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Archery Basics

Eye Dominance in Archery

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Dominant Eye and Archery

Occasionally I have a beginner student consistently missing wide of the bullseye. At first it appears they’re doing everything correctly, however it quickly becomes apparent that the person is aiming with the wrong eye. Even after pointing this out, he keeps shooting with the wrong eye, or the eye that’s farthest from the arrow.

Knowing which of eye is dominant is imperative to accuracy in archery. If you try aiming with your the wrong eye, the target won’t be in the right place.

When I first hand out bows, I hand them out according to a person’s dominant hand (left or right-handedness). But some people have an opposite eye dominance. They write and throw a ball with their right hand, but they are left-eye dominant. How do you correct for this? Is it better to shoot a left-handed bow?

The answer is NO.

No matter which eye is dominant, you should still shoot with your dominant hand. Your dominant hand is your release hand, or the one that controls the arrow, string, and the final release. This means that you’ll shoot more accurately and naturally using your dominant hand.

Fortunately you can easily train yourself to aim and shoot with your non-dominant eye.

The Fix

One fix is to simply close your non-shooting eye. This will immediately force you to aim with the correct eye. However, shooting with one eye closed is not recommended. Keeping both eyes open gives you a better sight picture and allows you to see depth and distance more accurately.

Eye patch method for fixing eye-dominance problems in archery.

A better method is to wear an eye patch (temporarily) over your non-shooting eye. Yes, you will look like an archery pirate for a while, but in a short amount of time you’ll train yourself to shoot with the eye that matches your shooting hand.

What is Eye Dominance?

Your dominant eye is the one that sends the most information to your brain. It tends to be the eye that gets the most use. Some people have one eye that is much more dominant than the other, while others have an eye that is only slightly more dominant. You can find out which of your eyes is the dominant one using a simple at-home test.

Testing for Eye Dominance

The Miles Test, described below, is considered to be a good indicator of eye dominance:

  1. Extend your arms in front of you with your palms facing away.
  2. Bring your hands together, forming a small hole by crossing the thumbs and forefingers.
  3. Choose a small object about 15-20 feet away from you. With both eyes open, focus on the object as you look through the small hole.
  4. Close one eye and then the other. When you close one eye, the object will be stationary. When you close the other eye, the object should disappear from the hole or jump to one side.
  5. If the object does not move when you cover one eye, then that eye is dominant. The eye that sees the object and does not move is the dominant eye.
Determine eye dominance using the test mentioned above.

Final Thoughts

Although it is possible for a right-handed person to learn how to shoot a left-handed bow, it is much more natural (and more accurate) to learn to shoot with your non-dominant eye. If you are wondering where to get an eye patch, just look to your local pharmacy.

Archery Basics, Zen Hunting

How to Cure Target Panic in 5 Easy Steps

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Like many archers, I’ve struggled with occasional bouts of target panic over the years. After trying just about everything to cure target panic, I’ve found that some techniques work better than others. In this article we’ll focus on the five best cures for target panic.

What is Target Panic?

What’s so scary about targets that we might panic? Target panic is a breakdown of the natural shot process caused by bad shooting habits. Simply put, it’s a fight or flight response to the pressure of hitting the bullseye. When a victim of target panic tries to acquire the bullseye, he either rushes the shot or fails to settle the pin without panicking.

What Causes Target Panic?

The worst contributor to TP is punching the trigger on a release aid. Shooting a heavy bow beyond fatigue can also lead to TP. A third contributor is mental stress from shooting competitive archery.

When an archer develops bad shooting habits (like punching the trigger), he begins to miss the bullseye. The more he misses, the more he tries to control the shot. Pretty soon this stress turns into a full-on panic. Just holding the pin on the bullseye becomes a physically impossibility. In extreme cases the archer is physically incapable of even raising his sight pin to the bullseye no matter how hard he tries.

Anyone who shoots regularly can develop target panic. Target panic is a maddening condition that wrecks ones confidence and can last for years if left untreated.

