List of causes for hitting left or right- please add your insights

[arachnid]

Hi guys.
I'm teaching new guys instinctive archery and sometimes I can't  figure out why they are hitting left or right.
I'd like to make a list of causes for hitting left/right.
If you have something to add- please do.

[McDave]

These are for a person who shoots a righthanded bow; reverse for left handed.

Right misses:

Plucking
Collapsing or creeping
Not relaxing fingers on release (trying to let go of the string)
Eye not over arrow
Arrow tuning issues

Left misses:

Shoulders and/or string forearm aligned to left of target
Torquing the string or the bow handle
Eye not over arrow
Not coming to full draw - string elbow not behind the arrow
Arrow tuning issues

Low misses:

Dropping bow arm
Peeking
String arm elbow too high

High misses:

Plucking up (no pun intended)
String arm elbow too low
Focusing on arrow tip rather than target

General:

Failure to draw to a consistent anchor can cause errors in any direction
Using arm muscles rather than back muscles to draw the bow results in a general lack of accuracy and increased muscle fatigue

[fnshtr]

What McDave said!

Alignment issues are often at the root of misses.

[arachnid]

Wow thanks Dave. A hack of a list

[GCDog]

thanks for the info McDave!  I’m a newbie and was looking for some type of list which helps in  interpreting shot patterns.  High and to the right.

[McDave]

High and to the right can often be the result of creeping or collapsing.  Creeping is where you give up an inch or two of draw before you let loose of the string, but don't lose control of the shot.  Collapsing is an extreme form of creeping.  Plucking is an effort to save the shot before collapsing happens.  All are a result of losing back tension during the process of releasing the shot.  Maintaining back tension needs to be a part of your followthrough, so that you have just as much back tension after the release as you do just before.  What happens is that your brain sends a signal to your fingers to relax, and on the way it lets all the other guys in the chain know that they can relax too; after all, the shot is over, right?  What you need to learn is how to relax your fingers while keeping your back muscles tensed.

It is often hard to tell that you are creeping.  It helps to have an observer tell you when you are creeping, and eventually you'll be able to feel it.  Or, you can video yourself, but instant feedback is better.

[moebow]

GREAT LIST McDave!!  Left and right are nearly ALWAYS form and execution -- seldom spine or tuning.

Arne

[Firstlight]

Nice list MdDave.  I’ve been having a bout of high right and I was wondering if I was creeping / collapsing, which I think I am.  I’m blaming my bow arm!

[trad_bowhunter1965]

These are for a person who shoots a righthanded bow; reverse for left handed.

Right misses:

Plucking
Collapsing or creeping
Not relaxing fingers on release (trying to let go of the string)
Eye not over arrow
Arrow tuning issues

Left misses:

Shoulders and/or string forearm aligned to left of target
Torquing the string or the bow handle
Eye not over arrow
Not coming to full draw - string elbow not behind the arrow
Arrow tuning issues

Low misses:

Dropping bow arm
Peeking
String arm elbow too high

High misses:

Plucking up (no pun intended)
String arm elbow too low
Focusing on arrow tip rather than target

General:

Failure to draw to a consistent anchor can cause errors in any direction
Using arm muscles rather than back muscles to draw the bow results in a general lack of accuracy and increased muscle fatigue

Great advice !!!!!

[gobbler10ga]

What if your longbows shoot left but recurves dont????

[McDave]

What if your longbows shoot left but recurves dont????

Happens to me every time I shoot a Hill style longbow.  I'm used to shooting bows that are cut past center.  Because of that, I made a decision early on to only shoot bows with similarly cut shelves, because I didn't want to have to make that mental adjustment every time I switched bows.  In my case, I decided to continue shooting recurves and longbows cut past center, rather than longbows cut short of or only to center.  My friend who loves shooting Hill style longbows has the opposite problem: he hits right whenever he shoots a bow cut past center.  He likes to shoot both types, so he has been known to build out the shelf on a bow cut past center to (in my opinion) a ridiculous degree to get it to hit in the same spot as his Hill longbows.  I notice he isn't doing that anymore, so I would suspect he has trained himself to make the necessary mental adjustment instead.

[gobbler10ga]

Thanks McDave its been driving me crazy

[Aaron Proffitt 2]

GREAT LIST McDave!!  Left and right are nearly ALWAYS form and execution -- seldom spine or tuning.

Arne

Now what ?

[moebow]

Not sure what you are asking Aaron.  If hitting left or right, look to your form and execution.

Arne

[madmaxthc]

When everything else has been excluded, some more unlikely factors might be the cause. In my case, I changed the way I made strings, and decided to test my shafts to see if the spine was still adequate. I could not figure out for the life of me the right spine, results were very inconsistent... till I realized the string was slowly unraveling... I guess this can happen when a novice decides to start making their own strings.

Another one: Once I ordered new shafts cut at 30"; they behaved differently then the old ones, and I soon realized the old ones were actually 31".

Just my two cents

[8upss]

I shoot right handed.

If I’m hitting to the left, I’m over drawing.

If I’m hitting to the right I’m collapsing.


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[pavan]

Just came in after shooting three hundred arrows.  Taking a bunch of long shots for some of it, secondary aiming.  i used a recurve cut 1/8 past center and 5 pound stiffer 3/8" out from center Sunset Hill, same aluminum arrows for both bows.  When the arrow flies on line with itself, it makes no difference how deep the sight window is cut, if you reference the arrow in the shot process.  If your reference is the feel in your bow hand, well, that could be your problem.  When I start folks out, getting them to 'not' look directly at the arrow to check their draw length is always a challenge.  The wrong eye has a better perspective when doing that, unless they do a long hold and sighting correction, it looks they split the difference with their dominant eye over the arrow when shooting.  Left and right misses are the result.  The center of the center of what you are trying to hit is the only place your focus should be, your eyes start dancing around, your shot placement starts dancing around.

[mahantango]

I agree. I'll admit up front I'm a gap shooter, but as long as the nock is under my eye, and the arrow is aligned with the target, the depth of shelf cut makes no difference. Even mis-spined shafts, while the flight may be crappy, pretty much go down the line.