I always miss left. Help!!!

[Boondocks]

I’m still pretty new to shooting a recurve. I have finally (after almost 2 years) gotten where I can shoot well as far as consistency. I can group within a tennis ball out to 18yds and occasionally that group is dead on. However, when I miss, it is ALWAYS left. It’s only 4 to 8 inches and every time I’m shooting left it’s consistent for the day. I can usually put my fingers around my group of 4 arrows but I have no idea why I am shooting left. Can y’all help?  I shoot a 64” SWA Spyder XL. 44# at 29”. My compound draw length is 30.5” but it looks like I’m only drawing 29” on my recurve. I have 34” Black Eagle 400 spine arrows. 125 grain field points. Bear traditional hair rest and I shoot a tab. Thanks in advance for any help for this newbie.

[Terry Green]

Something in your form could because you are making the arrows go left.  Sounds like you have it most times, but then lose it at others.  Maybe not hitting anchor.

When testing arrows they go left if they are stiff. the same 4-8 inches like you.

It could be also, that your arrows are borderline stiff and that's making any tiny deviation in your form is throwing them left.

I'm sure others will be along to give you some other things to think about.

Best of luck!

[Orion]

The shafts are too stiff.  Fletching goes a long way to straighten out the arrow, but it can't keep an overly stiff arrow from going left for a right hand shooter.  A 400 spine is about 78#@28 inches. You could load up the front end with another 100-150 grains.  That might bring them around.  However, if you want to keep shooting a 125 grain point, you will need to drop down to a 500 spine shaft.   

[trick00]

I agree with above posts, too stiff!

[Steelhead]

Not an expert on carbon arrows.But a 34 inch arrow is super long and is gonna reduce the spine of a 400 arrow quite a bit.I would think at that length they would act more like a 500 or 600 spine.If they are too stiff you could add point weight to soften spine.

I think most guys are shooting 500 600 spine with bows at 44 #s at 29 inches draw and a Shorter arrow than the 34 incher your shooting.Point weight varies alot with guys shooting carbon.Some guys front load alot with brass inserts and heavy points.Some not so much.Many fine tune their approximate correct spine for the poundage thier shooting by adjusting insert and or point weight or both.

Form could be an issue on shots.Nobody has perfect form all the time.I should know.Most times when I miss left my allignments off and my drawing elbow is not in line with the arrow nock.Directly behind it.I am coming up short on my draw or full rotation of the back muscles.Sometimes the back muscles are not fully engaged like they should be.Using the arm too much on the draw instead of isolating the back muscles and getting that alignment that I and you may need as well on the left hits.

[808trad]

I found the video that Trevor Fielder of TTT Archery put together entitled, “Why do we “cant” a traditional bow? very helpful in eliminating torque in my bow hand, particularly when using a bow quiver. Reducing torque may help to narrow down one aspect of form that causes grouping to one side.

[Roy from Pa]

This may help you also.
But I think your arrows are too stiff.

[McDave]

You may well have an arrow spine problem.  I agree with those who say you should probably be shooting .500 spine arrows cut back to 30-31” if you want to continue shooting 125 grain points.  Even then, you may find that 145 grain points work better, and you should keep your mind open to that.

However, spine is not what is causing your occasional left misses, at least not on a fundamental level.  Spine errors can make arrows more touchy, and react more to form errors than well tuned arrows would.

But you are almost certainly doing something to cause these occasional left misses.  You are changing something you are doing, or not doing, when your arrows are grouping.  You didn't mention whether you are a RH or LH shooter, and the causes of left misses can be very different for each.

These are the most common causes of left misses for a RH shooter:

Not coming to a consistent anchor: movement of the anchor by 1/8” on the face results in a 6” change in POI on a target 20 yards away.

Not coming to full draw, which leads to the drawing elbow not being behind the arrow: the arrow will tend to follow the direction the drawing forearm is pointing at the time of release.

Shoulders not in alignment: the arrow will tend to fly in the direction the shoulders are pointing at the time of release.

Torquing the bow or the string, as was mentioned.

Arrow not beneath the dominant eye.  Have you checked your eye dominance?  You can force yourself to aim with your non-dominant eye, but your dominant eye will occasionally take over.  Or, this could be a subset of an anchor problem.  One anchor could put the arrow under the dominant eye, while an anchor 1/8” away, or tilting your head inconsistently, could put the arrow to the right of the dominant eye, causing occasional left misses.

