Choose your anchor point just as carefully as you choose your spouse because you’re going be together just as long – for better or for worse. Accuracy with a bow is the product of doing the same things on every shot you take. Your anchor point is one of the first links in this chain that leads to consistency. You must hit the same spot every single time you shoot. Everything else you do depends upon this one simple step.

FINDING THE RIGHT ANCHOR POINT

When you have reached the correct anchor point (and your bow has the correct draw length), the forearm of your string arm will be perfectly in line with the arrow at full draw. If you anchor too far forward on your face, the elbow on your string side will be pointing too far in front of you (to the right for a right-handed shooter) or you will have to turn your head sharply to the right to achieve the proper body position. Both will hurt your shooting.
If you anchor too far back, your elbow will point behind you (to left for a right-handed shooter). This is a common flaw among archers I’ve seen at tournaments and bowhunters I’ve shot with in hunting camps. They are much more likely to anchor too far back than too far forward. This results from trying to shoot a bow with a draw length that is too long - probably in an attempt to get more arrow speed.

The exact position of your release hand against your face is somewhat of a personal thing. However, there are fundamentals that every archer should strive to achieve. Once again, these revolve around consistency and around finding a comfortable position so you can relax fully. If you shoot an index-trigger release aid, you will find a very solid and stable anchor point by pressing the gap between the thumb and your index finger against the back of your jawbone. This anchor point is very repeatable because you have specific points of contact that you can actually feel even when wearing thin gloves.

If you are using a thumb-trigger release invert your hand so your thumb points almost straight down. Press your knuckles lightly into the back of your jawbone.

As you search for the perfect anchor point, maintain a relaxed upper body. Don’t stretch your shoulders outward in an effort to artificially increase your draw length. Adjust your bow’s draw length to fit your new anchor point rather than vice versa. Once you find the perfect anchor point, adjust your draw length to fit it.

WHY YOUR ANCHOR POINT MOVES

If you center each pin in your peep sight when aiming, your anchor point will have to move as shooting distance changes. For example, on a 20-yard shot, you center your 20-yard pin the peep and on a 40-yard shot, you center your 40-yard pin. To do this you have to move your anchor point up or down very slightly on your face. This can be uncomfortable for archers who become accustomed to shooting most of their arrows from one distance. To avoid this problem, keep your anchor point light on your face and mix up your practice sessions to include regular shots from every distance for which you have a sight pin.

It is acceptable to move your anchor point up and down a little to aim with different pins. This movement should only be vertical, never horizontal. If you move your anchor point back and forth horizontally it will change your form and adversely affect your shooting.

Here’s a trick I’ve learned to keep the same anchor point and still allow myself to use all the pins: I anchor at the bottom of my jaw. When I’m shooting my 20 yard pin I have my teeth together . For each of the further distances I open my jaw slightly. This increases the distance from my anchor to my peep allowing me to center the peep on each of the different sight pins.

DON’T PRESS THE STRING INTO YOUR FACE

Now that I’m no longer as active in competitive shooting, I can let a few of my secrets out. After years of analyzing my shooting results, I learned that I had more left and right misses when the string and arrow nock contacted the side of my face. I don’t mean the release hand – it has to make contact for consistent shooting. I’m talking about the string itself. Even a slight change in the amount of pressure I used to hold the string against my face resulted in noticeable differences in accuracy. I finally determined that I was most accurate when the string didn’t touch anything.

This tip is especially useful if you wear a facemask while hunting. If you press the string into your facemask, you will see even greater accuracy problems.

You can keep the string out of your face by turning your head until you are looking almost straight at the target. Most archers, and even some good ones, turn their heads much too far to the right (right-handed shooter) causing the string to make solid contact with their face. Look at yourself in the mirror while you are at full draw. Find a position that keeps the string off your face. Once again, the solution will most often come by shortening your draw length slightly.

You have to repeat only a handful of things on every shot to enjoy consistent shooting: body alignment, grip, anchor point, trigger squeeze and follow-through. Get the shot started right with a solid, repeatable anchor point and it will have a much better chance of turning out well.

1. You need to break in the string and harness system on your bow before it is ready for hunting. Take roughly 300 to 400 shots first and then soak the string and harnesses in water. You can dip them in a bathtub or spray them down with water. Soak them good. A couple of days later leave your bow in a really warm (but not too hot) place. The backseat of your car for a couple of hours on a sunny day might work (As long as you aren’t doing it in Arizona in the summer time) Keep the windows rolled up. The purpose of this exercise is to melt the wax forcing it out of the string and also to cause the individual fibers to stretch – in effect causing the string and harnesses to take a set. Now you can tune and sight in.
Some of the non-stretch fiber string materials do not require nearly as much work to settle in. (Both BCY and Brownell make a non stretch string material. I use BCY’s 450 plus with great results.)

2. Achieving accuracy with broadheads requires two things: a well tuned bow and a quiver full of well tuned arrows. If your bow is tuned but your arrows aren’t you will get a group that has the same approximate center as your field point groups but will be much larger. If your bow is not tuned but your arrows are tuned you will get a group with a different center than you have with field points but the group may be close to the same size as your field point group. If both are untuned you will get a very wide dispersion of shots.

