What Not To Do With Your New Bow

Well, I found these few things out the hard way. Quite a few years ago, before I bought the Bowtech I now shoot I thought I was unstoppable. I had a Matthews and that bow drew like Pablo Picasso could paint. No matter what I did, if I drew that bow it was a perfect shot. I went to the local 3D shoot, and wasn’t expecting what was going to happen next. 

At this point in my archery life, I wasn’t setting the world on fire. I was mediocre at best. I was having fun, and that was my only motivation. I met a guy, he was older, and very talked about by everyone else there whom I had known. He didn’t say anything to me, I didn’t say anything to him. We shot against each other for the first round. Oh, we were also the first two shooters up with a randomly set course which only the scorers knew what and where the targets were. Nobody had home-field advantage. The year prior, I had a hand-me-down bow given to me from a relative, a quiver full of arrows, and a worn out finger tab that was given to me at the shoot. This year I show up not trying to outright win, but I was certainly feeling better about the chance to do so. I nodded to him, he nodded to me, we shot. His bow (at the time had no idea what it was because of the spray paint all over it) was beyond weathered. He had a single pin pendulum sight on it. This old guy kicked me into next week. He finished the course the fastest of anyone that day. I placed 5th out of 25. I was FAR from disappointed. He placed 1st. As it was all said and done, and I go to get into my uncle’s truck, he throws a rock at me and hits me in the back. I turn around, and he shakes a bony finger at me waving me over to him. 

I look at my uncle, and he said it was fine, so I walked over to the guy. He put his arm around me and said, “hey kid, you are pretty good” in a raspy quiet voice. I said “thank you sir” and he said, “you know you would have beat me if you would have fixed your form”. Conversation ensued, and my uncle finally walked over and got to talking to him. Well, when adults talked kids didn’t, so I just walked away. That is one experience in my life I will ALWAYS remember. It feels like it was yesterday sometimes. I worked with him for years. He was one of the most informative people I’ve ever learned from. Not a book smart guy, not a rocket scientist, but another form of Mr. Fred Bear in my eyes. Later that week I found out he owned an archery shop, and he worked with me for years until his untimely death. He couldn’t have been more right. Learning form helped me win competitions, take well placed shots, have wonderful hunts, and great times with my bow. Here’s a few pointers for some of the best form.

Imagine your body from the waist up (while at full draw) is a statue. Once you are at full draw, if you have to move, move your waist. Pretend like your forward arm, your shoulders, your head, all that “frame” you have up top is frozen. You move your arm, head, etc, it now changes your shot. Your entire mechanics have now changed. 

Next thing, grip. This is one of the most vital parts of your shot. Your grip will determine your follow through. One finger difference on your grip will change how your bow is not only held, but how you release your arrow. Having a “gi-joe kung fu grip” is not the way. I barely hold my bow with my front hand. I have trust in my bow sling. To have a great shot, you have to trust it! If used properly, your bow won’t hit the ground! Over gripping your bow grip was a mistake I made for years. It also created inaccuracies in my shots over and over again. There are products out there to “help” you get rid of the over gripping problem, but in my honest opinion they are useless wastes of money. They may work for some people, but let’s face facts. It is an additional apparatus which was designed for one size fits all. Your grip is unique to you. Your hand is unique to you. Using a premade doo-dad made from one person’s hand may not work well for you. So save your money. Train yourself to hold your bow correctly.

Your release is something as simple or as complicated as you desire. Just like bows, there are quite a few. I’ve tried so many. I lean to the “kiss” method, or keep it simple stupid. All the over engineered stuff out there can be exactly that. Find the one you like and works the best for you. Don’t give up until you find the one that is an extension of you. The best release is the one that you don’t even realize is there. It should surprise you it released. Just like a trigger of a gun. I made the mistake of using releases that were “the latest and greatest” when something simple and fit me perfectly was all I needed. 

Your sight. If you have a “busy” sight, make sure you can handle it. I prefer a simple sight. I only use a 5 pin sight. Some prefer more or less pins. Different sizes, shapes, manufacturers, the list goes on. You have to find the one you like and works best for you. Trial and error has been my method. I have a storage tub full of sights that are now spare parts. Same with extra peep sights and parts for my arrow rest. I made the mistake early on of changing my sights too often. That became wasted money. And LOTS of it. I’ve finally found what I like. That is as personal as a fingerprint if you ask me. My shooting mentor always ragged on me for it. He used the same sight until it had been glued together so many times it couldn’t be put together any longer. Then he got one identical to it. Shoot what makes sense to you and what works the best for you.

