Process Analysis Final Draft

How To Shoot A Bow

                There are many steps and concepts involved in being a crack shot with your bow.  First and foremost would be to find a bow that fits your body size accordingly.  Draw Length is important to be able to properly pull back, find your anchor point and steady your arms for a shot.  If you have a draw length that is too long, the string will end up anchored behind your jaw bone, or heaven forbid your ear and surely rake the string right across your face.  Another idea to consider would be the weight of the bow in general.  If the bow feels too heavy for you then you will feel fatigue much sooner and find it hard to hold the bow steady.  Also, don’t try to act like a tough guy and wrench the poundage of the bow too high.  With a bow, pounds are rated as the weight in resistance to pull the string back.  Start off at a lower, more comfortable pound setting and raise it over time as your muscles build.

 

                Next you must decide what type of hardware you wish to add to your bow.  This hardware may include a release, release hoops, peep sight, kisser button, stabilizers, various styles of rests and pin sights.  Some shooters still prefer to pull back a bow with their fingers but the modern day hunter/archer prefers a release and a small nylon hoop to clip into. Peep sights and kisser buttons are devises that assist you in maintaining the same anchor point when aiming with your pin sights at a target on every shot.  Stabilizers promote good balance of the bow and most have shock absorbers on the ends to reduce recoil when the string is propelled forward.  Another tool I have found useful is a wrist strap.  This allows you to keep your wrist steady. 

                Every archer defines himself by his equipment and one specific way to do this is with his or her arrows.  For a compound bow you can use either aluminum or carbon arrow shafts.  Nine out of ten people use carbon because it is stronger and lighter.  Most archers I know use one hundred grain tips as well.  This is simply the weight of the field point or broad head that you screw into the tip of the arrow.  The most important thing is that all your tips are the same grain value for consistent shooting.  Last and most importantly is the fletching.  This is where you will find the most versatile selection ranging from size, shape, color, material.  Fletching can be as short as one inch all the way up to five inches.  Some archers still prefer feathers over the rubber veins.  Some archers prefer there fletching glued on at a slight angle to the shaft to promote controlled spinning of the arrow.  This in turn is said to help the arrows all fly as true and consistent as possible.  One step further, archer often add a helix to the fletching on top of the offset angle to the shaft.  To put a helix on your fletching means to glue it on the shaft not strait but to put a half moon shaped curve on the fletching.   With the fletching applied in a spiral shape, some claim this will help especially with the consistent flight of broad heads at greater distances.  Broad heads tend to fly differently then field points.  All these concepts are personal preference and as long as all your arrows are the exact same, it shouldn’t hold you back from becoming a consistent shooter.

                Now that we have the equipment under control it’s time to put you in the shoes of an archer.  For the beginner, I would recommend setting a target at 15 yards.  It’s time to break the ice and lob some arrows at the target to get your 15 yard pin sighted in.  For this exercise we will be shooting a compound bow with a release, peep sight, pin sights and a drop away rest.  First you will stand on the 15 yard line.  If you are right handed, put your left foot on the 15 yard line and point your left shoulder at the target.  Hold the bow in your left hand.  Click your arrow into the string in the designated knocking area.  This should be right between the two ends of the hoop that are tied to the string.  Make sure your arrow is located in the right place on top of the arrow rest.  Next you will clip in your release, which is already strapped to your hand, to the hoop which is attached to your bow string.  Raise the bow and point it in the direction of the target.  Keep a good shoulder width stance.  Slowly ease back the string until the bow has been full drawn back.  In a compound bow you will be able to feel the cams on the bow roll back and a great deal of tension will be let off of the string making it much easier to hold the bow back when fully drawn. 

            Now that the bow is drawn back, try to find a comfortable grip on the bows handle.  Be sure not to grip the stock too tight or twist it in your palms.  This would cause the arrow to travel in an undesirable path and direction.

                 When shooting broad heads any movement made by you will be over embellished on your shot in a negative way!  The key to a good grip is to focus any force the stock has on your hand in the direction of the target.  Some professional archers make the “ok” symbol with their hand, only gripping the handle with their thumb and pointer finger which in turn, allows the bow to tip forward upon release of the string.  The other key factor in good shooting is a consistent anchor point.  This is where the peep sight comes in handy.  The peep sight is a small plastic ring stuck inside the string as a focal point for you.  Bring the string close enough to your face so you can look through this ring and find your pin sights at the other end of your bow.  This is similar to looking into the scope of a gun.  When you have matched the pin in the center of this peep sight hole and the pin dot is on the desired area of the target, you are ready to shoot!  When you squeeze the trigger on the release, try not to flinch.  Follow through with your shot.  This means keeping your stance and the bow upright as if you were still holding back the string.  Do not break your initial pose until the arrow has connected with your target.

                  Repeat this process many times until you see a good grouping pattern with all of your shots.  There is an old saying that goes, “Move a group not an arrow!”  This means don’t adjust your sights after one shot.  Shoot multiple arrows and try to discover a pattern.  If you shoot 4 arrows at the target and all 4 arrows are shooting high and to the right, then you probably need to adjust your sights.  If this is the case, move your pin sight up and to the right to adjust the sight accordingly.  This easy process of adjusting your bow sights is called, “Following your arrow.”  Try adjusting in very small increments at a time.  Using this process and possibly having a friend critique your shooting will slowly but surely turn you into a crack shot with a bow!