{"id":640,"date":"2019-11-15T10:24:39","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T10:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archerymind.com\/?p=640"},"modified":"2022-05-07T22:28:02","modified_gmt":"2022-05-07T19:28:02","slug":"archery-accuracy-13-tips-to-improve-your-precision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archerymind.com\/archery-accuracy-13-tips-to-improve-your-precision\/","title":{"rendered":"Archery Accuracy | 13 Tips To Improve Your Precision!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Every archer out there is working towards the same goal: increasing their shooting precision<\/strong>. But there are so many things to focus on, including how you perform the shot, your gear itself and your mental headspace. In this post, I’m going to share my top tips to improve your archery accuracy so you can hit a bullseye in no time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your shooting form might be the thing you should focus most on when practicing archery. Proper posture will allow you to easily draw heavier weight, to have an easier time aiming and to be way more consistent with your shots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the best tricks to check your posture without having someone look at how you perform the shot is to film yourself<\/strong>. You can place your phone so you see your entire body and perform the shot. Don’t look at the phone while taking the shot itself – because you might not perform the shot the same as you would without the immediate feedback. Later look at the video and keep mental notes on what to focus on next. I suggest doing this often until you’re certain your archery stance is good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have a buddy or an archery teacher, you can have them look and critique your stance<\/strong>. This is beneficial because there might be things that are easier for another person to see, or things you think you’re doing correctly but can actually do better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A thing most people overlook regarding their stance is footing<\/strong>. Your feet are what keeps your grounded and balanced, so it’s really important that you make sure you feel are correctly planted in the ground. The best trick to always remember to check your footing is to focus on your footing and plant your feet in the ground before performing the shot<\/strong>. Try to keep your feet at least shoulder-width apart <\/strong>so you’ll stay balanced during the shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note that small details in how you perform the shot can make a significant impact on how accurate and consistent you are. Don’t downplay imperfection in your form. Some changes might feel unnatural to you at first, because you got used to the wrong stance, but after practicing good posture for a while you’ll notice an improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After you draw the bowstring, you’ll anchor your hand against the side of your face<\/strong>. Comfortable anchor positions differ for different archers, but what’s important is that your eye is properly aligned with the string<\/strong>. This will allow you to have the best viewpoint for aiming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most finger shooters use the hand-to-jaw <\/strong>anchor method, where their index finger is placed a bit below the corner of the mouth or against it, and their thumb located under the chin. Another common anchor point is the nose-to-bowstring<\/strong>, where the tip of their nose touches the bowstring. Release aid users typically place it against their chin <\/strong>for an anchor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It doesn’t really matter what anchor point you choose to use. What’s important is you use one, and use it consistently<\/strong>. The main idea of having an anchor point is that you pull the string to the exact same place every time you pull the bow. This will enable you to have extremely consistent shooting, which will then translate to better grouping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consistency <\/strong>is really important when practicing archery. If you perform the shot exactly the same every time you shoot, you’ll have incredibly tight groupings. But to shoot consistently you have to practice with the same settings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What I mean is that after finding the sweet spot of bow settings, you should keep practicing with making absolutely minimal changes. So keep training with the same draw length, draw weight and the same types of arrows<\/strong>. (spoiler alert) In tip #8 we’ll discuss what these setting should actually be, but for now, have in mind that staying with a constant draw length and draw weight is a priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let me back up a bit and focus on your arrows. Always have only one kind of arrows in your quiver<\/strong>. This includes the arrow’s weight, length, spine, and fletching. If you have multiple kinds of arrows in the same quiver, your grouping will suffer. I’ll go as far as suggesting you should only shoot one kind of arrows for multiple training sessions because you want to get a rhythm going and get used to how you shoot the specific kind of arrows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most archers find it challenging to follow through with their shots. This means they lower their bow too early to see where their arrow hit. I mean, it’s only natural to want to see whether or not you hit the target. But not following through can hurt your score badly, because even though you might aim your shot accurately, if you move the bow at the last second, your arrow