad archers in your area who can watch you shoot an perhaps coach you a little?

I've found that taking a video of myself is very eye-opening. I was having poor flight issues, and by taking a video, I discovered that I was plucking the string terribly. A video might reveal that you are plucking, pulling, dropping, whatever.

It seems often what we think we're doing is something completely different than what we're actually doing.

[Pete W]

Right hand shooter hitting left is easily fixed by a weaker spine, heavier point.
 I don't know how you can be tuned and yet not hit where you are shooting??

Pete

[longstick]

I just read Deans article...very informative