Learning how to aim a compound bow accurately is important for beginning archers. Because compound bows are easier to customize, need less physical strength, and are more precise. It’s effective when shooting from a distance. Many beginning archers prefer to use them. When a novice archer uses a compound bow, it is crucial first to understand how to shoot it before engaging in the practice.
A primary shooting goal is to release the arrow consistently. You must understand how to aim a compound bow to be the best scorer.
Every archer wants to move up to compound bows after completing some basic training. Some people even get started right away. A compound bow shooter must decide whether to aim with or without sight.
Here we discuss how to aim a compound bow. We also clear up any confusion about whether to use a bow sight for aiming. We provide complete guides, steps, and tips to help you improve your skill level. So if you want to learn about it, start reading and make effective changes in your game. So let’s move!
Assure Correct Setup
The process you follow to set your shot appropriately is as crucial as knowing how to aim in the correct way. And keep in mind that you must concentrate on the mental side of shooting during the setup of your shot.
One of the best aspects you can do to help assure your shooting success is consistency. You are so careful when setting up your shot. You have to be prepared to aim once you’ve completed the final phase of setup.
1-Get Comfortable and Warm up
Muscle tension can affect shooting form and lead to inconsistent results. A comfortable person maintains the same posture. Support this consistency by extending your neck, shoulders, upper back, and other tense areas before each archery session.
A final muscle check is necessary before firing an arrow. Relaxing your forearm is among the most crucial measures for reliable, precise shooting. Instead, contract your triceps.
2- Take a Shooting Position
To ensure a perfect setup, start by adopting a constant stance. To make your position feel natural, choose the appropriate one and practice it. You select the square position, the open position, or the closed position for shooting.
Stand shoulder width apart with your feet at a 90-degree angle to the target. With your lead foot, advance a few inches (a few cm) and turn it outside.
Without shifting in any direction, distribute your weight between your two feet. If you notice yourself swaying or experiencing balance problems, widen your stance.
3-Draw Your Arrow
Put your arrow’s nock in the nocking position. To be properly nocked, ensure it snaps on the string securely. Keep your wrist relaxed and straight as you draw back the bow after nocking the arrow on the bowstring. Look for an “anchor point” where different sections of the bow touch your face as you draw the string up to your face. Your shot will be more consistent if your anchor spots feel more natural and are simpler to find.
4-Grip and Hook
Now use a release or your fingers to hook the string. Your next step is to get a good grip because this will help you shoot consistently and accurately.
5-Position and Alignment
Now stand tall and straight. Ensure not to lean back or hunch over when correctly setting up your shot. This body position does not support accurate shooting. Also, keep your shoulders relaxed to reduce tension and allow for better aiming.
6-Extend The Bow
Adding a little force to your bow grip when raising your bow activates your triceps, enabling steady shooting. To protect your shoulder, keep your elbow in the upward position.
7-Drop Down
Pull the bow back at this point, so you are positioned against the cam’s back wall in the “valley.” To avoid an unintentional release, reposition yourself behind your target.
8-Anchor position
It would help if you now drew to your designated anchor position. Establishing this is important since your shot will not be consistent without a strong anchor point.
9-Return To Hold
Doing this will make you willing to hold your bow much more easily. your hands and arm muscles will no longer be under as much tension. Don’t neglect this step since it maintains your draw elbow aligned with your arrow, which is the ideal position for holding firmly.
10- Aim
You need to target your compound bow at this point. The specifics of targeting are detailed below.
How To Aim a Compound Bow
You are now prepared to begin practicing how to aim a compound bow after ensuring your setup is correct. There are two types of aiming that archers do for accuracy. Some archers use bow sights; others aim with a compound bow without a sight. Aiming without sight is challenging, especially for beginners.
If you want to enhance your skill level, try shooting without sight. Both are useful, with greater accuracy and consistency. But with sight, you start to practice and aim a compound bow. So here are some steps for how to aim a compound bow.
Step 1: Balanced Sight
When using a compound bow, the two primary aiming points are your sight and peep. Peep sights help with accuracy because they make it easier to see the front sight of the bow. It enables you to establish a more reliable anchor point.
