Improved consistancy

[ChrisNI]

Last night i was shooting down at our club, i started off the night as usual shooting with my basic leather tab (ive only been shooting since Feb) anchoring where i thought was the same place every time, and sometimes i would get a decent group, but mostly all randomly placed around the red and blue. My Dad had been lent one of the A&F tabs by a club coach, but stopped using it because he prefers shooting with a glove, so i decided to give it a go, and after 3 ends i started to get consistant groups, sometimes two of the arrows within an inch, which for me is a major break through!

Has anyone else had a similar experience? I didnt think it could make as much difference, but for me now, for consistant anchoring it seems like a no brainer

[Robin the Hood]

Anchor point, it is what its called and there for that purpose. Eventual trial and error will find the tab thats best. If you are finding it still a bit in-consistent with the anchoring then you might try a small kisser to give you a further check point....
The only other little point to make, do you line your string up on the bow when drawn. This can cause a difference in left/right arrows....

Paul....

[archer_thom]

Well, yeah. Shelf tabs allow a much more consistent anchor than those without them unless you happen to be blessed with a certain shaped jaw. Unfortunately the fact that some good archers don't use them means that some coaches try to remove them from archers, along with that other great invention, the finger spacer.

If it makes you consistent, use it.

[Little Miss Purple]

what works for your coach (and others) will not always be best for you... don't be scared to question your coach

[ChrisNI]

Originally Posted by Robin the Hood

do you line your string up on the bow when drawn
Paul....

not 100% sure what you mean by this, im usually always looking through the sight before and during my draw...i think...... and im sure my bow probably isnt totally vertical which may be leading to the 3rd arrow drifting slightly away from the 1st two

[geoffretired]

When you are at full draw and aiming, the string will appear as a blur, as it should be almost infront of your eye. Many archers see this string blur(string picture) just to one side of the sight ring. If it seems to move from shot to shot, it means the back of the arrow is moving side to side on different shots. That is like having a rifle and not lining up the front and back sights.

[ChrisNI]

ah yes, well to be honest, i havnt noticed where it is since changing tabs. i know that this is why some compound archers use peep sights in their string

[sambow]

I had the exact same experience when I first started shooting recurve. I shot for nine months without a platform and regularly documented my portsmouth scores. then one day I thought I would try an A&F tab, I had an immediate personal best and therafter my average score increased by 20.

I eventually replaced my A&F tab with an Angel because I did not find it very comfortable and my average went up a little more (by about 5).

the only other bit of "equipment" that has made any appreciable difference to my scores was when I added a longrod which also improved my scores.

[Robin the Hood]

Originally Posted by ChrisNI

not 100% sure what you mean by this, im usually always looking through the sight before and during my draw...i think...... and im sure my bow probably isnt totally vertical which may be leading to the 3rd arrow drifting slightly away from the 1st two

As Geoff has pointed out in the follow up reply, you will see the blur of the string. If you turn your head slightly left to right you will see when it blocks your sight, it will also indicate to you that it is important to line it consistantly to prevent left/right head movement. Personally I line it down the centre of the riser next to the sight, but where-ever you choose it must stay....

Paul...

[addo]

A tab with a platform worked for me.I can feel it easier than just fingers.As soon as i used it,my groups did improve.

As someone has already mentioned,check your string picture as well.Once i had a reliable,consistent anchor i then worked on getting string picture in the same place every shot.This closed all my little groups to one bigger group.