Form help please

[RookieBwhunter]

Looking for some help from someone that has more of a clue than me with my form    I appreciate any help you can provide.

   

[moebow]

Thomas,  Overall not too bad.  The lighting makes some of the details a little hard to see but here are a couple things to consider.

Your bow hand fingers are sticking straight out.  This puts unneeded and unwanted tension in your bow forearm.  It also makes you have to "catch" the bow on the shot.  An added movement that should not be necessary.  Let your bow hand fingers relax and curl naturally to the back of the grip, then no tension in the forearm and you have already "caught" the bow.

You really shoot fast and with the lighting, it is hard to see if your anchor point is consistent.  When practicing, try to come to a solid anchor each time by slowing down your release a little.  DON'T stop pulling just slow your release a little.

How are you shooting?  Is there a particular area that you are concerned about?

[RookieBwhunter]

Thank you for input. I didn't notice my bow hand fingers until after I watched the video. I do always bring my middle finger to the corner of my mouth but then it comes to a dead stop.

Several things that were of concern to me were the dead release as I've heard it called (is that a problem?), proper back tension, reaching full draw and a smooth release.

My accuracy out to about 10-15 yards is fairly consistent and within a paper plate size area. 20-25 is varied. Having not used a longbow before I want to make sure I am learning right or at least on the path to shooting correctly before I develop bad habits.

I will try to get out in the morning and take another video with better lighting.

You may need to draw slower at longer ranges, to give your eye some more time to get things squared up.  That is pretty quick shooting for three under. I shoot that fast as well,split, but on the longer stuff my old eyes need some time as I draw the arrow back.  Whether or not you acknowledge seeing the arrow, your eyes still see it.  It is part of 'instinctive' shooting to be able to allow the visual input to help you aim.

[RookieBwhunter]

Thanks Pavan. I think I was a bit over-bowed for my first traditional bow. Even though I was pulling 70lbs with my compound, I never really thought about the let off %. I have since been working on those muscles and trying to get more comfortable pulling and holding. I still find myself finding the spot and releasing quick though. I don't really think about releasing if that makes any sense what so ever.

Here is a video taken this morning. I wish I would have re-read Arne's comments on my bow hand. I can see me start to close my hand but can see that small movement could adjust my aim at the last minute. Definitely need to concentrate on that next time.      

   

[wildcat hunter]

You shoot cock feather in, Does it tear up the feather after a while? Is it more accurate that way with 3 fingers under?

[RookieBwhunter]

That is actually something I have been playing with for the last 2 weeks. Somewhere on here I read about arrows flying to the left (which was something I was experiencing) and a suggestion was to try cock feather in. For this video it wasn't about the accuracy so I simply kept it the same. On a side note though my accuracy at 10-15 yards has improved greatly but I cannot honestly say if this was the cause. I have not seen any damage to the feathers to this point.

[moebow]

Thomas,  Didn't see this until I had sent an email to you about the video.  Your left hits are due to your release.  The C bow has all kinds of adjustment available like fall away rests, release aid, etc.  You are also not holding very much relative weight at full draw with the C bow so form errors are masked by mechanical aids. We have a tendency to blame and try to "fix" equipment rather than fixing the most variable part of the shot -- US!

Getting your form correct with the higher holding weights of trad equipment is important.  DO NOT change your equipment to correct errors while learning form!!!! Errors at this stage are much more likely form errors than equipment problems. As your form improves, you will see better groups and when that happens it will be time to worry about equipment tuning -- not before.  We need to change only one thing at a time and form comes first!

[RookieBwhunter]

Good to know! I will work on those items we discussed and follow up with another fun filled video    Thanks

You try shooting split? Middle finger inline with the corner of mouth or thereabouts. I do see on the second video, that there is a little action with a strong lean towards the ring finger on the follow through.  I would not say whether this affects release or not. I would think that for three under the strong finger should look more like the index finger would want to recoil tighter.

[RookieBwhunter]

Pavan - I did try that but I found myself getting frustrated with the arrow falling off the rest. Torquing string? I got frustrated so I tried the 3 fingers under and I feel more confident with it. When I used a glove I actually put more weight/pull on my first 2 fingers but now that I have this tab I haven't thought about my fingers since they were all on the same piece of leather. Next time I shoot I will add that to my list of things to pay attention to. Thanks

[Green]

Tad...have you watched Rod Jenkin's shooting videos?  
His 3 under form is tops.  You won't see a rotational draw in this video, but watch his shooting speed and complete use of back tension to get a steady shot with a flawless release.  
  http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=41;t=000050

[RookieBwhunter]

Oh nice. My phone won't bring the video up but ill check it out when I get home. Thanks!