How do you settle on a shooting style?

[rybohunter]

It seems there are a million ways to draw and anchor a bow. How do you know which one works best for you? Do you try a bunch? Do you just pick one?

I see guys hold the bow out, draw, anchor, shoot. I see guys draw as they are raising thier bow. I see guys hold for a while at anchor before release. THen some guys jsut let it fly as they draw past a certain point? Hoe does one know where to start?

Currently my bow is slightly down, and out in front of me. Raising it to sighting level as I draw, it's canted. As I reach my anchor, I only stop for a moment before releasing. Is this good enough as any, that I should just keep doing this, or try some of the other styles?

[Terry Green]

If you are starting out....your 'style' will probably evolve.

If you are good at calculus and a math wizz, your style will be different than an all state athlete PROBABLY.....its just the way your are made up.  One style will fit you best, and that's the one the you will need to run with, and don't worry about anyone else's style.

Just stick with it, and make sure you get your alignment(the magic T), and it will all come to you.  Your foundation (alignment) is more important IMO than style or aiming method.

[xia_emperor]

great info.

[xia_emperor]

great info.

[SteveMcD]

What Terry said! You will develop your own style. Adopt and use what works for you.

[NDTerminator]

When I started back in Trad last year, I tried several different styles, giving each enough time to decide to reject it(didn't feel natural, working too hard for accuracy, or just not "tight") or keep working with it.

Found that the "Fred Bear Snap Shot" I used as a kid back in the 60's (that's all we knew back in the "olden days") is still as difficult to use effectively as it was back then.  My hat's off to anyone who can shoot that style effectively, and I mean that from the heart.

Eventually I settled on a modified version of  the form used by Scott Antczak in his DVD "Dead On Traditional".  The main difference is that I use a 3 under draw throughout the shot rather than drop the bottom finger at full draw (goes to 2 under) and I don't aim down the shaft but more focus on the target w/o being aware of the shaft.

This is a very good DVD, BTW.  Not only shows/ explains Scott's form, but shows several other various shooters/forms on a 3D course.

In this period I also tried shooting off the shelf as well as several elevated rests.  I found my accuracy was best and shot most natural
off an elevated rest using a bow that was 58"-60".  This also allows me to use either vanes or feathers effectively.

As my form evolved and I began to use more back and got my elbow better in line with my bow arm, my draw went from 28" to 29". I had ordered a couple custom bows early on, and that unexpected increased draw length meant I had to contact the dealer/bowyer and change my draw weight specs, BTW.  The moral is don't order a bow until you've settled on a form.

This process took roughly 3 months before I developed a form that was comfortable and worked well for me.

Don't be relectant to try different forms, draws,(or combinations) rests, bow lengths.  When you hit what's right, you'll know it...

[Matt E]

Which ever style you choose should be comfortable to you.As Terry said," it will evolve".I am a firm believer that trying to adapt to a certain style will hinder your success..... I am introducing a young man to archery that has never shot a bow . He is advancing in ability quickly. After three sessions, two weeks  between sessions, he can hit a tennis ball consistently at 15 yards.His few misses are only a few inches off.He shoots three arrows only at different distances but at twenty yards or less.His natural abiity is amazing considering that our first meeting was spent tuning his equipment.I never tried to change his style other than his foot placement. It is a pleasure to watch him progress.He has no bad habits to correct.I do believe that if he had been exposed to all the books and archery forums he would not have progressed as fast. To much information would have confused him. He doesn't know what good or substandard shooting is yet.He just shoots with no concern of the results which are fantastic.He will fall into a slump eventually as we all do but he has the tools to overcome this problem. I rarely post here but I felt this may be of some help to someone.

[Aaron Proffitt 2]

Quite frankly,I believe alot of 'flow' should be involved.Think learing to be a good wingshot as opposed to a good benchrest rifle shooter.If it feels awkward or uncomfortable than you're most likely doing something wrong.After many years and many shots fired,my style is so unconcious that I don't realize what's taking place,and this while still being a somewhat unaware split-vision shooter.That make sense ?
  In any case,with enough time with a bow in hand;your style will def. evolve into what you need it to be.