To achieve perfect hunting accuracy, you need to tune each arrow individually. Make sure you shoot every single arrow with the broadhead attached to see if it hits with the group. I like to use slow set epoxy on my insert then I spin each arrow in my palm with a broadhead attached. If I feel even the slightest wobble, I rotate the broadhead and do the test again. If that doesn’t work I try a different broadhead.If that still doesn’t work I set that arrow aside.

You might be surprised to find that I consider a very short shot from a tree to be one of the toughest.

Whitetail hunters tend to set up for, and expect, 20-yard shots. However, during the rut, bucks are likely to take the most direct route to where they are headed, regardless of trails. They may come past at 40 yards or 4 yards. Not many bowhunters practice five and 10-yard tree stand shots, yet they are nearly as likely as 20-yard shots.

Shooting straight down forces you to use form that is radically different from what you are used to. Medium to long tree stand shots require only slight changes in body angle from level ground shooting, but short shots require you to bend in ways you never will on the range.

There are two keys to making great short shots from a tree. First, focus just as hard as you would on longer shots. It just seems too easy and you’re already thinking about putting your tag on the buck’s rack before you ever let the arrow go. You need to bear down and try to split a single hair because there is little margin for error your shot placement has to be prefect.

Second, Spread your feet, open your stance and bend fully at the waist to maintain the proper 90-degree angle between your bow arm and your upper torso. This can be uncomfortable on shots under ten yards, and bowhunters tend to cheat by merely lowering their bow arm without bending at the waist. .This changes all the important relationships (eye to pin, draw length, bow arm to release arm, anchor point) that you have developed during practice. The likely result is a poor hit.

Many bowhunters struggle to find the time to prepare properly for the bow season. Between family and work they are stretched thin. They’d love to have the problem of practicing too much. There is no question that you need to make the time to shoot regularly, but I also know many others that shoot dozens of arrows every day without improving their skills. In fact, they are actually making it less likely that they will improve. Their problem is not one of shooting too little. They are guilty of shooting too much.

My definition of “too much” practice is the sloppy form that occurs when you start slinging arrows without focusing on each step of every single shot. Every good shot requires both 100% physical and 100% mental involvement. When the archer starts to get lazy it is all too easy to begin coasting mentally. It is a big mistake that will only lead to bad habits.

WHAT IS SLOPPY SHOOTING

People have varying degrees of mental discipline. Some can concentrate effectively on demand for hours while others will begin drifting after only a few minutes. But, regardless of discipline, everyone has a breaking point. It’s important that you stop shooting when you reach yours.

Before you can tell when you’ve reached your mental limit you need to first know what it feels like to be fully engaged in the shot. That way you’ll be able to tell when you’re not.

Every good shot requires that you concentrate on three things in order. First, assess the physical conditions of the shot. These include wind speed and direction, shot distance, changes in elevation and whether or not you’ve got a clear shot to the target. These should be a part of every shot you take whether hunting or standing on the range. You need repetition to build a habit of gauging these factors on every shot. To stay fresh you can always change positions on the range so that you have a new set of variables to consider.

The second mental hurdle is a step-by-step process of making sure your form is correct. There are literally dozens of things you could consider here, but focus on just the three or four that you have the most trouble with. For example, you may say to yourself, “Make sure the grip is contacting my hand in the right place. Keep the left shoulder low. Squeeze through the shot.” Every bowhunter should have their own list based on what they need to do to shoot well.

If you focus on good form as a part of every shot you take when practicing it should be a part your muscle memory by the time you draw on a buck. Besides, there are usually so many other decisions that need to be made when shooting at game that thinking of your shooting form can actually be distracting.

The mental task is to lock in on the spot you want to hit. This is the hardest part of the shot and is where you will first notice a lapse in concentration. If any other thought invades your mind at this point it will distract you from shooting your best. Give your mind completely to the spot. To stay locked on you may choose a mental exercise like trying to pick out the exact shape of an old arrow hole or the outline of a slight contour in the target in the exact spot you are trying to hit. If you will do that you will be amazed at how the shot takes care of itself and you begin shooting tighter groups with greater consistency. You will also find it much easier to focus on a hair or slight discoloration on an animal’s side when hunting.

TOO MUCH SHOOTING CAN MAKE YOU WORSE

Archery has many things in common with golf - another game of precision. On those rare occasions when I’ve watched golfers on a driving range I’ve noticed a common trait: they casually knock out shot after shot without any apparent routine or focus. It is the archery equivalent of shooting through your quiver without giving any thought to the shots. All you are doing is reinforcing bad habits that will actually make it much harder to ever improve.

I don’t shoot hundreds of arrows each week because I know the value of staying fresh. I shoot only as many as I can (usually no more than 20 to 30 at a time) while giving each one total effort. It is mentally taxing work to shoot each arrow like it is the only one you’ll shoot that day, but there is no other way you can replace bad habits with good ones.

When you draw on the biggest buck you’ve seen all season there is nothing you will need more than mental discipline and focus. By making these qualities a top priority during practice sessions they will quickly become an important part of your technique while hunting.

