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I wish I would have tried it before

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gstoneberg:

--- Quote from: PEARL DRUMS on September 27, 2011, 01:59:45 pm ---I have seen some crazy form through the years, and some crazy shots that followed! The hard truth is there really is one way to shoot, with slight variations of course.

--- End quote ---

I've watched this thread with interest, but now I have to post.  I have to respectfully and emphatically disagree with the above unless by "only one way to shoot" you mean to hold the bow in one hand and pull the string with the other.  I've seen people with what appeared to be great form that couldn't hit a barn from the inside.  I've also seen people whose release was a plethora of motion that were awesome shots.  And, of course, the converse to both is also true.  If you study every people group that used or is using archery you'll find a myriad of form approaches.  Yet they succeeded in bringing home the bacon.   There's nothing wrong with working towards consistency in form, but to assert that there is just one way to shoot is silly.  Show me a dozen excellent instinctive shooters and I'll show you at least a half a dozen approaches to doing it well.  The key to being a great shot has very little to do with form, and a whole lot to do with confidence and concentration.  What I tell people I teach to shoot is this...practice until you're sure you can't miss.  When you're sure you're going to hit the target and you've made that target as small as possible, you will.  When you suspect you won't, you won't.  The form you're using is irrelevant because by the time you achieve confidence you will have honed your ability using that form and made it second nature.  At the moment of truth, when the deer is in range or the final shot in the tourney will mean success or failure, your ability to concentrate and your confidence in your ability will be what makes you succeed.  Archery as we do it is mostly a mental sport.  Yes, there's a need to develop form consistency but to try and adopt a certain form, believing it is the only way to do it, is not the best approach.  In fact, over time you'll learn to use multiple forms successfully.  During a typical deer season you might need to make shots that require alterations in form.  You can pass those shots, but I prefer to be able to make them.  I think the point to stress is that mental strength and concentration are the keys to great shooting.  Form is third in importance, at least to me.

George

Gus:
Thank You Mr. G,

Although I find the term "Follow Through" more confusing than ever.

On the other hand, I see your point. Many moons ago, whether running through the woods bow
and arrows in hand, often shooting on the run or from horseback Comanche style, I was deadly.
My confidence was off the scale. I was ten feet tall, bullet proof, and the bringer of death to my
quarry. Squires , Rabbits, birds, all bound for the stew pot and dumplings.
Foxes, bobcats, coyotes and the neighbor's dogs, caught read handed in our chicken coup
all bound for the tanning board or the fence post. I was thirteen, read too many Louis Lamour
books, and listened to all the tales of my elders with rapt attention.
Form never crossed my mind. Putting meat on the family table consistently, was my primary
goal.

I didn't really have a problem with form until I got older and began shooting with other folks.
And then the wheelie bow further tainted my accuracy.

Now having come full circle, I find myself trying to recapture what I left behind.

If it sounded in any way that I was endorsing any particular shooting style or
that I thought I had a Lock on my own shooting style, I apologise. I do not...  :)

Ever the willing learner.

-gus

PEARL DRUMS:
My point was much more simple George. The elbow cant point to the moon, the string hand really should stay tight to your face at release, and the bow hand should stay put until the arrow hits. The rest can vary from here to heaven. Im aware of that. Form creates clean arrow flight which creates accuracy. If you dont follow some basic archery rules your arrows will not fly consistent from shot to shot, not on target, but consistent, clean flight.  Gus, you had good form back then and didnt know it. That why your accuracy was off the charts. Hitting a bullseye with your arrows sliding in sideways means nothing to me, arrow flight is where its at for me anyhow.

jonathan creason:
I've got to thank you for starting this thread, Pearl.  Not only have you convinced me to go back to split finger, but more importantly you got me to give a dead release a try.  From the time I started shooting trad/primitive bows I've always followed through with my release hand to my shoulder.  I never could figure out why I constantly got erratic arrow flight, but it looks like I was plucking like crazy.  Been shooting the past couple of days with a dead release, my hand never leaving my face, and the arrows are flying like darts right where they're supposed to.  I have to concentrate a little more to make sure I'm getting good, solid back pressure, but that's not too difficult.

PEARL DRUMS:
My pleasure Jonathan. I tried very hard for many years to get better with bad form, it cant happen no matter how hard I focus on a spot. Corrct form is correct form in my book.

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