A hitting coach can tell more by watching the baseball than he can by focusing on the movement of the bat. Top golfers also study their ball flight to suggest changes in form. In all sports involving a projectile, it benefits the performer to understand the cause and effect relationship between results and the actions that cause them. The same can be said of archery. When faults invade your technique, there is no better way to get rid of them fast than to understand what causes the most common misses.

THE LOW MISS

At a 3-D tournament several years ago another competitor and I were tied after regulation. The shoot-off was staged in front of a crowd – everything was on the line. It wasn’t a tricky shot to judge so we both pretty well knew the distance. I was up first and hit the 10-ring. It wasn’t a perfect shot, leaving my competitor with a chance to score a 12 and beat me right then and there. He shot an index finger release, and in the excitement he punched the trigger. His arrow zipped harmlessly under the target. My friend’s unfortunate miss serves to highlight a very common problem: when you punch the trigger rather than squeezing it you will often shoot low.

The low miss has a number of other causes; foremost among them is the tendency of the archer to drop his bow arm to “peek”, desperately trying to see the arrow in flight. If you are prone to peek, practice with the arrows that you can’t see; use dark fletching and dark nocks. Consider practicing early and late in the day when the light is reduced. Learn to keep your eyes locked on the target rather than coming out of the shot to watch the arrow.

An inconsistent pressure point between the grip and your hand can also produce a low hit (or a high hit for that matter). If you vary the pressure point up or down from one shot to the next you will cause the bow to shoot differently. When you sight-in using a low pressure point, for example, and then shoot later using a higher pressure point you will shoot low.

Incidentally, the ideal pressure point totally eliminates tension in the bow hand. It is a spot that lines up with the two bones of your forearm. Try this: bend your left wrist and push the index finger of your right hand into your left palm at various locations. There is only one spot (located right below the pad of your thumb on your lifeline) where the force won’t cause any movement in your bow hand. That is your ideal pressure point.

When a two-cam bow goes out of time the impact point of the arrows will change. The bow will shoot either high or low depending upon which cam gets ahead. The results can be significant even when shooting field points, but especially so when shooting broadheads.

THE HIGH MISS

I see a lot of vertical misses by bowhunters that don’t use a peep sight. Unless you have a really firm anchor point that you can rely on 100% of the time (few bowhunters qualify) a peep sight should be standard equipment.

People are also prone to shoot high on uphill shots. It is natural to assume that an arrow drops more when shot uphill, but just the opposite is actually true. Find some broken terrain for one of your next practice sessions and prove this to yourself.

MISSING LEFT AND RIGHT

Leaning the bow (called canting) is a very common cause of left and right misses. If you tip the bow to the left you will shoot left and if you tip the bow to the right you will shoot right. Ideally you should hold the bow straight up and down on every shot. Placing a bubble level in your sight will immediately help.

When your draw length is too long you will also suffer from left and right misses. You shouldn’t feel like you are stretching at full draw. When you’ve achieved the proper draw length the forearm of your release arm will point straight away from the target – not to one side or the other.

Tension in your body – especially your bow arm and hand – will create torque at full draw causing the bow to turn, changing the relationship between your arrow and the sight. It is a major reason for left and right misses.

EQUIPMENT

Bent or damaged arrows are the number one equipment problem followed closely by string stretch. You can easily determine if you have an arrow problem by numbering the shafts. If you have damaged arrows you will see patterns developing after only a few rounds.

Some of the strings supplied with bows will stretch for several hundred shots. Then, at various times afterwards the string may make additional unexpected shifts. Mark your cams to assure that the string or buss cables don’t stretch without your knowledge.

Ideally, to best evaluate your shooting you should use a shooting coach, but when a coach isn’t available you still have to be able to get back on track. Patterns in your shooting can dictate the changes needed for improvement.