Today I noticed that I sometimes clench my jaw during my draw cycle. At 20-yards it was enough to cause an arrow left hit on target.

If my jaw is clenched, I'm certainly not relaxed in my shot - lesson learned.

Any other good nuggets out there?

...I recently learned that I hunch-forward ever so slightly sometimes,and that torqued the bow. when I keep my back straight, and shoulders down, my bow stays put.

Fingernails.

I normally keep my nails trimmed real short, but now & then get lazy about it.

When I let them get longer it changes the lateral position of my anchor (must be the change in feel) to be farther from my face, and if I'm not paying attention to it it throws off my alignment just enough to make me shoot left a little.

Rick

Good form is a combination of long standing basics adapted to my personal preferences.

For me good form has been accomplished by over 10 years of working at it.

Unfortunately I am now 10 years older than I was when I started and have more age related issues to deal with. A kind of diminishing returns scenario.

Nuggets are things that work for a while.

DDave

Rick when I used to where a thick glove it had the same affect for me. Tab fixed it.

LOL

Strong bow are is vital , I know that is basic as basic gets but I fight it still after many years of shooting arrows , I have to constantly said ,,,, "strong bow arm" I have a tendency to "roll" the bow after releasing, especially after shooting a few dozen arrows.

That large numbers of arrows down range tends to lead to bad habbits. Slow down and finnish each and every shot. Enjoy the proccess.

If you miss, whatever aiming method you use is not the culprit.

Three most important things (for me) back tension, back tension, back tension,

I've learned I shoot better with s deeper hook on string, and a kinda "rounded draw" instead of a straight back draw, cant explain the draw but it works

I found when shooting a bunch of arrows (6+) at a target I tend to instill bad shoots into muscle memory. I now shoot one arrow at a target, and either try to repeat it if it was a good shoot or try to correct it if it was not so good. My shooting is improving at a much faster pace now. I use to only go around the course one time, with fewer shoots per target I will go around the course several times which constantly changes the shot. I now have better control on a shot and every shot seems to matter instead of thinking I get a bunch more shots per target to correct it.

Believe half of what you read on the internet!

As my username suggests, I'm a musician. About fifty years ago, I took up what was to become two lifelong pursuits, country fiddling and bowhunting. Back in those days, I had no access to proper instruction and became self-taught. There were no oldtime fiddlers or traditional bowhunters to teach me the art of shooting form, or for that matter, fiddling form. And yes, form does matter in fiddle playing. I ended up developing every bad habit one can imagine in both those endeavors. I grew up in a big city in South Florida. It's not like I was in Tennessee or Alabama, where oldtime fiddlers were everywhere, providing helpful advice to a beginner. So, for decades I muddled through bowhunting and a career in music, in a rather mediocre fashion. All that changed with the advent of the internet, and especially, YouTube. Now, as an old man, I'm finally learning about "back tension" and "deep hook." Those online tutorials, plus the fact that I finally live in a house with a big backyard to practice in, has resulted in my becoming, at the age of 68, the best archer I've ever been. Also, because of all the YouTube fiddling videos out there, I'm learning to play more tunes than I ever knew before. Oh well, better late than never!

I'm always learning new things. Mostly about what I'm doing wrong. Once in a while, about what I'm doing right. As Dave said it mostly comes down to good form. What I'm learning is how many ways I can deviate from that! But having said that, form is not to blame for most of my bad shots. Lack of total concentration on the spot I want to hit, at the moment of release, is. The main thing I've learned lately is that it's mostly mental. Or perhaps neurological. I can be looking right at the target, visually, but not really "seeing" it or not concentrating enough on it when it counts. When that happens shots can go all over and I tend to blame form first. When I shift into a different mental state and vision and mind are working together, then the previously blamed form errors tend to disappear and shooting is good.

What Trad Rick said. One arrow. Pull, shoot. Repeat.

Never bet on a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest.

I have learned not to follow 99% of the shooting advise I see on here.

Untrimmed fingernails? Really?

I guess when you’re good enough to pick off a 2-liter soda bottle at 100 yards, those little things get to be noticeable....

That’s ONE reason I don’t hassle Rick about much when it comes to shooting... Another is that he can do it shooting #78.

But mostly, it’s because he’s about as serious a student of archery as anyone I’ve ever come across.

Anyway...

I’ve learned that the fact that I can’t do it doesn’t mean that nobody else can.

