anchor point

[HuntingSean]

It is hard for me to anchor on my face. It is alot mor confortable for my to anchor about two inches infront. but i shoot a heck of a lot better when i anchor at my face. Is ther any types our tricks you guy use to get a consistant anchor point.

[SteveMcD]

Most anchor on the corner of the mouth, Others their cannine tooth, others their cheekbone. It is really up to you. You should use the anchor that feels most natural and comfortable to you. Once you have established a solid anchor, you then can focus on accuracy. Me... I have a high anchor, I actually use a double anchor. First anchor middle finger to the crease of my nose, second anchor is my drawing hand thumb to the temple. This puts the arrow directly under my eye. I shoot split finger... never could get use to 3 under.

To find your natural anchor stand with both arms extended out at the shoulders, shoulders aligned parallel to a target (imaginery or real) bow arm should be pointed towards the target, close your eyes, now take your drawing arm / hand and keeping the elbow extended back in place, bring the drawing handing back to your face, wherever your middle (anchor) finger is placed is where your natural anchor is.

Good luck.

[oldgriz]

It sounds like you are overbowed...
You should be able to comfortably draw the bow so that your top or middle finger can anchor to the corner of your mouth...
From the description, it sounds like you are having problems drawing to the corner of your mouth... too much weight... am I correct.

[jhansen]

Shooting a barebow well is all about consistency.  Your bow stores energy and releases it but how much energy it stores depends on how far it is drawn.  How far it is drawn dictates what the arrow speed and trajectory will be.  An anchor that floats about 2" in front of your face isn't going to be consistent and the arrow speed/trajectory will vary from shot to shot.  You need a definite and repeatable anchor.  It really doesn't matter where that anchor point is, within reason, as long as it is the same each time.  You can do as I do and stick a finger in the corner of your mouth to touch a certain tooth or draw until the string touches your chin.  You could probably get away with drawing until your hand touches your chest for that matter.  There just must be a firm point of contact for each and every shot.

Oldgriz mentioned that you could be overbowed.  You may also be shooting a bow that was tillered for a shorter draw than you have and therefore stacks.  If you draw and feel like you reach a point where the bow simply doesn't want to be drawn any further, that is stacking.  It is like hitting a wall.

Regardless of the cause, find a method of anchoring that permits you to have a firm repeatable anchor point.  If you don't you will probably be one more archer who decides he "just can't do this" when it comes to trad archery.  It's really not that hard although it seems to challenge most of us to the point where we keep coming back for more.

John

[HuntingSean]

jhanson I think my bow may be stacking becuse I have a 29 inch draw(compound any way)and It feels easy until the bow gets about an Inch or two before my face. The bow I have is a 45# vintidge fred bear, bear cat One peice not the new take down. Im new to traditional archary what is the tiller.

[Pete Darby]

If I were you I would find a good archer who can watch you shoot and have him critique your shot. Many people who think they are overbowed, are not.  They are wrong muscling. (using the wrong muscles to pull their bow.)  If you are normal sized 45# isn't a lot of bow, unless you are pulling with your arms then it can be heavy.  I have taken many archers with that in front of the face anchor and got them pulling easily to their face (which is also not a good anchor for a draw length since you can move the draw length more than two inches just by how you hold your head.) Yes you should anchor somewhere on the face but that shouldn't be how you determine draw length which dictates anchor

[jhansen]

Tiller is the bending of the bow limbs when drawn.  The bowyer determines this when he makes the bow.  English longbows, for instance, were tillered so that the lower limb bent more than the upper.  Our modern bows are usually tillered to bend equally.  Tiller will also dictate where the bow begins to stack.  When the string approaches a 90 degree angle to the limb the effort required to pull it further will increase sharply.  That's stacking.  The longer the bow, the longer the draw length without stacking will be.  29" isn't that long a draw and if that was your compound length you are probably pulling about 28" now.  Your bow was probably tillered for 45#@28".  You shouldn't be experiencing stacking.

As Pete said, you may not be getting your back muscles into the draw.  You should imagine that you are trying to crush a soda can between your shoulder blades.  At full-draw your bow hand, the arrow, your drawing hand, and your drawing arm elbow should form a straight line.  If the drawing arm elbow is out of alignment you are not using your back muscles.

You may also be experiencing a form of Target Panic where the shooter releases before reaching full-draw.  There are several good threads on that subject on this website.  Also, Dr. Jay Kidwell wrote an excellent book that explains, among many other things, target panic and how to cure it.  The book is called "Instinctive Archery Insights".  Definitely worth a read.

Stick with it.  You'll get there.
John