Shooting a Bow that is Not Properly Fitted for the Archer
Posted by Todd Lambright on Jan 24th 2022
Archers shoot archery for many different reasons – because it’s fun, relaxing, competitive, fulfilling, etc. No matter your reason for shooting, you may eventually notice errors while shooting. The most common error I’ve seen people make while shooting is poor shot execution. Poor shot execution can be caused by many things. One of those causes is shooting a bow that is not properly fitted for the archer. I’ll explain this cause in detail below.
Too Long of a Draw Length
The number one cause of poor shot execution that I have seen is shooting a bow that is not properly fitted for the archer. In most cases, these archers were shooting at an incorrect draw length. For some reason, archers who don’t get properly fitted for their first bow, shoot draw lengths that are too long for them. For many of these archers, it’s more comfortable to shoot too long of a draw length than too short. Unfortunately, their form suffers from this. If you’re too stretched out or too scrunched up, it’s almost impossible to keep consistent pressure on the back wall. This typically shows up as left and right misses.
How to Fix Shooting a Bow that is Not Fitted Correctly
Now that we’ve talked about why poor shot execution can occur, let’s dive into how we can fix it. The cause I mentioned above – shooting a bow that is not properly fitted for the archer – is easy to correct. The fastest way to correct this is to go to an archery pro shop and have the tech set everything up correctly for you. This will give any archer the best chance for success.
Pro Tip
Some archery shops are better than others. If you have a choice, look around and do some research before you pick one. You can do this by looking at online reviews and talking to fellow archers for recommendations.
Archery Practice Series
We hope this post will help to motivate you to get to your local pro shop if you’re struggling with shot execution. This is the first in a series about archery practice. Check out these other posts in this series:
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About the Author
60X Custom Strings National Sales Manager, Todd Lambright, is an accomplished archer. At the age of 20 he won his first National in open class and won the PA State Championship in Unlimited Class 5 years in a row from 2012-2016. He has shot amateur and pro. His archery knowledge doesn’t stop at the archery range. He began working at a local archery shop at 18 where he did everything from selling bows to rebuilding old bows. Todd uses his archery knowledge to assist dealers and retail customers at 60X.