And I’ve figured out that a creeping release will give me a string burn on my face. Also...

There is no damn sense pretending that you cannot see what is right under your nose

There is even less sense in prioritizing style points over points on a scorecard

An old arrow makes a fine target when stuck in the ground

Matched arrows shoot better than mixed, but 4” fletchings can mask a world of issues

A deep hook is a whole lot more than a way to remember Dire Wolf

And a Fetrow is a FINE distance at which to fling arrahs...

I started seriously hunting from the ground this year. We're only allowed 1 deer in Minnesota, and I screwed up with two no-shots because I hesitated too long. I should have had a nice buck on the ground during my first ground hunt - I hesitated. About 3 hunts later, same thing, different direction on a nice size doe. Didn't shoot and she ended up practically in my lap before she saw me. But it has been exciting!!!

I spent January to late August every Monday talking about one or another issues.

Bowmania

A tight arrow nock is bad juju.

I learned that Rick gets poked with more respect than Joe boy Frisky. LOL

Don't take long to forget someones name here and what they contributed. LOL

Half of what you hear and less of what you see you have to find out for yourself otherwise your in the whistle bowers field of he said she said. LOL

And your only as good as your last shot.

Also want to show your a good shooter pile the arrows on top of each other and let others think your shooting good groups.

It works on the internet and looks good but the reality is your only as good as your last shot.

That's how it counts on animals so it should be the same way on any target. LOL

ALWAYS come to your solid anchor, even if it is for but a moment.

I've learned there's more than one way to shoot a bow and that it's possible to enjoy them all.

I have to relax to shoot well.

Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what your going to get.

Learned to put a larger dot on those paper plates so I can see them better.

Just FYI, Red Beastmaster (Dave) is a very good shot as well with good form and a good grasp of archery in general. I don't know if he colors or trims his nails, but he is a very neat person. ;)

I see some may be laughing at my fingernail comment.

That's ok. I don't mind. I knew it would be funny to some, and posted it partly for that very reason. :-)

But, the simple fact of the matter is, it does make a difference for me.

I've worked with my hands all my life. Much of that work was on things where finesse didn't matter, but lots (lots) of the time it did, and my fingernails always got in the way when trying to do delicate things, so as a general rule/practice/habit I've kept them short. Real short.

I guess my anchor is one of those "delicate things", that I try to approach with at least some semblance of precision/finesse, and why I always hated using a glove, even though I used one for years.

I hate working with gloves also. Only use them when I absolutely have to.

Rick

I've learned Phil trims and paints his nails and deletes most of what I type.

Well, at least he does ‘em in Camo....

Rick, your nail conundrum makes sense since you want bullseye accuracy with your stringwalking. I can see how a different sensation will trow you off when 2" miss from the point you aim at is just a "so-so" shot.

Rick, your nail conundrum makes sense since you want bullseye accuracy with your stringwalking. I can see how a different sensation will throw you off when 2" miss from the point you aim at is just a "so-so" shot.

An arrow drawn staright back is an arrow loosed straight forward

Well, to be honest, I keep my (unpainted) fingernails trimmed short too. The toenails are kept long for hanging from the rafters at night.

I taught myself how to shoot and use what I consider to be a comfortable form. I cant pretty hard, hunch a bit, let it go after a very brief anchor. I don't really know or care how textbook I look. My arrows usually go where I want them to go.

Again, I do not follow any advise I see on here. It would just mess with my head.

That I still got a lot to learn

Bjrogg

Just recently I learned that a lot of things that I thought were important to me- are not. Life will slam you to the mat in an instant. No matter how tough you think you are.

I caught my reflection on a glass door while I was out shooting my bow early on (8+ years) in my trad journey. I find it a useful tool to watch my form.

Am I in a neutral position, or am I cheating? Not bringing the string back to my anchor point, or bringing my head TO the string?

Am I upright with shoulders back, or collapsed?

How is my draw arm elbow? Inline with the arrow or higher?

Looking head on, is !y bow arm straight? Straight line from bow grip to bow shoulder, to draw arm shoulder? Another view of a partially collapsed form.

Watching my reflection helps monitor my form.

Old joke about filing fingernails...

Joe: Hey Ed, do you file your fingernails?

Ed: Yes, I do.

Joe: That's odd. Most people just clip them off and throw them away.

___________________________________________________ Thank you. I'll be here all week. Try the veal.

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