Why am I not consistent?

[McDave]

Responding to another post made me think of this, which is probably the biggest problem I have with being a good archer.  My shooting will improve and I will shoot good groups, then, for no reason I can figure out, it will go to pot, and I'll be shooting all over the target.  Thank goodness I was going through one of my good phases when I shot the buck in my avatar.

When I go through a bad phase, like I currently am, I seem to just have to live through it, like it was a migraine headache.

I had the same problem when I used to play golf.  A golf pro could usually spot something I was doing wrong and get me on the right track, until my mind came up with a new way to fool me.  Unfortunately, I don't happen to have an archery pro handy.

Do any of you have the same problem, and do you have a better way of figuring it out other than just shooting a lot of arrows until something starts working right again?

[madness522]

I find that shooting less arrows helps more than more arrows. Kinda like a reboot of the brain.  Sometimes it takes a day and other times more than a week and there are times when I don't even shoot for a week or two.  Usually somewhere in there the problem corrects itself which is I feel like more a mental thing like my head isn't into to shooting and thinking about too much other stuff.

[Taiga Recurve]

You know what they say, shooting traditional is 99% mental the other 1% is your brain.

[dan ferguson]

Last night I went to a basketball game and one of our top shooters first put up a 3 point airball got upset stole the ball back then missed an easy lay up then stole the ball again and missed another shot under the basket, set down for awhile and thought about it. came out and played better, same goes with shooting, I don,t know your style but I shoot instintive and sometimes this feeling of doubt just hits you and I go all to heck. got to stop go back through the basics all again, anchor, bowhand, release etc and just bare down, you,ll get over this.

[amicus]

I got through those slumps more often than I care to. I always try to go back to the basics. Also try to stop shooting on a good note. In other words when ive been shooting good and I feel myself getting tired I will quit. I think it helps me with my conficence. m2c

Gilbert

[blueslfb]

I agree with Mr. Madness. I have done the same thing.  Start shooting bad, get mad and kick rocks all the way back to the house.  Keep shooting and get even worse.  I have found that if I don't shoot for a couple of days after a bad session I will pick up my bow and go out and bang all my arrows together.  Let it rest and then go out and just shoot.  Let your muscle memory take over and let em fly.  Works for me.  Good luck and keep at it.

[Three Arrows]

Best way to diagnose your shot is to use video of you shooting.  Unless you have friends or a coach, I would suggest you use a cam or camera with video.  I shoot instinctive, I notice the arrow out there in front and sometimes I put too much focus on it and not the target.  That causes erratic shooting.  But, 9 out of 10 times it will more likely be your alignment.  Your bow arm and draw arm is not lining the arrow up with the target.  Sometimes it is a tense string hand "cupping" the string.  If more than a couple arrows goes haywire during a session, stop and check your alignment.  Shoot only 1 to 3 arrows in a row.  Take a 2 minute break, shoot again.

[Big'n]

Mc Dave, I do the very same thing your talking about and 9 out of 10 times, when I start slingin' arrows all over the place it's because I'm moving my bow arm. Very rarely can I remedy this in one session of shooting. I've worked thru it but like Blues said above the only real success I've had is to lay the bow down for a day or two and then come back to it. Generally it will fix its self. I don't know why but it works.   DAVE

[SHOOTO8S]

The # 1 reason I see for a guy whos been shooting welland has the basics down, to suddenly lose "it" is lack of, or loss of, back tension at release.

[McDave]

Thanks for all your suggestions, and it's some comfort to know that I'm not the only one who has this problem.  I think I'll have to get a video, because I see things when other people make videos, and maybe I'll see something if I make one of my own.

Rod, I'm not as aware as I would like to be whether I have good back tension or not.  Is there anything you can point to that would let you know you have good back tension?

