do you think it is my form?
03-31-2003, 06:47 PM
#12
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Dover, PA USA
Posts: 5,497
RE: do you think it is my form?
Some tips for Back tension........most have been gone over but I' ll try to list everything i can think of.
1. Your bow CANNOT be too long in draw length (As dave said)......if you are " Stretched" out its very difficult to use your back muscles
2.There should be no tension in either arm or hand...and shoot with a slight bend in your bow arm. RELAX! Tension creates panic ,panic creates punching,punching creates 10" groups at 40 yards!
3. Get the trigger into the groove of your first knuckle, your finger should drape loosely over the trigger pointing straight down.......if its not you have tension. Get the trigger away from the TIP of your finger.......another reason to drape your finger over the trigger in this manner is to be able to PULL with your back muscles in a straight line against the trigger.
4.Speaking of straight lines..........your draw arm should draw as close to a straight line with your arrow as possible. Stay away from funky elbow high or low positions.
5. Don' t shoot to heavy of a draw weight........at least for now. The heavier the draw weight the sooner the muscles want to get rid of the thing that is bothering them....another reason to punch the trigger.
6. At full draw apply some pressure against the trigger with your arm, but not enough to fire the release.........let the pin float on the center and keep thinking " Pull with the back" squeeze those back muscles together and it will pull your arm backward slightly and smoothly and the release will fire.
7. I can tell already in your case.......the shot is gonna scare the bejeepers out of you when it goes off!
] That is the way it should be. If you are not being startled by the release you are not shooting back tension or a " surprise" shot ....you are anticipating the release which is.........say it with me. BAD!!!!
8. Probably at first Dave' s suggestion of " Blind Bale" shooting is a good one.......just get real close to a blank target and concentrate ONLY on the shot sequence and what it should feel like. No target to aim at will get rid of the desire to hit something. The only thing your mind will have to worry about is the shot. You could even try closing your eyes.
9. When you get out to distance follow thru.......don' t be peeking. Just bore a hole thru the " X" with your eye and let it happen. You looking for the arrow before it gets there is only gonna cause problems.
10. Stick with it........if you truly want to be as accurate as you can you need to learn to shoot this way. I don' t know of any really good release shooter who shoots any other way. In archery there are many subjects to which there is no " Right or Wrong" , but the fundamentals of shooting accurately is an exception. There truly IS a right way and that' s back tension. It' s possible to be " proficient" with using your finger to trigger the release if you are disciplined in your form, but you' ll never reach your true potential if you are squeezing the shot with your finger.
1. Your bow CANNOT be too long in draw length (As dave said)......if you are " Stretched" out its very difficult to use your back muscles
2.There should be no tension in either arm or hand...and shoot with a slight bend in your bow arm. RELAX! Tension creates panic ,panic creates punching,punching creates 10" groups at 40 yards!
3. Get the trigger into the groove of your first knuckle, your finger should drape loosely over the trigger pointing straight down.......if its not you have tension. Get the trigger away from the TIP of your finger.......another reason to drape your finger over the trigger in this manner is to be able to PULL with your back muscles in a straight line against the trigger.
4.Speaking of straight lines..........your draw arm should draw as close to a straight line with your arrow as possible. Stay away from funky elbow high or low positions.
5. Don' t shoot to heavy of a draw weight........at least for now. The heavier the draw weight the sooner the muscles want to get rid of the thing that is bothering them....another reason to punch the trigger.
6. At full draw apply some pressure against the trigger with your arm, but not enough to fire the release.........let the pin float on the center and keep thinking " Pull with the back" squeeze those back muscles together and it will pull your arm backward slightly and smoothly and the release will fire.
7. I can tell already in your case.......the shot is gonna scare the bejeepers out of you when it goes off!![
] That is the way it should be. If you are not being startled by the release you are not shooting back tension or a " surprise" shot ....you are anticipating the release which is.........say it with me. BAD!!!!8. Probably at first Dave' s suggestion of " Blind Bale" shooting is a good one.......just get real close to a blank target and concentrate ONLY on the shot sequence and what it should feel like. No target to aim at will get rid of the desire to hit something. The only thing your mind will have to worry about is the shot. You could even try closing your eyes.
9. When you get out to distance follow thru.......don' t be peeking. Just bore a hole thru the " X" with your eye and let it happen. You looking for the arrow before it gets there is only gonna cause problems.