Don’t let your mind get lazy or all that practice time will only go to making you worse. Work hard to control your mind. When, despite your best efforts, it starts to drift you know it’s time to take a break. From this day forward never again take a shot, regardless of how insignificant it may seem, without giving it every ounce of your mental energy.

I shot in a 3-D tournament with a young man 10 years ago that was continually losing or damaging his arrows. With a handful of targets still remaining, his hip quiver that had once held six shiny new aluminum arrows now carried only two badly damaged shafts. I figured he’d pack it in. But instead, to my shock, he took an arrow that was mushroomed from centering a tree branch and snapped it off an inch behind the point. He crimped the shaft closed to form a wedge tip. Without a point or an insert to provide front weight, the undaunted fellow went on to shoot at and actually hit a few more targets.

That archer’s arrow was theoretically unstable because its balance point was behind the physical center yet it still flew straight because of the large helical fletchings it carried. Had the fletchings been removed the shaft might have hit the target sideways or even tail first. That demonstration reinforced an important fact: arrow stability is related to a number of factors including fletchings, balance point and dynamic shaft stiffness. Here’s how these variables can be made to work more closely together to produce an accurate arrow.

HELICAL FLETCHING AND LOTS OF IT

As long as the tail of the arrow carries three big fletchings with a high degree of helical your arrows will stabilize quickly even if your bow isn’t perfectly tuned. Large helical fletching also reduces the affects of inconsistencies such as a slightly bent shaft or a nock that’s out of line.

All archers, but especially bowhunters, should choose their fletching conservatively. Four inches should be the minimum starting length for hunting arrows even with mechanical broadheads and five-inch fletching is even better. There is little place for straight fletching in archery – bowhunting or otherwise. An arrow needs to spin to be most consistent. It’s important to note that even arrows equipped with field points will plane if they come out of the bow other than dead straight. Helical fletching helps reduce this affect. With today’s drop-away arrow rests there is no good reason not to use fletching sporting eight degrees, or more, of helical offset.

FORWARD OF CENTER BALANCE POINT

Your arrow’s balance point will affect its trajectory – at least slightly. For example, an arrow that is “tip light” will remain a little more level in flight and will actually plane or sail along a flatter trajectory than one of the same weight but with a heavier nose. But, tip light arrows don’t correct quite as fast when they come out of the bow. The closer the center of gravity gets to the physical center of the arrow the less stable the arrow will be in flight. A slashing arrow pivots around its center of mass (balance point). The farther the balance point is from the fletchings the more leverage they have and the quicker they can bring the arrow back on line.

Here’s how you calculate Forward of Center (FOC) balance point and why you need to know this number.

Calculating FOC: Divide the overall length of the arrow by two. (Overall length is the distance from the bottom of the nock groove to the point where the shaft meets the insert. This should produce the physical center of the shaft. Now subtract this number from the balance point (with the point installed), a distance that is also measured from the bottom of the nock groove. Divide the remainder by the complete overall length. Multiply by 100 to express as a percentage.

The experts at Easton feel that an FOC value that is between 10 and 15 percent will produce the best compromise between stability and a flat trajectory for most hunting situations. The American Society for Testing and Materials have published a procedure for measuring balance point, and in it they state that a value of 9% is typical. But, they also add that the range can be as wide as 7% to 18% while still producing good arrow flight. 3-D shooters seeking a flatter trajectory often go a little lighter on the nose with many shooting arrows having FOC balance points closer to 6 percent.

The best way to achieve your desired FOC (to play it safe, let’s shoot for around 12%) is to try several different weight points until you hit the right balance. However, if you are sold on a particular broadhead that’s too heavy to permit the arrow to fall into the desired FOC range, you can change from feathers to vanes or vice versa if the head is too light. You can also change from aluminum inserts to lighter composite inserts if the FOC is too large.

DYNAMIC STIFFNESS

If your arrow is improperly spined your consistency and stability will suffer. The shaft selection charts published by the arrow manufacturers are a good starting point, but you still must experiment with various point weights to determine which one produces the tightest groups with your bow and your release technique. Changing point weight will also affect FOC balance point, so once you arrive at the proper tip weight you should retest your FOC. If it is outside the range from 10% to 15% you can add or remove weight from the back of the arrow (changing fletching length and style is the easiest method) to bring it back in line without greatly affecting dynamic stiffness.

A stable arrow will recover quickly upon leaving the bow and this makes it more consistent and more accurate. That’s a very worthwhile goal for any bowhunter.

Sneaking within100 yards from a wild animal is not particularly difficult, but cutting that distance down to 40 yards is another matter. In golf circles they say that the Masters Tournament begins on the back nine on Sunday. Well, real bowhunting starts on the final 60 yards of a stalk. The pressure intensifies and every mistake is magnified. In more than 25 years of stalking big game with my bow, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. The lessons they’ve taught me are outlined here so you can learn from them too.

UNDERSTAND THE ANIMAL

The best spot and stalk hunters I know have the equivalent of a PhD in animal behavior. There is no substitute for knowing the habits of the animal you’re hunting. For example, you can get away with a lot more on a bull moose bedded behind a screen of willows than you can with a bull elk in the same situation.

