Aiming low - scope problem?

Iamnotanalcoholic

New member
Hello

Been shooting with my first compund for about a year now, the thing is tuned to about 41 pound *I think* and it hasn't moved up for a while though I plan to start upping it soon.

Recently I've been having problems with aiming the thing. I can draw up fine but I can't raise my bow arm enough to bring the scope to the centre of the target. It's getting serious because I've just annihilated my 3rd Easton ACC because I drop so low :(. I think somewhere along the line I've mistakenly started to use a different hole on the sight rail (if that's what you call it). The scope itself is close the the bottom of the rail thing. Logic says to me that this means I've got to aim the bow higher to bring it to centre. Could this be the problem? And if it is, which direction should it need moving?

Cheers :beer:.
 

simon m

New member
Ironman
OK Heres a diagram of what moving the sight bar away or towards you will do to your vertical adjustment.



So moving your sight bar away will give you more downwards adjustment(ie raise where the arrow go's).

However as for not being able to raise your bow arm anough....?? that confuses me.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
I am confused too. Why can't you raise your bow arm until the scope is round the gold? Once that is cleared up there should be a solution to your problem.
 

Iamnotanalcoholic

New member
Thanks for the diagram. I think I know what's going on but I'm having difficulties explaining it to you.

Basically, I draw up and I'm aiming here :



I drop down to this point and can't raise the bow up enough to aim it at the centre. Even so, I can hit the gold now and then, but when I start getting tired it kills arrows because I'm dropping it even lower.

I thought it could be my sight because as I say I think I've forgotten which is the right hole to use on the rail and there's the previous owner's mark on it where their preference was.
 

greydog

New member
If I read this right, you are having trouble getting the sight down low enough to shoot the longer distances ?

If this is the case and you haven't adjusted your bow for a while it could be a simple case of strings and cables stretching a little, which in turn has reduced the poundage of your bow, so it may be a couple of pounds lighter than when you last measured it. This can also affect your nocking point, if this is the case and the nocking point has drifted up slightly, this will also make your arrows shoot low.
 

Max

New member
IANAA - check your PM's. Might have a possible solution to draw length related issues.
 

Max

New member
greydog said:
Sounds like your draw length is too long.............a form pic might be usefull
Greydog - I think you are right. I think I kmow IANAA and was talking to him in the pub the other night. He currently uses a wrist release which is adding more than a bit of extra length. I have PM'd him to see if he want's to try a spare Chappy Boss of mine to see if it helps.
 

GeoffT

Active member
Ironman
Iamnotanalcoholic said:
Hello

Been shooting with my first compund for about a year now, the thing is tuned to about 41 pound *I think* and it hasn't moved up for a while though I plan to start upping it soon.

Recently I've been having problems with aiming the thing. I can draw up fine but I can't raise my bow arm enough to bring the scope to the centre of the target. It's getting serious because I've just annihilated my 3rd Easton ACC because I drop so low :(. I think somewhere along the line I've mistakenly started to use a different hole on the sight rail (if that's what you call it). The scope itself is close the the bottom of the rail thing. Logic says to me that this means I've got to aim the bow higher to bring it to centre. Could this be the problem? And if it is, which direction should it need moving?

Cheers :beer:.
I think I am going to disagree with everybody elses answers. If you can't lift your sight into the centre of the gold, the problem is not technical, but you have got Target Panic, Gold Shyness, TP call it what you like.

As Bernie Pelerite says in his book....everyone has it to some extent or another. I had it badly after about 9 months shooting compound. Your symptoms sound exactly like the ones I had. Never fear it is cureable, and there are some excellent threads on this board to help you cure it.
 

Iamnotanalcoholic

New member
Max's solution he PM'd me sounds most reasonable. Yes we had talked about it in the pub, I thought in addition maybe the sight may have had also something do do with it. I guess it's going to be sorted. Thanks for your help.
 

greydog

New member
Yes a wrist release can add considerable length if not set up right. I thought it might be some form of target panic, but from the way Iamnotanalcoholic described it, it sounds like he's unable to pull back hard enough with his draw arm to take the weight off his bow arm, and thereby ends up holding the whole weight of the bow on one arm, making it difficult to get up to the gold, let alone hold there long enough to execute the shot.

