How to Shoot a Bow With Good Form

Archery is a fun and competitive sport. It differs from many sports however because it takes more practice to perfect it. With practice, persistance and good form, anyone can shoot a bow well.

These instructions are for compound shooters. These are also mainly for wrist-strap release shooters, but some tips will work for thumb and back-tention shooters also.

Shooting with good form is tricky. It is human nature to build bad habits and it isn't easy to break them. To maintain good habits, you must practice often.

Before drawing back the bow, stand with your feet shoulder width apart and perpendicular to the target. Relax. Judge distance and take your time.

Before drawing back, set your grip. Your grip on your bow should be cofortable and cradle in the bottom of your palm toward your thumb.

Keeping an eye on your target, draw back as smoothly as possible. Lay your four finger tips on the back of the handle ever so lightly. Do not stragle your riser! This will provide torque and throw your arrow left or right. For safety resons, be sure to keep your finger off the trigger until you are anchored.

Anchor points are spots on your body in which the string consistantly touches your face. The bow string should touch the tip of your nose, and you could also ask your local bow mechanic to instal a kisser button, which provides another anchor point in the corner of your mouth.

Curl your finger around the trigger of your release. Now, focus your eyes on the target rather than your sight pins, but hover the pin for the appropriate yardage over the target. When looking at the target, look at a small portion rather than the whole thing. For example stare at the center of the bulls eye rather than the bullseye its self or the target. Take your time while aiming!

This is the last step of one shot. With your finger curled around the trigger very slowly pull your shoulder blades together as you squeze the trigger. After the shot, your release hand should come strait back, and your bow arm should stay strait out just as it was. Do not move your head to watch the arrows flight or look to see where you hit because this makes for a bad follow through.

Remember the four P's of archery
- patience
- practice
- persistence
Then, finally,
- perfection