trying to pull through

[aim small...release]

Hey guys ive been trying to keep pulling as im drawing the bow. meaning i draw slow and keep creeping back until i release,but on release i keep hitting my nose or my face. any idea whats going on. if i come to anchor and stop i shoot low everytime when i pull through my elevation is much better. im assumeing because im.pulling farther back but dang it hurts lol

[McDave]

Hopefully, people with more expertise than I have in pulling through will chime in and help you with that.  Pulling through is a fine way to shoot; no doubt it is recommended by more people than recommend a static release.

However, I noticed your comments about anchoring and stopping, which is commonly referred to as a static, or dead release.  That is also a fine way to shoot, although not recommended by as many people as recommend a dynamic, or pull through release.  If you're shooting low every time you shoot with a static release, at least you're being consistent!  It is very easy to lose back tension with a static release, which is one reason people tend to recommend a dynamic release.  However, if you shoot better with a static release, which many people do, you just have to learn to overcome that. Take a close-up video of your face and anchor as you are shooting.  Notice whether your string hand makes any forward movement just before release.  If it does, then you're creeping, and need to work on maintaining back tension until you release the shot.  Another thing you might be doing to cause low misses is not following through (dropping your bow arm too soon). Both of these things can occur with a dynamic release too, but probably are more common with a static release.

[aim small...release]

i keep watching tbe rotational draw videos and it looks like a goid way to.get into back muscles. I do like the feeling of comeing to anchor and stopping. would this rotational draw help?

[McDave]

I think the rotational draw helps whether you shoot with a static or dynamic release.   Whichever way you shoot, you need to learn the feeling of using your back muscles, as they aren't muscles we pay much attention to in everyday life. Some people are helped by using a Formaster, others by simply learning to relax their arm and hand muscles so there isn't anything left to pull the bow with other than the back muscles. It also helps to be aware that you shouldn't be drawing back in a straight line. Instead, viewed from above, the path of your draw should be "J" shaped, so that toward the end of your draw, your elbow begins to rotate around your spine rather than continue on back.  The J is an indication that your back muscles are coming into play.

With a static release, it helps to have some kind of reference that you're maintaining a constant pressure on the string at full draw. My reference is to have the string touch a certain place on my eyebrow at full draw and be aware of maintaining a constant pressure of the string against the bone under my eyebrow as long as I am holding.

[aim small...release]

im going to work on the rotational draw tonight

[reddogge]

There are two types of pulling through. The first is with your arms and that is hard and painful.

The second is thinking of your forearm and upper arm as a screen door with the elbow the outside jam and the hinge your right shoulder blade. You can practice this without a bow in your hand but what you want to do is reach anchor and then close the screen door by rotating the arm and elbow towards the rear so it forms a J like MdDave described. You can feel your shoulder blades get closer together as your chest expands. Much easier on the arms.

[Matt Parker]

I shoot with a clicker so I have to pull through.  I get to my anchor and get my sight picture set then continue to pull with back muscles until the clicker goes off.  I had a problem of hitting my nose a few months ago and found that I was drawing about a 1/2 inch too far.  I shortened my draw by a 1/2 inch and now the string never touches my nose.

[Bladepeek]

Just another thought here. When you are "pulling through" maybe you are turning your head to maintain the same anchor contact as the arrow continues back. That would put your cheek and nose in front of the string.

[Terry Green]

I started hitting my nose once and went to the chiropractor....fixed.  But, I doubt that's your problem....you might need to find a different anchor point(s) depending on your facial structure.

[2bird]

I tear my nose up no matter what I do, I guess I just have a weird face haha but I just use a band aid on the tip of my nose and deal with it.

[bogeyrider63]

Originally posted by 2bird:
I tear my nose up no matter what I do, I guess I just have a weird face haha but I just use a band aid on the tip of my nose and deal with it.

Are you turning your head toward the string after you are at full draw? trying to look down the arrow? I find it best if your head is set and still then draw to your anchor, not drawing and then turning your head to get to anchor. Could be a possibility.

[LongStick64]

Are you drawing with your back......be honest with yourself, because if you are pulling using majority of it with your arms it becomes real hard to pull without plucking the shot. If you draw withyour back you can "feel" the pull.

[t2onboard]

For me, I've found a good anchor, and I'm working with the static and dynamic release forms. My nose is part of my anchor. Index finger in corner of mouth and string touching nose. Now, the problem, and not sure if it's "aim small's" situation, but I've experienced with looking down the right side and the left side of the string. If I use the right side, me being a right hander, I can hit the nose on release, and it's painful. Smile. Today, it was left side string only, and I found if I used static release, I hit lower left--I'm also sure I was dropping bow arm for a peak. Smile.

[McDave]

I can see why you would hit your nose if you are a RH shooter and look down the right side of the string.  It seems almost inevitable. I can also see why you would hit left if you're looking down the left side of the string.  Have you tried canting your bow slightly to get the string away from the middle of your eye and keeping your right eye directly over the arrow shaft?  I do that and the blur from the string in my right peripheral vision is one of the markers I look for in setting up my shot.

Oh, and keep that bow arm up!

[Diamond Paul]

This is a weird suggestion, but I know some people who have only really understood what it means to use the back by using a Stan type back tension release aid, which must be fired by pulling, since it has no trigger.  You would need a pretty light bow to use one, though, since compound shooters who use them are only holding in the twenties at full draw.  Have you considered dropping bow weight to get the feel of pulling through?  It's hard to do if you are over-bowed, for sure.