This really shouldn't be happening

Allosaur

I have an embarrasing little problem.

(ok, stop snickering, - it's not that kind of problem)

I keep shooting to the left. I'm getting good groupings, but they are all at the 8 o'clock position to the target.
I figured out the elevation with the sights, so eventually that moved to 9 o'clock, but no matter how I correct the windage on the sight

The shot still falls to the left, and by a good margin.

Now I'm new to compound so my form is all over the camp, but surely that would effect consistancy wouldn't it....?

Wouldn't it?

This is really embarrasing....

Lardy

Do you use a bow sling?

Allosaur

Lardy wrote: »

Do you use a bow sling?

Yep, but I'm not sure if it's loose or tight enough. I have a feeling I'm snatching the shot too. Like I said my form is crap.

BTW the front sight is moved way to the left. - Didn't make much of a difference.

Weird.

Lardy

Thats what i was thinking, re snatching the shot. Could also be kinking your wrist maybe when drawing the string? Possible with the extra poundage of the compound. Does the arrow fish tail at all in flight?

EDIT: Kinking wrist wont make much of a difference if you're using a release aid?

Allosaur

Fishtailing?

TBH I can't tell. At the time of release I'm very target fixated. My eye is focused on the front sight, the peep sight, the level, and finally the release. And with a flight time of about 1/5th of a second over the 20M (ish 100M/sec or 328ft/sec) add to that it's a black arrow against a (mostly) black target, all the time while holding a bow that wants to deflesh my left arm at the first oppertunity.

I'm kinda too busy to notice. But I'll ask one of the other archers to watch.

Like I said, it's a whole new learning curve from shooting, then recurve to compound.

AND I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF MY CURRENT USELESSNESS!!!!:D

Allosaur

Lardy wrote: »

EDIT: Kinking wrist wont make much of a difference if you're using a release aid?

Which wrist, the string arm or the bow arm. I think I might be kinking my bow arm (left, I'm right handed) at full draw, so that at the release it might be extending out and pulling the bow to the left......

Lardy

lmao.

I actually went the other way, compound to recurve. More skill and less mechanics required!

If you're slapping your arm, that could be your problem.

Lardy

Allosaur wrote: »

Which wrist, the string arm or the bow arm. I think I might be kinking my bow arm (left, I'm right handed) at full draw, so that at the release it might be extending out and pulling the bow to the left......

Your left elbow is supposed to be slightly kinked to avoid slapping the string off your forearm.

Allosaur

Lardy wrote: »

lmao.

I actually went the other way, compound to recurve. More skill and less mechanics required!

If you're slapping your arm, that could be your problem.

It's the fear of that's making me not extend my elbow fully, which kinks the bow wrist. At release, the resistance from the bow is removed and my wrist may be realigning. But like I said it happens godawful fast.

What puzzles me is that adjusting the sight to compensate for that snap, didn't....

But thanks for discussing it with me here, helped me clear my thoughts about it and hopefully gives me something to look at. I'll extend the draw length another inch and hopefully force me to extend that arm...

Allosaur

Lardy wrote: »

Your left elbow is supposed to be slightly kinked to avoid slapping the string off your forearm.

Hhhmmm. So the arm isn't locked and the elbow rotated out of the way? It's a pig to hold the bow (it's a heavy bugger) for more than a couple of seconds that way. - Again in shooting it's all about long bone support..

So I'm trying to untrain myself from that discipline when everything I don't concentrate on screams to do the exact opposite.

But I do love the challange.

Allosaur

It's like learing how to tapdance, while playing the banjo over a tank full of sharks.

Lardy

The kinked elbow was the way i learned to shoot compound, but i shoot recurve the same as you, with a straight arm and elbow pointing out the way.

When i was shooting compound, i didn't use any sights or release aids, so i wouldn't be much help in that department.

Jasonw

You may be suffering from that common beginner mistake of trying to take a peak at the shot.

Your head may be pushing to the right on release as you try to see the where the arrow is heading as you push to the right it also pushes your anchor point right sending your shot left.

As you have already said it's about form and training yourself to hold until the arrow is in the target.

I found when I was shooting that you shoot better when the release almost takes you by suprise. Harder to do when shooting compound as there is no clicker. In recurve, you aim, draw through the clicker and when you hear the click - release. No time to anticipate the shot.

With Compound I found a handy trick was once I had the sight hovering over the target to pull back on the release aid (i had a thumb trigger) increasing the pressure until it "accidently" went of. If it's not a "pull" on the trigger, it's harder to anticipate the shot.

Hope this helps,
J

Allosaur

Turns out it was the buscuit rest. You couldn't tell until you put a long stabilizer on it and checked the arrow alignment. The bow comes with a short one.

Clooney George

Your left knee is expected to be a little bit kinked to prevent putting the sequence off your hand.
http://www.mphenterprises.co.uk/creative_services.html

Deeds35

Sounds like you are torqing the bow. If you can, ask someone to video you shooting and watch your bow hand for any movement.