instinctive shooting technique? can anybody tell me what are some good methods to develop my shooting technique?I just started shooting a recurve this last week and i don' t know anything about shooting one.I have used a compound bow with sights for the last 10 years.Please give me any tips and advice on all aspects of traditional archery.any and all help is welcome thanks larry.

No problem answering your question on a forum! There' s only entire books written on this subject...Shouldn' t take me more than a few weeks to get finished typing....

Step 1. Forget the techie business. With a compound, the bow tells you how it is to be held, how far it' s to be drawn, how it' s to be aimed and how it is going to be released. In a way, the equipment lays out the entire process for you, and you have to follow it' s lead right down the line. The whole thing is very restrictive and mechanical.

The recurve or longbow is highly adaptable and can be shot in many different ways. You' re an artist with a stickbow, not an engineer. Once you learn that the only tuning you have to do with a stickbow is nock point, brace height and arrow spine, then you' ve got the technical part of traditional pretty well mastered. Find a consistent anchor point that puts the nock of the arrow under your shootin' eye, point the fist of your bow hand at the target and you' ve got the basics of aiming down too.

Grab the string either split finger or 3-under, anchor with your index finger or middle finger, it doesn' t matter. Many will suggest one method, many others will recommend another, and still others would say something else. I' d recommend middle finger anchor and split finger. But do what feels right to you.

Step 2. Take your bow, arrows, and some judo points, go out in the woods and shoot at anything (legal, of course) that looks like a worthy target. Vary the distances you shoot, but keep ' em within 10 yards or so at first, and start shooting further as you get the hang of it. Soda/beer cans are my favorite targets of opportunity and I carry a sack so I can pack them out when I claim my kills. Just shoot and have fun. You' ll be ready to pop squirrels in the eye in no time.

What Arthur said! I just started shooting Trad about 8 months ago. Just picked one up and started shooting. Then progressed to reading Byron Ferguson' s book Become the Arrow. Then I got a video by Rick Welch called Instructional Shooting/Hunting Volume two (Volume one is not needed, it' s all repeated in Volume 2!) Got Fred Asbels videos and did not like them. Style was not what I was good at shooting. Alot of the stuff didn' t really make much sense until I shot everyday. Then the form and other things started to make sense. Then I started going to 3-D shoots and met a few really good Trad archers and they really helped. They were able to watch what I was doing and make friendly suggestions. Everyone will have a certain style which is the " best" . You kinda have to take it all in and find what works for you. But proper form and practice is the key.

Good luck.

Thanks guys it' s 7 in the morn and i' m headed to the backyard to throw some wood! I will pick up the book you suggested too ct bowhunter