We don’t know if sticks and stones will break your bones or not, but failure could get you killed. Even if it doesn’t get you killed, you wouldn’t want to miss a prey that was a sure kill.
Hunters have been using a bow since the ancient human era. To survive, they used to make bows with stone and wood.
With time, the bows have improved a lot and there are a lot of categories of those now.
However, if you’re hunting with a modern compound bow, you might be wondering how to shoot a compound bow more accurately?
You need to make sure first that your bow is properly tuned. Also, you need to let your body relax. You can use a mechanical release. Practicing precision and pushing yourself to extend your capability will be a lot beneficial for you at the end.
Got a minute to give a chance to improve your shot? Then, let’s dive in-
How to Shoot a Compound Bow More Accurately
You can’t really be a go-getter as long as your skills around compound bow shooting is concerned. It takes a fair share of time and effort to become a better shooter.
There are many detailed moves or actions that can improve your shooting. Most of those are not often noticeable but effective.
However, there are many things that can influence the accuracy of your shot. You won’t have control over some of them. For example the weather, natural obstacles, the speed, and the direction of the wind.
You can just work on your techniques only. You need to adjust your technique to overcome all the obstacles that get in your way. Also, try to get a high quality compound bow within your budget. You can check our review article on the best compound bow under $500 to find yours.
Apart from that, you should also ensure qualities of other necessary equipment i.e. best bow hunting gloves, best hunting arrows, best bow quiver, best target practice arrows, best bow string stops etc. for the maximum accuracy.
So, let’s have a look at the tips that’ll help you improve your accuracy more.
Tip 1: Tune Your Bow
You need to make sure that you have checked everything off the bow. And the first thing is to check the tuning of your bow.
Suppose you have a car. You’d properly want it to be properly tuned. But, why? Because with proper tuning your car will give you the best service and performance.
The exact thing goes for a bow. You need to tune it to hit the target as accurately as possible. You should not even start aiming if you’re not done with tuning your bow.
The center-shot alignment and the timing both have a great impact on the accuracy of your shot.
If you’re a user of the compound bow, you should know that both the cams on your compound bow rotate exactly the same ways and reach the back wall at the same time. (The two wheels at both ends of the limbs are the cams.)
You’ll notice that the cams rotate around a pin as the string is stretched to reduce the friction. Any inconvenience with the cams will be noticeable when you pull the string.
The string will feel funny as the cams aren’t reaching the back wall at the same time. However, you’ll just need a couple of twists on one cable and that will bring the other one back to sync.
Tip 2: Ease Your Body
Squeezing the bow too tight or too loose isn’t going to do any good for you. It’ll mess up your shot for sure.
Tension and stress are like poison for you when it comes to arrow shooting. Your body should be relaxed from top to bottom.
You have to feel the force and your hands should act following Newton’s third law. For that, you need to be totally relaxed.
So, don’t try so hard to make the bow stay still. You just need to bend your arm a little only to allow the elbow to unlock.
Tip 3: Use a Release Aid
As modern technologies have taken us to an extreme level, we have options everywhere. You can use a mechanical release rather than using your bare fingers.
You see, the mechanical release will have a higher impact on your accuracy. All you have to do is pull a trigger.
However, you can’t just double your accuracy within a minute. You need some time to get used to the mechanical release. But you’ll be getting there within a few days.
Step 4: Practice Precision
You need to see how close you can aim and reach from each of the shots. It means that you need to aim at a very close range from each arrow.
Here’s the thing. It’s important that you have pinpoint accuracy when you’re hunting. But it’s also important for the archer to determine which point in the animal will the arrow go.
So, what do you need to practice this? You just need to practice with a bulls-eye target board. You can develop your precision if you practice shooting at very tiny marks.
You can also check our article on "How to become a master hunter – Qualities of a Great Hunter"
Practice Precision
Tip 5: Push Yourself
Breaking your own limit is the best thing that you can always do. You need to practice the range.
Every day you should try to make a new record and then try to break it with another.
Suppose, you prefer to shoot a deer at 20 meters distance. You are an expert when it comes to shooting a deer from that distance. But don’t just stop there. You should try to extend your limit. Try 30, 40, or 50 meters; first in your shooting range, then in real hunting.
There’s a high chance that you’ll be able to set another new record after a few tries. You have to step out of your comfort zone and find out what you’re capable of doing. Try to make it tougher for yourself every day.
Conclusion
So, now you know how to shoot a compound bow more accurately. The main thing is practice. Practice will open all the doors for you.
Archery has been an extreme sport for centuries. The accuracy, patience, and practice are everything. It is without any doubt the sport of talented and dedicated people.
However, you should be aware of your own safety too when you’re handling a bow. It’s as dangerous for you as it is for your deer or target. The slightest mistake can cause you serious injuries or even death.
Last of all, you should get to practice your accuracy because practice makes a man perfect.