Hi guys. Got a problem. I love longbows but shoot them like yuke and poo...
Seriously, what can I do to improve my longbow shooting? I hit left everytime. I have bare shafted and get a good spine, but I seem to hit left every time.
What have you guys done to improve your accuracy of long bows to the point of , or better than, your recurve shooting?
You might be squeezing the bow realy tightly on the shot causing the arrow to go left. Try a more relaxed grip and try and distribute the pressure of the bow evenly on your palm. Hope it helps.
Cant
What about those narrow shaft Beman arrows? Would that help any???
I was experiencing much the same-----is your longbow center cut or straight? With a center cut, it shouldn't be much different than your recurve------grip style will be different. I like to have a good firm grip and let the bow push against the heel of my palm a bit when drawn. I have seen it a lot here------hold the bow like you are picking up a heavy piece of luggage.
Is brace height correct? Are the nocks gripping the string too hard?
A lot of people seem to shoot left with a longbow when they first start. Keep your bow arm elbow slightly bent,and that shoulder low. Dont let it raise up like with a recurve with a high grip. Also make sure your drawing arm is up where it`s supposed to be. A low drawing arm will make you pluck down and right. String go to right,arrow go to left.
I have tried all of the Longbows I can think of... Center cut 3/16 past/ ones cut to center but not beyond and the D style bows. Seem to go left regardless...
The shoulder low may help. I'll have to shoot it a bit to find out... That seems like it may work though...
When you say keep your bow arm bent, how much is to much or to little or just right? Thanks
When you say your bare shafts shoot center, do they do it all the time? They should hit center, not just straight. Also, when you fletch them, it has the effect of stiffening the spine slightly. Go to a lighter shaft still, and/or a heavier point. You may also be more conscious of coming to full draw when you're bareshafting, and short drawing when you are not.
What bow are you shooting, what's it's weight, and what is your draw length? What spine arrows are you trying to shoot?
Try three fingers under,ancor in cheak.my left and right was gone.
When my shots wander, it's always because I'm letting my bow arm move at the release.
How tight are your nocks on the arrows, string an arrow hold bow with arrow pointing down, tap string, arrow should release, if not too tight, makes arrows go left. IMHO
If you can watch the video of Howard Hill Shooting on this site, look at the bend in his arm. I have found it difficult to shoot lower poundage bows without extending the bow arm too far and locked. If you can get a copy of hitting them like Howard Hill DVD TRA sells it and look at John Schulz'z form.
cant the bow some.....and don't be afraid to re-evaluate you anchor point...I don't want to get into the difference between gap shooting and instinctive, but you have to have the arrow under your eye in your periphery vision in either case. As our faces are different shapes the corner of the mouth standard does not work for all. My anchor is my eye tooth, puts the arrow where it belongs.
Hey Pastor Steve, go read Dean's article on his site when you get a chance. The elements of style (http://bowyersedge.com/elements.html)
It's a good'un
I think if you "cant" at different degress, you will start to see the arrow walk right with the amount of "cant".
Almost every time I shoot left (being right handed), it is because of dropping my arm to take a peek at my shot. Hold and watch the arrow hit the target. If you are already doing that, then point weight, softer grip, and other suggestions listed here.
Funny thing to try, but have you tried to shoot with the cock feather in? It made a difference for me.
FWIW: I shoot my LB straight up/down (no cant).
Welcome to long bows. Lots of fun, but humbling...
BobW
I shoot and have shot longbows exclusively for the past 6 years. If you are shooting left, IMO it is a tuning issue. Again IMO, if you have a properly tuned setup, how much or how little you cant the bow will not affect right and left. After watching Terry Greens video, I experimented with shooting targets behind me with a reverse cant and discovered that if the arrow spine is correct for the bow you will still hit the mark.
QuoteOriginally posted by PastorSteveHill:
What about those narrow shaft Beman arrows? Would that help any???
A thinner arrow shaft will move you closer to center if you are'nt already there. It will allow you to shoot a slightly stiffer shaft, but will still require the proper spine for your bow.
What is your draw weight, actual draw length, arrow shaft (spine), arrow length, and point weight?
I shoot groups of 4 (2 fletched and 2 bare shafts) to determine if I am shooting the correct spine for my bow. Bare shafts and fletched arrows should group together if the spine is correct and the nock point is where it needs to be. Lots of folks use the nock high/low or nock left/right to determine arrow spine and nock point. IMO this works IF you get a perfect release. I have found that O.L.'s method works best, and if you have bare shafts and fletched arrows grouping together they will impact straight (not nock high/low/left/right) when you get a perfect release. In other words, IMO both methods get you to the same conclusion but O.L.'s method is a little more forgiving of a less than perfect release.
i had the same problem steve,what i did was bend my bow arm a little more than usual because i was constantly hitting my armguard.but most importantly in my case i really started concentrating on burying my release on every shot and keeping my bowarm up until my arrow reaches its target.
i had the same problem steve,what i did was bend my bow arm a little more than usual because i was constantly hitting my armguard.but most importantly in my case i really started concentrating on burying my anchor on every shot and keeping my bowarm up until my arrow reaches its target.
oops
Steve ,
With any new to you bow you will have to adjust your site picture and get use to the grip wether its a longbow or recurve . With a longbow really work on holding that bow arm steady before and after the shot " I can not stress that enough" , longbows are lighter in weight than a recurve and for me at least I had to do alot of work steading my bow arm. Also like others have said you will have to grip the longbow more from the side than more center like you would a recurve or even a compound . Trust me though , if you give the longbow enough time you will be able to shoot it as well as a recurve .
