Tips for a new bow hunter

[Muleyman27]

here are sum more pics thanks for all the tips

[RadSav]

See how much difference a little more data gives you?  Now definitely showing a draw length too short rather than too long. 

I will try to add some marked up pictures as soon as the server stops crashing every time I try to post.  Maybe this evening.

[Muleyman27]

If the draw length is to short I don't know what I am going to do it is set at the longest draw length at 30.5". I measured my draw length and it came out to 30.4" by the math part at least.

[RadSav]

Much better to be too short than too long.  There are a few things we can work on that will minimize the shortness of that draw length.  Plus, as was the case with that Anarchy the mfg measurements are not always perfect.  We can probably take a look at that too.

Getting out of the grip a little will give you some back.  We can add a little to the D-Loop and that should give some back as well.

[bowtechian]

I have the same bow first i'd ditch the rest you have & get a fall-away next a stabilizer

[Muleyman27]

I only bought my bow a week ago idk if ranch and home would return it so I could get one with a longer draw length? what do u think? should I get something different if they will let me return it?

[RadSav]

First lets get you into that grip right.  That's going to give you another 1/2" right there!  Release "head" is dang close to the arrow nock.  So lets get that D-Loop lengthened by 1/4".  Could help pick up another little bit by simply relaxing the release hand.   Now we are talking more than 3/4" increase in length and you haven't had to get a new bow or spend more than the cost of a candy bar and soda.  I'm optimistic that will be plenty to get the elbow around and that weight balanced properly.

I'm still getting some connection failures so I'm still going to wait until later to mark up those photos.  Should get to it tonight, though.

In the mean time we could probably check the true draw length of the cam/bow.  Have someone stand beside you while you are at full draw.  Once you are solid against the back wall of the draw cycle have that person mark your arrow at the center of the plunger/rest mounting hole.  Then measure from where the string contacts the arrow nock to that mark.  If the you are getting 30.5" of draw length that measurement should be 28.5".  On most bows that would be 28.75", but the Carbon Knight riser has the plunger/rest hole back from the saddle of the riser's grip about .5"

[RadSav]

OK, let's start off with the good!

Your head is good and square to the target.  It's important that the string finds it's place on your face.  If you have to reach for it there will be tension and inconsistencies.  You probably could raise your chin a small amount and get that string to the tip of your nose.  But this looks like a good natural position so all looks really nice right now.  If we need to adjust a small amount later we know it is going to be a minor adjustment.

[RadSav]

Also good is the shoulders and left arm.  Shoulders are very close to being level.  There does not seem to be much tightness other than in the right shoulder.  And the left arm is parallel to the arrow.  Looks very nice so far.

[RadSav]

I really get excited when newbies show a willingness to shoot open to the target! 
When I draw a line from toe to toe there is a nice angle open toward the target.  This creates a nice triangle between the grip, the shoulders, the anchor point and down the arrow to the grip again.  This brings the arrow directly into the body instead of needing to go through or around anything.  It also pulls the forearm away from the string which saves on interference and those nasty cherries!

If you need to later on we can gain a little in draw length by opening up just a little more.  But, unless you are getting string contact with the forearm it looks pretty nice so far!

[RadSav]

Before I get into the bad I wanted to show you an amazing picture of how perfect form can be held even in that down hill target scenario like your first picture.  I find myself looking at this picture over and over again.  I know I'm an archery nerd, but wholly cow that fascinates me.  That's dang near insane!

I may be wrong, but I believe this is pro Jesse Broadwater.  Notice how he maintains shoulders level/parellel to the arrow.  Both the left arm and the right forearm are nearly perfectly inline with the arrow.  Quite the feat on such a steep angled shot!  Also notice that even though the angle requires his spine to bend his weight is still centered and distributed as close to evenly between both feet as I've ever seen on a shot like this.

When you have form like this...the only thing stopping you is the space between your ears.

[RadSav]

So lets get into The Bad.  None of this is necessarily terrible.  Just needs some attention IMO.

In this picture you can see that your head is sitting over the instep of the left foot.  Consequently, the majority of your weight is on the left foot.  There will be almost no change in your draw length by finding an even balance, but you will never find complete stability in your platform unless you can find the balance of weight.  At this point if you were to try and shoot steep down hill your right foot could come completely off the ground.  I don't shoot so well on one foot, how 'bout you?

This is where those slippers would really come in handy!  Close your eyes while at full draw and concentrate on your feet.  Weight should be equal on both feet and pressure should be very close to the center of your arches.  Too far on your heals and you will lose balance.  Too far on you toes is better than your heals, but you will still lose some balance.  Your body should be a pillar.  Straight, rigid, balanced and at rest.

You are not too far off.  This should be an easy adjustment for you.

[RadSav]

This next picture is the Bad that is very common among new shooters.  It takes a while for most newbies to understand that while drawing the bow back takes tight muscles, strong shoulders and arm strength, proper form at full draw takes relaxed shoulders, arms and increased back strength/tension.  Bowtechian's video link shows this very well

When you draw the bow back your body tends to collapse shoulders forward into almost a "U" shape.  When we reach full draw we want to straighten this out.  This can not be done with the arms.  It must be done with the back.  The nice thing about using the back is it allows the arms and shoulders to relax falling to some degree while maintaining just enough strength to keep the bow drawn and the anchor in place.  Best way I can describe it is to try and push your chest forward/shoulders back by touching your shoulder blades together.

In your case that should allow the string tension to pull your forearm straight.  This makes your right forearm an almost straight  extension of the arrow from rest to elbow.  Imagine a rope tied to your elbow on one end and to your arrow rest on the other end.  After a point you can not use your upper arm strength to draw that rope tight.  At that point all the upper arm and shoulder can do is move the elbow up or down.  The back, however, can rotate that elbow back pulling the rope straight.

Sometimes guys with big guns have a hard time getting that forearm to go completely straight.  The compression required to flatten between the bicep, pronator and flexor can often exceed what the stress of the bow can accomplish.  So with your strong muscular build it may be impossible to get a completely straight line between the elbow and the arrow.  Do the best you can while keeping the muscles loose.  You should be able to get close enough if you just relax.  Tight muscles are unstable and unreliable so let the back do the work and give the arms a break.

[RadSav]

Probably best to add here that your wrist strap release should be tight enough that it will not slip off your hand without some serious coaxing.  The only tension in the fingers and forearm should be just to keep the strap and release in position.  Some guys grab that strap like they are afraid the gates of hell will open of they don't keep the kung fu grip on it.  Your ring finger and pinky are all that need to touch it to keep it in position.

[RadSav]

Right forearm should be straight from this angle too!  Remember the rope...straight from the elbow to the rest.  Try to bring the red and green lines together.

As your elbow comes around and the back straightens you will no longer need to move your face over to the string.  This should allow you to get the head back on top of the spine.   Again this means balance and a relaxed vertical pillar.