Long Bow Guys

[PastorSteveHill]

Hi guys.  Got a problem.  I love longbows but shoot them like yuke and poo...  

Seriously, what can I do to improve my longbow shooting?  I hit left everytime. I have bare shafted and get a good spine, but I seem to hit left every time.  

What have you guys done to improve your accuracy of long bows to the point of , or better than, your recurve shooting?

[KILLER B]

You might be squeezing the bow realy tightly on the shot causing the arrow to go left.  Try a more relaxed grip and try and distribute the pressure of the bow evenly on your palm. Hope it helps.

[PrarrieDog]

Cant

[PastorSteveHill]

What about those narrow shaft Beman arrows? Would that help any???

[JBiorn]

I was experiencing much the same-----is your longbow center cut or straight? With a center cut, it shouldn't be much different than your recurve------grip style will be different. I like to have a good firm grip and let the bow push against the heel of my palm a bit when drawn. I have seen it a lot here------hold the bow like you are picking up a heavy piece of luggage.

[oops sorry]

Is brace height correct? Are the nocks gripping the string too hard?

[draco]

A lot of people seem to shoot left with a longbow when they first start. Keep your bow arm elbow slightly bent,and that shoulder low. Dont let it raise up like with a recurve with a high grip. Also make sure your drawing arm is up where it`s supposed to be. A low drawing arm will make you pluck down and right. String go to right,arrow go to left.

[PastorSteveHill]

I have tried all of the Longbows I can think of... Center cut 3/16 past/  ones cut to center but not beyond and the D style bows.  Seem to go left regardless...

The shoulder low may help. I'll have to shoot it a bit to find out... That seems like it may work though...

When you say keep your bow arm bent, how much is to much or to little or just right?  Thanks

[SCATTERSHOT]

When you say your bare shafts shoot center, do they do it all the time? They should hit center, not just straight. Also, when you fletch them, it has the effect of stiffening the spine slightly. Go to a lighter shaft still, and/or a heavier point. You may also be more conscious of coming to full draw when you're bareshafting, and short drawing when you are not.

What bow are you shooting, what's it's weight, and what is your draw length? What spine arrows are you trying to shoot?

[longbowben]

Try three fingers under,ancor in cheak.my left and right was gone.

[Tom Leemans]

When my shots wander, it's always because I'm letting my bow arm move at the release.

[KodiakBob]

How tight are your nocks on the arrows, string an arrow hold bow with arrow pointing down, tap string, arrow should release, if not too tight, makes arrows go left. IMHO

[dragonheart]

If you can watch the video of Howard Hill Shooting on this site, look at the bend in his arm.  I have found it difficult to shoot lower poundage bows without extending the bow arm too far and locked.  If you can get a copy of hitting them like Howard Hill DVD TRA sells it and look at John Schulz'z form.

[Ben Woodring]

cant the bow some.....and don't be afraid to re-evaluate you anchor point...I don't want to get into the difference between gap shooting and instinctive, but you have to have the arrow under your eye in your periphery vision in either case. As our faces are different shapes the corner of the mouth standard does not work for all. My anchor is my eye tooth, puts the arrow where it belongs.

[Tom Leemans]

Hey Pastor Steve, go read Dean's article on his site when you get a chance.  The elements of style  
It's a good'un

[onemississipp]

I think if you "cant" at different degress, you will start to see the arrow walk right with the amount of "cant".

[BobW]

Almost every time I shoot left (being right handed), it is because of dropping my arm to take a peek at my shot.  Hold and watch the arrow hit the target.  If you are already doing that, then point weight, softer grip, and other suggestions listed here.

Funny thing to try, but have you tried to shoot with the cock feather in?  It made a difference for me.

FWIW: I shoot my LB straight up/down (no cant).

Welcome to long bows.  Lots of fun, but humbling...

BobW

[eagle24]

I shoot and have shot longbows exclusively for the past 6 years.  If you are shooting left, IMO it is a tuning issue.  Again IMO, if you have a properly tuned setup, how much or how little you cant the bow will not affect right and left.  After watching Terry Greens video, I experimented with shooting targets behind me with a reverse cant and discovered that if the arrow spine is correct for the bow you will still hit the mark.

 

Originally posted by PastorSteveHill:
What about those narrow shaft Beman arrows? Would that help any???

A thinner arrow shaft will move you closer to center if you are'nt already there.  It will allow you to shoot a slightly stiffer shaft, but will still require the proper spine for your bow.

What is your draw weight, actual draw length, arrow shaft (spine), arrow length, and point weight?  

I shoot groups of 4 (2 fletched and 2 bare shafts) to determine if I am shooting the correct spine for my bow.  Bare shafts and fletched arrows should group together if the spine is correct and the nock point is where it needs to be.  Lots of folks use the nock high/low or nock left/right to determine arrow spine and nock point.  IMO this works IF you get a perfect release.  I have found that O.L.'s method works best, and if you have bare shafts and fletched arrows grouping together they will impact straight (not nock high/low/left/right) when you get a perfect release.  In other words, IMO both methods get you to the same conclusion but O.L.'s method is a little more forgiving of a less than perfect release.

[jimbob91]

i had the same problem steve,what i did was bend my bow arm a little more than usual because i was constantly hitting my armguard.but most importantly in my case i really started concentrating on burying my release on every shot and keeping my bowarm up until my arrow reaches its target.

[jimbob91]

i had the same problem steve,what i did was bend my bow arm a little more than usual because i was constantly hitting my armguard.but most importantly in my case i really started concentrating on burying my anchor on every shot and keeping my bowarm up until my arrow reaches its target.