The goal of these exercises is retrain your brain not to react to a shot. This article focuses on compound shooters, but applies to traditional shooters as well.

Best Cures for Target Panic

  1. Use a back tension release. You can literally cure target panic in one day by using a back tension release aid. A back-tension release has an adjustable, hinged hook that rotates with your elbow during the shot process. As your shoulder blades squeeze together, the shot eventually breaks naturally. There is no physical way to trigger the release without pulling through the shot using your back. Unlike finger releases, the back-tension release creates a surprise release with every shot. Finger releases are great for hunting, but can cause target panic. Back tension releases are fully adjustable to your desired shot sequence. There are several good models on the market, but the one I used is called the Scott Longhorn Pro Micro.

    Scott Longhorn Pro Micro
  2. Hold on the Bullseye, then Let Down. This is a very simple, yet effective technique. It won’t cure target panic in a day, but it will gradually retrain your brain to hold on the bullseye without stress. Simply draw your bow, let the pin float on the bullseye for a few seconds, and then let down. Whatever you do, don’t shoot! Do this drill several times per session. After a week or two start releasing an arrow with every other draw. If stress creeps back into the shot, start over. Eventually you’ll be able to release the arrow without stress. It’s important not to hold the draw too long or you’ll fatigue out, which only exasperates target panic. It’s never a good idea to keep shooting after exhausting your muscles.
  3. Shoot a Giant Bullseye. Basically you create a huge bullseye out of paper or cardboard and pin it to your target. Shoot the big bullseye from just 10 yards away. Similar to blank bale shooting—where there is no bullseye—this drill is designed to take your focus off aiming, and focus instead on what a surprise release feels like. Be sure to use your back and not your fingers to trigger the release. Gradually reduce the size of the bullseye until you can shoot normally again.
  4. Shoot a Lighter-Draw Bow. A lighter bow removes all the physical stress involved with shooting. Shooting a very heavy-to-draw bow creates physical stress and can lead to target panic. Basically as you fatigue out your mind gets anxious to get rid of the stress. Pretty soon you’re rushing the shot instead of pulling through smoothly. During the off-season I switch to a bow that’s 15 pounds lighter than my hunting bow. I did this initially to save my shoulder, but it has the added benefit of letting me shoot longer sessions without fatigue.
  5. Use a Longer Stabilizer. A long stabilizer on the front of your bow creates resistance to movement at full draw. The longer the stabilizer, the less movement. This is why you see tournament archers with ridiculously long stabilizers protruding three or four feet in front of their bows. For our purposes you’ll do just fine with a 12-inch stabilizer. A person struggling with target panic is prone to quick, jerky movements towards the bullseye. A long stabilizer resists these movements. Once you settle the pin on the bullseye, it stays longer. Whichever stabilizer you choose, just make sure the weight is out front. You don’t want a big, bulky stabilizer that will just add more weight to your bow. The B-Stinger is a great option and even comes with extra weights for customization. Or you could always make your own out of an old carbon arrow and weights found on eBay.

    A stabilizer measureing 12″ or more, and with front weights, will your bow help you stay on target.

A Final Note

The goal of these exercises is to relearn how draw to a relaxed state of mind and body. There are three ways to help you do this. First, don’t hold your breath. Archers oftentimes hold their breath when they draw, but that just adds more stress to the shot. Second acquire the bullseye quickly. Moving your pin slowly to the bullseye creates anticipation. And third, tell yourself it’s okay to miss. Miss on purpose if you have to, but teach your brain that it’s okay to miss occasionally.

Conclusion

If you’ve implemented these five steps then congratulations, you’re cured! If not, start over. Most archers will struggle with bouts of target panic now and then, but don’t panic, it’s easily cured.

You can avoid future bouts by practicing proper shooting techniques. Always strive to use your back muscles and have a surprise release with every shot. Avoid shooting a heavy bow beyond the point of fatigue. Instead use a light-draw bow with a long stabilizer during the off-season. A heavy bow turns archery a high stress activity when it should be fun and relaxing.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions and happy shooting.

