What do you think makes your bow accurate?

[DaveT1963]

What makes my bow more accurate is based upon who is holding it..... unfortuantely, that is usually someone else  

[Ulysseys]

Nice responses guys....but it isn't just about the archer, as katman said, there are design attributes too.  Granted, I'm not having a problem with the shorter bow, I'm loving it, but I do recognize that it takes me much more concentration to be accurate with it.  I feel like despite being designed to be short nothing really accounts for length in forgiveness and accuracy.

[fmscan]

Love this thread, I learned a lot... Laws of physics regarding the bow plus the shooter appear to be the answer. Now I just have to find the right shooter for my bow!

[Red Beastmaster]

I think I could shoot a broomstick well if it had a Brackenbury or Abbott grip on it.

With me, it's all about the grip.

[RC]

Of the bows ive hunted with which has been many i have learned this...for me.
 one pc longbows seem to be more accurate for me the longer they are, takedowns that are short the ones with the most mass wt in the riser seem best.I like to shoot one pc longbows so the perfect bow for me would be a long one with a very heavy riser.I plan on building one for deer season this year . A mild r/d 66 long with a diamond wood riser. We`ll see.RC

[dirtguy]

Practice

[Sixby]

Tiller, timing, limb alignment to each other, horizontal stability of the limb, vertical stability of the limb, cut of sight window, If a three piece then squareness and degree of accuracy in the over all build. Weight of limbs in relationship to each other. fit of grip to the shooter. The shooter does not make a bow more or less accurate. The Bowyer does that. The shooter utilizes the inherent accuracy of each individual to the degree of ability he or she has. Another thing.

Just as all shooters are not equal, Neither are all bows equal. I have many customers ask me why my bows are more accurate than other bows. Here is what I tell them. They are only more accurate than other bows that are not built and designed as well. We may shoot one bow more accurately than another simply because we are used to shooting it and have adjusted to it, however that does not mean that another bow is not inherently more accurate if we took the time to get adjusted to it.
During the time I have built bows I have had customers say this is the most awesome bow I have ever shot.
I have also had others sell it the next day.
Then I have had others say I cannot shoot this bow real well and I got all upset but two weeks later call me up and say after giving it some time it is now my favorite bow. What happened?

Did the bow get suddenly better? Nottttttttttt
The shooter adjusted to shooting the bow and got used to the grip. Now he loves it.

When a customer sells a bow in one day he is not willing to give it a chance. The man that does just may find the best horse in the stable.

God bless, Steve

[Ulysseys]

Nice post Steve, exactly my wonderings/point.  My 64" brand X longbow IS more accurate than my 56" longbow brand Y due to it's build and specs, despite the 56"er being built to be shorter and fit my specs, as the 64" one was as well.  You can't really say all bows are inherently equally accurate if shot from a hooter shooter because until I can get a hooter shooter in a tree it's an irrelevant point.  My wonderings in this post is that there are a lot of fantastic short designs coming out that are specifically designed to be short but is there a loss in accuracy despite the design?  For me it seems so.

[FerretWYO]

Originally posted by Ulysseys:
For me it seems so.

I would speculate this is the true answer to this question. I know people who will fight both sides to the death.

[Dale in Pa]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned physical weight. Most bows made today can be had with your favorite grip,most are tillered,timed properly.

The length affects finger pinch and your ability to effect a clean release,but physical weight inherent in a longer bow usually makes a longer bow easier to shoot accurately.

[Gentle-Savage]

I just went to cabelas and exchanged my Bear Archery Super Kodiak for a SuperMag 48.. The Kodiak was a 60# draw, and I found it was a little too much for me to be able to shoot as much as I wanted to in order to zero in on my form (back was so sore after shooting 150 arrows that I had to take a break for 3-4 days).  

my supermag 48 arrives in the mail today - 50# draw. I have no rational explanation for WHY i feel i will like the shorter bow (48#, forward grip centerline arrow rest) - except that my guy tells me this will be a better fit, so I'm listening to my gut (sometimes referred to the "balls" brain, or primal instinct)

if anyone has any real world experience shooting the supermag 48 I'd love to hear how it shot for you

[LimBender]

Grip and practice.

[ghoster808]

For me, if the riser has nice lines, pretty wood and was expensive, It will always be accurate. If not, I keep telling myself it's is so.    well at least till the next one comes along lol.

[Knawbone]

" ME "!!!!  

[Plumber]

look, I got this friend who has been shooting all his life he has taught me a lot he buys bows off X-bay that are 20-30 yrs old for 100-150 dollars.he can kick my but all day long.( I shoot a Shaffer silvertip) assuming things are tuned.form maybe the most important.on a IBO course of 30 targets I shoot a 190-200 he will shoot a 240 plus.On the other hand I have owned my share of custom bows when I got my silver tip I saw my score jump on average 10-13-points.I really cant say*** its that one thing***. the mental aspect plays a major roll as well

[Bowwild]

No matter the bow, without proper repeatable form (not necessarily the same thing)and right thinking, accuracy will be difficult to achieve and near impossible to maintain.

Conversely, give the best made bow in the world with perfectly tuned arrows to an archer that has a variable anchor, torques the grip, moves the draw hand in and out from the face (from shot to shot), and any number of other process flaws, and the bow "won't shoot where he looks".

I do think some bows are an aid to the archer like some have written above. Some grips help set the bow hand correctly for each shot or end. Other things such as mass weight, length, and design features I know nothing about, may moderate imperfections in the archer's process.

I believe a very competent archer can be accurate with any bow.

[Stixbowdrew]

Good practice, and shooting a lot, becoming familiar with the bow.

[lbshooter]

I had this question over 30 years ago. I'm  mostly a stump shooter(field marks), and hunter.  When I had a shooting position where I could shoot with perfect form I was able to shoot my various bows with comparable accuracy.  The aspect that determines my most accurate bow is the design that enables me to be out of form, or change the speed of the shot sequence with the least amount of impact on accuracy and conscious adjustment to achieve it. There was a definite difference between my bows under these circumstances. I guess this is what they call "forgiving".

[coldwinterlake]

I used to shoot two inch groups with my 68" 45# longbow from about 15 meters. The bow cost less than 200€ and it was very intermediate bow.
Now with a 500+€ bow I'm not even nearly as accurate.
Main thing is to shoot enough with ONE bow and not change the bow every other day  :D
My current go-to bow is much heavier, shorter, faster and the grip is much chunkier. I like it very much but my body still remembers the old one too clearly.

[cahaba]

Originally posted by RC:
Of the bows ive hunted with which has been many i have learned this...for me.
 one pc longbows seem to be more accurate for me the longer they are, takedowns that are short the ones with the most mass wt in the riser seem best.I like to shoot one pc longbows so the perfect bow for me would be a long one with a very heavy riser.I plan on building one for deer season this year . A mild r/d 66 long with a diamond wood riser. We`ll see.RC

So true...This is why top Olympic target shooters shoot long heavy bows. I know we are mostly hunters but the question was about accuracy.