For example, do you use 1-up & 2-down, 3-down, etc.?

Do you start with the Bow "Canted" a bit(to keep the Arrow from falling off the Rest) and then straighten it just before you relax your fingers?

Do you Anchor at your Mouth with your Finger or what?

1 up, 2 down. I always keep the bow canted through the shot, in trad bows without a window this is a must. Anchor under my chin. Focus on the target.

You'll get a different answer from everyone.

I shoot split finger, one above and two under. I anchor with my middle finger in the corner of my mouth and thumb behind my jaw. It depends on the shape of your face, when I use the middle finger as anchor it gets the arrow up a bit higher and in line with my eye and more parallel with the shooting hand. Try it while drawing with the arrow on the bow but not on the string and see where it lines up best for you.

I almost never can't the bow and also never have the arrow fall off the rest. Sometimes it will if you pinch the arrow too hard with your drawing hand, then it kind of torques off the shelf and falls off. If that happens it shows you right away that you're doing something wrong, the arrow should draw smoothly and remain on the shelf of the bow.

I always make the arguement that the olympic shooters don't cant the bow so why should a traditional shooter?

In addition if you cant the paradox of the arrow falls into play in a big way because paradox affects the arrow mostly in a side to side motion when the arrow is leaving the bow. So if it's canted it's likey to work well at a certain yardage but if you vary the yardage much things go wonky.

If you shoot at longer yardgaes it becomes harder to estimate the elevation of the bow if it's canted. Think about your back hand moving in an arc around the bow hand and that's how it could be explained to change yardage....although in practice you don't move your back hand, it stays at your anchor point until you release.

To complicat matters more I "face walk" at longer yardages. So out to 25 yards I look and shoot instinctivly, at 30 I raise my elevation by bending backward at the waist, it doesn't take much increase in elevation by the way at 30 yards maybe 1/2 inch of upward movement of the bow hand. If you just raise your bowhand you change your draw length and that's a no-no. Then at 40 yards I change anchor and anchor with my top finger instead of the middle finger, that changes the elevation a lot but I need a lot because I shoot heavy arrows,then I place the arrow on the target and it hits where I want.

There are very very few people who actually shoot instinctivly. If you want to get accurate you need to come up with a system that works for you, unless you're content with shooting at 20 yards and under.

split finger, 1 up, 2 down.

I always cant the bow, never had any probs with it.

troy

Three fingers under; bow canted; anchor with middle finger in corner of mouth.

One up, two down, anchor at corner of mouth with thumb under jaw, and I don't cant my bow either. I'm shooting a basic little Martin Jaguar takedown.

Thanks for the input. It does look like everyone has a slightly different way of shooting a Trad Bow. I'm still trying different Holds, so haven't settled on one specific style yet. Mostly using 3-down, but I still try 1-up and 2-down on occasion.

Hey Lapidary, You mentioned Focused on the Target. I've surprised myself on a few shots where I did just that(without thinking about it first) and had some of my most accurate shots that way.

Hey Calgary Chief, What is paradox? When I had a bit of Cant on the Bow and let the arrow loose, I did happen to notice a bit of squirrely flight. Seemed to abate as the Bow got straighter up and down.

Hey DTala and Ben, I see you both mention shooting with a bit of Cant. If the top of the Bow was a Minute hand on a watch, how many minutes from 1200hrs would it approximately be?

Hey Bill, I looked at the Jaguar real close and then found out it is not offered in a Lefty. I'm shooting my Mission Craze Righty, but shooting the Trad Lefty. Looks like quite a Bargain though.

Thanks for all the input.

Three under.

Hot Core, top of bow is probably at 1:30, not as far as 2:00

I anchor bottom finger at corner of mouth to raise the arrow closer to my eye, easier, more accurate at ranges to 20 yards.


troy

Canting the bow may help put your shooting eye directly over the arrow and give you a clearer view of your target.

Okay I'll go real slow for you.

Grab bow in one hand..........Put arrow on string........Grab string with one hand( preferably the one not holding the bow)...........Pull back string with arrow........Let go of string, not to be confused with letting go of the bow.........There.

Just the exact way I do it.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by TEANCUM:
Okay I'll go real slow for you.

Grab bow in one hand..........Put arrow on string........Grab string with one hand( preferably the one not holding the bow)...........Pull back string with arrow........Let go of string, not to be confused with letting go of the bow.........There.

I live near an archery 3D range and club populated mostly by longbow shooters. I found their technique interesting. They cant the bow at probably 2-2:30, and when they draw, they never come to a stop. They draw smoothly, and when they reach their anchor point, they release instantly...not even a 1/2 second of hesitation. It is something to watch these guys set up a Groundhog target at 30 yards and put every arrow within a 5" circle on it.

I shoot a longbow 3 under. Heavy cant. Anchor point is middle finger to the side of my mouth.

Shoot very quickly when I get on target, though I would hesitate to call it snap shooting.

Ken