So you want to shoot Trad

[North Idaho Stickbow]

Yeah, I thought I did ok (although really inconsistent) once upon a time until I went to Rod Jenkins’ clinic. Now I can legitimately shoot (although still a work in progress) and realize I was way sucky before.

 

[Beendare]

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[North Idaho Stickbow]

I think that’s the appeal. It is for me at least. It’s not the equipment, it’s me. If I can’t make it work; do better. That constant work to be more skilled is such a driving force! I love going out there and tinkering, and diagnosing problems and working on myself to be as good as I can. It’s like playing an instrument.

 

[Rob5589]

The big take away for me so far is consistency. Same thing, over and over, not necessarily trying to have perfect Olympic shooter form. I'm also starting to understand my misses, an important piece of the puzzle, imo.
Really enjoying the journey so far with a single string. Appreciate all the commentary and opinions, fellas.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Consistency is huge. Without it your arrows will land where they may and you'll likely have no clue what exactly happened. A floating anchor, moving bow arm. inconsistent draw length, changing posture.....these are just some of the things which will dramatically worsen arrow groups or single-arrow predictability. Form & Technique applied consistently is the entire foundation for accuracy.

Archery is a game of confidence, like many sports. The more confidence (or fewer doubts) you have, the greater likelihood you'll achieve accuracy. A lack of confidence is almost a sure recipe for bad accuracy. But confidence has to be achieved in steps. More than sufficient strength = total confidence you can pull the bow and anchor. Consistent form = confidence you're not shooting haphazardly. And so it goes. You build a foundation and the rest follows...including confidence. Accuracy isn't something you start with. It's the end result of months and years of solid effort leading to results and confidence.

You don't need Olympic form, but there's a reason to like it. Excellent form gets results. It helps you learn all the components of accuracy. From there you can adapt as needed to your hunting situations. Just because you might practice Olympic form doesn't mean you'll shoot that way from a treestand, but you'll likely use some of the principles up there and ultimately make better shots when it counts.

 

[jog]

There is the chance, depending on a persons temperment, that too much info on how to shoot a trad bow is not a good thing. My dad played golf, and the knots those guys tied themselves into trying to hit the ball consistantly was amazing. Try this, try that, do it like this, but not like that. Confusion and paranoia followed.

A big part of instinctive shooting is giving the brain a chance to settle into figuring it out. To do that you need to do things the same, most of the time.
Shooting a shit-ton works for some people. But it actually hurts others. Sometimes there needs to be time for the brain to adjust or you are asking for frustration, because your brain will "search" out a solution that it has not been made ready for. Sometimes a little patience and shooting fewer arrows each session, helps a lot.

 

[Beendare]

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[GLB]

Like Rod Jenkins have said about shot sequence or the lack there of “just keep pulling”

On the subject of not over shooting is sound advise. I am so guilty of this. I’m hardheaded and refuse to let the sun go down on a bad shot. I can tell myself that it’s time to take a break because that bad shot was from being tired. But stubborn me I will just keep shooting. Don’t do that.
I give myself an A for persistence and a F for self control.

 

[jog]

Shooting in the dark will do wonders for some trad archers. By its very nature you cannot "peek" or otherwise influence form by watching the arrow. It is a surprising number of us who are guilty of this and it ruins form.
If you do choose shoot in the dark do it with a little common sense.