Where is your anchor?

[James Harvey]

#2554

So I have tentatively made the decision to change my anchor from ‘middle finger in corner of mouth’ to ‘index finger under chin’. I’ve really just done it because that lower anchor feels more comfortable/natural for my shoulder action.

I am curious where everyone else anchors and if there is any particular reason you do it where you do it?

[Patrick]

#10562

Middle finger in the corner of my mouth. It just seems to be the most comfortable place for me to anchor, and I’ve anchored there since I was 11 years old, so it’s probably a bit of a cyclical thing. So, is it more comfortable because I’ve done it forever or have I done it forever because it’s more comfortable there? 😕 😆

There was a brief period where I tried experimenting with other anchor points.

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#10572

my thumb locked tight under my jaw bone. I shoot using a dead release, so this anchor helps my hand stay in place

[Doc Nock]

#10603

Alex,

That is what I did for years…starting with what was the only bow we had, sticks, then bare bow fingers on compounds and back to sticks 24 yrs ago.

But… with all the coaching available, I was told that “static release” was a big no-no and back tension required a fluid release that moves.

Jay Kidwell in “Instinctive Archery” Insists you should do what feels most natural for the most natural becomes habituated most easily so you can focus on the shot accuracy.

He also made what I thought was a good point that the corner of the mount moves when you scrooch up your face…he would touch his top eye tooth…stays the same as only the lower jaw moves.

Now that I’m relocated to TN and haven’t shot all Fall…when I get back, I’m going to set up my own version of the “bale” and start back with whatever feels best… most comfy and if it becomes static, so be it!

Jim, do what your body tells you is most natural…that makes the most sense to me in most things!

[Col Mike]

#10612

Jim

If I let enough scope out–I hope to find my anchor at the end of the rode when I haul it in.:D:D Trust this will help.

[Jason Wesbrock]

#10646

I shoot with a very high anchor, above my upper jaw. Without string walking it gets my point on down to 40 yards with my hunting bows, 48 with my target setup.

(Photo courtesy of Jeff Sanchez, Bowdoc Archery)

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#10663

colmike wrote: Jim

If I let enough scope out–I hope to find my anchor at the end of the rode when I haul it in.:D:D Trust this will help.

Nice one. And some people think that “runnin’ out of rode…” just came from a country song. 🙄

I anchor a little higher and farther back than the corner of my mouth – index finger to my cheek bone. This gets the arrow up under my eye a little more.

[Doc Nock]

#10675

Bruce,

I bet the Col was posting off one of the not-so-smart (Ar$$) phones that changes things when you hit send…

Sniper with a scope and rode like he was put up wet… Tsk, tsk…

But sure does paint an interesting picture, don’t it?

[Col Mike]

#10723

J

That picture is worth all those words. Wow–I’ll be doing some experimenting tomorrow–in the garage, as the ice storm is relentless.

Doc and Bruce you guys crack me up. Actually that post–not to steal Jim’s thread was precipitated by my new thought process as a prospective boat owner. If I had the skills, would post picture of our new slip (that Linda has been on wait list for 10years) at the naval air station in Key West.

Perhaps Jim can do that as I sent it to him this morning.

As a former off shore sailing instructor at the Naval Academy, I off course would like sails but Linda is leaning toward a trawler.

Any who, I hope to always find my anchor:D

[Doc Nock]

#10732

Glad you took it in the vein it was offered… I’ve been gnashing my teeth lately at this new “smart (??) phone” doing all sorts of strange things, even after I go back and edit what I want, it changes it AGAIN when I hit send… and that is with Spell check turned off! The nerve…! 😯

You know, Mike, a boat aint nothing more than a “hole in the water you pour money into!” 🙄

But the humor of it wasn’t lost… I’ve been at the end of my rope a few times and there weren’t no anchor, so just tied a prayer knot and hung on!:wink:

[grumpy]

#10760

Actually I have 2 anchors, and don’t know where either one of them are, as the hunting season started before the canoe season ended. So things didn’t get put away properly. Hoping I don’t trip over them in the snow.

When I shoot the bow… There is a neat little hollow that my thumb settles into just in front of my ear. Strange, I know, but it is to get the longest draw I can with my short arms. That’s 22″. Also gets my anchor right next to the eye. Biggest fear is that I’ll get my curly locks tangled in the bow string. When I hear about 30″ + draw, I start thinking you must be dragging your knuckles on the ground…

[James Harvey]

#10809

ColMike’s new anchor point:

[Doc Nock]

#10823

Careful, Grumpy…

Knuckled draggin might offend them long armed chaps…and just think how long a reach their fist strike can go?!:shock:

You guys and your “anchors”…

I heard the song about Anchors Away, but I didn’t know it meant your supposed to PUT them away so you know where they are now, Grumpy…tsk, tsk!:x

[Rogue]

#10907

I shoot split finger and anchor my middle finger in the corner of my mouth. On occasion I will play with changing my anchor but only if I need to purchase more arrows.:lol:

It never ceases to amaze me on how a little change in anchor point can affect where an arrow ends up 20 yards later.

