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.