Left (bow) Arm Swinging Out

[groc426]

This is my first year shooting a compound bow, so I'm very new at this. I try to practice in my garage daily (7-8 yard), but struggling a lot lately with one particular thing -- as soon as my release is activated my left (bow) arm swings out to the left just a bit. In my garage this means missing about 1 inch to the left and at 20 yards my arrow ends up about 3 inches to the left of my aiming point. It is a very consistent miss.

I purchased the bow at an archery shop and they set it up. At first this wasn't an issue for me, but I have since made some changes such as decreased the draw length (1/2"), increased draw weight, and moved from a wrist-strap trigger release to a Stan Perfect thumb release. Yep, too many changes at once. I've tried to step back from each of the changes, but the problem still exists.

I relax my hand with the Stan thumb release to get the surprise shot. I really don't believe I'm punching the trigger. I keep my bow hand relaxed and at 45*. I use an open stance when shooting. Try to keep my front shoulder down. Of course I'm still very much learning, so this is all what I'm trying to do; it may not be what is actually happening when I'm shooting.

I know it is very difficult to diagnose problems over the internet, but I was wondering if any of you would have suggestions on things I could look for or practice to hopefully eliminate this problem.

My setup:

• Mathews 31" V3
• Hamskea Hunter Pro
• WickStick Micro Hunter (2oz front and 4oz back)
• DW 65ish lbs
• DL 28" (according to Mathews); I measure 28.5"
• Stan Perfect thumb release
• Easton Bloodline (330) w/ 125g field point

 

[Arctic Hunter]

I’m hardly a coach, but typically I’ve found I do that more when the draw length is a little long. I’d shorten it a little more to see if it helps. A shorter d loop might do it since your mods are specific to your draw. Unless they will let you try some shorter ones.

Find a good coach. Or look up some of George Ryals stuff on YouTube.

 

[Colobwhntr]

Maybe foot position in relation to target

 

[Zac]

Those bows are famous for rotational deflection at the shot. It can take some serious weight to dampen it out. I was running 16 total oz of weight on my VXR. This could also be a follow through problem. Try blank bailing and focus on flexing your bicep muscle just as the shot breaks. I'd do about 100 reps for a few days to see if that takes care of it. Also could be that your bow arm is not active. You can try pushing with your bow arm as you are relaxing your release hand. This should give you forward direction instead of the rotation that you are experiencing. Probably the most effective thing would be to go do a lesson with an archery coach.

 

[5MilesBack]

My first thought was "too long of a draw length". But a coach should watch you shoot.

 

[Beendare]

Its probably alignment. Is your elbow rotated out?

Practice follow through only on your shot.On the release it should be a natural movement where your bow hand is pushing towards the target

 

[Jordan]

It could also be your peaking around your bow after the shot to see your arrow impact, causing your bow arm to move as well.

 

[Kularrow]

I’m new as well, I have the same release and bow. I’m messing around with my hand placement of my release hand. I adjusted my Stan to be not too firm but not too light. I’ve gotten the best results from squeezing my release rather than pushing the thumb while slightly pulling through the shot.

 

[kpk]

It could also be your peaking around your bow after the shot to see your arrow impact, causing your bow arm to move as well.

This was the first thing I thought of also.

 

[Marble]

Signs like a combination of a whole bunch of things.

Start from scratch.
With someone who can watch what you're doing.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

 

[540-Virginian]

I was recently coached and had the same issue. I'll give you a hint: face pressure. After being coached I realized a majority of issues people bring up on these threads could be tied back to face pressure. Does draw length play into that? Maybe, I'm not an expert. But as a newbie archer, face pressure can have you chasing your tail. That, and an under spined arrow...