I have my bow tuned very well and at 20yrds I shoot left most of the time. I should mention that this is with all the bows I shoot. It's driving me nuts. The bow I am shooting now is a Car-bow Peregrine 49@28 I draw 27" and the arrows are GT 35/55 cut to 28 1/4 with 145 up front. Any ideas?
Is it the bow / arrow combination or is it you ?
Your eye position as you are aiming, your eye dominance, your release, your grip (torque) on the bow. All of these things could very easily play a part in these results, which , of course, makes life interesting.
ChuckC
I don't think it is the bow, is it me I don't know.
there are many things that can cause this. If your arrows are tuned properly and you still hit left, try a softer side plate material. In most cases a softer material will cause your arrows to act weaker and will move your point of impact over.
You could be over drawing slightly, pulling your hand away from your face upon release or not burying your anchor good enough. Been there and it was the quality of my release. Find the video by Moebow on rotational drawing and hand position, it will likely open your eyes (look in the - here it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c8_-96h6BY In fact look at all of Arne's videos.
I anchor with mi thumb nail on my inner cheek bone. When I let my anchor drift out to the outside of my cheek bone I shot left.
You say you have your bow tuned very well, but with a similar weight bow, but drawn to 28 - 28 1/2" I was getting good results with the 3555's cut at 30.5" and 145 gr points. Have you bare-shafted those 3555's? Just for grins and chuckles, you might try 175 gr and see if that pulls things back a bit more to the right. It's a super simple change before you rip out too much hair or make other changes.
Same problem that I deal with, try turning your chin slightly towards your shoulder more. For me it lines me up better. If I don't the arrow zings left like a magic trick. At 20 yards spine of a fletched shaft really doesn't throw me much unless way off, just less forgiving. Another culprit for me is the ring finger creating issues.
QuoteOriginally posted by Pete McMiller:
You could be over drawing slightly, pulling your hand away from your face upon release or not burying your anchor good enough. Been there and it was the quality of my release. Find the video by Moebow on rotational drawing and hand position, it will likely open your eyes (look in the - here it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c8_-96h6BY In fact look at all of Arne's videos.
I agree with this statement. I had to change mid-season because of overdrawing. I could not get a good release and was hitting left. This video was great also.
Do you shoot right or left handed?
I agree with Ron on double checking that arrow first. A 28" GT 35-55 with 145 grains up front shows too stiff for me even with my 50# bows.
Keep your bow arm pushed at the target. If you don't and your right handed you will shoot left.
Use a lower spined arrow, heavier head or lower the brace height (assuming you are right handed).
you know if you say your have your bow well tuned I'll go with that.
I know alignment is huge! It threw me left for a lot of years. Great groups just left.
For me just turning my head was enough, but I believe a lot of body alignment will do it also along with thinking you're releasing the string straight back when you're really not, you're letting go a bit off your face (or a bunch).
if you're shooting a longbow or heel down it can also throw you left depending on your degree of cant. read asbells book that covers longbows to understand it. Its pretty simple...or fergusons book has it also.
This is all assuming your a right handed guy.
Ranger 3, I've been having problems shooting left also and have discovered several issues. I agree with those above that your arrows may be a bit stiff. I would clear that issue up first for sure.
And I also agree with Lost Creek Bows that you must keep pushing and pull through out the shot. As a friend of mine says, never quit pushing, never quit pulling through.
The other problem that I discovered was that I was dropping my bow arm. The bow arm MUST stay stable and follow through until the arrow hits the target.
And lastly, do not take your eye off the spot you want to hit until the arrow arrives.
All sounds simple, but harder to execute on a regular basis.
Good luck, be safe and have fun!
If everything is tuned right and your shooting left for a right hand shooter, then it is your bow arm. Pushing your bow arm taunt can kick your arrow left. I have a relaxed bow arm to act like a shock absorber and concentrated on keeping that bow arm as still as possible. There is a bunch of good info on the shooting forum. I would look over there. Tim in NC
Drewstew you live close to us, sent you a message
right handed its a stiff arrow problem , try more point weight
It could all just come down to eye dominence..I am right handed and when I started shooting traditional I shot right handed..and same thing everything went to the left. I was getting so frustated and it was starting to not be fun..I was even thinking about a compound but stuck with it..I was at the Kalamazoo expo and talked to T.J Conrad..He asked me if I'd ever checked for eye dominence and I said I had'nt.. He walked me thru it..he said point at something and close your right eye..I. did and it stayed on the thing I pointed to..then he said close your left eye..I did and it jumped to the left..he told me I was left eye dominate..then I remembered I got hit in the eye with a rock when I was a kid..and that changed my life..I started shooting left handed and ican shoot with about anybody..and I'm having a blast..now the arrow goes where I want it to go..check it out that might be your problem...its not too hard to switch..but it made a hundred miles worth of difference..Good luck hope this helps..
