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Main Boards => The Shooters FORM Board => Topic started by: Mailmanmie42 on April 10, 2025, 11:20:49 AM
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I am an instinctive shooter who started out snap shooting from the start. After videoing myself I realized I never actually hit anchor, not good. I have found anchoring the back knuckle of my thumb against my cheek bone feels consistent and I'm really accurate. I know I'm giving up a couple inches of draw length shooting like that. When I try and draw past that point and anchor with my finger tips on my face my accuracy suffers. I would appreciate any suggestions. Or should I stick with what is working? Btw, I am a split finger shooter
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There is something to be said for the old expression, “if it ain't broke, don't fix it,” and what you're doing seems to be working for you.
OTOH, I don't suppose you would have written in if you were completely happy with what you're doing. So FWIW, when I teach people to shoot, I stress that anchor is the most important thing to learn in the whole shot sequence. They probably will change their anchor as they progress, but they should be anchoring somewhere, every time they shoot, from the first time they shoot until they put the bow down for good.
As to where you should anchor, it will speed the process if you learn good alignment first, because you will never shoot as well as you're capable if your anchor prevents you from coming to full draw. “Terry's Form Clock” is an example of good alignment, and I just moved it to the top of the PowWow section so it will be easy for you to find.
My recommendation is to come to full draw with good alignment, without anchoring anywhere. In other words, hold your drawing hand about an inch away from your face. When you are satisfied that you are at full draw with good alignment, then move your string hand in so it touches your face, without disturbing your good alignment. You will find that you can move your string hand a short ways up or down your face without disturbing your alignment, so there are a number of possible anchors you could choose.
Find some place that is repeatable. My own choice is my index finger pressing up against the bottom of my cheek bone, but a lot depends on your own facial bone structure. It is important to anchor some place where the arrow will be underneath your dominant eye, because that will allow you to hit where you're looking, at least it will once your arrows are tuned to your bow. If your arrow is off to one side or the other of your dominant eye, your natural tendency will be to miss to the left or right until you learn to correct that problem, which is an unnecessary step if you line up the arrow under your eye to start with.
If all these changes feel awkward, you may shoot worse at first, but eventually you will shoot better than you would if you used an anchor that didn't allow you to get into good alignment.
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I really appreciate the advice, and I will work on what you said to try. The thing is I'm actually shooting really well with the unusual anchor. I've just never heard of or seen anyone shoot like that. And I didn't like giving up the draw length