Zen Hunting

Whatever it Takes Bowhunting

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rooftop_archery1

Doing Whatever it Takes to Succeed

During last year’s bowhunt I missed a 50-yard shot an amazing monster buck. Since then, I’ve pondered over the miss hundreds of times in effort to pin-point exactly what went wrong.

There were many factors to consider: steepness of angle, a crappy rangefinder, holding the wrong pin, buck fever, etc.

By the time I relocated and patterned the buck, the season was over and the buck disappeared. In order to avoid making the same mistake again, I’ve attempted to eliminate every possible variable. Here’s how:

  1. I replaced my old rangefinder with one that calculates angles AND can actually see through brush to avoid false readings.
  2. I switched to a single pin sight in order to eliminate wrong pin selection and pin-gapping issues under pressure.
  3. I dialed up my bow poundage to get a flatter arrow trajectory.
  4. I started practicing steep-angled shots.

My summer schedule is a consummate nightmare, so rarely can I go to the mountains and practice shooting angles. Instead, I found the highest point in my yard (my rooftop) and practiced shootin from up there.

There’s an old saying: “What a fool does in the end, the wise man does in the beginning.” At this point, I implore you to anticipate the worst possible shot scenario and practice for it. Do whatever it takes, because big bucks rarely give you a second chance.

Archery Basics

Adverse Conditions = Success

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Adverse Conditions = Success

In teaching advanced archery, one of my lessons revolves around “adverse conditions” training. What I mean by adverse conditions is that when you’re shooting arrows in your backyard you are generally shooting at a large target over flat terrain, at a known yardage and in fair weather.

But the inexperienced bowhunter soon realizes that the mountains are very different than practicing at home.

In a real-life hunting scenario you often find yourself shooting from a kneeling position, up or down steep hills, through brush or limbs, at unknown distances, with a fly buzzing around your face and aiming into the sun.

It’s no wonder bowhunters have such low success rates!

In the real world, whether fighting the mountain or fighting the rat race of life, we are constantly battling adverse conditions. Therefore we must practice shooting through adversity in order to become better and stronger at whatever we’re doing.

Adverse Conditions Training

The secret to successful bowhunting is to practice in adverse conditions. This means placing as many mental and physical obstacles between you and the target. The following are some ways to practice for adverse conditions.

Have your shooting partner yell or poke you right before you shoot. Shoot at unknown distances. Shoot with a strong crosswind. Shoot through heavy cover or around obstacles. Do whatever you can do to make practice harder and it will pay off in the woods.

Through many years of real-life hunting experience, I’ve learned that the biggest obstacle is yourself. Even if you shoot 10,000 arrows in the preseason, you’re never really ready when that buck-of-a-lifetime steps out in front of you. When it happens you’ll likely come unglued!

My brother, Russell, relates a story form years ago when he was still new to bowhunting. A small, two-point buck stepped out fifteen years in front of him. Sure enough he panicked and sent his arrow plowing into the dirt at the buck’s feet!

How does one prepare for that kind of pressure? The following are the best ways I’ve found to practice for high-pressure shooting situations:

  1. Don’t shoot square targets. Instead, shoot realistic 3D targets. If you don’t have a 3D target you can always dangle small balloons from a string in front of your target. You might be surprised at how difficult it is to hit a balloon as it dances in the wind. Not only will this prepare you for realistic situations, but it’s a lot of fun.
  2. Compete! At least once or twice a year, sign up for a 3D tournament, even if you aren’t that good. Competitions–especially ones with lots of money on the line–always raise adrenaline levels. If you aren’t up for a formal competition, you can create competitions by practicing with a couple friends. Put a couple bucks on the line and watch the competition soar.
  3. Sprint to and from your target to get your heart rate up, shoot quickly, and repeat. I admit, this isn’t a fun way to practice, but it sure helps.

Remember, overcoming adversity is how we grow stronger in both life and bowhunting. Anticipate adversity–even welcome it–and you’ll be stronger for it.

What are you doing to make practice more challenging?