Form help, tips and advice wanted!

[Lone Ranger]

have a few videos I will try to post~ and a bunch of pics. Funny I reviewed my own pics and was able to shoot 10X better with a little help from my wife!

shooting with a new to me tab and it does feel different than what I am used to-

these photos will be in 3 or 4 "sets" of photos and I have 3 videos that I shot after I sort of "tweaked" my own shooting some-

     

   

   

   

     
this is the end of the first set of photos~  thoughts- release arm is way jacked up, I am not squared~ I start to fix things little by little as you will see.

[Lone Ranger]

   

   

   

   

   

   

[Lone Ranger]

results of overhead shooting: the blue ring is 8" across. not exactly consistent- though I have shot worse! the flyer that is high and right was totaly my new release- taking that one out of the equation I would say that is fair- was shooting @ 20 yards.
             


final shots and 3 videos~!

   

   

1st video-  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=Uex8lCTNAIs

2nd video-this release is terrible!   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8T-IAuFUiE&feature=player_profilepage    

3rd video, I think this looks great, but want to know what others think-  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=g33MPoKEVow

[stevewills]

your draw elbow is inconstant once it was high then it was right where it needed to be.when i have a high elbow that means im not using my back muscles right,and when your releasing your hands coming away from your face again back muscles.....

[Lone Ranger]

That's what I was saying, it was really high at the beginning, then I looked at the pics and was like holy smokes! so I fixed that straight away. outside of the first 5 pics that should be solved. The photo underneath the taget shot it is still a little high though-

L.R.

[moebow]

Lone ranger,  You have a lot of good things going on. On the overhead shots your string and bow shoulder lines up exactly the way they should.  Pretty good posture and stillness during the shot.

What stevewills said above is correct, that "flyaway" string hand needs to be tamed and that means more back and less arm in the draw.

Also I would point out your bow shoulder.  It is much too high.  Before you draw, let your shoulders fall to their lowest point.  Then lift the bow with your arms, not the whole shoulder. then press your whole bow arm toward the target.  You could straighten it out quite a bit, just don't go so far that you end up with a locked elbow.

Last, your bow hand is too far to the right -- counterclockwise around the grip.  This last picture above shows the base knuckle of your bow hand thumb almost as deep as the medallion on the riser. That thumb knuckle should be JUST to the right of the center line of your bow.  There is a thread here on the shooter's forum where I posted some pictures of a good grip.  You might want to see if you can find it.

Like I said you have a lot of good here just some tweaks are needed.

[Lone Ranger]

I guess that makes sense, normally I dont see what your saying, but thinking about it does make sense. The grip deffinaetly needs some work though. That is great advice! wish it wasnt dark now so I could go out and shoot another dozen!

L.R.

[stevewills]

you are doing alot of things right,like moe said your alignment from the looking down pose great..i think that people dont praise enough for what were doing good and only point out the bad..keep slinging some arrows

[Lone Ranger]

thanks stevewills and moebow! been shooting between 30 and 70 shots for the last few weeks (getting ready for small game season here) and really wanted to get it worked on- wish I would have taken pics of myself sooner.

L.R.

[Terry Green]

How long have you been shooting a trad bow?

[Lone Ranger]

lately? lol   I bought my bow 5 or 6 years ago, and shot a little here and there- lately I have been going hard at it for about a month now. I used to hunt with a compound and took lessons back in highschool- got burned out after 5 years of that shooting out to 60 yards and hitting ping pong balls suspended from strings at 40 yards. too much like a rifle. Trad is way mo bettah!

L.R.  :D

[longbowguy]

Well, I will just say that your basic form is much better than most. There are some inconsistancies but you are on the right track. It is time to read some of the advanced material such as the B.E.S.T. method and Rick McKinney's book. Look them up.

In the meantime just think long and strong, and remember- form is way more important than aiming. - lbg

[Lone Ranger]

Funny, that's what I tell myself when I shoot- form, form, form, form, form...... I really dont know why I didnt take pics of myself sooner- I saw that elbow all jacked up and thought man that sucks! I know better than that!

All archery has Form as the beginning, weather it is compound, recurve, target, or longbow. FORM is first (IMO) that's what I was taught 18 years ago when I started shooting the compound, and that is still what I believe today. I would say practice makes perfect but only if it is perfect practice.

L.R.

[Terry Green]

OK....that verifies what I thought I saw in your clips....someone just starting out trying to find his groove.  

There were several deviations in each shot from one another.....typical of trying to figure out the shot.

I have another question....when you shoot, does your bow arm/shoulder seem to have an up or down pressure forced upon it as you reach full draw???

Also, there is some info in the form clock thread stickied at the top that might be helpful.

[Lone Ranger]

Terry, I would say neither but if I had to choose it would be down...... At least I think???

L.R.

[Terry Green]

Ah....here's why.....

Check out your pics and your clips....and compare them to the clip below.  I used Rod Jenkin's clip because your style is more upright than mine and it would be hard to show you posting just my clip.

The plane of you bow arm is well below your shoulders on the shot.

 Rod Jenkins Form Vid 2

This is my clip....same shoulder position, but I'm canting the bow, upper body, and head all on the same angle.

 Broadside profile with wife\\'s 1st video camera experience

[Lone Ranger]

Yes, I picked that up, I am not bending at the waist like I should be. So many details to work on. I just have to keep reminding myself this is "fun"!
L.R.

[Terry Green]

You don't have to bend at the waist, nothing wrong with straight up....just showing you shoulder position.

Yep........if it aint fun, why bother.    

[Lone Ranger]

See I was taught to square yourself as if shooting straight ahead blind, then to bend at the waist while keeping the upper body the same- not practical for most hunting, but I am just talking about "form"  how do you shoot Terry?
I am definitely still trying to find my groove.

L.R.

[Lone Ranger]

updated pics from today~

only 3 pics to show, but I think I have a little better form on the bow arm. my right elbow is tamed down quite a bit and is for the most part inline with the arrow-

first shot elbow is a little high
       

this second shot looks spot on~
     

then a little high again-
     

and then my target fell over and I managed to do this:        

any one want to reccomend a someone for a dozen new arrows? lol


L.R.