raising bow arm

[nhbuck1]

im right handed and whenever i shoot good it seems like my bow arm hand is to the right of the target as i draw back, the arrow goes where i want it too, my arm feels like its at a 30 or 35 degree angle, is this a rotational draw? everything just feels more to my right side, can someone enlighten me whats going on, the arrows goes straight, am i raising it wrong? should it be my hand going straight up at the target or the arrow ? thanks for your help

[McDave]

In a rotational draw, as you start your draw, your arrow is lined up with your drawing forearm.  For a RH person, this means that the arrow would be pointing to the left of the target.  As you continue your draw, your arrow stays more or less in line with your drawing forearm as it rotates around your spine.  As you reach full draw, the arrow and your forearm should finally be pointed at the target, but during the draw they are pointed to the left of the target.  Your bow arm stays pointed at the target throughout the draw.

What you are describing does not sound like a rotational draw to me.  What do you mean by 30-35* angle? If your bow arm feels like it is pointed 30-35* to the right of the target, this sounds like the opposite of a rotational draw.  It sounds like you are trying to keep your forearm and the arrow on target as you come to full draw, rather than starting with the arrow to the left of the target and bringing it on target as you complete your draw.  Maybe this will work for you.  There's nothing magic about the rotational draw; it's simply a way of drawing the bow that reduces stress on the shoulders and keeps your forearm in line with the arrow as you draw the bow.

[nhbuck1]

no dave the arrow is pointing to the left of the target but the bow seems like it more in front of me, what can i use as a refrence to bring the bow up properly? the bow riser or anything on the bow is to the right of the target and the arrow is to the left, use this as an example stand straight on to the target  with your head facing straight at the target ( your standing straight on) pick your right arm up in front of you in a natural position where that right arm is, is where the position of my bow arm is at begining of draw, i dont know why the arrow goes where i want raising it this way versus trying to raise it straight on the target, any insight dave?

[McDave]

I'm not sure what you mean by standing "straight on" to the target.  Hopefully you mean perpendicular to the target, and not facing the target.  Standing perpendicular to the target (such that if you put an arrow on the ground touching your toes it would point toward the target) raise the bow with your left hand and point it at the target.  Actually extend your index finger and point at the target, if you want to, just to get the hang of it.  Keep your bow hand pointed toward the target throughout the draw.  They say that we can point at anything with a great degree of accuracy, which is the foundation of instinctive archery.  The bow itself will be a tiny bit to the right of the target, but not 30*, and by the time you get to full draw, your arrow should be pointed somewhere on a vertical line through the target, depending on the distance.  It really doesn't matter where your arrow is pointing while you're drawing the bow, but when you reach full draw, your arrow, your forearm, your shoulders, and your eye should all be pointed/focused on the target.  That is why you hit it.  Don't overthink it, just do it.

[nhbuck1]

thats what i mean my bow hand is to the right of the target as i raise my arm and draw the bow but arrow goes where i want this way, wonder if the bow is twisted some in my hand, not sure ill mess around more tommorow but it works

[McDave]

You can prevent the bow from torquing in your hand by keeping a very light grip on the handle, so that the bow position can adjust as you draw the bow.  That is one of the features of the rotational draw: as the arrow is rotating around toward the target as you draw the bow, the bow handle is also rotating in your grip until it settles in at full draw,

[nhbuck1]

so this is the rotational draw i am doing then? why dosent this work when your on target, why cant i draw straight on the target? i cant shoot to save my life if i start straight on target

[McDave]

I really can't tell if you're using rotational draw without seeing a video of it, but if you're using rotational draw, you're probably using the best method there is for drawing the bow, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.   Many people do draw straight onto the target, but it does seem to put more stress on the shoulders than the rotational draw, which I've noticed myself.  The rotational draw is also supposed to make it easier to get into your back muscles, so maybe you're not fully engaging your back muscles when you draw the bow straight back.

[nhbuck1]

does the rotational draw start out right of the target as well?

[McDave]

Sorry, I don't think I'm capable of describing the rotational draw any better than I did in the 4 posts I made above.