How to shoot a Recurve Bow

Traditional archery is a mesmerizing thing. At times it’s frustrating as hell, especially when you’re first learning how to shoot a recurve bow or longbow. I shot a recurve off and on as a kid but it wasn’t until I made my first longbow that I put down the wheels for good and committed to traditional archery 100%. Back then there wasn’t a website to look for archery tips or learn how to shoot so I just went the instinctive rout.

When I first started shooting a longbow I pretty much threw out everything I knew about shooting a bow. I thought that because a longbow didn’t have sights that none of the stuff I’d learned about shooting a compound bow was applicable. And so I went the way of “instinctive shooting.” This is the method you’ll often hear described as being like throwing a baseball. You don’t aim a ball, you just pick out what you want to hit and lett’er rip. Most of the time you can get fairly close to what you’re aiming at.

Some archers can shoot a longbow or recurve with deadly accuracy and consistency using that method. I’m not one of them. When I was shooting instinctively, I’d have times when I could hit just about anything. But, I had other times when I couldn’t hit the target, let along the ten ring. I got super frustrated with the inconsistency which led me to try out every method of shooting and aiming I could find. Heck, I even tried a thumb ring style release…

The method I settled on is somewhat of a hybrid between what Howard Hill described as his “split vision” style, and the way Byron Ferguson shoots. I see the tip of the arrow in my peripheral vision and use that to line up directly under what I want to hit (so long as I’m not past my point on distance).

But, no method of aiming or the most expensive bow in the world will help you shoot consistently if your shooting form is bad. If you ever expect to become a good and consistent bow shot, you’ve got to develop good form. And that starts with back tension. Check out this short video on how to shoot a recurve bow and maybe you can pick up something useful. Now get out there and fling some arrows. Oh, and if you’re looking for a little pick me up video to get the blood pumping, check out our 2014 highlights reel on the video production page.