Knowing the animal allows you to better guess what he’s likely to do next at any point in the stalk. This knowledge allows you to fit your strategy to the animal and the setting in a way that increases your chances of staying one step ahead. Being able to recognize when the odds are in your favor so you can take advantage of them is one of the keys to successful stalking.

Take advantage of any opportunity to learn from a veteran hunter who specializes in the animals you’re planning to hunt. Ask questions about how he hunts: when he moves, how fast, how close. And ask about the animals: what can you get away with and what you can’t, where do they like to bed, where do they feed, where do they find water, etc. This kind of knowledge is invaluable and learning it the easy way is priceless.

BEAT THEM TO THEIR BEDS

Some animals can be stalked effectively while they’re bedded, but most are easier to approach when they’re on their feet. Waiting for an animal to bed before stalking seems to make sense because then you have a stationary target. But, as soon as it beds down you’ve lost some important advantages. Wild animals instinctively choose bedding areas that provide visibility and good scenting – they’re hard to approach. Usually, what they can’t see they can smell, leaving no quadrant unguarded. Whenever possible, I try to stalk animals when they are on their feet.

The eyesight of most big game is ideally suited for detecting motion. When they’re bedded this sense is especially acute, but when they’re up and moving it is somewhat neutralized. When an animal is moving it can’t see motion as well and you can get away with a bit more. The same goes for hearing. Big game animals in general have very good hearing and are able to easily recognize the sounds of stealth. When deer are on their feet feeding and moving they’re making noise themselves and that noise covers some of the sounds you make when stalking.

START FAST, END SLOW

Stalking is a game of minutes, sometimes of seconds. One of the best mule deer that I’ve shot recently was in the process of pawing out its bed when I peaked over the rise just within range. I’d just run two miles to get to him before he bedded and got there not an instant too soon. Had I been even a minute later it would have been much more difficult to get a shot. You are always racing the clock when preparing for a stalk. In the morning you’re trying to beat them to their beds. Even if they’re already bedded they will often get up and move seemingly without reason. And, in the afternoon you have the end of legal shooting time bearing down on you.

Run if you must, but get to the point where you can make your final approach as quickly as possible and then slow down. You don’t have to go straight at the animal in this first stage of the stalk. Whenever possible, I like to get in front of an animal and work back toward it because that will usually allows the animal to do most of the moving and produces more controlled shots.

DON’T GET TOO CLOSE

Trying to slip within 20 yards is usually a mistake. I used to do this all the time. I remember a couple of times getting within 10 yards of big, bedded mule deer and then thinking, “what do I do now?” What I did most of the time was spook them. After enough of these close encounters went south I began to realize that getting inside 20 yards actually decreased my odds of tagging the animal. It’s hard to avoid being detected when you’re right on top of them.

I believe the sensitivity of a big game animal increases exponentially as you close the distance. For instance I think you can get away with a lot more than twice as much noise, movement and odor at 30 yards than you can at 15 yards. Now, I rarely push a stalk inside 30 yards. Rather than forcing the action, I’ve learned to be patient and take what I can get. I’ll remain motionless for hours if necessary and let the animal make the move.

DON’T MAKE A BEDDED ANIMAL STAND

This mistake cost me several good mule deer before I wised up. I would pull off a long stalk on a bedded animal and get in close. Proud of my accomplishment and filled with excitement I just couldn’t sit patiently for long. I felt compelled to make something happen. So, in an effort to produce a shot I’d throw a rock over the buck to get him to stand. For every one that stood up to look around, at least five blew out like they’d been thrown from a catapult.

Obviously, I was getting too close, but that was only part of the problem. Unraveling my second common mistake became one of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned. It was also one of the most difficult because overcoming it requires lots of patience and self-control. Now, when faced with a buck bedded nearby I hang back and wait for the animal to make the next move rather than forcing things.

This can sometimes take hours; turning you into a nervous wreck by the time the animal stands. During just the past two seasons I’ve been on two stalks that ended in marathon waits. On both of them I ended up sitting or lying down for long hours before the animal stood. I got one of them, but my arrow deflected from a bush on the other. I’ve also had long waits that produced nothing. After all that waiting, it’s tempting to second-guess the virtue of patience when you don’t get a shot. I heartily recommend that you don’t second-guess this one. No strategy, no matter how good, is going to work every single time. But, I’ve learned from years of mistakes that over the long haul you’ll tag the most game by waiting them out at the end of a stalk.

LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP

You need a very good landmark near the animal that you can use to direct your stalk. I’ll spend an extra 10 minutes before starting on a stalk just memorizing the landmarks and terrain features. From a high vantage point things always look different than they do when you get down and start stalking. This is a critical step in any spot and stalk hunt. Don’t be so impatient to get started that you overlook it.

If I have a buddy with me we will take turns stalking and staying back to give hand signals. This kind of help is most valuable when the animal is moving or when it’s bedded in a nondescript setting where everything looks the same.

I use my rangefinder during every stage of the stalk so I always know how far it is to the animal and to the cover where I think the stalk is likely to end. I always want to know these distances in case the buck or bull suddenly appears and I’m pinned down.

