This lesson will teach you the next step in your archery shot, it will focus on teaching you how to properly aim. It will go over how to aim without a sight as well as if you was to use a site on your bow.
In the previous lesson you would have drawn the bowstring back, this could have altered your stance. Take a quick minute to ensure your stance is still correct and your bow arm is still in the right position.
A common issue many beginners experience when aiming is that they release the bowstring slightly. Therefore remember once you have aimed to quickly check that the arm holding the bowstring is pulled back in line with the arrow and that you are at full draw. It’s also a good time to ensure that your anchor point is still correct.
Steps to aiming without a sight
- If you have just started archery then there is a good chance you do not yet have a sight. The below steps will show you the best way to aim at the target.
- Look down the arrow and position the point of the arrow on the target
- You might find it easier to aim with your less dominant eye closed
- Once you have released the arrow in the next lesson, position the arrow point based on where the previous arrow landed. If it was to the left then move the point a little more to the right. After your shot if you find it too high then lower it down for your next shot.
Steps to aiming with a sight
Depending on how good your eyes are, you may not be able to see further distances without a sight. At some point you might want to invest in a sight to help improve your accuracy, below are steps on using a sight to hit your target.
NOTE: Not all sights are built the same, although they are all based on the same principle.
- When you have your bow raised you want to look down the center of the scope.
- The scope will often have a ball pin point in the middle, position this in the center of the target
- Once you have released your arrow, look where it landed and adjust the sight based on where it landed.
- With sights you need to adjust it based on where the arrow landed, if it went left you should move your sight left. If the arrow landed too high, you need to raise the sight up. This can confuse many beginners…
Tip: How long should you spend aiming?
One of the biggest mistakes many beginner archers make is that they spend too much time aiming at the target. If you spend too long aiming you might find the following happens;
- Your bow arm starts to shake from holding the bow too long
- You might reduce the draw weight slightly or alter your stance
At the same time though, if you don’t spend enough time aiming you might completely miss your shot. You will find it easier and quicker over time but you basically want to raise your bow, double check your form, aim and then release.