[Cameron Unruh]

#10974

I shoot thumb under jaw bone and my nose on the tip of my feather. And 3 under as well.

[Stephen Graf]

#11222

I anchor middle finger on my eye tooth. That is when I can come to anchor and settle in, but that’s another story 😳

Dead Release, Dynamic Release… ah the conundrum. I have tried both and both have their pitfalls, which I will leave to you to discover.

What I have found recently (thanks to Jeff Kavanah) is what he calls a “second anchor point” basically a place to have my hand end up after the loose.

Proponents of the Dynamic Release usually say their hand ends up on their shoulder. This never worked for me as it is too far from my face.

What Jeff suggests, and it seems to work well for me, is to have the hand end up on the ear. Much closer to my anchor point.

It feels like a hybrid between a static and dynamic release to me. It gets my string arm aligned correctly, lets me use my back muscles, and gives my hand a place to stop before it gets into mischief.

As Smith Hammer already brought to our attention on another thread, Jeff has a bunch of video’s on you tube. Many are worth watching. Though I think he should stop with shooting advice. His bow reviews are wanting imho.

Using the ear to stop your draw won’t work with a chin anchor I don’t guess, but who knows? I am very interested to know how your new anchor works. Let us know!

[Jason Wesbrock]

#11356

It’s important to remember that where your string hand ends up is part of your follow through, which should never be an action in and of itself. Follow through should be nothing more than the natural reaction to a properly executed shot. It’s a subtle distinction I see people frequently missing.

Some folks are so hung up on their hand coming to rest on their shoulder that they shoot the shot with their normal dead release, pause, and then purposely pull their hand back and touch their shoulder. This is not conducive to accurate shooting because the archer is more worried about how they look at the end of the shot than they are about hitting their target. Follow through is something people use to gauge whether or not the rest of the shot was done correctly. It is never something that should be done consciously.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#11359

Agreed, Steve. Jeff’s tip about a ‘second anchor’ has really helped me with a more consistent, so-called ‘dynamic release.’

Imo, the dynamic release is really just the normal and natural result of good back tension and push/pull throughout the shot sequence. It’s what your hand automatically wants to do upon releasing all that tension. It isn’t an intentional or exaggerated movement at all. All the second anchor point does is assure that this natural movement stays in-line and doesn’t result in plucking – which in my mind, is the only real pitfall of a dynamic release (then again, it’s a pitfall with a static release as well…).

Here’s the video Steve mentions:

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#11362

J.Wesbrock wrote: It’s important to remember that where your string hand ends up is part of your follow through, which should never be an action in and of itself. Follow through should be nothing more than the natural reaction to a properly executed shot. It’s a subtle distinction I see people frequently missing.

Some folks are so hung up on their hand coming to rest on their shoulder that they shoot the shot with their normal dead release, pause, and then purposely pull their hand back and touch their shoulder. This is not conducive to accurate shooting because the archer is more worried about how they look at the end of the shot than they are about hitting their target. Follow through is something people use to gauge whether or not the rest of the shot was done correctly. It is never something that should be done consciously.

I think we were posting at about the same time, and essentially saying the same thing, Jason. I totally agree with the above. Especially your 2nd paragraph, underlined for emphasis.

I guess this topic is starting to become more about the release than the anchor, but I think that where one anchors is a fairly personal thing, and whether it’s the corner of your mouth or your cheekbone or your ear, doesn’t really matter as much as what you do after hitting your anchor. At the risk of sounding narrow-minded, there are a lot of ways to anchor, there aren’t as many ways to have a good release that doesn’t negatively affect the shot in some way.

[Jason Wesbrock]

#11385

Bruce,

Much agreed.

[archer38]

#15705

No worries Grumpy !! This longer draw shooter won’t take offense , but then….I don’t exactly have calloused knuckles from dragging on the ground either !! Its all good, just means my bows are all a few pounds heavier than they’re marked !!

I use the same anchor though, thumb knuckle(closest to the hand) just under my ear lobe in the back of my jaw and also, I touch the tail of the cock feather to the tip of my nose. A second reference point or double anchor that I learned from Rick Welch.

This has served me very well and it really feels “locked in” when I reach anchor.

[grumpy]

#15976

Thanks, gonna try that, but tell me, when you tickle your nose, do you sneeze?

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#15978

grumpy wrote: Thanks, gonna try that, but tell me, when you tickle your nose, do you sneeze?