STALKING AN ELK IS DIFFERENT

Most of the tips I’ve offered so far have been geared toward mule deer and, to a lesser extent, animals such as sheep. Elk are different and need to be hunted differently. You don’t actually stalk them as much as you chase them. When I decide a bull is big enough, I’ll stay on the downwind fringe of his herd for as long as I can until he swings to my side or I see an opportunity to move in on him.

Stalking elk is a dynamic game that really doesn’t have many rules. Get yourself in shape so you can run when you have to. Everything else is spontaneously generated. Almost anything can happen when a bull is working a herd. Let the situation at hand combined with your understanding of elk behavior dictate what you do when you get close.

SILENCING YOU AND YOUR BOW

Crunching pine needles, rolling stones, clinking metal, snapping twigs and the swish of clothing on underbrush are all sounds wild animals are programmed to recognize as danger. By eliminating these sounds you increase your odds of getting into position. To do this I use several tricks.

First, I usually take off my boots at the end a stalk if the weather permits, and sneak the final 40 yards in stocking feet. I’m mostly hunting in warm conditions, but you could even carry an extra pair of heavy wool socks for stalking in the cold. Without boots you can move much more quietly.

I also silence my bow. I don’t mean the draw and the shot (though these are important). I’m talking about silencing the outside of the bow so it doesn’t make any noise against rocks when I’m crawling. I’ve been known to apply mole skin to the entire side of the bow. I’ve even put Simms mini LimbSavers on the side of my bow to serve as shock absorbers and silencers when crawling.

GLASSING TECHNIQUES

So far I’ve focused only on the second half of the spot and stalk story – the fun half, the part where you get to shoot. The first half may not be as glamorous, but it is just as important. There’s no stalk until there’s first a spot. That’s why I’m such a stickler for good optics and good glassing technique.

Before I owned good optics I spotted many deer that I thought were trophy class bucks only to discover they were average after investing hours to get close. I don’t mind practicing my stalking skills, but leaving a good glassing point for any reason other than to stalk a sure enough shooter is a poor use of prime hunting time. Carrying the very best optics you can afford not only increases enjoyment – the more clearly you can see the more fun you’ll have – but it also makes better use of your time.

Now, whenever I hunt in big country I carry a spotting scope just for judging antlers. A good scope will make long-range evaluation notably easier and more effective. It adds a little weight to my pack but it has saved me many miles of walking.

Under ideal conditions most decent binoculars will perform well, but you don’t always glass under ideal conditions. Instead, look through the binoculars with the setting sun in your eyes. If the flare is so bad that you can’t see clearly, you have the wrong pair. Without moving the binoculars, scan from side to side to study the outer edges of your field of view. Very high quality binoculars will be just as clear at the edges as they are in the center. Now compare them as you study the shadows for details. A binocular’s ability to pierce the shadows is an important part of its overall usefulness.

A few tricks will help you spot more game. Just as a deer can see motion better when it’s standing still, you can pick up details better when your binoculars are steady. Get into a very comfortable and stable position and rest your elbows on your knees. For really serious glassing you should use a stable tripod with legs that will adjust to every type of terrain.

Where you set up to spot from is an underrated part of successful hunting and should receive careful thought. The common mistake is to automatically pick the highest point around just because it overlooks a lot of country. Instead, choose spotting locations that overlook known deer hangouts even if you can’t see much country.

During the heat of the day, concentrate on the shadows on north and east facing slopes where game is most likely to get out of the sun. During the rest of the day focus on feeding areas and the trails leading to and from.

Spot and stalk hunting is a bit of a lost art in these times of tree stand hunting, but given a choice I would much rather sneak up something and take it on the ground than wait helplessly hoping it approaches my tree. Every step brings me closer to the moment of truth. The pressure builds with each step. The excitement is nearly unbearable when a long stalk finally brings the sight of antler tips bobbing out from behind a bush. It is the most intense moment in an already intense sport. If you haven’t tried it you’ve been missing the most fun you can have with a bow in your hand.

Caption: Carrying the very best optics you can afford not only increases enjoyment – the more clearly you can see the more fun you’ll have – but it also makes better use of your time.

Caption: Spot and stalk hunting works for elk as well. This bull was spotted by the author ¾ of a mile away. The bull never bugled and as is usually the case with elk the stalk involved a lot of chasing. When elk aren’t bugling you have to treat them like a mule deer; glass them up then chase them down.

Caption: The author stalked within 50 yards several times on this buck over the span of two years. Some of these stalks involved remaining in position for several hours. The last stalk produced results worth waiting for.
Caption: I use my rangefinder during every stage of the stalk so I always know how far it is to the animal and to the cover where I think the stalk is likely to end. I always want to know these distances in case the buck or bull suddenly appears and I’m pinned down.

Caption: Leaving a good glassing point for any reason other than to stalk a sure enough shooter is a poor use of prime hunting time. Carrying the very best optics you can afford not only increases enjoyment – the more clearly you can see the more fun you’ll have – but it also makes better use of your time.

I was hunting mule deer in Arizona with a couple of my friends many years back. After we separated, I found a nice buck chasing a doe. He was focused on her and never noticed that I was stalking him. I had to work around the doe a few times, but over the course of the day I was able to get in on that buck five different times. I started the day with a quiver full of arrows, but when I got back to the vehicle my bow was a whole lot lighter and I still had the tag in my pocket. My friends roared at me when I told them why my quiver was empty. I immediately began thinking about getting new friends.