[Marshrat]

One of the best thing I have done is put a swing to the side of my range. When my shots start missing I lean the bow up and go set and pet my lab then I remind myself I can make the shot I just have to do it. It may take 5 minutes or a hour then I will start shooting again. If they start missing again I put the bow up for the day.

[SHOOTO8S]

McDave...a simple test would be to grasp one of your arrows with both hands...raise above your nose, then try and pull the arrow apart....thats back tension! Keeping back tension until the arrow clears the bow, is the tricky part...blind bale work is the simpliest way to groove maintaing back tension through release for most folks, as well as installing(if you dont already) a conclusion to your shot, where the subconsious mantains back tension, until your reach the part of your shot that says...OK I can stop now i.e CONCLUSION.....what conclusion you use makes no difference..as long as it takes longer to do, than the arrow takes to clear the bow.

[Big'n]

Thanks, Rod. I've tried relentlessly to explain back tension to new shooters and that does it perfect. I guess that's why your the best. Thanks again. DAVE

[TaterHill Archer]

I'm the same way.  I shot today and I had 50% good groups and 50% that were awful.  I'm more discouraged about my shooting than I've ever been.  

I need to try the blind bale work....wish I knew what he meant.

[McDave]

Jeff,

You might have the same problem I do.  I don't have good feedback from my body when it starts doing something wrong (boy, that could be freudian, couldn't it?  but we'll stick to archery ;-)).  My current slump was because I had dropped my back tension a little bit.

The blind bale work probably came about because other archers also have some trouble self-identifying problems with their form.  Shooting into a big target from a few feet away means that none of your mental focus is directed on hitting the target, and 100% of your mental focus is directed on your form.  I know that even Olympic archers do this on a regular basis.

When I attended the instinctive shooting clinic put on my Fred Asbell and Ken Beck, all we did during the day was alternate short periods of shooting into a bale a few feet in front of us with other periods where Fred or Ken would discuss an element of form.  So you had one item to focus on during the shooting sessions.  It got to be pretty boring shooting into the bales all day, but they had other bales out in the field we could have fun shooting at when class was not in session.  But boring or not, it was an effective way to learn the fundamentals of good form.

As I said, though, having learned the fundamentals once doesn't mean you're going to keep them forever.

I'm not sure what good it would do to shoot into the blind bale if you've never learned good form to start with.  I spent several years before the class reading everything I could get my hands on about archery form, and my self-teaching got me about 95% of the way there.  Fred and Ken pointed out a couple of things to me that I was unaware of that improved my form.  Everybody in the class seemed to be in about the same boat.  It gave me some added confidence knowing two really qualified people had looked at my shooting and found that it was basically pretty good, with a couple of minor adjustments.

It might be a good idea, if you don't have someone handy to check your form, to make a video and post it on this forum.  But if you already have been taught good form, sometimes all it takes it a nudge in the right direction, like Rod gave me above.

[TaterHill Archer]

I posted a video once before, but got very limited feedback.

I'm going to try the blind bale and work on my form as much as possible.

[SHOOTO8S]

Originally posted by roknjs:
I posted a video once before, but got very limited feedback.

I'm going to try the blind bale and work on my form as much as possible.

OK good plan, now which part of your form are you going to work on first?

[TaterHill Archer]

What do you suggest?  I was planning on working on back tension first.

[BobCo 1965]

Another thing to keep in mind is the amount of "push" which is put in the bow arm towards the target. Too little causes me to shoot right, too much causes me to shoot left, just enough puts it right in there.

[AllenR]

It helps to know the feel of every part of your shot. Accurate archers know what a good shot feels like.  They know when their bow arm is right, exactly where their anchor is located and what all the other parts of their shot should feel like.  It's sort of a checklist that is run each shot. Most get this down to the subconscious level and only notice when something is wrong.  However, to you can only learn it on the conscious level.

If you are running hot and cold, it's probably because you haven't learned the steps of your shot and exactly what they are supposed to feel like.  

As Rod asked, what's first?  Once you get that, what's next?