Consistent Bowhand Position

[General Dogs]

Earlier this week I shot for the first time at 80yds (60 yds being my previous maximum) and found that the extra 20 yds has a huge effect on magnifying minor errors in form.

One area where I am struggling to find consistency is with the positioning of my bow hand. Some shots feel great, with the bow sitting firmly in my hand and falling forward into my finger sling.

Other shots however are followed by the bow slewing left then right - sometimes quite fiercely - after release. I believe this is caused by the incorrect positioning of my bow hand.

Please accept this thread as an invitation for you all to reveal your 'trade secrets' -
How do you go about maintaining a consistent grip time after time?
What is your idea of the 'ideal' grip?

[Schme1440]

Originally Posted by General Dogs

Earlier this week I shot for the first time at 80yds (60 yds being my previous maximum) and found that the extra 20 yds has a huge effect on magnifying minor errors in form.

One area where I am struggling to find consistency is with the positioning of my bow hand. Some shots feel great, with the bow sitting firmly in my hand and falling forward into my finger sling.

Other shots however are followed by the bow slewing left then right - sometimes quite fiercely - after release. I believe this is caused by the incorrect positioning of my bow hand.

Please accept this thread as an invitation for you all to reveal your 'trade secrets' -
How do you go about maintaining a consistent grip time after time?
What is your idea of the 'ideal' grip?

Poor hand position and also poor forward presure in the bow arm. Your bowarm should be trying to move towards the target. If not done so then the arm will move left and right. You need to extend the arm towards the target basicy. However its not so much a visable movement but more a pressure. ideally you should be pushing throught the wrist and into the throat of the grip and towards the gold.

[Schme1440]

Originally Posted by ruthmc

Also can be caused by fingers not being relaxed upon release...

I was doing this too, and realised that when my index finger was tense it was sending the bow off to one side (and also the arrows ). Ask somebody to look at you hand as you shoot for feedback on this!

Ruth

Also you could record your hand during your shooting. If you have a proper camera and a tripod that would be the best option. Just set it up to record your hand whilst shooting. If it seems tense then you will need to concentrate and practice keeping the hand relaxed.

[BillM]

Originally Posted by Schme1440

Poor hand position and also poor forward presure in the bow arm. Your bowarm should be trying to move towards the target. If not done so then the arm will move left and right. You need to extend the arm towards the target basicy. However its not so much a visable movement but more a pressure. ideally you should be pushing throught the wrist and into the throat of the grip and towards the gold.

You should also remember that technique remains the same for all distances shot so shooting at 80 shouldn't be any more difficult that shooting at 60. The only thing that might change is that you "UNIT" aim at the further distances. This is achieved by tilting at the hip, and there are several ways of doing this. If you adjust by raising the bow arm you are bringing in other muscles you would not normally use and reducing the draw length and that is probably why people feel it is harder to shoot the further away the target is.

BillM

[General Dogs]

Originally Posted by ruthmc

Also can be caused by fingers not being relaxed upon release...

You have hit upon another issue I am trying to be consistent with - relaxing my fingers does form part of my shot routine, but still occassionally gets missed

[General Dogs]

Originally Posted by BillM

You should also remember that technique remains the same for all distances shot so shooting at 80 shouldn't be any more difficult that shooting at 60. The only thing that might change is that you "UNIT" aim at the further distances. This is achieved by tilting at the hip, and there are several ways of doing this.

Oh dear.... clearly my bowhand position is just one of the many, many things I need to improve upon.......

When shooting at the longer distances I always tell myself that its the bow that does the work, not me. As a result I do not feel that I am "trying" any harder. That said, the tilting at the waist to achieve elevation is not something I am conciously doing at the moment so I will have to bring it into my routine and see what happens - thanks for the tip

[Furface]

Originally Posted by General Dogs

Oh dear.... clearly my bowhand position is just one of the many, many things I need to improve upon.......

Welcome to Archery!
Remember that any change, however small or insignificant it may seem, will affect something else, and may produce unwanted symptoms. This does not mean it is "wrong", perhaps that it has revealed another area for work. The most important thing is to work with someone if possible. They can tell you if you are really being as consistent as you feel you are. And, before you make a change to your form, treat it the same way you would any equipment change - make a note of what you start from, what you are changing, and what you hope to achieve. That way you, and your observer, have an idea what's going on.

[geoffretired]

Bowhand position is important. Before working out consistent methods, it is a good idea to reach a sound position then repeat that.
The bow's grip is important in this task. It should support the hand when in a sound position and it should let you know if you change from that position.
I use several reference points to repeat the hand position.
When the thumb is pointing at the target, it just rests against the thumb side of the grip.
When my knuckes are at the right angle for me, about 45 degrees, my index finger relaxes down onto the riser where the side cheek meets the corner of the riser.
The line that separates the thumb muscle from the rest of the palm, just lines up with the left edge of the grip with no contact beyond the line.
Any small change will be felt at one or more of those references.

[BowSurfer]

Originally Posted by General Dogs

Oh dear.... clearly my bowhand position is just one of the many, many things I need to improve upon.......

When shooting at the longer distances I always tell myself that its the bow that does the work, not me. As a result I do not feel that I am "trying" any harder. That said, the tilting at the waist to achieve elevation is not something I am conciously doing at the moment so I will have to bring it into my routine and see what happens - thanks for the tip

Very often, when training to get a new position or technique, it helps to start by exagerating the new technique so that when you back to 'normal' mode there is enough residual feel that it all feels right.
To this end, you might find it useful to do some clout shooting - it can be fun too - which will get you acclimatised to shooting at high elevations without any of the 'pressure' of trying to get a score (at least not a target score).

[Random_guy]

A good grip shape will help in consistant placement of the bow hand. Its possible to do this with the factory standard grips, but a lot of top tier archers (and not so top ones!) alter their grip in order to achieve a more easily repeatable bow hand position.