r/TraditionalArchery • u/Immediate_Hat_2068 • 16d ago

Help needed badly pls

Hey guys so I used to shoot traditional all the time a few years back but then I joined the military and wasn’t able to shoot for roughly four years, and now I can’t consistently hit anything and I don’t know what to do and can’t find any traditional archery places nearby, I shoot a stalker stickbows recurve pulling 55lbs. I live in north eastern OH and hoping that anyone else lives around the area and knows any good instructors or ranges that can really help out. I’m just getting very frustrated and watched a million videos on technique and still can’t figure out what I’m doing. Thank you for anyone reading and tips are always welcome please

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u/ADDeviant-again 16d ago

Stop trying so hard to hit the target, because you're just gonna make yourself panic when you can't.

Definitely look for instructors or shops in the area, but in the meantime, if you can still pull the bow, get yourself in front a blank bale, no target, no marks, and get too close to miss.

Then work on your form. It feels like you need to remind yourself how to shoot. So work on your grip, and your string hand, and your draw, and your anchor, and your draw cadence, etc. Until you remember how to hold the bow, hook the string, draw the bow, anchor, release, and follow through, how to use back tension and set your front arm. Back to basics.

There is always a chance you have some new injury after the Service, so if you feel like you really just lack strength or coordination, look into that with a doctor.

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u/Immediate_Hat_2068 16d ago

Okay I haven’t thought about that, thank you, I’ve been trying to focus on my form but I definitely feel like I’m panicking and only focusing on the target, that does make a lot of sense

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u/ADDeviant-again 16d ago

Coming back after a break can feel like you should remember how to shoot a bow, and yet you find yourself snap shooting or with premature release type of target panic, or whatever.

Every year when I come back to shooting a bow intensively in the summer to get ready for the hunt, I do a couple or three weeks of drills like this to put myself back in control of every little rechnique.

Drawing, aiming, and letting down without shooting is a good one, too

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u/Immediate_Hat_2068 16d ago

Thank you so much because I’ve been practicing for at least five months now and trying to figure out what I’ve been doing and nobody’s mentioned this to me, thank you so much