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by Art Champoux There are a lot of excellent articles for tuning bows but most relate to tuning for release shooters. Some times comprehensive archery books you can find an area that relates to finger shooting set up. While I have tried several ways to tune for me this is the easiest.
A list of these would include; Proper arrow spine, right arrow length, weight of point or broad head, length of bow, hand placement and do not forget a clean release. What I am going to describe is going to be applied to the shooting of a compound bow. Most bows today are cut past center and that makes life easier.
Go to your local archery shop and ask for a good finger shooting rest.
Next: install a peep into the string, there is no need to tie
it in as yet.
If not, adjust side tension or move the rest accordingly. Depending on the finger pressure as you shoot or the placement of your hand on the grip this might change but now we have a starting point.
You should NOT be watching the arrow but your friend or spouse do that. If they see the arrow fishtailing then adjust the rest or plunger until it no longer fishtails. If you are using a plunger DO NOT MOVE THE REST! By increasing or decreasing the plunger tension you can get your arrow to fly straight. You can look at the relationship between front and back end of arrow in the target butt. That also indicates how the arrow is flying. When you are close to a straight flying arrow you can sometimes adjust the flight by turning your lim bolt in half turns either way until you reach the optimum arrow flight. The weakest link in this is YOU. There is no question that a mechanical release will make you a better shooter. But what if it is broken or lost? What do you do now? If you constantly practice with fingers you can be deadly accurate. Becoming familiar with your equipment will make you a more consistent shooter under bowhunting conditions. Finger shooting is alive and well. Fred Bear did it, Howard Hill did it, Robin Hood did it, Ben Pearson did it, Byron Ferguson shoots arrows through wedding bands at 50 yards using fingers. From the primitive cave man to the twentieth century the bowstring and the fingers can still be used together. There is something special to watch the arrow fly when relaxing your fingers and watching the view from behind the string! That is how I see it in my "view from the back of the string". |