got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

here she is set at 61 lbs, 30" draw. Getting ready for turkey season, so is there anything you'd change?

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

Heads up, draw length looks reasonable, shoulder not too high and elbow unlocked, grip looks good, yadd yadda.

Looks pretty good to me- I'm not one of those form-Nazis like some are. More importantly how does it FEEL to you?

I believe comfort comes first as comfort is easily repeatable (of course assuming we are not talking some kind of ridiculous form error like a draw length that is 3" too long, etc).

How's the tension on that Trophy Taker cord?- the XTR cams are SUPER sensitive to cam synch.

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

Too long draw length IMO. But I like to have anchor point with my thumb under my jaw. Guess its a leftover thing from finger shooting.

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

The only thing I would try is to take the bend out of the elbow.The bend in your elbow is going out to the side instead of down and this will cause very inconsistant left and right problems.

If you want a little bend,imo,it shouldn't be out away from the body,it should go more toward the ground.

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

whats the best way to remove the bend?

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

Looks to me like you are rotating your arm out at the elbow when all you need to rotate is the wrist and forearm out.(pictures CAN be decieving)


Hold your arm out with the wrist and forearm perpendicular to the ground.Then rotate just the wrist and forearm and notice the elbow position.It should not move.


From here,most coaches prefer to teach a straight but relaxed elbow but if you prefer bend,you should just relax the elbow a little further without rotating it out.


I suggest working on it AFTER killing that turkey;)

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

I would say that it looks pretty decent really. One question though. Are you intentionally squeezing/placing your thumb and index finger like that? If so id say you should let go of the bow more. If that is how your fingers fall when your grip isrelaxed, then it is what it is. Having/allowing a loose grip will allow cleaner shots imo. Ive been struggling with letting the bow go lately and noticed random flyers and im sure thats what it is. I had it all pretty good a month back, but now ive started working on a better release, and all that went to crap:eek:

Derek

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

i just tried working on it for about a half hour, and now i remember why i have the bend and the high anchor.. Its the only way I can get the string to touch my nose without increasing the draw. how necessary is it to have the string touching your nose, as long as you have a solid anchor point elsewhere?

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

imho it is pretty necesarry to have the string touching your nose at least "somewhere" for most people. Typicall it is the tip, but i have seen good shooters/pros who anchor differently. Here is Brandon Reyes (Mathews/Tru-Ball). He has an odd anchor imo, but it works for him obviously. The thing is, most of us arent nearly as consistant as these guys, so it is alot easier to keep it simple, and use the tip of the nose/corner of the mouth style, whichmost do.

If you lengthen your DL by 1/2", straighten your arm out more, you should be able to keep your anchor pretty close to the same as you are comfortable with.
I shoot with a pretty straight arm, and a hair longer DL and i seem to be able to hold better, and my releases seem cleaner b/c of the joint alignment. My stance in this pic is a little tooopen, but you get the idea.

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

You can have bend,it is just a bad idea imo to have the elbow bent OUT,it needs to be more downward if you are going to have it bent.

I have shot with Brandon before he went Pro.He also has/had a very open stance.He wasn't shooting a Mathews then either.

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

Derek,have you ever payed attention to Lanny's anchors? He is back on his face as well.

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

here it is with the added 1/2" of draw and a longer loop. Cant go anymore in draw length now, unless i want to buy a new bow (hmmmmm) :D
And since my arrows are about 3/8" from the rest.
Also the little fuse silencer blew into 100 peices today. My groups shrank about 1" at 40 yards since that happened - coincidence?

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

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RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

I think it looks fairly good, the real test is how well you shoot, regardless of form really though.....ain't it??? I know that after doing some reading up on it, I start loosely locking my bowarm out at the elbow, and I found a better consistency. I also think the anchor point is up for debate as long as it's not creating left-right issues, or torque issues, you can work with a variety of anchors and still be okay as long as you keep ONE consistent anchor wherever it may be!!! Just my uneducated $.02.

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

I think it looks great in the new pics. I believe that if you work with that and get comfortable with it, even if you dont shoot better just yet, you will eventually. You are still a little bit back, BUT... if that is how you like it, then by all means go with it.

You will probably notice that your bow arm doesnt get sore or tired as quickly anymore b/c it isnt bent out.

The little Fuse string grub thing:eek: Garbage IMHO. My first AM35, the grub lasted about 3 days lol. On my secondbow it lasted about a week. I wouldnt imagine that it caused your groups to shrink.You were probablyjust having a good day.

