Are you chasing your arrows by frequently changing the pins on your sight or moving your sight block up, down, left, or right? There are several factors that can influence the fight of an arrow, but I’m going to focus on one of the most common…tension and placement of your hand on the grip. The word “grip” shouldn’t be taken literally. In reality, an archer should not grip the bow, since the tension in your bow hand & aggressively gripping the bow can direct the flight of an arrow. In order to shoot correctly, when shooting a compound bow, you can technically use either a Paracord Finger Sling or a Bow Wrist Sling, which is more common.
Instead of holding the grip with a choke hold, try the following steps. Most of the new compound bows have a flat or slightly rounded surface where your hand meets the grip. With the bow perpendicular to the ground, place the bow handle, or grip, on the inside part of your palm, between the lifeline of your hand and the base of your thumb. This allows the bow grip to slide into the “pocket” of your palm, right on the fleshy pad next to your thumb. When the bow settles into the “pocket”, knuckles & fingers must be relaxed, with the knuckles at 45 degree angle to the grip.
Push out, just enough to keep the bow on the thumb side of your life line, and point at the bullseye as you draw, keeping your palm and thumb relaxed & pointed forward with your fingers relaxed (dead) and knuckles at a 45 degree angle, fighting that tendency to put your fingers on the grip. At full draw, check to be sure your elbow is in line with your bow hand and that you’re assuming a T position, shoulders down, bow arm straight, with your upper arm bone pressed into the shoulder socket. When you release, use your rhomboid muscle to release straight back to avoid “torking” the bow. Think of opening a drawer, using your arm like a “drawer glide” in a smooth motion as you release, slowly, fighting that tendency to “punch” the release. Again, fight that tendency to catch your bow with your fingers. Just keep your hand pointed/pushing out at the target as you pull to release (push, pull, separate). Keep your eye on the target as you release, letting the bow recoil into the fleshy part of your hand. The Wrist Sling will “catch” the forward motion of the bow as it balances in your hand or falls forward. Happy Shooting!