Shooting Form Question
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Great Mills, MD
Posts: 204

I'm new to bow shooting this year. I've been looking at alot of videos on shooting form. One of the things they've been talking about is the follow through. Can someone please explain this to me. Follow through after the shot??
#2

Follow through is simply that after releasing the arrow, continue to hold your pin on the target or animal until you here the arrow hit. Too many people try to see where the arrow is hitting to soon. This is a bad habit to get into because eventually you will move the bow to see where the arrow hit before the arrow has completely left the bow. Again, continue to concentrate on where you want the arrow to hit even after releasing the arrow. This is proper follow through. HD.
#3

right. Another thing, think of the release as a trigger on a rifle. You don't punch or slap it. You squeeeeeeze it only when your pin is on target. And no matter how good you get, it is impossible to hold the pin dead steady. You want the pin to hoover in a circle around the bull. But with practice the pin will wander less and less to a point where it looks as if it is not moving at all. And don't grip the bow with a death grip. That causes undue torque and detrimental to accuracy.
#5

This is a the best way to show you what the follow thru is; but notice the way he's holding his bow, that is the proper grip. Don't choke it to death!
I actually leave my arm out longer than the guy on the video and simply let the bow fall forward, one reason I use a finger sling when shooting competiton, just incase.
I actually leave my arm out longer than the guy on the video and simply let the bow fall forward, one reason I use a finger sling when shooting competiton, just incase.
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,926

When I went back to archery after some years, I'd shoot ten archery shots and then go to the family's basketball hoop. It was ten foul shots. Back to ten archery shots.
To me both were similar. Concentration, follow through after release, calmness and getting in a "zone." Nothing herky-jerky.
I was back to shooting form in no time.
To me both were similar. Concentration, follow through after release, calmness and getting in a "zone." Nothing herky-jerky.
I was back to shooting form in no time.
#7
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Woodhaven, Mi USA
Posts: 166

A good way to "feel" follow thru is for you to draw your bow with an arrow and aim toward a target with your finger off the trigger. Have a friend trigger your release. You will have a surprise release and it will surprise the bejeebers out of you. Notice how your bow hand and release hand react. Your bow hand will go towards the target, and your release hand will move straight back. That's follow thru. If your release hand isn't moving straight back after the shot.... you dont have follow thru. You can't move your relase hand backwards, it has to do it on it's own because of a surprise shot.
#9

All the guys are right to a point and not to split hairs or step on toes but the technically correct way to shot is never pull the trigger or punch it (when I say technically I mean in the world class way. There are 100's of ways to shoot and each can be accurate enough for hunting or plinking, heck I still struggle with the back tension shooting myself but I am speaking in terms of the Gold Medal/World Champion terms of shoot too...works for them and its the proper way to do things by the book LOL). The trigger is released by back tension, which is so hard to describe accurately in words, but the basic jist is to pull back the bow, anchor, obtain the site picture, hook the trigger on the release but no very light tension, back tension (created by basically bringing the shoulder blades together by tightening the deltoid muscles in the back high near tops of shoulders- this shortens the trigger arm and pulls tension on the release thus firing) firing, the bow, which should roll forward /away from the body(put bow in hand and hold it just in the area between the thumb and finger- if it rolls away it is weighted right, if it rolls back you need a stabilizer with enough weight to cause bow to go forward) the release hand travels back toward your ear or away behind you and thus your follow through. Note on the grip- again technically the correct grip is to hold the bow grip where a single point of contact hits your hand- meaty part between thumb and finger and then knuckles point away and down at a 45 angle. You can hold fingers lightly in a fist or a cat paw look or extend the fingers away, but still in the downward 45.
Last edited by firelt72; 03-31-2013 at 03:59 PM.