Archery Aiming

Your sight pin floats around the 10-ring. You try to steady it, but it won’t stop moving. You’ve been at full draw a while now, and you start shaking. As the pin passes toward the 10, you release the shot. The arrow lands wide in the middle. Sound familiar? If your shot timing is inconsistent, and you struggle to pull through the clicker or to trigger your release, you’re over-aiming – a common archery malady. We all want to shoot great scores, but our desire for results can cause serious shooting problems. When your shots are driven by results instead of the shooting process, you can get hung up on aiming. That can happen in practice, and it certainly happens in competitions, even to the best archers. How can you prevent over-aiming? Don’t aim so much!

Some drills ...

If you struggle with over-aiming, try this helpful drill: Draw your bow and aim without firing. Let the sight float, and then let down and do it again.

Also, try shooting at a 40-centimetre target at 5 or 10 yards. The oversized target at those distances relaxes your mind and lets you focus on executing your shot.

The next time you feel yourself holding too long or fighting to aim, pause to recall this simple reminder: Relax and don’t aim so much.