Tips on holding steady
 

Well today was the first day shooting my new bow any real distance. What a ton of fun, I went to this walking course where you step up to a shooting area and theres a target to shoot at say 30 yards, a big stack of hay bails with alarge poster target of say a whitetail, bear, wolf etc.. everyone shoots then walk down to collect arrows and step on to the next area 10 or 15 yards away. You work your way through a really cool canyon with 20-25 targets up to 80 yards.

My question is what are some tips for holding steady up and down? I don't seem to have as much of a problem right to left, yes there work there too but up and down is where the pin is moving mostly.

Metro

RE: Tips on holding steady
 

You don't want to hold completely steady. It isn't natural.

You've got something called a natural 'arc of movement' when aiming with a bow, pistol, rifle, etc. With some people it is an up and down type motion, with others it's a left and right motion. Either way, it's what you want.

Many people believe that in order to be accurate you have to hold completely steady on target, so when you wavier a bit your initial reaction is to jerk the bow back into place causing extra stress on muscles that are already being stressed from holding the weight of your bow at full draw.

In any case, this isn't a 'problem' you should worry about correcting. Only a small percentage of archers can actually hold completely steady on a target. A very small portion.

RE: Tips on holding steady
 

lower your draw.,,...

RE: Tips on holding steady
 

80 yards. What kind of course was this?That isa pretty good distance to shoot. What kind of animal was it? How did you do on it?

RE: Tips on holding steady
 

I am not so sure I agree with the movement being "natural". Seems to me, that the more steady you are, and the more smooth you are, the bow shouldn't jump and you shouldn't have to jerk the bow back on target, causing the arrow to go who knows where. I know that when I am shooting my bow, I am rock steady on the target with a smooth release. Now, not saying I hit the "x" everytime, I just ain't that good, but I do get 2" groups at 25 yards, so I shoot well enough to kill any deer I shoot at, barring any "brain farts", which in my world are all too common. Also, when I shoot my rifle off a bench I am more accurate than freehand. Why? Because the crosshairs are rock steady on the target.
There are several things I think that affect this. Draw length, poundage, muscle fatigue, and target panic. Target panic being the most difficult of the three to overcome, but not impossible.
Hey, not trying to argue, just stating my humble opinion.

RE: Tips on holding steady
 

The best bang for your buck to help steady your bow arm is a quailty, 9" to 12" solid stabilizer.

RE: Tips on holding steady
 

Every time I post this, I wind up ruffling some feathers among the 'crank it down and leave it' crowd, but ignorance deserves to have ruffled feathers.;)

The biggest thing most folks can do to help them take out most of that up/down movement is to fine tune their tiller to their own shooting style. Just setting tiller to zero on each end with the bow at brace height (static tiller) rarely gets the job done. Your grip might put more pressure high up in the handle, the next guy's grip might put pressure lower on the handle Or vice versa. How/where pressure is applied in the handle can change the relative strength of each limb during the draw/aim/shot sequence (dynmanic tiller).

In an attempt to forestall the inevitable argument....While the actual strength of the limbs don't change, the balance of strength does. Imagine the bow is a seesaw with 35 pounds of weight on each end, and your hand is the pivot. As long as your pivot is exactly centered between the weights, the seesaw stays balanced. Change the location of the pivot and you have to adjust the weight on each end of the seesaw to keep it balanced. When the pressure is off center in your bow's grip, then the weights at the end of the bow/seesaw must be adjusted to balance.

When one limb is stronger than the other, the bow will try to pull up or down while you're trying to hold on the target. To adjust, hold your sight pin on a target, then slowly begin to draw. Watch the pin.

If it wants to pull UP, off the target, then the top limb is stronger in relation to the bottom limb. Back off the top limb bolt , add too the bottom limb bolt, or both.

If it wants to pull DOWN, then the bottom limb is stronger in relation to the top limb. Take off on the bottom limb bolt, add too the top limb bolt, or both.

Keep adjusting until that pin stays stable all the way through the draw cycle. What a bow does during the draw is exactly what it will do during the shot, just backwards and slower. If the bow wants to pull up during the draw, it's going to KICK down during the shot. Any movement from the bow during the shot will be transferred to the arrow, which will affect speed, accuracy and tune-ability.

Fine tune the bow's tiller to fit your grip style, and you'll have a lot easier time controlling that up/down movement at full draw. And your bow will be easier to tune; it will shoot smoother with less recoil; it will be quieter, more accurate and maybe even faster.

RE: Tips on holding steady
 

great info arthurp, thanks.

another tip i got from arthur was to do my vertical aiming with my hips, like i would do from a tree stand. works wonders.

RE: Tips on holding steady
 

Interesting reply Arthur.Makes sense to me. It would seem wierd having the top limb at 70# and the bottom at65# butyour argument makes alot of sense. I,m going to try it, I can alwaysput it back.

RE: Tips on holding steady
 

Wow, I don't think it should get that serious for a guy just learning how to shoot. One thing you can try is gaining strength. Be able to handle the weight of your bow and even the draw weight. Another thing that helps me is holding my breath when I am locked in and ready to realease. This steadies you a lot. Practice and practice til you figure it out.