Improving accuracy

[Danno]

I know. Practice you dummy. Here's my question. I've shot a recurve for 30 years. This Christmas I got my first compound bow. I've been shooting it every day, 3-6 shots before I head to work. The problem is that I'm still more accurate with my recurve at distances less than 20 yards. Can't get used to holding the blow steady long enough to sight in the target I guess. I shoot the recurve more instictively. If I aim a rifle for the time necessary to make a good compound bow shot, I usually am looking for a rest. Any advice from the pros?

 

[River1]

What kind of set up are you shooting?

Do you have any recurves for sale?

 

[Danno]

My recurve is the same old browning I've had for years. I've only replaced the string through the years. Sorry don't have one for sale. The compound bow is a PSE starter package from Sheels, Predator I think.

 

[jharrell]

Hey Danno, I'm no pro and most if not all the guys on the sight will agree with that but I used to have the same problem when I started out. My advise is forget about the bullseye and work on your release. Accuracy with a compound is all about consistency. You need to train your body to do the same thing every time you draw and release. Once your arrows start to group you can make adjustments to your bow to put them where you want them on the target. Rackaddict showed me something years ago when I was struggling with target panic and that was to draw the bow and bring the pin up from the bottom of the target to the bullseye. Some guys do it from the top down but the key is you are controlling where the pin goes. Hope this helps. There are a lot of variables on a compound so if you are confident you are doing the same thing every time but you are getting inconsistent arrow flight you need to have someone look at your setup. When I say setup I mean the whole ball of wax. Arrows, poundage, tip weight, tuning, etc.

 

[lxshooter]

Like Headgear stated.... consistency is the key. Make sure that your anchor point is the same, make sure your grip is the same. Also if you shoot with a release you might try shooting at the target from 2-3yrds away and closing your eyes when you do this. You want to make sure that you are SQUEEZING the trigger instead of punching it. Just close your eyes and concentrate on squeezing the trigger. When you are comfortable with that then shoot at 20yrds and remember to SQUEEZE. Let the pin float on the target while your doing this, the bow should almost surprise you when it goes off. Alot of people have a problem with punching myself included.

 

[River1]

That sounds like great advice from Headgear. Form first, muscle memory will follow, then go for the accuracy.

 

[Pup]

Alot of good advice has been given, consistency being the most important. I'm wondering though, maybe you should be shooting more than 3-6 times. I treat shooting like a workout, 3 or 4 sets of 10 or 12 reps. Obviously you have to start out with less reps, but you may also have your draw weight set too high. After I had shoulder surgery about 12 years ago, I had to start all over. I wound up dropping my draw weight and concentrating on my form. Once I was comfortable with my form, and my confidence was back, I slowly increased my draw weight. That's one of the biggest mistakes people make. I guess it's that male ego thing cause I never hear any women bragging "Hey Betty, I'm drawing 72 lbs. now and shooting 310 fps." LOL Maybe if she's a member of the East German 3D team! Anyway, that's just my two cents.

 

[Danno]

The only reason I shoot 3-6 arrows every morning is that is all I have time for between daylight and when I need to get ready for work. I'll do more on the weekend. I'm just trying to do it every day to build the muscle memory you guys described earlier. Maybe I need to go back and work on just form for a while is what it sounds like. I understand what you mean about the draw weight. I lift weights and I can do a one-arm row with over 100 pounds using what I thought was the same muscles as archery. When I was trying out my first compound bow there was no way I could pull 70 pounds. I'm 160 pounds and I have this one set at 58 and that's about all I want.

 

[Rackaddict]

Danno, I've found that I'm less accurate if I try to hold on the target too long. Like Heagear said, I've found that if I raise my bow up to the bullseye and instantly release the moment I hit he mark I'm more likely to hit what I'm aiming at. If I hold on the bullseye too long, the bow starts doing dance and I'll never hit it.

It might help you to start with just one pin on your site as well. Several pins add to the confusion on the target. Set one at 20 yards and then add them after you've developed your form. I've stayed with using just one pin on my bow and am very satisfied with it.

Another thing you might do is to stand close to the target, just 2 or 3 yards back, draw your bow and close your eyes before you release the arrow. The idea this is to train yourself proper shooting form without thinking about hitting the target. Be sure to let your bow fire and let the arrow hit the target before you close your grip on the handle. If you use a wrist sling, and you should, your bow won't drop out of your hands, just let it tip forward. Gripping your bow immediately after the shot can cause you some serious grouping problems due to the torque on the grip.

Best of luck!

 

[Fulldrw]

Everything mentioned has been good advice but another thing that was brought to my attention when you said that you only have time for around six shots. Time being the keyword. I'm thinking that maybe you should shoot when you have plenty of time b/c you might be developing a tendancy to rush the shot which is in turn causing you to be less accurate b/c you don't have much time to shoot in the morning. What this might be is a small case of target panic starting to develope. Good luck though.

 

[Danno]

Thanks to everyone for all the great advice. I have taken much of it to heart and am happy to report that I have improved 1000%. I think a lot of it was the tight grip I had with my bow hand. Relaxing and just getting more comfortable with the whole concept. Plus I am left eye dominant, so I have to at least partially close my left eye when I shoot. When I shoot the recurve, I shoot with both eyes open, pull it back and let if fly. Mechanically shooting the compound bow is much more like the way I shoot a rifle than my old recurve. Thanks again. Next I need some 3D practice.
Dan