will not hit the target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What experienced archers do is perform the shot, then keep aiming until their arrow actually hit the target<\/strong>. You should keep your bow up and try not to react to the bow going off until you hear the arrow hitting the target. Following this tip will help you be much more accurate with your shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It might be counter-intuitive if you’re new to archery, but your bow grip should be gentle and relaxed<\/strong>. I’d go as far as saying that the bow should gently rest in the hand, and you should have minimal contact with it. Most beginner archers clench the bow and hold it as their lives depend on it. I mean, it makes sense – they’re holding a weapon and trying to aim it, and are probably afraid to accidentally let go of the bow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But when the muscles around your hand – your fingers, forearms, and wrist, are tense, they begin to shake. This makes it almost impossible to accurately aim because these movements go through to the bow. If you want to see that for yourself, just grab an item near you and see how your hands are starting to shake. This doesn’t happen when your muscles are relaxed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take a mental note to notice your grip next time you’re practicing. If you catch yourself holding too tightly to the bow, try and relax your grip. This awareness alone can help you achieve better shooting habits and significantly improve your precision quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shooting a bow seems pretty simple, but it’s really not. Many beginner archers develop bad habits by shooting with incorrect form<\/strong>, which is really hard to get rid of. That’s why I suggest you focus on your form from the start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best way to learn proper archery form is going to a professional coach or getting advice from an experienced archer<\/strong>. While it might be beneficial for more experienced archers to tune their form, it’s more important for you as a beginner to have a good start and train with someone who can embed good habits in you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I also suggest watching a lot of instructional videos and watch how professional archers perform their shots<\/strong>. Focus on the details, like how long does it take them to take the shot, how they’re anchoring and how their feet are positioned. It might show you small ways you can improve your form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To perfect your form you’ll have to practice really often. Even if you’re taking professional archery lessons, they don’t replace your training. The more you’ll train, the more muscle memory you’ll build and the better your overall form will get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we’re focused on some activity it feels natural to hold our breath, mainly because we feel more focused. But aiming takes time, and not getting the oxygen you need can really affect your aim. Counter-intuitively, holding your breath with full lungs makes you less stable than breathing normally, so it also makes your shots less precise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’ve seen people take aim with a rifle in the movie, or tried shooting at a range yourself, you’ve seen this before. The rifleman takes a breath, lets it go while aiming, and then shoots with empty lungs. The reason they do that is that with empty lungs you’re both still and stable, unlike heavy breathing or holding a deep breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As an archer, it’s less important to have empty lungs than for rifle shooter laying on the ground, because your stability changes less than for someone on their stomach. That’s why I suggest either shooting with normal breathing or empty lungs <\/strong>(after taking a big breath and aiming) – you’ll both have enough oxygen and be more stable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There’s a mistake every archer eventually does: shooting the wrong bow settings. If you try and shoot with a draw weight you can’t support, or a draw length that doesn’t fit you, you wouldn’t be able to keep good shooting form. This will definitely ruin your accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s important that if you’re a beginner archer you won’t shoot the bow without setting it up and tune it to fit your needs first<\/strong>. If you’re more experienced, don’t let ego control you and only have settings that fit your current strength and skill level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Figuring out what draw weight <\/strong>you should shoot and adjust your bow accordingly is really easy. If you’re not sure how to do just that, I wrote about it in a previous post, and even explained what your draw weight should probably be<\/a>. Shooting a higher draw weight than you’re supposed to will wreck your shooting form. It’s better to shoot a low draw weight than a high one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n1. Check your stance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2. Are you properly anchoring?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3. Stay consistent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4. Are you following through?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
5. Relax that bow grip!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
6. Proper form is not obvious<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
7. Notice that breathing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
8. Have a proper draw length and draw weight<\/h2>\n\n\n\n