I missed that buck five times, and as I walked back to the rendezvous I was able to justify each miss in a way that made it a little easier to swallow. I had hit branches, misjudged distance and been hammered by the wind. Surely, those factors were beyond my control; or were they?

MENTAL SHOOTING SLUMPS

Call it a one day shooting slump. I had found every possible way to miss a mule deer. After spending some time thinking about it, I didn’t feel any better that the errors had been mental instead of physical. The result was the same: unfilled tag, lots of ribbing from the buds. I realized that it is just as easy to get lazy mentally and let opportunities slip away as it is for your shooting form to get out of whack. I decided I had to change my pre-shot routine to include new decision points.

Spend some time thinking about the steps you take from the time you first see an animal you want to shoot until the arrow is in the air. If you rush through the sequence with little thought - quickly guessing the range, pulling the string and triggering the release - you’ll spend the rest of your life cursed by small errors.

A good routine has decision points leading up the shot for everything that has a bearing on its outcome. For example, at what point do you check for branches above the sight line that might interfere with your arrow flight? When do you assess the strength of the wind and how much it will make your arrow drift? Under what conditions do you stop a walking animal for the shot and when do you take him on the move? At what distance can you no longer trust your ability to judge range, forcing you to rely on a rangefinder? These decisions are crucial and they should be built into the preparation for each shot you take while hunting.

Pressure is another factor that can cause you to shoot poorly. We aren’t born with the ability to shoot well under pressure; it is something that has to be learned. Early in my shooting career I had trouble focusing under pressure. To overcome it, I mentally worked up high-pressure situations on the range and then shot only one arrow. My friends and I also got together to improve our performance in this regard. We made a game of trying to get each other to falter. We could do anything we wanted to distract the shooter short of actually touching him. Soon we were able to concentrate much better under pressure.

A lapse in confidence can also send you into a slump. Many bowhunters get dry mouth when a big buck approaches because they are afraid they’ll screw it up. Bad experiences in the past continue to haunt them. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy; what they fear will happen is what does happen. If your confidence is low when shooting at game, no amount of backyard practice will completely cure the problem.

Success breeds success. Grab some antlerless tags or hunt small game during the off-season. In other words, get plenty of success under your belt. You’ll quickly forget about the problems you’ve had in the past.

PHYSICAL SHOOTING SLUMPS

I’ve never had a deep slump, but I have strung together tournaments where I didn’t place as well as I thought I should. When that happens I take a step backward and focus on the fundamentals of shooting form: standing tall, bow shoulder low, torso perpendicular to arms at full draw, surprise release, etc. I put form over hold. If I do everything else well, the pin will be solid without my having to worry about it. In other words, I focus on the process and don’t try to force the results. I don’t try to force the arrow hit the spot hoping to find some kind of magic on the range that day. Instead, I go back to the basics.

I also spend time checking my bow and arrows to make sure my shooting problems aren’t caused by problems with equipment. I check the alignment of the bow’s limbs, the straightness of its axles and the condition of my arrows. I lock everything down on the bow to make sure nothing has slipped or moved.

If your shooting problems are mental, change your pre-shot routine or put yourself in situations where you can learn to manage pressure. If your misses are caused by poor execution, don’t start grasping for straws; go back to the basics. Soon you’ll be shooting like a champ again.

I’ve experience pressure at full draw many times in my life, but never was it more intense than in 1999 when hunting Dall sheep in the Chugach Mountains of Alaska. The trip was a big deal for me and I was determined to shoot a nice ram. I had set aside the necessary amount of time to get the job done, but two weeks into the hunt, I still hadn’t released an arrow. Finally, I saw a big ram in a marginally accessible location and with a tricky approach the stalk came off as planned. The wind was bad and the angle severe. I agonized through the calculations required to make the shot. Pressure built with each moment until I came to full draw and leaned over the rocky cleft. The wind hit me and buck fever both hit me hard. I let the string down. I wasn’t ready.

After a few minutes to gather myself, I drew again. Once more, the wind and elevation change gave me reason to pause. By now, the pressure was almost too much to bear. More than anything in the world, I wanted to punch the trigger and get this behind me. Only a few years earlier I would have done just that. Instead, I dug up more discipline than I thought I could muster and let the string down for the second time. After rethinking every aspect of the shot, I finally had a plan I could believe in and drew back for the third time. The ram was still there and though the tension and the fatigue from two hard weeks of hunting forced me to shake like a first time bowhunter, I patiently squeezed the trigger and made connected.

You don’t have to feel good about a shot to deliver a perfect arrow. You just need to muster the discipline required to stick with your normal shooting method no matter what you face. Focus on each step of the shot and perform each to the best of your ability at that moment. Forget how you feel; focus on form.

DEALING WITH BUCK FEVER

I get buck fever when I have a long time to anticipate a shot. When a big pronghorn buck is making his way slowly to the blind, when an aged old whitetail buck makes his way all the way across a picked cornfield or when I have to lay in wait for long periods, pinned down by nearby game. It is enough to unnerve anyone.

