Traditional Archery Shooting Tips 101 “The Bow Arm”

[@brads6304]

Jeff, your Instinctive Addiction Archery, Tradbow Samko and Clay Hayes (not to mention Fred Bear of course) are my inspirations for learning this amazing art of the bow. This is where I get it all cleared up. Solid teaching method. I've talked to so many bow hunters these past weeks, as the season draws near. They learn Im shooting barebow traditional and they all say, "wow thats so hard, why .. Put a sight on it, use a mechanical release, etc! Make it easier on yourself" Honestly I tried to make it easier, and nothing workd but your method. It feels right, its fun, and its consistent. So rewarding to do something so challenging, and through practice and education, get solid repeatable results. Thank you sir for what you do. I'm loving this sport.

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

@@brads6304 Thank you so much that tea means a lot to me and I’m glad that you found what works best for you and honestly appreciate that!

[@Jared45513]

Thank you Jeff, your videos have helped me a lot getting into traditional shooting... I did quite a few things wrong right out the gate lol, but with your help i feel like i saved a lot on arrows. Got some easton 500s going pretty dang straight.I watch you as i practice form and i really think ive avoided some bad habbits before they became a problem. Thanks again from Iowa! Best of luck on your hunt, God is good, all the time.

[@bryancheeseman1049]

Great video Jeff! Another idea for a video if you haven’t done one yet could be head position. I notice that sometimes I’ll pick a spot, shoot, then it hits 2inches right. After 2-3 arrows like that I’ll stay where I am without moving feet or anything, but reset my head from facing forward back to nose facing over my bow arm shoulder. I’ll re shoot and it’ll be dead on. I’ve done that before once more and over exaggerated my head turn, and it’ll then be 2 inches left of the center grouping. Thanks again for all your work on making these videos.

[@randyanderson5299]

Good information, Jeff , good to see your doing well.

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

Yes sir! Thanks my friend 👍🏻

[@donhoffart9704]

Thanks for your straight forward teaching of trad bow shooting. I like the fact that you talk about Mind Body and Soul, and what it takes to make great shoots. For targets, try empty PBR cans. I like the noise it makes when the arrow hits it's mark.

[@jsd8981]

Excellent video makes huge amount of sense...enjoyed video...thank you...

[@johncooper7242]

Another great video Jeff on such a difficult shot process to explain in words. I think you nailed it at 15.00 when you said ,....... ' I get the bow arm where it 'feels good' and I have got a 'good feeling' sight picture window' ...then I hold it ,draw and shoot' ...... The way that I can demonstrate and explain this Instinctive aiming process to myself is like this ... I focus intently on the small spot that I wish to hit and lift my bow arm up to where I feel it is lined up to where it needs to be. I draw to my anchor ...Then I sweep my bow arm slightly left and right until I feel that I have it centred horizontally then I do the same tiny sweep up and down vertically until I feel that the bow is centred on the spot that I am focused on and then i release. Its almost like sweeping a metal detector coil over a hidden object in the ground to find the exact centre of where to dig but you have no sound to guide you....just a strong instinctive feeling that the bow is where it needs to be ...like throwing a ball.

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

Yes sir!

[@JaneBarnes-rq3lv]

Hi jeff. Just received my recurve today. I also ordered a bow square and knock set pliers. Unfortunately I haven’t received that yet. However I also ordered some feather fletched arrows and they are not here yet. I’m going to stick on the plastic arrow rest and fire a few shots. I will tie on a arrow nock point on my string just so I can get a feel for recurve bow. Lol. I am a lifelong compound shooter. Don’t even know how to aim a recurve bow. I will start close so I do t lose arrows .. they are plastic fletch but I will try it till the other accessories arive here..

