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Aiming

 

The number one question in archery, after we figure out which end of the arrow goes down range, is “How do I aim?” If you are shooting instinctively the answer is “You don’t.” It’s the thing of pointing your index finger at a target. The arrow becomes your index finger and you instinctively know how much to elevate the bow for the distance involved in the shot. Lots of practice here! Instinctive shooting requires that you shoot off the shelf. That is, the arrow shaft is right on your hand. If you shoot off an arrow rest, the arrow shaft is elevated and any rotation of the bow will disrupt the instinctive shooting style.  But that's not to say that with enough practice shooting off an arrow rest could also devlop into instinctive shooting.

 

Shooting in the SCA at known distances and because it is NOT illegal in the SCA that I know of, we can use range marks. Range marks are marks on the inside of the upper limb of your bow that indicate how much to elevate your bow for various distances. Don’t make them to obnoxious. A small black dot works just fine. If your bow is black a small white dot works just fine. Realize that range marks are good only for the day you set them. Every other day thereafter they become reference marks. That’s due to heat, humidity, air density, etc.

 

Start at 20 yards. Put a mark on your upper limb such that when that mark is centered, vertically, with the bull’s eye, your arrows all land on a line vertical to the bull’s eye. At this point don’t worry about left and right. We’ll deal with those issues latter. Keep shooting and experimenting until you get the mark set just right for your bow. That means when the mark is set right on the target center your arrows hit target center.  Now move out to 30 yards and 40 yards and do the same thing. I find this works best if done over a few days at each distance.

 

Even though you paid lots of money for your arrows or were fastidious upon construction, they will NOT all fly the same. Number all your arrows, one through how many arrows you have. At 20 yards, shoot all your arrows while aiming at the center of the target. DO NOT ADJUST IF THE ARROWS DO NOT STRIKE THE CENTER OF THE TARGET! Chart where each arrow hits the target. Do this several times, 20 – 30 per arrow. You will notice that some arrows always go high and some always go low and some arrows always go wherever they feel like going – that is, they are not consistent. When you shoot for score, pick your 6 most consistent arrows to shoot.

 

These techniques assume that your arrows are straight. If they are not, sight down them, locate the bend and simply flex the arrow shaft in the opposite direction. Amazingly enough, the shafts will stay straight. Of course you should never store your arrows flat. The cheapest way to store arrows is to get a cardboard box, turn it upside down, and punch holes in it for your arrows, one per hole. They should look like the arrows for sale in the stores, lower part of shaft in box, upper part out of box.

 

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