I suspect Max's offer of his Chappy Boss release should help Iamnotanalcoholic head in the right direction :)
 

Marcus26

Well-known member
If you are aiming low and can not move your dot into the centre of the target you have target panic, most likely due to punching the trigger.

Here is what I would suggest
Remove your scope and use a Beiter Sight Tunnel, with a bubble and no apature inside it.
Get a back tension release set course.
Make sure you squeeze the release in a steady motion, don't stop even if your aim moves.
Keep working on that for some time.

After your scores start to go up again then reconsider a scope.
 

whisky

Supporter
Supporter
GeoffT said:
I think I am going to disagree with everybody elses answers. If you can't lift your sight into the centre of the gold, the problem is not technical, but you have got Target Panic, Gold Shyness, TP call it what you like.

As Bernie Pelerite says in his book....everyone has it to some extent or another. I had it badly after about 9 months shooting compound. Your symptoms sound exactly like the ones I had. Never fear it is cureable, and there are some excellent threads on this board to help you cure it.
I don't know the man nor have I seen any form pics but isn't it more obvious that his set up is too heavy for him to hold up rather than assuming it's TP. Partic as he talks of being tired, which causes many to drop their arm??
 

Shirt

Well-known member
There's no such thing as "too heavy to move". If there was, you wouldn't be able to draw it...

Sounds pretty convincingly like target panic to me.
 

whisky

Supporter
Supporter
Shirt said:
There's no such thing as "too heavy to move". If there was, you wouldn't be able to draw it...

Sounds pretty convincingly like target panic to me.
I said too heavy to hold NOT too heavy too move and the physical weight of the bow has nothing to do with the draw weight, or am I missing something?

I just think that with only a little info everyone is way too quick to find a label for this guy rather than wait and see a pic of his form.
 

Max

New member
whisky said:
I said too heavy to hold NOT too heavy too move and the physical weight of the bow has nothing to do with the draw weight, or am I missing something?

I just think that with only a little info everyone is way too quick to find a label for this guy rather than wait and see a pic of his form.
It might help if I give a little background to this. IANAA picked up his bow second hand on a very limited student budget as an introduction to compound and had the draw weight reduced by the club coach, who converted the bow to a shoot through cable system as a means of doing this (not quite sure how as I have not looked at the bow closely). The draw length is fixed but is too long for him and his wrist release is adding about 1" as well. At full draw his draw arm is over extended to the point where his shoulder is rotating downwards and his forearm is angled down at about 20 degrees.

What I think is happening (and this is purely from casual observation) is that as he tries to shoot longer distances and lifts his bow arm (which effectively shortens his draw a bit more) he runs out of travel on his draw arm and has difficulty in raising the bow up any further without coming off the stops or feeling very uncomfortable. Trying to fight this is hard work and I think results in dropping the bow arm after a while to add to the problems.

What I am hoping is that with a short handheld release we can get him into a more reliable anchor position to see if this improves the shot. If it does, he might be able to last a bit longer before having to fork out for a new bow.
 

simon m

New member
Ironman
Why is he moving his bow arm to aim higher?.

I thought everyone stayed static from the waist up and pivoted about the hips so as not to effect anchor point etc.?. Or am I being silly?.
 

Max

New member
simon m said:
Why is he moving his bow arm to aim higher?.

I thought everyone stayed static from the waist up and pivoted about the hips so as not to effect anchor point etc.?. Or am I being silly?.
Not sure he is Simon - as I said, this is a casual observation from along the shooting line and may not accurately reflect his actual style at all, but it would fit the situation, particularly as his setup puts him out of shape quite a bit.
 

whisky

Supporter
Supporter
Max said:
Not sure he is Simon - as I said, this is a casual observation from along the shooting line and may not accurately reflect his actual style at all, but it would fit the situation, particularly as his setup puts him out of shape quite a bit.
thanks for the explanation

Could he not be stretched on the club rack to increase his draw length :)
 

greydog

New member
If it's an equipment problem (which I think it is) that is easier to confirm and resolve than labelling him with target panic.
Better to shorten his draw length, then realise it's target panic than spend months blank bossing with a bow that doesn't fit and end up reinforcing poor technique as well as risking shoulder and elbow pain
 
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