[@brettellis423]

Priceless info, Jeff! Thanks mate!!🙏

[@jimscott64]

If you watch the barebow division shooting at the Lancaster shoot, you will notice that there are several shooters that have, what I would call, bad form, bad releases etc. But one thing you will notice about the top shooters is that their bow arm stays steady as a rock. It cannot move until the arrow hits the target. Pretty simple, but it is one of, if the not the most important, parts of the shot process.

[@bwfreel]

I use the tip of my arrow as an aiming reference, works well but it slows your shot down for sure. Some situations require a quick shot in which Jeff’s technique is a BIG ADVANTAGE, I need to be able to do both not sure if I can but going to try

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

Absolutely! Most really good gap shooters learn to use both and it’s actually called gapstinctive where you learn to shoot quickly at close range using the sight picture and not really focusing on the tip👍🏻

[@John-z8g9z]

Archers ! Line up your draw arm elbow with the Tip of your arrow. Draw the Bow string between your eye and your nose.use a consistent anchor point and the release needs to be STRAIGHT BACK! Do Not Puck ! Enjoy! Jeff Phillips is The Master Archer !!

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

😁👍🏻

[@gregavanessian4846]

Good luck, thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@Tradman47]

Another great video 👍😊

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

👊

[@erikjohnson9406]

Ping pong balls work great. Cheap and last forever. Get elevated a little bit and your arrows won't bury in the grass. Great video, Keep em coming!

[@billybenefieldjr1105]

Pool noodle slivers, also plastic coke caps.

[@DaveSeemanGolf]

Jeff, I've been watching your videos for the last couple of weeks and you have definitely helped me become a much more consistent shooter! I have been teaching golf for over 30 years and love your way of communicating to your students! I am currently shooting a 45 lb recurve with a 28 inch draw length. My arrows are warrior 500's that are cut at 30 inches with a factory 10 gram insert. I've been practicing with 125, 150 and 200 field tips and know from my compound set up that I want heavier FOC with my recurve. Would you suggest 50 g inserts or the 100 g when I purchase new arrows? Also, should I cut them more around 28 inches or keep them at 30? I live within 45 minutes of Lancaster Archery Supply and they have always taken care of my needs. Keep the great videos coming! You and the Ranch Fairy should become fast friends! Since I've gone to heavier FOC with my compound, more deer are dropping! Sincerely, Dave

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

I would go 29” and run the 100 grain inserts, I’ve had really good success with light gpi shafts and 250-300 grains up front totaling just over 500 grains, I think you get much more speed and a super penetrating arrow going with that, I’ve gotten a complete pass through every time lately with a 48# recurve so I’m pretty happy with it for sure 👍🏻

[@rebelrye]

Very instructional video Jeff. Can yo do a video on how you cut and install your wool string silencers? May the Lord bless you.

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

I actually used to make mine and also used the Navajo wool silencers but for the past couple years I’ve used TTT Strings which have some of the very best quality wool silencers already hand tied in so I really love them and tied nocks as well!

[@bobwilliams6171]

Hi Jeff, I've be watching your videos they're great . You have a lot of knowledge with what it takes to have an arrow shoot out of light weighted bows. I like to pick your brain about a longbow with a deflex /reflex limbs, a 60" 45# @ 28" a slick stik by bodnik. It came with a string but would still put a D-97 fast flight string on it? My draw length is 27" so, I would be pulling around 43# like you. Anything you can suggest I do to be able to hunt with it would be appreciate it very much. Thanks and God Bless Bob

[@jkgkjgkijk]

Curious how 250 up front is the standard? I use uncut 31 inch arrows by victory. I thought FOC, as specifically stated on Easton website, should be 10-15 Percent. Is the FOC of 10-15 baked into your analysis, across the board, for all DL's? I'm only into this for about four weeks. There is a lot to learn, so, please don't get upset if I overlooked something here.