Like most bowhunters, I feel an almost overwhelming urge to get the shot over with as quickly as possible. The feeling is the strongest when the tension is the greatest – when the animal is big or the hunt has been long and hard. I’ve been on hunts where I’ve hit full draw and then stood there shaking like a kindergartener facing the school bully.

Hit or miss, I wanted out of those moments as quickly as possible. Giving in to this impulse is one of the surest ways I know of to miss an important shot. I’ve learned through high pressure shoot offs at tournaments and shots at big animals that you can still make good shots even when you are shaking in your boots. You just have to stick with the fundamentals and follow through with the same steps you always use.

In my experience, you can shoot nearly as well when you are under extreme pressure as you can under normal conditions simply by being patient and staying within your normal shooting routine. Don’t let the pressure cause you to change anything in the way you shoot. Aim and squeeze just as you normally would. Use the very best form you can muster and you will be amazed at how well even the most terrifying shots turn out.

ARCHERY’S MISCONCEPTION

Many bowhunters believe their pin has to be steady while aiming in order for them to shoot their bow well. It doesn’t work that way. By focusing on good form and squeezing the release’s trigger rather than punching it, the arrow will tend to find the center of the target almost as if it has a mind of its own. Consciously, you should only be thinking about keeping the pin as close to your chosen spot as possible until the bow goes off. You can do this even if you are shaking and nervous – and even if you are fighting to regain your confidence. How you feel doesn’t matter, just perform the right steps and the shot will turn out well even if your confidence is low.

At some point, you may have to make a shot after a long footrace with a bull elk up a mountain ridge. I offer the same advice. You must shoot through the distraction as best you can without giving in to the temptation to cut corners. Hold the pin on the spot as best you can and squeeze the trigger.

CONCLUSION

It doesn’t matter if you are shaking. Don’t let that be a mental roadblock on your way to tagging a trophy. You can still make good shots despite the shaking by sticking to good form in the face of intense pressure.

Resist the temptation to rush the shot. Occasionally an animal will move while you are settling the pin and properly squeezing the trigger, but 90% of the time the outcome will be better (maybe even saved) by a patient and deliberate trigger finger.

I’ve dedicated many years of my life to finding the most accurate method for releasing the bowstring day in and day out – facing both foam and flesh. I’m here to tell you that if fingers were the best I would have calluses like rawhide on my fingertips. But they’re soft as a baby’s behind. Instead, when I draw my hunting bow an old worn Fletchhunter mechanical release aid is strapped around my wrist where it, or one exactly like it, has been for the last 20 hunting seasons. If you aren’t using a release aid you’re limiting your ability to shoot an arrow accurately. Here are five reasons why this should be the year you switch to a mechanical release.

BEATING TARGET PANIC

Target panic is the inability to hold the pin steady while aiming at the spot you want to hit. Invariably those fighting the disease find themselves twitching and lunging at the trigger as the pin approaches the spot. It’s hard to beat target panic if you’re a finger shooter. The cure seems more like psychiatric therapy than archery instruction. But, with a mechanical release you can use a systematic method that doesn’t rely as heavily on the archer’s ability to control his or her nerves. Beating target panic with a release aid is all about selecting the right tool and technique that permits the mechanical system to trigger by surprise. Using a little self-discipline you simply follow the proper steps.

Several of by buddies that switched from fingers to a mechanical release did so to beat target panic. In fact, come to think of it, I’ve never known a buddy who gave a release aid an honest try that later went back to releasing with fingers.

EASIER TUNING

When you release the string with fingers it moves to the side as it clears your fingertips and this set up a series of side-to-side oscillations of the bowstring. As the string moves to the side it causes the arrow to flex sideways. It becomes critical that you use the perfect shaft stiffness so that the flexing arrow bows around the arrow rest and riser rather than crashing into them. Arrow companies do a good job of providing useable stiffness charts for bowhunters, but I’d rather eliminate this dynamical altogether.

With a mechanical release the arrow flexes very little. Not only does the string leave the release’s jaw exactly the same way every time, it also travels more or less straight forward; the thrust of the string is right down the centerline of the arrow. It is much easier to get bullet-hole arrow flight with a release aid than with fingers. Also, a release shooter’s arrow flight is much less sensitive to shaft stiffness – increasing your options and further simplifying the tuning process.

LESS PRACTICE TIME

We all live busy lives. No matter how much we may love shooting a bow, it is hard to find the time to practice on a regular basis. It is generally acknowledged that it takes more practice time to keep a finger release fluid. However, you can be a very good shot with a release aid shooting only 15 minutes a day two or three times per week. If you find it hard to shoot the number of arrows required to keep your fingers working together, you will be impressed with how easy it is to maintain acceptable accuracy with a release aid.

BETTER IN THE COLD

If you’ve ever sat in a cold tree stand for three or four hours when the temperature is below freezing and the wind is blowing 15 mph you know that cold weather performance is a big part of bowhunting. Regardless of the temperature, a release aid will drop the string the same way every time the trigger is pulled. A good finger release relies on two or three fingers working together to get off the string the same way every time. When fingers get cold and stiff they lose their feel and they become less fluid. The possibility of making a poor release increases.

