Archery Shooting Techniques

Most people tend to blame the bow, arrow and the weather condition for missed shots, well unfortunately, the fault is never solely that of your equipment as much as it's yours.
The wrong shooting techniques, stance, and form significantly affect your accuracy.
If you don't get those right, your arrows will have a will of their own, and most times they won't agree with the target you want to hit, regardless of you having the best recurve bow, your draw length or type of arrows you're using.
The reason being, if your stance isn't correct you'll be having a dual with your own body because it will be consistently fighting to center your body perfectly, and this effects every micro-second of activity, right from drawing the arrow to shooting it off.
Infact, the "shooting" is the final act of archery, the real game begins much before you release the arrows!
A good ground shot comprises of the following factors which go hand in hand with your arrows while hitting the targets:-
• Body Position.
o Foot Positioning.
o Torso Positioning.
• Gripping technique. (Gripping the bow and release trigger!)
• Anchor points.
o Peep Alignment.
o Nose tip to String.
o Mouth to String.
o Hand to Jaw.
While there are other factors which join in too, the above four have the most direct effect on the consequences of where your arrow lands.
Body Position:-
The body position comprises of two different parts in itself:-
• Foot Position.
• Torso positioning.
The foot positioning is responsible for your body centering point, and the centering point is responsible for a great deal of your accuracy.

Foot Positioning:-

The foot positioning again can be diversified into three different positioning types:-
• Closed Stance:-When your hips are placed away from the target.
• Squared Stance:- It's the most common stance in the common day archery, and it's fairly easy to explain as well, it's the stance where your feet are placed perpendicular to the target.
• Open Stance:- Open stance is the positioning of your hips when your hips are open to the target, they're technically the opposite of closed stance.
 
Torso Positioning:-

Your legs help in the arrow navigation no doubt, but it's the upper part of the body which actually has a physical contact with the equipment and is more authoritative so as to where the arrow lands finally.
There aren't a lot of "perfect" ways to do this, because perfection is always singular, so let me transcribe it down here for you:-
Stand Straight > Choose any three of the above mentioned leg positioning method > Bend your knees just slightly as they help in shock absorption > Turn your head towards your target > Do not bend or tilt your head, it would give you a wrong perspective and hence less accuracy.
Done! Once you're looking towards the target with a centered head, you're ready to move on to the next step.

Gripping Technique:-

How you hold your bow exercises enough influence over you hitting (or not hitting) your targets. The two elements associated with the grip are:-
• Relaxation level of your palm.
• Way of you placing your hand over the grip.

How Gripping Effects your Shots?

I'm sure you've heard of "hand torque", what happens is when you draw your arrow, the bow, if not held properly twists in your hands, or if you love it a bit too much and are "squeezing" it instead of letting it rest on your palm.
It's not noticeable normally, but is reflected significantly once the arrow hits your targets. Due to the twisting, your arrows starts hitting near your targets instead of hitting "the targets".

Proper Gripping Technique:-

Method#1:-
Just grip your bow (doesn't matter how) > Now relax your fingers > Make sure your palm is at an angle of low 90 degrees > you can feel an empty pocket forming just near your thumbs > Slide the bow grip to this empty pocket.
Method#2:-
Use your Index and Thumb fingers to create an "L" shape (Just bend all other fingers except these two and you should see the result) > Grip your bow > Now slowly relax the other fingers.
This method makes sure that your bow fits into your palm-pocket without you actually having to find it.
Anchor Points:-
Let me get you acquainted with Anchor points in case you two haven't met before, any two points of contact between any two things is termed as "anchor points".
It isn't something that changes your destiny or something in your day-to-day life, but it does write the future of your arrows when you're shooting.
You can use it as a "measure" of how accurately you're standing, how straight or bent your head is, is your draw-length optimum and other details as such.
The four common anchor points between you and your bow are:-
 
• Jaw/Chin and Hands.
• Nose-tip and arrow string.
• Mouth and String.
• Peep Sights to Eye positioning.

Jaw/Chin and Hands:-
Most archers consider it the most effective "compass" when it comes to taking the perfect, consistent shots.
Probably because the "hands" offer the largest surface area and hence points of contact during the shooting. Especially as compared to "nose-tip" or "lips", the other commonly used anchor points.
So, the trick here lies in being able to identify the exact "point of contact" when you're trying to aim and hit your targets.
There's no exact blueprint to this, because every archer's shooting style, purpose, and types of bow differ in shape and size, and so does the "anchor point" for every individual, but the final goal remains undisputed.

Nose-Tip and Arrow String:-
If your hands are anchored properly with your jaw-bone, you should be able to produce the nose-tip and arrow string anchor points.
They do help you shoot more consistently, but if the anchor points aren't happening naturally, I suggest do not force it.

String to Mouth:-
String to mouth anchor point is heavily dependent upon your draw-length, and the angle your strings form with the bow at full draw-length.
So again, if not happening naturally or with slight adjustments, do not make it your mission to shoot only if you achieve this anchor point combination.
You might consider using "kisser buttons" which facilitate the anchor point, while making sure there are no additional weights on the string as their own weights are negligible.
Peep Sight Alignment:-
This anchor point is technically against the "anchor point" definition, because it's not a physical anchor point, but is equally important nevertheless.
The "Peep" sight is best known to function as the judge and jury of your other anchor points. If your other anchor points are placed perfectly, the peep alignment automatically comes into alignment with your line of sight.
If not, you might need to bend or twist your head so that the other anchor points are met and finally you get the peep alignment.
Final Words:-
I believe that’s enough position and stance talk for one day, and honestly enough; as far as my knowledge permits I believe I’ve covered every basic stance or element related to it.
Archery is not so much about the type of bows or arrows than it is about the stance, practice and passion.
You just mix those three ingredients and you’ll see yourselves brew with the perfect Archer’s flavor!