New archer grip question
 

I am new to archery hunting this year. Not having a lot of money, I bought a used Martin Jaguar compound from a local pro shop. It came with a Cobra caliper type release. The guy there set up the draw length, sold me some carbon arrows and gave me three free sessions at his indoor range. He has been good to answer any and all questions and I am sure that I will learn more when I take his upcoming archery hunting course mandated by Idaho Fish & Game.

I really like the bow and have shot it twice so far. I found it hard to keep the arrow on the two prong rest that came with the bow, so after reading a lot of posts on this forum, I had him install a Whisker Biscuit and tune the bow. The Whisker Biscuit is dead simple and I really like how it captures the arrow and leaves one less thing to concentrate on.

I have been surprised at how well the arrows group at 20 yards most of the time(around 3 inches), but I am getting flyers often enough that I wouldn't feel comfortable shooting at an animal at that range until I can consistently keep the groups small. Having shot handguns a lot for many years, the sight alignment and trigger control skills crossover easily. What is new to me is keeping a consistent grip on the bow. I am using the grip recommended by the pro, which is to say putting my bow hand out as if making a "stop" command with my hand and letting the bow grip rest in the web of my thumb and index finger. I try to do this the same every time, but it is evident by the amount that the sight pin is visible to the left of the cables that the bow is rotated a little differently every time.

Will this problem resolve itself with practice and experience or are there some things I can do to make sure my grip is more consistent?

"have shot it twice so far"
 

Where did you get the idea that you would shoot great, after only practicing twice.
Now that's tough, in my mind, to overcome.

Try it at least ten times, acquire a calmness needed in archery, and then go from there. Work on your weaknesses. After some six months, you might start to feel like a real archer.

They can sell a bow; that doesn't make an archer.

Thanks for the reply Valentine. I agree much more shooting is in order before hunting. My goal, although I probably didn't get it across very well, is to try to get a better idea of proper grip so I don't get it wrong at the start and reinforce a bad habit.

The range I use has an unlimited plan for $30 per month and I will be shooting daily from now on.

I've been shooting over 40 years and I still work on getting better every day.

The proper grip is not to grip the bow at all. You should never actually grip, or grab, the bow.

The bows grip should be resting on the pad of the thumb only. Your arm and hand should be at approximately a 45 degree angle and your fingers should be completely relaxed.

Thanks, bigbulls, just what I was looking for.

Good reply bigbulls. I have found that with my Martin Slayer that it likes even hand pressure top to bottom where my new Martin Cougar likes higher grip pressure by rotating my hand up slightly.