I'm RH but left-eye dominant. I shoot LH.
I was regularly throwing an arrow right a few inches -- the opposite of you but I shoot opposite handed. It really bugged me.
I thought it was my right-eye trying to "help" a bit. The way to test this is to shut the off-eye so it can't help (for me shut the right eye, for you shut the left eye). It didn't help. So it wasn't a co-dominance issue -- good because I didn't want to shoot one-eyed and loose distance perception, peripheral vision, and balance.
I then noticed (I was shooting a Schafer Silvertip with a checkered grip -- I was about to blame the grip and torque). I noticed in an end of 5 arrows I threw one right again and I realized during follow through my draw hand had left the side of my face just a bit. Aha, the hand is supposed to "paint the face" throughout follow-through. Next end I made sure to paint the face. That was it!
There are many possibilities but that was it for me.
Didn't read all the posts so forgive me if this has been mentioned but I cured my wife and myself of this by closing my stance to the target just a bit. This is assuming your a right handed shooter. Move your left foot a few inches father to the right when you address the target. My arm would snap over to the left just a bit when I shot so I closed my stance to the target a bit and really concentrated on pushing the bow to the target. Just my experience.
Using back tension and getting full expansion of the back muscles will get you in line and help with the dreaded left hit which is not unusual for a right handed shooter. Getting the body in the right position like the shot clock shown in the shooting section is key. I had my doubts to I started doing it right and realized what I was missing.
also if you turn your face into the string and dont leave it square with target it pushes your anchor out to right from bow and will cause a shot left.....squaring up to target may help. It could be all or anyone of these issues...
Eye dominance
Stiff spine if right handed
Bow arm swinging to left at shot
Face DEEP in anchor(turned to right..will feel lip getting hit sometimes like this)...gives longer draw but causes arrow to shoot left all things being equal. I do it and have been working to get out of that bad habit for a bit now.
proper back tension...keeping face towards target...bringing string to your face rather than trying to help by moving face as well.
Just cant the bow a little more. I like a simple fix to the problem.
I do not disagree with any of the advice you have been given. I will only add that I recently discovered what had been causing me to shoot nice groups to the left of my target. (I have been using some very light limbs to work on my form and I have been paying particular attention to my shot process.)
For me, it was the elbow of my bow arm. I was getting sloppy. When I made a deliberate effort to rotate the elbow of my bow arm until the elbow was pointed "out", parallel to the ground, the tendency to group left went away,immediately.
If my elbow was even slightly "pointed down", even a little, my group started shifting left. Too much, "pointed down", of course, caused the bowstring to whack my arm guard every once in awhile. Even a little slop in my elbow position can cause my arrows to shift left, 2"-4", at twenty yards, for this right handed archer....
Good luck.
When I hit left which also drives me nuts... It's bc I collapse. I have this little extra movement sometimes searching for my anchor when I get tired or sometimes when I am just getting going bc I'm not warmed up good and rushing the shot. For me its nothing but target panic.
Dave
I suspect its more of an eye - arrow alignment problem than a spine issue. One way to check is to draw to anchor facing a mirror. See if the string is outside to the right of your eye. If they are not in line you will tend to shoot left. overdrawing the arrow to the side of face or too high anchor point can cause this.
It has been said but try keeping your bow arm fixed on target until you see the arrow strike home...strong follow through!
I would start by adding a heavier point and see what happens.
Sounds like your bow arm. Same thing happens to me when I shoot longbows. If I'm not pushing just a bit arrows always go left. Try a 250 grain point too. May not fix the problem but it might if your technique is sound.
Lots of suggestions here, but for me, a .500 shaft cut 28 1/4" with 145gr. would be too stiff even for my 55-58# bows. Depending on center-shot of the bow, I'd add another 100gr. and see what happens.
I don't have any suggestions that have not already been made. Mike Fedora once told me that if you are a righty and you miss it will always be left.