Recurve Bow Shooting Techniques

The recurve bow is one of the most common bow designs, as the recurving structure gives greater power than an equivalent flat-limbed bow. One disadvantage of this is that the bow absorbs less of the vibration from the shot, making recurve bows less forgiving than a heavier model such as a longbow. Your shooting technique will have to compensate for this.

  1. Loose Grip

    • Pulling the bowstring back creates tension between your body and the bow. This tension pulls the bow slightly off to the side, and it suddenly disappears when you release the string. A tight grip will cause the bow to jerk to the side when the string is released. The low weight of the recurve bow makes this effect particularly pronounced. Counter it by holding the bow with a light grip or by using a finger sling, a sling of material that runs around the front of the bow from forefinger to thumb of the bow hand. This allows you to use only the tension of the bow to keep it held against your palm while at full draw, and holds it in your hand once the tension is released. This removes the need to snatch the bow to hold it in place. Let the bow roll forwards gently in your hand when you release the string.

    Fingering

    • There are, broadly speaking, two ways to grip the string. One technique is to position three fingers under the arrow knock, which allows easier sighting along the arrow. However, the more common and more adaptable technique is to position the forefinger above the knock and the next two fingers below. Most recurve bows are set up with this grip in mind.

    Anchoring

    • A significant part of archery technique is anchoring. Anchoring refers to where the string is held when the archer is at full draw. One technique is to anchor the string low, by the chin. This allows you to position the nock against the middle of your chin and touch the tip of the nose to the string. These reference points guarantee consistency in anchoring. Another technique is to anchor high, in line with the eye. This allows you to sight along the arrow. Whatever style you choose, make sure you consistently anchor to the same point. It will improve your accuracy over time.

    The Hold

    • Unlike the longbow archer, who must aim with the bow partially drawn, draw and immediately release, and unlike the compound archer, who encounters the majority of the strain before the string reaches full draw, the recurve archer has a window of about eight seconds to keep the bow drawn. Before fatigue sets in, you must try and align bow, string, arrow and target and hold that alignment. Line up before drawing, draw smoothly and release when the alignment is correct and steady.