Form?

[Kegan]

Okay, if you're consistent with your slightly off form and release, but practice a great deal, would you still be a worse shot than someone with perfect form who practices a normal amount? Hill's form wasn't perfect but he knew it in and out and practiced it a rediculous amount (somehwere over 600 arrows a day?).

Also, why is it better to shoot a longbow with a slightly bent elbow?

[D. Tiller]

Kegan if I did not shoot my warbow with a bent arm I would be putting one heck of a bruse on the arm!

[Kegan]

Kegan if I did not shoot my warbow with a bent arm I would be putting one heck of a bruse on the arm!

Good reason !

[Pat B]

Consistency is consistency! If you are consistent and are a good shot with that, then you should be OK. If you can shoot like Howard Hill, what are you worrying about? 

[armymedic.2]

i once went to a 3d shoot where a guy would throw his arm to the left to watch the shot so noticeably it looked almost graceful as though he shot with a casual curiosity of what th arrow was doing even before it left the bow.  that would ruin my shots, but he did quite well, and had very good groups at 20 yards.  i watched him shoot a lot too, no real bad fliers, and that is with poor followthorugh.  if it is consistent, it will work, but perfect form is hard to beat.  there is a reason why olympic shooters have coaches.

[Kegan]

i once went to a 3d shoot where a guy would throw his arm to the left to watch the shot so noticeably it looked almost graceful as though he shot with a casual curiosity of what th arrow was doing even before it left the bow.  that would ruin my shots, but he did quite well, and had very good groups at 20 yards.  i watched him shoot a lot too, no real bad fliers, and that is with poor followthorugh.  if it is consistent, it will work, but perfect form is hard to beat.  there is a reason why olympic shooters have coaches.

Excellent points. I think I'm going to just try to concrete what I can do and practice my tail off in the mean time.

[hawkbow]

Kegan, I am usually not much help brother... but one of the most common problems I have encountered with longbow shooters is not locking their bow arm.. this usually results in poor or inconsistent accuracy.. I taught dozens of kids to shoot when i had the archery club, and this was the most common problem with accuracy concerning longbows..recurves and selfbows.... I shoot a lot of arrows every day I can and the result is better accuracy.. but if i get tired i relax my bow arm and quickly lose accuracy ....don't know if this will help you, just my own experience. happy hunting ..........Hawk

[Pat B]

I have a friend that pulls to his chest when he shoot and he shoots well. Having good form gives you something to compare with to keep yourself consistent...but as long as you can be consistent with the way you draw and shoot and you shoot well that way, you should be OK. You might try other methods and find out they help your shooting but if you are comfortable with the way you do it then stick with it.     Pat

[armymedic.2]

oh and i forgot to mention, deer and rabbits and squerrils will rarely let u use your form in its entirety anyway, so just make a solid foundation of anchor and follow through.  i think they are the two most important for hunting since i am always twisted around, or shooting near straight up or any other weird position.

[Kegan]

Well, I've been toying around with my shooting form a little lately. Until now, I'd shot with a straight elbow. This resulted in me having to turn my head to get "proper form", so I was looking through the edges (the scratched edges) of my glasses. I finally bnroke down and tried a slight bend of elbow, since i was already shooting Hill form and many other talented selfbow shooters have proffessed them (Hill, Ford, Comstock, etc.). It certainly helped. No more jerking on release, and it's alot easier to align the arrow with my full visoon locked on target (and get the target, arrow, anchor, and my right eye in line).

I might just have to commit myself to Hill form and pratice it in it's entirety. Spend more time practicing than worrying ?