[AnointedArcher]

Another good video that can help you with your shooting style is a video called "Mastering the Barebow" great stuff with a lot of different styles to view and think about.

[BLACK WOLF]

Determine what your goals are and than try and determine which aiming techinique or techinques will suit you best.

Do you want to hunt? Do you want to compete? What type of archery competions do you want to get involved in? Do you want to be able to hit moving targets? Do you want to be involved in a few of those things or do you want to do it all?

Forget about what's Trad and what's not.

Instinctive Aiming - is more suited for hunting where the shots are generally close, the target is moving and/or there is a limited amount of time to get the shot off. It is the HARDEST aiming method to master to achieve consistant accuracy with especially under most archery competition situations. A person with exceptional hand and eye coordination can excel with this aiming style, whereas others may never become proficient with it.

Gap Aiming - is more of an all around style of aiming that can be used very effectively in both competition and hunting. It is easier to master in the begining when compared to instinctive aiming because the archer is consciously aware of the aiming process and can make more precise adjustments from shot to shot in order to put the arrow into the bullseye. It is also more suited for a variety of distances between 0yrds. and the archer's point on distance. When a gap shooter has mastered his techinique to the point it almost becomes second nature, it can be executed about as fast as instinctive aiming can. Some instinctive shots started out gap aiming. When the archer has mastered their gaps to the point they no longer are consciously making the aiming adjustments, it no longer is gap aiming...but has evolved into instinctive aiming.

Point of Aim - is great for competition, especially when the targets are further away and/or closer to the archer's point on distance. Doesn't work very well with moving targets and generally takes more time to get the shot off than the other aiming styles. An archer can use it for hunting but it isn't as practical in that situation as the others can be.

Those are some basic descriptions of the more common barebow aiming techiniques. There are other variations of those such as string walking, face walking, split vision, etc. etc.

If you are interested in more just let us know.

As Terry already mentioned...your style will evolve just as most of ours did to some extent or another. I personally have learned to shoot instinctively, gap and point of aim so I can use whatever aiming techinique that is more suited for that particular shot.

Ray  

[GroundHunter]

By hitting what you shoot at. That clinches it for me.

[poekoelan]

Experiment a bit. First find out what is comfortable. Comfort breeds consistancy. I'm pretty sure that none of the great shots use a style that they find uncomfortable.

Shoot vertical. Shoot canted. Bend at the waist. Don't bend at the waist. Sight down the arrow. Don't pay any attention to the arrow, only your target. Experiment with anchor points. It won't be too long before you make some decisions on what is comfortable and what isn't. Then you can tweak the fine points. However you shoot and whatever you experiment with,  make sure that you ALWAYS touch your chosen anchor point before you let it fly.

For what it's worth, my biggest problem has been my bow arm follow through.

That's my two cents.

[mike g]

Ryan....
    I'm in the same boat as you....And I have been shootin for close to ten years....
    I finialy decided to quit trying to shoot like other people and just shoot like Mike Shoots....
    Just like Terry mentioned....You will evolve your own style...
    Just keep the basics in mind, Bow arm like a rock, good anchor point, Back tension and good release....
    And then just shoot like Ryan....

[Pete Darby]

Good advice above.
I did an article for TBM a few years back on how to learn archery.  In a nutshell what I do is:
1. Read everything you can. The internet, magazines are a good start. Then books.
2. Find a basic style you like. I liked Byron Ferguson, but found Asbell's advice the same if you pay attention to his archery advice and don't worry about what you see.
3. Compare different outstanding archers with an eye to deterimining what they have in common. Masters of the Bare Bow is a good start since it has several archers who shoot various styles but keep the same core.
4. Adopt what the good ones do and make it part of your style. Three under, two under, swing draw, set arm are more a matter of comfort and choice than anything else.
5. Disregard what doesn't feel right, but if your trying something new make sure you give it a fair trial.
6. Learn to pick out the archer with 20 years experience versus the archer with one year repeated 20 times.