10. Stick with it........if you truly want to be as accurate as you can you need to learn to shoot this way. I don' t know of any really good release shooter who shoots any other way. In archery there are many subjects to which there is no " Right or Wrong" , but the fundamentals of shooting accurately is an exception. There truly IS a right way and that' s back tension. It' s possible to be " proficient" with using your finger to trigger the release if you are disciplined in your form, but you' ll never reach your true potential if you are squeezing the shot with your finger.
03-31-2003, 06:52 PM
#13
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Blossvale, New York
Posts: 21,199
RE: do you think it is my form?
CLICK, they make all sorts of good back tension releases.... BUT... they cost money and aren' t worth flip for hunting. AND, guaranteed you' ll bust a lip or your nose a couple times using them. So, doing it the poor mans way you have to have a couple prerequisits first.
1) Your draw length MUST be right... or too short to do it properly. IF you draw length is to long you' re defeated before you start.
2) You DON' T want a hair trigger on the release. You don' t want it to HARD either.
3) You must get the tip of your finger off the release trigger. The trigger finger should hook over the trigger at about the first joint, naturally with a relaxed hand at full draw.
4) When you come to draw and anchor your shoulders and hands must be relaxed. Your finger should curl over the trigger. With you finger take up any slack in the trigger... don' t punch it or trigger it yourself... just take up the slack.
5) Now you' re ready to shoot. It' s explained several ways and one way of looking at it might work for some while a different works for others. The 2 most prominent versions are
A) After you' ve taken up the slack and are at full draw... don' t move that finger again. Simply envision squeezing your shoulder blades together. Some say make believe you' re trying to hold something between them. The shot should happen and be a surprise in a good shot.
B) Explanation # 2: At full draw envision a spot 3 or 4 inches behind your elbow. Try to make your elbow reach that spot without loosing anchor or triggering the shot with your finger. I found if I just say RELAX THE TRIGGER HAND IT SEEMS TO GO OFF.
AGAIN... none of it works if your draw length is to long.
It' s best(mandatory) to practice this with your eyes closed so that you' re feeling the shot. Stand 8 or 10 feet from the target. POINT AT THE TARGET...DRAW.... ANCHOR... TAKE UP THE SLACK... CLOSE YOUR EYES... BACK TENSION... TOUCH THE SPOT WITH YOUR ELBOW... BACK TENSION(whichever works)
When a good shot happens it should be a surprise. If it doesn' t happen within 8 seconds after drawing... LET DOWN and start over. If you can' t get it to go off your draw length is probably all screwed up. YOU WILL NOT trigger the shot with that finger. YOU WILL NOT use the TIP of the finger.
I shot blind bales for 2 months. Never looked at a target face or shot outdoors. I corrected my problem in the off season... Feb, March and April. Shoot a few arrows and put the bow down. Come back an hour later and shoot 8 or 10 more. Don' t do it if you' re tired. NUMBERS are NOT important. Quality shots are important.
When you have a good handle and feel for it... you can go to a target. Start at 10 yards with no face and practice the routine with your eyes open. IF you feel old habits coming back.... go blind bale again. When you can do it with your eyes open you can try a target. Again... close distance... BIG face.. maybe a paper plate. Just do the routine you did with your eyes closed. When you can do it back up to 20. It might take a couple days to get there. Again... big target face. After you have a handle on it you can try regular targets. Let the pin float and concentrate on form... forget the spot. If you let it float and pull off a GOOD shot you' ll hit the target. I guarantee if you do it a month you' ll be amazed. If you do it two months you' ll be a better shot than you ever were. IF you ever feel yourself slipping shoot a few blind bales. If nothing else start and end every practice with a half dozen blind shots with form in mind and don' t you dare ever put the tip of that finger on the trigger again.
1) Your draw length MUST be right... or too short to do it properly. IF you draw length is to long you' re defeated before you start.
2) You DON' T want a hair trigger on the release. You don' t want it to HARD either.
3) You must get the tip of your finger off the release trigger. The trigger finger should hook over the trigger at about the first joint, naturally with a relaxed hand at full draw.
4) When you come to draw and anchor your shoulders and hands must be relaxed. Your finger should curl over the trigger. With you finger take up any slack in the trigger... don' t punch it or trigger it yourself... just take up the slack.