Good shootin~

Derek

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

I must say the elbow looks a little better to me.The draw length is something YOU have to decide on.BUT,from the pics,I doubt longer from the latest pics will yield positive results.You can get a better elbow position without changing the draw length.


The elbow is still out but looking better,I believe that is why the groups are smaller but I don't have those junk fuse silencers on my bow.;)


It also looks as though you have the majority of your weight on your front foot.I prefer a 50/50 split,some prefer weight forward but imo,this will affect uphill and downhill shots negatively.

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

Thanks guys. I'm gonna work on getting better pics, outside tomorrow. The 5 second timer on my camera just isnt enough time to get everything lined up. Maybe that explains the weight forward, as I generally make it a point to stand level when I have the time to settle in and squeeze the shot off. Never really had a problem with arm fatigue, as its only set on about 58 lbs, but I do notice that I can feel the grip of the bow more inline with the bone in my forearm. I'm really thinking I should have got the am35 at my draw length, because i think the short ATA is the reason I needed to lengthen my draw to get the string to touch my nose. As is, if I execute the release perfectly by surprise, the arrow goes right where I'm looking. Otherwise, it may be an inch or two off, but this is at 30 and 40 yards. Still mastering the backtension with an index finger release - it was much easier with a t handle. :eek:

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

This is one of the reasons I suggest that longer draw length shooters use longer bows.Hell,my draw length is 28" and I shoot the 35.At 30" draw,i would't go below 38" a-a

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

That is why form is important. Some things like anchor or DL are subjective performance wise to the individual, but anatomy isnt (obviously unless the person has some kind of physical disabilities disabling them from proper alignment). that is why i shoot with a more open stance, b/c it allows me to lock my shoulder socket, and make my elbow alignent very stong, which allows me to hold VERY steady. Too bad holding steady is only a small part of the equation:eek:

Derek

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

Josh:

I agree that the second set of pics looks a little better, even though the first set didn't look too bad. At 30" draw, if you want to touch your nose with the string, the 35 would have been better. Of course, if you were a wooden puppet, you could just tell 1, maybe 2 lies and take care of the problem.:D

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

You want him to increase his draw more with a caliber release/hunting setup? I mean target shooting and hunting are two totally different things.

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

Not totally different.Some of the same basic fundamentals remain the same.

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

Yep, but we are past those basic fundamentals.

I don't know, I guess I get tired of seeing young shooters with thier elbows all the way back past thier ears, and the main reason is the bow is too heavy for them and the bow's ata too short. They shoot, they have no follow thru, and grip the trigger. Josh isn't in this category, so don't think I am talking about you, but with a caliber release, I sure wouldn't go longer in draw length.

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

Actually,the main fundamental is bone to bone contact and with the elbow pointed outward,that bone to bone contact is next to impossible.

The a-a being so short for a longer draw archer definately causes anchor issues and I am not sure which way he would be more comfortable with his anchors and bone to bone contact once he as addressed his bow arm elbow alignment.I do know that when he lengthened his draw that the alignment looked better but the anchors do not.

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

Josh: You have gotten good advice on here. Personally, I really think with your size and the bow's size, I'd forget about the nose thing. If you go on Archerytalk, there is a guy that goes by Nuts and Bolts who is very good at explaining form. He had a good explanation of why forcing your head down to touch the nose to the string is a bad idea. I can't remember specifics. When I have shot shorter bows OK (not really well but not bad) I put a kisser button on the string for a secondary reference point, and forget about the nose. I can only comfortably use the nose on the string starting at about 36" ATA. I would not make yourself crazy over this. Your form looks better than most shooters that I see.

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

I get tired of seeing people with DL's soo short that they have their elbows bent completely. Short seems to be the trend:eek: I was one of those people for quite a while. I shot a 29" DLa few years back and im 6'3". Not arguing with ya about a little shorter for hunting, but hes asking us to critique his form, and im assuming he wants to shoot better. Just gave my .02;)

Like you said bc, i believe that with his form now, he will be smart enough to take some critique and turn it into better form/shooting, not just bad habits that many rookiestakeon. If you practice like you are hunting, then you will know what you can/cant do in certain situations.

Anyways, "different strokes for different folks"


Derek

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

The only thing wrong is that I don't have an Alpha Max formyself. :(

RE: got my bow set up. critique my form please
 

Its a rarity to see young shooter with too short draw lengths. I have been at it for quite some time. UsuallyI see quite the opposite. Reason is, they are overbowed and feel they can handle a 70lb bow, but cannot.

I have seen a whole lot of good bowhunters, and see a whole lot of target shooters, they are rarely the same thing.