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October 6, 2018
Recipe: A Better Back Strap
October 27, 20183 Tips to Becoming A More Confident Shooter

Practicing proper stance, gripping your bow correctly, and having a consistent anchor point are three keys to becoming a confident bowhunter.
3 Tips to Becoming A More Confident Shooter
By Travis Moncrief
To be successful in anything the biggest challenge is getting past the mental hurdle; or in other words being confident in what you are doing. Becoming a confident bow- hunter means practicing. And practicing correctly.
If you’re like me you don’t shoot as many arrows as you should, but I make sure my limited time in front of a target is quality. By focusing on each part of the process, and making sure it’s the same every time, I know that when bowhunting season comes around, I’m ready. I focus my practice on three aspects: stance, grip and anchor point.
- Stance: There are a couple schools of thought on this and it comes down to personal preference. Many people like to have a square stance where your feet are parallel
to the target and your toes are lined up in a straight line to the target. I prefer an open stance. First, it naturally puts more distance between my string and forearm so that there is less of chance my string hits my arm during the shot. This is something to think about when wearing bulkier clothes during the season. Second, it gives me greater mobility to swing in either direction. Not know- ing exactly when where or how the shot will be presented I like the freedom of range that an open stance gives me. - Grip: The bow should rest in the meat of your palm. The word ‘rest’ is important because you’re not gripping it like and axe. Having a relaxed grip with the proper placement gives you the least amount of contact between your hand and the bow’s grip. The least amount of contact lessens the amount of torque or twisting during the shot. A common mistake is having your fingers straight out. While this falls in line with hav- ing less contact it actually puts more torque on your bow.
- Anchor Point: As you pull the bow string back finding your anchor point is the first thing that should happen. I like to have the string at the tip of my nose in conjunction with the corner of my mouth, which gives a solid anchor point that I can come back to every time. Once I have my bow string anchored, I’ll then move my head to find my peep.
Practicing consistency through repetition will make you a better shot and have you leaving your shooting session with confidence. Once you’ve conquered that mental side of shooting good things will happen.