5) Now you' re ready to shoot. It' s explained several ways and one way of looking at it might work for some while a different works for others. The 2 most prominent versions are
A) After you' ve taken up the slack and are at full draw... don' t move that finger again. Simply envision squeezing your shoulder blades together. Some say make believe you' re trying to hold something between them. The shot should happen and be a surprise in a good shot.
B) Explanation # 2: At full draw envision a spot 3 or 4 inches behind your elbow. Try to make your elbow reach that spot without loosing anchor or triggering the shot with your finger. I found if I just say RELAX THE TRIGGER HAND IT SEEMS TO GO OFF.
AGAIN... none of it works if your draw length is to long.
It' s best(mandatory) to practice this with your eyes closed so that you' re feeling the shot. Stand 8 or 10 feet from the target. POINT AT THE TARGET...DRAW.... ANCHOR... TAKE UP THE SLACK... CLOSE YOUR EYES... BACK TENSION... TOUCH THE SPOT WITH YOUR ELBOW... BACK TENSION(whichever works)
When a good shot happens it should be a surprise. If it doesn' t happen within 8 seconds after drawing... LET DOWN and start over. If you can' t get it to go off your draw length is probably all screwed up. YOU WILL NOT trigger the shot with that finger. YOU WILL NOT use the TIP of the finger.
I shot blind bales for 2 months. Never looked at a target face or shot outdoors. I corrected my problem in the off season... Feb, March and April. Shoot a few arrows and put the bow down. Come back an hour later and shoot 8 or 10 more. Don' t do it if you' re tired. NUMBERS are NOT important. Quality shots are important.
When you have a good handle and feel for it... you can go to a target. Start at 10 yards with no face and practice the routine with your eyes open. IF you feel old habits coming back.... go blind bale again. When you can do it with your eyes open you can try a target. Again... close distance... BIG face.. maybe a paper plate. Just do the routine you did with your eyes closed. When you can do it back up to 20. It might take a couple days to get there. Again... big target face. After you have a handle on it you can try regular targets. Let the pin float and concentrate on form... forget the spot. If you let it float and pull off a GOOD shot you' ll hit the target. I guarantee if you do it a month you' ll be amazed. If you do it two months you' ll be a better shot than you ever were. IF you ever feel yourself slipping shoot a few blind bales. If nothing else start and end every practice with a half dozen blind shots with form in mind and don' t you dare ever put the tip of that finger on the trigger again.
03-31-2003, 07:09 PM
#14
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: asheboro, nc
Posts: 384
RE: do you think it is my form?
man you fellas are good! i will try all of this tomarrow and will not put my finger on the trigger!
thanks for all the help -- maybe i can put it to use with lots of practice!
thanks for all the help -- maybe i can put it to use with lots of practice!
04-01-2003, 09:18 PM
#17
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Goodyear AZ US
Posts: 215
RE: do you think it is my form?
Matt & Davidmill,
this is excellent advice. Click is me to a tee! I' ve never heard it explained like you guys did. My only regret is that it' s dark here now and I cant go out and try this immediately!
thanks
Cargo
this is excellent advice. Click is me to a tee! I' ve never heard it explained like you guys did. My only regret is that it' s dark here now and I cant go out and try this immediately!
thanks
Cargo
04-01-2003, 09:21 PM
#18
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Dover, PA USA
Posts: 5,497
RE: do you think it is my form?
Cargo, you' re welcome! I really hope it helps...........haven' t heard from Click and how his first day is going? I hope he didn' t scare himself to death with that first surprise release!![]
]
04-02-2003, 05:16 AM
#19
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Blossvale, New York
Posts: 21,199
RE: do you think it is my form?
I suspect he may have found a back tension release and smacked himself in the nose and is passed out on the driveway. Hopefully he didn' t hit his head to hard.[]
]
04-02-2003, 09:40 AM
#20
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PA Sask CAN
Posts: 321
RE: do you think it is my form?
I just started in archery 2 years ago and have spent ALOT of time and MONEY researching, reading and shooting. So I don' t understand the whole backtension thing yet. I guess I must be a freak or something because I was told my short little SQ2 would be a HARD bow to shoot accurately(especially for a beginner) but on MOST days I can stack arrows at 20 yards and I shoot 5 inch groups at 50 yards. I often shoot right out to 100 yards with it and this is all done with a Scott Little Goose(with a hair trigger).
So I guess if I go to a back tension I will be able to stack arrows at 75 yards
So I guess if I go to a back tension I will be able to stack arrows at 75 yards