Sneezing is a key part of the release. 😉

[grumpy]

#15980

That was so quick it scared me!!!:shock:

[Lawrence Hansen]

#35738

Doc Nock wrote: Glad you took it in the vein it was offered… I’ve been gnashing my teeth lately at this new “smart (??) phone” doing all sorts of strange things, even after I go back and edit what I want, it changes it AGAIN when I hit send… and that is with Spell check turned off! The nerve…! 😯

You know, Mike, a boat aint nothing more than a “hole in the water you pour money into!” 🙄

But the humor of it wasn’t lost… I’ve been at the end of my rope a few times and there weren’t no anchor, so just tied a prayer knot and hung on!:wink:

Hi, Doc

I’m the wife of one of your Trad readers. I’ll tell you what I do to override the “smart” phone’s word choice. When you’ve typed in the word you want, a number of “choices” will come up down below, but you should also see a blue or black line under the word you’ve just entered. Tap the word you’ve just entered in your message body. The line should disappear, and your choice should remain permanently.

Good luck, Kathleen Hansen

[Doc Nock]

#35787

Well, that was a nice Easter present…! Thank you, Kathleen!

If I haven’t visited a new notice to an old thread, I don’t get emails, but a friend here saw it and told me to check.

I tried it… sure slows things down to sit there tappin and waiting for blue lines…there’s a touch to it with a Droid, cause otherwise, you get the blue arrow and end up with spaces in the word!

I do NOT know how these “kids” go so fast thumb typing…I must have fat digits! 😳

I’ll try to keep an eye on it…but I can go back and correct words it changes and when I hit SEND, it changes them to it’s choice—again!

Technology is not always our friend…thanks for the lesson!

[jpc]

#38347

grumpy wrote: Actually I have 2 anchors, and don’t know where either one of them are, as the hunting season started before the canoe season ended. So things didn’t get put away properly. Hoping I don’t trip over them in the snow.

When I shoot the bow… There is a neat little hollow that my thumb settles into just in front of my ear. Strange, I know, but it is to get the longest draw I can with my short arms. That’s 22″. Also gets my anchor right next to the eye. Biggest fear is that I’ll get my curly locks tangled in the bow string. When I hear about 30″ + draw, I start thinking you must be dragging your knuckles on the ground…

there is neither large nor small guy The right size is when both feet easy touch the ground floor 😳

[Doc Nock]

#38352

jpc wrote:

there is neither large nor small guy The right size is when both feet easy touch the ground floor 😳

Doh!

🙄

[grumpy]

#38502

YUP, both on the ground there 😀

Audrey says: You couldn’t walk if they were not both on the ground.

[Doc Nock]

#38508

grumpy wrote: YUP, both on the ground there 😀

Audrey says: You couldn’t walk if they were not both on the ground.

I’m still waiting to find out who FRED is from the other thread!

Tell Audrey (???) that you can’t walk with both feet on the ground…one leaves the ground to move forward a step! Ha!8):D Then the other in succession!

[grumpy]

#38514

Doc Nock wrote: [quote=grumpy]YUP, both on the ground there 😀

Tell Audrey (???) that you can’t walk with both feet on the ground…one leaves the ground to move forward a step! Ha!8):D Then the other in succession!

Audrey said: Wiseacre!!!!!

Fred is the mouse, pay attention.

[Doc Nock]

#38561

Wiseacre?

Hey, I resemble that comment!!!:wink:

Fred is a mouse…?!

Pay attention? You been here longer than me… I don’t know all the players on your stage yet, Hoss!

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#38652

Last time I checked, my anchor was weighing down the arse end of my drift boat so that it wouldn’t hold snowmelt. But this is a good reminder – I haven’t checked it since I put it to bed last fall…

[Doc Nock]

#38701

Cool graphic!

By now, all you shoot, one would think your anchor would be severely engrained

You have a drift boat…do you float it bass ackwards down the ribber?:roll:

[Spikebuck]

#50310

ausjim wrote: /I am curious where everyone else anchors and if there is any particular reason you do it where you do it?

Middle finger in the corner of my mouth AND index finger right on the front of my cheek bone. The cheek bone doesn’t move and almost acts like a positive “stop.” If I creep at all, I lose contact with that point before the middle finger loses contact with the “corner” of the mouth and I know it.

This seems to get my arrow high enough and right under my eye.

[SteveMcD]

#31114

I have a high anchor, I shoot split finger with the middle anchor finger inside the nose crease, essentially cock feather to the side of my nose. I have long thin facial features and this consistently gets my dominant eye aligned directly over the arrow shaft.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#31153

Good to see you around again, Steve!

[SteveMcD]

#31179

Thanks, SH !!! A lot of life changing events over the past couple of years. All good now.

Good to see your familiar handle on TradBow too!

[Ralph]

#31390

Hey!:D

[SteveMcD]

#31426

Hi, R2 !!!

[Author]

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