With a release aid it is easier to make a good shot when wearing heavy gloves. Again, the jaws do the same thing regardless of how the trigger is pulled - they drop the string and get out of the way just as effectively if you are wearing thick gloves or thin jerseys. As long as you practice with heavy gloves prior to the hunt your accuracy won’t be affected. Even a finger that’s completely numb can still be commanded to curl – that’s enough to get the job done with a release aid.

RELEASE AIDS ARE MORE ACCURATE

I saved the most important reason for last. You’ll discover greater accuracy with a release aid. It’s an emotionless machine; as long as the trigger is pulled, it does the same thing every single time. Regardless of circumstance, it frees the string with amazing consistency. In archery, consistency is synonymous with accuracy.

If you are releasing the string with your fingers and are not totally satisfied with your accuracy - or if you’re tired of fighting target panic – right now is the perfect time to switch to a release aid. At first the whole system will seem foreign, but by hunting season the release will feel like an extension of your hand. Your newfound accuracy will astound you and your confidence will soar. A confident bowhunter is a better bowhunter.

There’s no question what comprises the number one form flaw amongst bowhunters today; it’s jerking the trigger. This is a natural tendency – a nervous proclivity – that many bowhunters foster. They want the arrow gone as soon after they reach full draw as possible. At the first opportunity they smoke the trigger – stare in aghast at the result and reach for another shaft from their quiver, all the while hoping the next shot will somehow be better. Unfortunately, the disappointment continues because this bad habit is not one that is easily broken.

Jerking the trigger would be just fine if the left side of your body didn’t know what your right side was doing. But, that’s not the way it works. The left side reacts to the impulse of the mental command to release, rather than to the release itself. The arrow is still on the string when the left hand snaps shut on the grip or when the left wrist flicks in an effort to “help” the arrow to hit the target.

Jerking the trigger creates a problem that tends to be magnified by high stress situations such as a shoot-off or the arrival of a big buck. What you need is a release method that is immune to pressure – one that performs just as well when everything is on the line as it does when you’re relaxing on the backyard range.

UNDERSTANDING PROPER RELEASE TECHNIQUE

Let me start with a story about my Dad’s first bull elk. The milestone took place last September. Leading up to the hunt Dad spent quite a bit of time practicing his shooting. Though he’s been shooting a bow nearly his entire life he’s not a serious archer and when he started to encounter accuracy problems he asked for help. His groups were wider than he wanted, but even more discouraging, he had the occasional wicked flyer that sometimes missed the target completely. The first thing I noticed was the same thing I see with the vast majority of archers I watch: he was punching the trigger as he tried to time the shot.

The first thing we did was change the way Dad thought about the release. Rather than trying to time the shot to coincide with the exact moment the pin crossed the spot, I asked Dad not to worry about where the pin was – let it float - and focus entirely on one simple act: squeezing the trigger. After the need to time the shot dissolved away, my Dad caught on quickly and was soon making great progress. His group size at 30 yards was cut in half, but most importantly he completely eliminated the fliers. I am proud to report that Dad shot a very nice bull later in the month with a perfect 40-yard shot!

The whole concept of letting the pin float seems illogical, but it works. The less you worry about your pin, the better you will shoot. Taken a step further, it doesn’t seem to matter that the pin is off the intended spot when the release occurs. Somehow the arrow finds its way where you want it. I don’t fully understand this phenomenon – I don’t think anyone does - but apparently we all have a built-in centering mechanism. All the time we are aiming we are trying to keep the pin near the target. As it moves away slightly we naturally try to move it back. The pin tends to be either very close to the spot or drifting toward it most of the time.

On the other hand, when you try to command the release to coincide with the moment the pin hits the spot it is usually moving away from that spot at the instant the actual release takes place. This results in significantly wider groups.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A SURPRISE RELEASE

Here’s an example. I strive to let the pin float and shoot by surprise when hunting and when competing, but the results are most easily measured at indoor spot-face tournaments. When I’m shooting at a Vegas Super X target my aiming point is actually on the spot only about 60% of the time when the bow fires, yet my scores reflect that the number of arrows that actually hit the X is much higher! Comprehending the importance of this fact is the key to becoming a better archer.

I truly believe that for short periods of time it is possible to shoot very well when commanding the trigger. However, I’ve never yet met an archer who can keep this up for more than a few weeks or months without a significant breakdown in shooting form.

HOW TO MAKE THE CHANGE

The best way to stop commanding the shot is to use a back tension release. (There are several back tension releases on the market made by Stanislawski, Truball and Carter, I personally use the Carter Revenger.) These devices don’t have a highly mobile trigger and are typically fired by rotating your hand as you pull through the shot. You should never know when it’s going to let loose. If you begin to gain a feel for the release point of the model you are using it is time to change the setting.

After using a back tension release for most (or all) of your off-season practice, your nerves will be reprogrammed sufficiently that you can go back to a hunting style release as the season approaches. Of course, you need to continue to focus on squeezing the trigger to create a surprise release with it, as well.

The most important part of the shot is not the location of the pin but the slow trigger squeeze and the ensuing surprise release. When your left side doesn’t know when the bow is going to fire, it becomes a lot better partner in helping you to shoot accurately.