For reliable shooting, accurate sight alignment is essential. Your peep sight must be completely centered and aligned with your sight housing.
Your eyes shouldn’t need to be moved up, down, or sideways, and the position should feel natural. If you need help, look at the post we wrote about sight correction.
Step 2: Keep Level
Check the bubble level once more. After anchoring, around the time of the move-to-hold phase, archers must check their bubble level. Check and make necessary adjustments, then return your attention to the target.
Step 3: Accurate Sight Image
You can now decide whether to squint, close, or stay both eyes open. If you want to practice shooting or aiming with your non-dominant eye, you can cover it with a blinder if you want to close one of your eyes.
Squinting with the eye that is not being used for aim is effective but might only sometimes be as accurate. It works best to keep both eyes open if the shooter’s dominant eye and hand are the same.
To determine which choice better matches your ability to view your target clearly and readily, feel free to try each one.
Step 4: Focus on Your Objective
After concentrating on the target, the pin or targeting dot should be your secondary focus. You want to naturally connect your pin with the target when you concentrate on it.
Step 5: Believe The Float
Your pin will float around the target. The hook should always fall towards the center naturally rather than being forced. Everything else will become clear if you learn to trust the float. To relax while depending, you must release any excess stress you may be feeling.
It would help if you got comfortable getting ready to drop the shot so the pin is floating. You’ll develop more control via practice, which will help you make your shooting more predictable.
Step 6: Try Focusing on The Process.
Skip over the arrow contact. Instead, concentrate on your flawless form and shot mechanics. It is crucial because you have more influence over refining your right form and completing the shot than you do over how the arrow impacts the ground.
Your release should occur through effective use of back tension, producing a pleasant surprise. Many archers begin to make mistakes when they try to expect the shot.
Step 7: Performance During The Shot
Be sure to remain aiming during the shot or until the arrow touches your target. One of the best ways to lessen human mistakes is to follow through properly when you release. It’s crucial to maintain muscle relaxation during the entire aiming process.
Your bow arm should be strong, your back muscles should be straining through the shot, and everything else must be calm as you release. Try using a kisser button to learn how to shoot a bow without sight. But you need help maintaining a steady anchor point.
A kisser button is a little plastic button or other substance connected to a bowstring that offers a reference point. This reference point is found at the very corner of your mouth. Use your instincts to avoid using a peep sight or kisser button.
Tips & Guides For How To Aim a Compound Bow
Beginner archers may improve their shooting skills by understanding a few archery tips.
- When your sight attains your target, refrain from pushing yourself to aim. Instead, concentrate on your goal and let your subconscious take over, trying to align your sight with it.
- Vary your distance and shooting angles to increase the difficulty. To hone your aiming/shooting skills, shoot from various angles and distances.
- As you get ready to shoot, focus on breathing normally rather than holding your breath.
- Take your time and concentrate on your execution and timing rather than taking your shot quickly.
- When it tends to pin a float stance, you should get used to moving back and forth because it’s unlikely you’ll be able to keep it perfectly still. If you trust the float, you’ll shoot even better than if you force the pin into position.
FAQs
You can use various types of sights on the same bow. Thus, it depends on which ones you’re using specifically. Most compound bows have an aiming sight on the body that features a row of pins denoting different ranges. A peep sight, a tiny ring inserted in the string to provide more aiming aid, is also available on some compound bows.
With your fingers, form a triangle. Set your sights on a specific target. Then you can decide which one feels more natural. The most common scenario is that if you are right-handed, you will shoot right-handed.
It is possible to shoot your compound bow in this fashion, though it is much more difficult. You can attempt a few methods when using a bow without sight, but the two most effective ones are string walking and gap shooting.
Final Words
You now understand to begin practicing the proper method of how to aim a compound bow. Compound bows are a wonderful initial bow choice since they have several benefits for archers. As a new archer, understanding how to aim your compound bow is important, so carefully follow the aiming steps outlined above. When you do, be aware that you are positioning yourself for accuracy, which is what every archer aims for.