FOLLOW THROUGH

FOLLOW THROUGH

One of the most under-rated and ignored aspects of archery shooting is the
follow through after the arrow has been released. There is a lot of
emphasis put on the pre-release phase of archery but the post-release phase
is just as important.

On a bow shooting 300 feet per second (fps), it only takes a 30 inch arrow
about .0083 seconds to clear the bow on release. That is literally less
time than the blink of an eye.

Now I know what you’re thinking…how important can follow through be if the
arrow clears my bow before I can even react to the release?

The truth is, the arrow clears the bow so quickly that it is physically
impossible to affect the shot between the time of release and when the
arrow is free of the bow. Humans can not react that quickly.

However, if your body is doing other things BEFORE the release and those
things continue THROUGH the release, the accuracy of your shot WILL be
affected.

Here are some of the things you could be doing DURING the release that
could affect accuracy…
Peeking up over your peep sight to check out your shot
Lowering your bow arm
Gripping the bow
Following the arrow with your eyes instead of keeping focused on the target

So what good does proper follow through do? If you do not get in the habit
of following through by keeping your entire body in the proper “hold”
position AFTER release, it won’t be long before any movements start
happening BEFORE release. When that happens, you will not hit what you’re
aiming at.

Now, you will not be able to hold your body perfectly still after release
but here are the two things you must try to do in your follow through…
Keep you eyes on the spot you are aiming at
Keep your pin sight on the spot you are aiming at

This should be done at least until your arrow hits the target. On a bow
that shoots 300 fps, it will only take .20 seconds for your arrow to hit
the target at 20 yards.

Follow through is a very important part of archery shooting. Ignore it, and
you’ll find yourself scratching your head wondering what you’re doing
wrong.