[@jimscott64]

Jeff here is my opinion of how and why instinctive shooting works. Most people know what a spreadsheet is. It is a computer program that collects information. And, the more information you enter into that spreadsheet, the more accurate it becomes. Our subconscious minds are just like a spreadsheet, in that the more shots we make, the more information our subconscious minds store in our brain. After a while our subconscious mind knows what it must do to our bodies to make that shot happen. This is where the hours of practice come in. Every shot that we make we are storing more information into our brain, and we don't have to think about the shot, just let our brain make it for us. But you have to let your subconscious mind take over. This is where the concentration on that tiny spot comes in. If we focus on that and that alone our brain will do the rest, because we won't be thinking about anything else. And of course a person has to have the proper form and it can't change from one shot to another or it isn't going to happen. Repetitive shooting with the proper repetitive form will get a guy there in not too long a period of time. That's my opinion, for whatever it's worth. Jim

[@soaringarrowxiong2240]

Jeff, about your anchor point. Do you just touch on it or do you lock on it? You shoot fast, so it's pretty hard to see.

[@keithwayneoutdoors]

Hey Jeff. Great video I'm new to your channel. What brand and model of target do you use for bare shaft tuning?

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

Any kind of Block style is fine as long as it’s dense, I use a Blob Target and a Bone A Fide Target just don’t use a bag type 👍🏻

[@Elkmonger]

I've been shooting for decades. I never shoot at a target. There's always a piece of straw that sticks out on the bale or there's a hole in the target to shoot at. It's important to be able to quickly come up with something small to shoot at especially when the target is generally one big target. Deer don't walk around with bulls eyes on them. If I do make a target it's a belly line with a leg line that comes up to a dog leg to mimic the shoulder and I try to shoot behind that dog leg (shoulder blade). No time to aim.

[@CampfireKodiak]

Do you visualize the trajectory? With me the top of my trajectory is about 13 yds. In other words if I gap shoot that's the biggest gap I must hold under. So how does your mind know that at 8 yds and 18 yds you should lift the bow arm slightly relative to 13 yds? Seems like you must estimate the distance somehow. I'm just learning instinctive shooting and I find it confusing when people say don't estimate the distance.

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

I honestly don’t ever estimate the distance, it’s just a learned process from practice that somehow comes natural from simply looking at a spot then drawing and shooting the exact spot not thinking about anything but the spot itself, it’s like everything becomes programmed in the brain just like throwing a ball at something and it becomes second nature from getting it down at short distance.

[@CampfireKodiak]

OK thanks! @@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998

[@jeffmartin3327]

That bow is deadly quiet! Wow

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

Yeah it is probably the quietest bow I’ve got, I reworked it last year as far as taking a couple of pounds off and re tillering plus working the tips down a little more and refinishing it because it was the very last production bow we ever built and I just had to keep it that’s why I wrote “Heartbreaker” on the top limb because I actually shed a few tears on that limb while doing the final sanding on it just before we closed up the shop and sold out knowing I’d probably never get to build another one but who knows maybe someday I’ll be retired and start building a few for fun and not for a living lol 😁❤️

[@matthiasluka3498]

Jeff, when you changed from split to 3under, you moved the nocking point?

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

Actually only moved it up 1/16” which is exactly 5/8” above center for me 👍🏻

[@matthiasluka3498]

@@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998 Thank you :)

[@EarthPoweredHippie]

I'm getting pain in my bowarm shoulder and I can't figure out how to reach full draw without pain

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

It’s very common and unfortunately most guys usually just set up a lower poundage bow that’s really the only option as far as I know and even that might still cause some unless you do like I did about five years ago when mine developed frozen shoulder and became very painful until I had it broken loose and rehabilitated then I had to learn to shoot left handed and it really wasn’t that hard for me.

[@EarthPoweredHippie]

@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998 I figured it out, I wasn't rotating my elbow

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

@@EarthPoweredHippie cool! That’s good news!

