What makes a bow accurate?

[Butchie]

The correct arrow for the bow and the person shooting it.

[savage1]

Most any bow with the right arrows to match the archers draw is capable of shooting better than the archers ability. One example, I have seen beautiful bows in my travels that have "noodle limbs" vertically unstable that were shot accurrately.
Choose longbow or recurve, then buy what you like that does'nt stack at your draw from a guy that has a good track record. Like others have said, it begins with the right arrow for the bow and you. The rest is up to you.

Lou

[Echo62]

The hands that hold the grip and the string. And the arrow has to be right.

[stillhunter]

I see it in other shooting sports. The person buys a fancy trap gun, the regulation is perfect(while using sights),and it throws a perfect pattern. The problem is on the range or in the field the person can't hit nothing. Solution-get rid of it or do stock work.(Maybe he can change loads but he already gets good "flight".) A compounder just moves the pin all else being equal. Match the bow to the archer not the archer to the bow. I have a Howatt recurve that shot a perfect arrow just not where I was looking so I built out the shelf one thickness and it drove tacks. Fred Bear did it and he could had any bow but tweeked to change his point of hitting what he was looking at. If you already own a bow that doesn't shoot for you it can't hurt to try. Form and good arrows come first but a bow fitting you is equal.

[MCS]

I was thinking when someone else shoots it.

[xtrema312]

I agree with a lot of what has been said, but there is a lot to be said about the bow and not the archer like the right grip, mass weight, cut past center, and limb stability. After all olympic archers don't shot just any old bows.

[DennyK]

Once the bow is properly tuned it's the person behind it.

[LBOW]

YOU and only YOU. It's as simple as that or as difficult as that. I would say consistence above all else.  MIKE

[Craig]

Originally posted by BWD:
Unless it's a bad fit from the start, almost all bows are very accurate for the first two weeks you own them. I think it has to do with the shooter's heightened level of concentration.

Yes, How true.  
  I guess we are assuming the bow was properly made.
  I remember having a Black Widow that really shot accurate, so I decided to have the same model made with all the same woods and glass. Exactly the same. This new bow I hated it. It didn't feel good for me. Since it didn't feel good it wasn't accurate. The bow has to feel good to the shooter.

[Gen273]

Most of the time it is the man holding it.

[Bowhunter4life]

Originally posted by Cyclic-Rivers:
The archer makes the bow accurate, some bows just fit better for some people.

I don't know which number I am to agree with this, but it is the truth.  There will not be a bow that is the most accurate for everyone as everyone is different.  

Everything that gets a person/bow combination accurate is in the hands or mind of the shooter.  Fit, feel, tuning, shot execution, everything...  There are a lot of different bow designs out there, and really the only way for you to know what works for you is to try them.

[mike g]

If you think it's the best shootin bow in the world, then it will be....

[swamp donkey]

What makes a bow accurate? The archer and the arrows mainly. Any bow can be shot accurately as long as you shoot it enough to get used to it.

[old_goat2]

I think bow accuracy is mostly effected by the string actuator! How well the bow fits as far as length, weight etc makes a huge difference, but good repeatable form trumps all in my opinion.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

If we are talking about the bow itself, there are some bows that are more forgiving to a less than perfect release, but you have to reach an advanced  level of consistency before that becomes a serious factor.

 Consistency  and  Repeatability  

Is what makes an "Archer" accurate. To find a bow that helps you become more consistent, or have one custom built to fit you is a large step in the right direction......But...

 Matching the arrows to the bow....

Is critical....


 Good form with a solid anchor

comes next.....


Bottom line is that it's the archer that makes the bow accurate.... But some bows are a bit more forgiving of our errors, or misjudged yardage estimates.

[calgarychef]

Bows aren't necessarily accurate but arrows sure can be.  It takes a pretty bad bow to shoot poorly with properly matched arrows.

[moleman]

Heres my take on this. Ive got many different bows of different styles, some old, some new, some cut to center, past center, or no shelf at all but the one common denominator that makes ALL of them accurate, is properly matched shafts for each and every one. Ive yet to find a bow that was NOT accurate, so long as the arrow is properly matched to the bow, the bow is set up correct and consistent form and follow thru are executed.
There are a lot of great bows out there, but none of them will ever shoot to there full potential without the investment of time to find the proper shaft, for it is the properly flying shaft that gets the job done, as the bow just supplies the energy to propel it.

Years ago, i used a shooting machine. With my BW target bow it was pretty good, but at times i got tighter groups at 45 yards than the machine. we padded the clamp with rubber and then if we tried to shoot four arrows the third or fourth arrow would break an arrow in the target. I tried a heavy Hill longbow and if it was slightly canted it was just as good as the target bow. we could not get a 48" recurve to work very good at all.  Not saying that all short bows are not accurate, because my wife's 54" hybrid seems planety good out to 40 yards.  But on the whole I would bet the average would be for a longer length for most shooters. if you find a bow that you don't mess up its action when shooting and you have the perfect arrow for it, that would be the accurate bow.

[Sixby]

Question of the thread: What makes a bow accurate?
Answer. perfect timing, great stability verticaly and horizontaly, and a bowyer that knows how to do these things. Add a great fit to the hand and style of the shooter, good fletch clearance and you will have an accurate bow.

This leaves the most important factor if you have arrows that are a perfect match for this great bow.

The shooter , this is a different topic though and thoroughly worthy of discussion.

All bows are not equal even when built by the same builder. Some bows are better bows. Period.
God bless you, Steve

[Bowwild]

I agree with a lot already written. Surely proper and consistent form and well tuned arrows are important.

I have spent considerable time with a few dozen curves the past 3.5 years looking fir a compatible rig. A few are very definitely more accurate for me. A couple were so finicky I hated them and others loved them.

I think there is more in the bow than a lot give credit. I think a bowyer, if he wanted,  could make a bad shooting bow by having a torque inducing grip, wrong tiller, unstable limbs, bad balance, etc.  So, if a bad one can be built it would stand to reason that good ones are by design.