Mike
:D Cant the bow till it moves over. :thumbsup:
shoot.shoot.shoot.shoot.shoot.shoot.shoot.shoot.
get the picture?
If you're shooting instinctively, it will eventually correct iteself.
Hi guys. I have a problem with my bare shafts and fletched arrows grouping.. Here is why..
I learned to shoot from Rick Welch. So I use the fletching to touch my nose as a second anchor point. Without my nose touching that feather, I don't know where the arrow will hit. With it touching the fletching I am confident I'll hit pretty close. So O.L's method doesn't work to good for me. I bare shaft and go from there...
I have been shooting a Roy Hall Apache/ 47 lbs. and I shoot Carbon Express Heritage 150's out of it.. NO point weight.
I did get some velcro (female sided) and used it as my strike plate and this seemed to do the trick??? Who knows, tommorrow is another day. HOpe it did the trick anyway....
did you fletch your own arrows to compensate for using the cockfeather? if not then it may be a form issue,,, i think.
just because you use the fletching to touch your nose at anchor doesnt mean you cant do OL's group testing method.
If you are consistently shooting left and you find out the bow is tuned pretty good.
Take a look at a few things:
yur body alignment (draw arm, shoulder, arrow alignment). I've never videoed myself but I should!!! It's fun watching everyone else on the shooters forum. Atleast makes me think about what I'm doing when I'm practicing for form in the house.
Are you dead releasing or pulling through? dead release can give you a left impact.
Lastly, and I would check this first, is your arrow alignment. For a right hander, over drawing, you'll shoot left all day long! it's like moving your rear site to the left.
There is a lot of factors, you need to work through them one by one. Bow tuning is where I'd start here, so I should have mentioned this first.
Once the bow is tuned, I'd look at you, the shooter. If you are doing things right....the only thing left is where you're pointing the bow.
I like to bareshaft, then paper tune, then try Ol's group testing. Used to finish on the paper and shoot my bh's before season, just started trying this method, definatly interesting and it works. But I dont like starting off in the blind, breaking wood arrows in hard targets because they are off. Bareshaft up close and moving to paper tuning will help fix this. Ol's method seems to confirm what I'm doing. WOrks for me, my 14 fingers and 5 eyeballs ;)
I don't know about the other guys but, I was having trouble switching back and forth from longbows to recurves. I just couldn't get good groups at all while shooting both. So, I finally had to sell all my recurves and just shoot longbows. But that seems to even have it's downside. I have one TD cut past center and another one piece that's not. still having the same problems...Think I'm going to just become a one bow kinda man.......
What scattershot said gets my vote! I'm an expert at doing what he said.
pinenut
Don't think of it as "shooting a longbow". You are shooting a bow, period. Don't put a death grip on it, don't torque, work on getting a good release, cant you head at the same angle as the bow, have your bow and arrows matched adn tuned........the same things you do shooting any bow.
I'm no pro by any stretch of the imagination, but I can pick up my longbow, recurve, or selfbow--or pretty much any bow--and within a few shots be "on" within reasonable distances. Convince yourself you can't shoot this or that bow, and you won't ever be able to shoot it.
Chad
Thanks Boys, learned alot on this post... Great place to learn.... Many blessings
Right on Chad. I have been saying that for years. If you are an experienced archer with decent form you can pick up almost any bow and shoot it well provided it and arrows are tuned. Sounds like a form problem.
Hi Pastor,
I have had a number of longbows and recurves over the years and everyone I have had when I switch from recurves to longbows I shoot left. Now after shooting the longbow for a couple of years my mind has adjusted and I hit right on. When I shoot my recurves I shoot to the right.
Many good suggestions.
Concerning the form issues, are there any experienced trad archers in your area who can watch you shoot an perhaps coach you a little?
I've found that taking a video of myself is very eye-opening. I was having poor flight issues, and by taking a video, I discovered that I was plucking the string terribly. A video might reveal that you are plucking, pulling, dropping, whatever.
It seems often what we think we're doing is something completely different than what we're actually doing.
Right hand shooter hitting left is easily fixed by a weaker spine, heavier point.
I don't know how you can be tuned and yet not hit where you are shooting??
Pete
I just read Deans article...very informative