Shooting Form Exercises

[FLHunter]

Well we've got a great thread with good discussion going with the form pics.  

When practicing form I do move up close the target bale and shoot without a target.  Try blank bale shooting from just a few yards maybe 4-5yds.  Take aim at the bale and close your eyes and feel the shot.  Blank bale shooting removes the stress of having to hit the target so you can totally concentrate on your form.


Now "Shoot the Line"          I have two permanent lines on my target bale, one horizontal and one vertical.  As I practice my form I shoot along the lines up and down or across horizontally to work on bow arm control.  Byron Ferguson I believe discusses this exercise in his book "Become the Arrow".  Once I start feeling pretty "spiffy" about shooting a line at a certain range then I move out to see just well I'm really doing.    :(      This exercise teaches you bow arm control on both axis.  I don't try to hit any specific spot along the lines, just stitch arrows as close as I can to  the line that I'm shooting. As I shoot the line I practice my shot sequence on each shot.  

What is shot sequence?  Its how you present yourself to the target.  Your stance, is it aligned properly, is my anchor correct.  Am I at full draw, is my balance correct, and so forth.  As your new form develops you can drop items in the shot sequence as they become second nature to your shooting.

Give it a try it works! Organized practice of a sort.

REMEMBER!  Its better to shoot 10 good arrows than  100 poorly shot arrows!!!!  It just reinforces bad habits.  What your looking for is quality not quantity in good practice  

[Charlie Lamb]

Steve... great advice! I often shoot very long range at anything from telephone poles to fence posts. Anything vertical for practicing "the line". Distance really exagerates errors. Keeps me humble too!  :D

[Raven]

Another great topic for the off season!     I do alot of up close shooting as well working on form and muscle memorie. Have not tryed the line thing, but it sounds good!! Other than shooting I lift weights 3-4 nights a week as well. It really helps with shooting!! I also like to shoot at a candle at night, this will realy make ya focus and feel the shot becouse ya can't realy see your hand. Its amazing how close ya come if ya don't hit. This site should be some good reading as well..    .....Raven

[Jake]

I did the candle at night last year witha bunch of buds and my kids.  We shot for about 6 hrs and had a blast til about 1 in the am on a Saturday night.  Really makes you concentrate and not rush your shot!  Ku    dos!

[lcoast]

Good thread! Ya the candle shooting is a hoot.

Remember when I was a kid we were always shooting different distances. Lots of long distance and lots of lost arrows.    Gotta get back to that.

=keith=

[Douglas DuRant]

Ditto about practicing shot sequence, and the resulting muscle memory. It's real good for us.

[Randy Morin]

Thanks Everyone for the Warm Geetings.  I'm starting to feel at home already.  This is quite the "gang" here.  I've been reading some of the posts and think I've  stumbled into something pretty special here.  I wish I was set up to post some pics of my shooting form for feedback.  That thread rocks!  But I wish I read it a few years ago before all the bad habits (not too many I hope).  

The bows I've built are 3 piece r/d longbows/hybrids.  They are both 64 inch in the mid #50's.  The last one was Bubinga handle with 2 thin crescent accent stripes,  red elm limbs under clear glass with multi layered lim tip overlay's. It shoots real good and got me some deer meat this fall. I built a recurve too but I broke a limb during construction,  (you cant pick up a recurve by the tip like you can a longbow) that one hurt but I had been sanding on the limbs for so long trying to get them strait I was almost relieved when it happened.

Barb...as little as possible in this cold.  The good thing is it slows down the rapid development for a few days.  A few people may even move away after this. Cross fingers.

Chortdraw...there sure are alot of bowyers up-this way.  I'm hoping to meat Dick Robertson at the Montana Trad. Bowhunters dinner next month.  He will be the main speaker.

Skyhook....always.

joe skip......Rocky still is doing some fishing guide work for a guy I know in the summers up here.  I think he is a snow bird though.  Dont know where he goes but I will ask my outfitter friend for some info and get back to you.

Woodsmoke......hey bud!  what a coincidence meeting you here.  NOT!!!

[Randy Morin]

Sorry about the above post.  I dont know how it got onto this thread...I hadn't even opened it.  It was supposed to go to the "Greetings from a Newbie" thread.  (that may have something to do with it).