Sometimes, it is the bow.

Over the last few weeks as the weather has turned wintry I have started shooting indoors and I have had a problem. While shooting outdoors my arrows have been tending to drift to the right (but still hitting gold when I should ), which I have put down to switching from freestyle  to barebow and the changes to my form, anchor and release that has led to.

But coming indoors I found that I could not get in the gold without aiming off and that is not right, if I didn't aim off I was shooing a nice line from 2 o'clock red to 5 o'clock red, so I have been really working on keeping my form and release tight but it didn't help and I have adjusted my centre shot and button every which way but to no avail. A couple of times arrow spine has come up in conversation, but these are the same arrows I was shooting freestyle and I had 40lb limbs then as I do now.......but when I got these arrows I was using my old Uukha EX1s and now I have the EVO2s , which have the same draw weight but defiantly "feel" faster, then I though if my arrows are tending right that would indicate a slightly weak spine. So  last weekend I started of buy letting off both my limb bots by 2 turns (which should be about 1.5-2lbs), then setup my bow and shot a Portsmouth. Well so far I had only managed a 433 and straight off I shot a 504 and then after a short break I managed a 532!

So a lesson f'or me, I usually start looking at the archer is there is a problem and then the bow. in this case I was so sure of my equipment that I did not think to question it.

A little bit of release in the snow.

 I think it is time for a more general archery post, getting away from the specifics of the revolution for a change. On Sunday I was up at the club shooting in the snow, there was nobody else there when I arrived and it was just so peaceful really perfect for some nice quiet practise time.
I just shot 10 ends of nine arrows in groups of three trying to get my release right, I have been having a little issue where most of the time I either release well, or keep my bow hand still, but not both at the same time. On the few occasions when I get both right it feels better and the arrow goes just where I want it, if I move my bow hand ( my fingers not my whole hand) the arrow goes left a little (torquing the bow) and if it is my release (it keeps going dead) then they tend to go right. I have sort of got it sorted and it really is a case of not thinking about it too much, if I think about my bow hand then my release suffers and vice-verse , the bow hand is just resisting the urge to grip when pressure is applied to the palm (we all do it when we catch a ball or grab onto a rope swing, it's what saved us from falling out of the trees, so only a few million years of instinct to over come there). The release is if anything more important to me, I do not use a clicker and my draw is normally a continuous motion with my anchor point being more of a transition point, so as I draw and the weight on the string increases I have to increase the tension on my fingers by a corresponding amount to keep the string on my fingers but as I pass my anchor/transition point and start to roll my shoulder back I stop increasing the tension on my fingers and they are then 'pulled' off the string. This gives a nice clean and almost 'suprise' release and as there is no conscious decision to release there should be no build up of tension ( that's the theory any way).

Getting a few more views now and it would be nice to get a little bit of feedback. Go on just a little comment even one word, like/dislike interesting/boring informative/dross. You get the idea.