[@pickin4you]

Here is another thing I do. I bare shaft tune with my bow canted like I will be actually shooting it. I want my arrows to fly out of my bow straight the way I will hunt with the bow. That’s just me. I want it the same both ways. So me and you do things quite different in many ways. You are the better shot today. I have not shot in about 15-30 years. I have a new bow but have yet to shoot it. No arrows built for it yet, not even for bare shaft tuning. I plan on spending the winter to fletch several up and will have plenty of full length shafts to tune with.

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

I always bare shaft tune with the bow vertical so I don’t get a false nock high reading on an actual tail left weak arrow 👍🏻

[@pickin4you]

Now this is where this old man disagrees. This INSTINCTIVE shooting is just that. Instinctive. It COMES natural. You are either BORN with it or you are not. That’s the definition of the word instinctive. You cannot teach anyone to shoot that way. Others cannot learn it. I had nobody teach me, yet I am an instinctive shooter. You are right that you do not worry about where your bow arm is. I don’t even line mine up like you do. I pull up and shoot. Never holding at full draw. When my index finger hits the corner of my mouth, my string finger unroll and keep moving and my string hand ends up on my shoulder. Jeff, your shoot that way most of the time. I know you are trying to help everyone, but instinctive shooting cannot be LEARNED. Just look the word up in the dictionary. I love your videos abs you give some good info, but I don’t want to see some folks hopes get up when they will never be an instinctive shooter. They will have to aim like all of those who cannot shoot instinctive. I cannot aim. I can’t hit anything doing that. I just stare at a tiny spot on the target, draw and let it fly, no matter the distance. My cousin many moons ago was shooting his compound at a deer target I. His yard. He stepped back to 60 yard and shot it in the heart. I pulled an arrow out of my back quiver and he asked what I was doing. I said I was going to shoot. His words... you won’t hit that from here. I missed his arrow by 2”. He was shocked. I had never to that point shot past 20 yards with my Bear Montana long bow. Again, that’s how instinctive works. I was born with it. Now you have shown me tips and tricks I will never forget. All the testing you do is invaluable. Most of us Ava not afford to test everything like you do.

[@chuckratliff2474]

Thanks for the video Jeff like always they are good not many people out there want to help people

[@erikjohnson9406]

Just curious... What did your 60 yrd group (3 or more) look like? If it was just one arrow, we call that luck, not instinct.

[@timber4896]

I think what a lot of new people don’t understand is where their elbow is pointed. For instance, my wife was slapping her arm at 6 o’clock, so I told her to think of it as 8 o’clock or nine. I should’ve never told her that because now she can out shoot me.😂

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

🤣👍🏻

[@atxjaphotos4217]

Jeff, I love your content but your new intro is really long.

[@MollyDogg1234]

Jeff, what length of traditional bow would you recommend for a fella like me, thats about 5'10" and currently has a 29 - 29.5" draw length on a compound bow? Id like to purchase a hybrid longbow. Im growing very bored of my compound after killing deer with one for about 35 years! Thanks for any input. I enjoy your videos alot

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

Honestly the biggest thing to start is to get a good cheaper one in lower poundage just to perfect your form and really get everything down and then gradually increase as well as invest in a more expensive bow and the truth of it is that the cheaper ones on Amazon like the American Longbow will shoot as good as any for around $100 but you have to get a custom string for any of them and also a Black Hunter from Big Jim’s is a great option because you can simply buy more limbs really cheap and he’s got strings for them as well plus they shoot amazing and look awesome especially the Elite version but you don’t want to start over 40# limbs at your draw seriously!

[@MollyDogg1234]

@@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998 thank you!!

[@jeffmartin3327]

Jeff, do you think 56” bow is too short for a beginner with a 26.5” draw? Is 60” more forgiving than a 56” or is that just something that repeated but nothing to it? Thanks

[@instinctiveaddictionarcher8998]

@@jeffmartin3327 yes a 56” bow is very short and not forgiving but great for tree stand hunting and ground blinds just not as good for a starter bow.