String grip problem: having an inconsistent hook, or a hook that relaxes the longer you hold it, could cause occasional left misses.

Not transferring at full draw to the hold position.  This really is just another way of saying that your shoulders are pointing to the left of the target at the point of release, but more specifically that you are not transferring the weight of the hold from your arm muscles to your back muscles by rotating your shoulders into correct alignment as you expand.

There are other potential form issues, of course, but these are the ones I can think of off the top of my head that would be most likely to cause occasional left misses.

[smokin joe]

Quote:
"Arrow not beneath the dominant eye.  Have you checked your eye dominance?  You can force yourself to aim with your non-dominant eye, but your dominant eye will occasionally take over.  Or, this could be a subset of an anchor problem.  One anchor could put the arrow under the dominant eye, while an anchor 1/8” away, or tilting your head inconsistently, could put the arrow to the right of the dominant eye, causing occasional left misses."

Be sure that the above is absolutely not the problem before you mess with your arrows. The back of the arrow has to be consistently beneath your eye. If that is not consistent, it will show up in your shots.

[kennym]

I didn't catch if you are right or left handed.  My bro shoots left at times and says he is sure he is plucking the string.  Dumping the string instead of letting it slip off fingers.

My misses are right but never group, because I don't follow thru and they go low right.

We are both righties...

[Roy from Pa]

Kenny you are correct, he did not say if he shoots righty or lefty.

Here is some more use full tuning info, especially the bare shaft testing method of shooting a bare shaft and a fletched shaft and compare how they GROUP, not which direction the nocks are pointing..

https://www.fenderarchery.com/blogs/archery-info/basic-tuning

[BAK]

It may be a spine issue, but I'm guessing not.  I'm thinking by how you describe the group movement there are times when your being lazy and not holding a strong bow arm for a clean follow through.

[Alexander Traditional]

I wasn't going to get in this,because I'm no expert,but I have had this happen as well. I would bet you are stiff,but when it happens to me the arrows are flying true. With me it's usually with certain bows,and I'm drawing them a little further than I should and the grip for me invites torque,and when I release I my wrist seems to give. Just figured every little insight may help you.

[GCook]

The shafts are too stiff.  Fletching goes a long way to straighten out the arrow, but it can't keep an overly stiff arrow from going left for a right hand shooter.  A 400 spine is about 78#@28 inches. You could load up the front end with another 100-150 grains.  That might bring them around.  However, if you want to keep shooting a 125 grain point, you will need to drop down to a 500 spine shaft.

This would make sense if he was grouping left.  But he isn't.

[GCook]

It may be a spine issue, but I'm guessing not.  I'm thinking by how you describe the group movement there are times when your being lazy and not holding a strong bow arm for a clean follow through.

My thought as well.  I call it flagging.  As I release my bow arm pulls left.

[Terry Green]

It may be a spine issue, but I'm guessing not.  I'm thinking by how you describe the group movement there are times when your being lazy and not holding a strong bow arm for a clean follow through.

My thought as well.  I call it flagging.  As I release my bow arm pulls left.

Yep, being out of alignment can cause that, lack of back tension... Seek for the "Magic T".......

https://www.tradgang.com/tgsmf/index.php?topic=109531.0

Have a laugh, that's the best I could do in 2007. 

[Boondocks]

I am right handed. I went up to the club range today and tried some 150 grain points and it didn’t have much of an effect.  I don’t have any 500 spine arrows to try.  I did really tuck my anchor into my face and that seemed to help a bit.  I noticed one phenomenon though.  I shoot way better at the club range.  I think in the backyard I am worrying about missing the block and hitting the fence and my wife getting mad but when I get where I don’t have to worry about what’s beyond the targets I shoot noticeably better.  Have any of you ever noticed that?  Thanks for all the replies.

[Steelhead]

You certainly dont want to be distracted.The wrath of your wife with holes in the fence could be an issue.Is she a husband beater.That might add to the distraction

Might just build up the area around your target to stop the errant arrows.Haybales etc.

[Miner49er]

You may be pulling your head out a little bit just right before release to watch arrow flight . If you have your bow arm locked out will also result in left shot.

[Roy from Pa]

Dave, buy the wife a bow and get her shooting.

Oops, maybe ya better not, incase she starts out shooting you:)