Stabalizers. Well if there ain’t 2 billion of them out there in every imaginable length and composition. My bow will shoot exactly the same with or without one. My bow will respond and react the same as well. That’s a properly tuned bow. The stabilizer will hide imperfect tuning. When it comes to tuning, perfection is attainable. It just takes time. That’s why my archery mentor Mr. Sweeny was so key. He could tune a stick with string tied to it. He hand made my long bow just for me, and it was smooth as glass. A well tuned bow will eliminate lots of shooting inaccuracies. Don’t try to tune the bow with a bigger stabilizer. And bigger is not always better. 

My next biggest mistake was my elbow. On my release hand my elbow would go above my ear. Mr. Sweeny used to use a rolled up magazine and smack my elbow every time I’d shoot and my elbow was above my ear. It took quite some time to get me out of that habit. Lots of pulling arrows that weren’t on target because I got whacked with the register copy of the NRA digest. Eventually you will feel it when it is happening and can change it before you release. You will also feel the difference when you release the arrow. It feels different. That’s another reason I use the “blind bale” shooting technique. It allows you to feel the difference in your mechanics of form without seeing it. Your body will tell you when you are wrong. Trust how you feel, it won’t steer you wrong.

Breathe easy. Your breathing will greatly affect your shot. Slow down. I was famous for rushing shots for no reason. I used to count in my head before I’d shoot in a competition. It would slow me down enough to get my mind in the right frame to place my shot where I wanted it. I use that in the woods, in competition, and for fun shoots. If you can’t have fun with it, you’ll be surprised how horribly you’ll shoot. 

The one thing that I was not ever good with was the mental part of it. Mr. Sweeny used to hammer it in my head that I had to quit beating myself up over a bad shot. The mental game will defeat you before you even release your shot. When I was on the shooting teams, we had a “mental” coach. He used to make us do drills of all these different things. He was the “mental” coach of the U.S. Olympic teams, and he knew how to put it in plain terms that anyone could understand. One thing we had to do in our long reviews of our range times was analyze where we failed. Almost all the times I had a bad shot, in recollection, I didn’t visualize the shot. When you don’t visualize the shot, you fail somewhere. That’s the mental part. If you miss ONE step, it’s a failed shot. Taking your time, seeing the ENTIRE shot from nocking your arrow to when you nock the next arrow. I have gotten significantly better over the years with it, and just like everyone have room to improve. Keep your head in the game!

The last thing I learned which greatly changes the shot game is notes. It sounds stupid, but taking notes on yourself makes for a better result. This is key. BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF! You are only cheating yourself if you aren’t honest. I get down to the nitty-gritty. I also go to the length of weighing my arrows and all of that. For the accuracy I require of myself, I like to make sure it’s me that fails, not my equipment. I measure the wind, temperature, etc etc. Most people don’t need to go to this extreme. Chronographing your arrows isn’t even a requirement either. I do it for consistency data and my own research. But, if you are having a consistent problem, if you take a few minutes and figure it out, you’ll quickly find the answer if you are honest with yourself and what actually took place. 

Prime example. I was flown to Hawaii for an international shoot. A world qualifier so-to-speak. I shot flawlessly the first day. I logged food, ambient air temperature, etc. All seemed normal. Next morning I woke up with a screaming headache and jet lagged. Took some ibuprofen, ate, and the outside temperature climbed 17 degrees. I changed nothing else. I shot worse than the day before. Not acceptable in my book. Took more ibuprofen, and headache went away finally, but shot about the same. I changed my sleep pattern, and it changed my shooting that much. Figuring that out made all the difference the next day. Some days you are spot on, some waaaaaaaay off. Know if it is you, or not you. Know when to say it is you and be honest with yourself, and when to figure out the problem if it isn’t you. You’ll save yourself lots of anguish. 

Just some things I’ve learned along the way. I still remind myself of all of these every time I look at my bow, or my gun, or anything I take seriously to be perfectly honest. My mentor used to tell me all the time, “make sure you are doing it right. Arrows are expensive, and I can’t keep my doors open giving them away!” You can have the latest and greatest stuff out there. Spend ungodly amounts of money on it. If you don’t know how to use it, well it’s nothing but an expensive waste of money. You can have PERFECT equipment, but if you aren’t consistent and using good form all the tools and equipment in the world won’t give you the shot you desire. 

Be safe out there and shoot straight!!!

-Bill Vahle, Fall Obsession Field Staff