[greyfeathers]

Hi,
I wanted to know what you guys did to improve your float movement.
I have been working on a few things that I thought would improve my float. When everything is connected correctly in my draw cycle, I can hold the pin very steady, little to no sideways or up/down movement. When this happens, I am on the X, many cases inside out. this happens maybe 30% of the time. But it is those other times that I notice my float buzzes a round a little, and wanders between the once side of the 9 ring to the other. I can manage to steady things down when this happens, and the arrow ends up in the outer 10 ring, or just outside in the 9, which just sucks.

Ideas on this?

GreyFeathers.

 

[nswarcher]

Trust your float, and dont fight it which will help skow it down but a few ideas,
Experiment with tab weights and back bar location.
Work on your core, back and shoulder strength with exercises, this will help with endurance and also hold.
Levi Morgans game break he talks about aiming drills of draw, aim untill you start to float too much and let down, this exersice is going to work you hard and its something to be done a few times then break then go again.

Otherwise rcr has plenty of vids on steadying float

 

[Luke Cool]

There are a few things you can do to improve your float movements.

1) A heavier bow, but you don't want it to be too heavy. I like between 6 to 8 pounds.
This will make your movements a little more sluggish and predictable.
2) A stabilizer that puts a fair amount of weight a ways away from the bow's center of mass.
Do not over do this ether. This will also make your movements a little more sluggish.
3) A balancing system so that the bow will naturally stay upright without you having to torque the handle.
I use a side bar to counter balance the sight and front stabilizer.
4) I like the bow to be just a little front heavy. This gives you a little pressure to lean against.
If the bow's center of mass is perfectly balancing, it fills too floaty to me.
5) Practice. It takes a while to train and develop your muscles to coordinate your control.
Nothing is free, you have to earn it.

 

[Padgett]

One of my favorite things to work on is the transition from being on the wall and not executing and then actually executing. I have found over the years that being a hinge shooter getting off my thumb peg and then starting my execution was a huge explosion of little pressures and wiggles and it went straight to my float pattern at the beginning of my shot especially on league nights of indoor.

So

I took a specific look at my shot sequence and every freaking little detail of my fingers and pressures in the back tension and the hinge speed setup etc and I worked on all of them and simplified everything. In the end I got rid of a bunch of GARBAGE. Now my transition into my execution is a very smooth and simple one that actually compliments my shooting instead of screwing it up.

 

[greyfeathers]

Thanks everyone for your response. I will look at adding some weight to try and center balance my bow. I understand that more weight will slow down your movements. Although, I do think one would be back to the same situation, once your muscles got use to the new weight, resulting in a same float. I am just making an assumption, and not based on any factual information so feel free to correct me on this opinion.
As I am using a hinge release Stan Jet Black, I do use the thumb peg to help pull back the bow but the very second I hit the back wall my thumb is off the peg and holding the release. I have been working on the release aspect as well, trying a few different techniques of getting that moon hook to release.
Any other ideas on this topic?

GreyFeathers

 

[bojangles808]

breathing. sounds stupid but i used to subconciously hold my breath when i drew and didnt realize it for a long time. now take a deep breath when a i draw and i keep breathing through the shot and its made a huge difference

 

[SonnyThomas]

I use a side bar to counter balance the sight and front stabilizer.

Actually, the sight is so light and so close to the center line of the bow that it doesn't require side weight or that much side weight. Bow tilting right is more us than anything....

 

[greyfeathers]

breathing. sounds stupid but i used to subconciously hold my breath when i drew and didnt realize it for a long time. now take a deep breath when a i draw and i keep breathing through the shot and its made a huge difference

Hi Bojangles8080,
You are right about the breathing, I picked up on that through my research, or rather just a partial of the point you made. I would breath in on the draw and exhale about 1/2 as I settle in my pin and hold or slow down the exhale. I find this helps stops any unnecessary movement in the back/chest muscles. A few seconds later the shot is executed.
Great suggestion!

Regards

GreyFeathers

 

[greyfeathers]

Actually, the sight is so light and so close to the center line of the bow that it doesn't require side weight or that much side weight. Bow tilting right is more us than anything....

Hi Sonny,
I have noticed that was the case, on my draw cycle a while back, that my bow titled to the right, as I was fighting having my arrows already shoot to the right side of the target. I have tried to fix this issue by changing my grip slightly. Now if the arrows go right it is because I pulled the hinge more sideways then strait back. I might still be doing that slightly, now that I think about it.

I agree the weight of the sight is very little you should be able to get compensate for that in the bow arm.

Greyfeathers.

 

[Padgett]

One of the things you have to learn about float is that you may not be allowing yourself to actually shoot with your true natural float. Again this was a hard lesson for me to learn a few years ago.

To learn this lesson I had to choose to not shoot and just float for a while and then let down. I did from 5 to 10 reps per day for about a month or so and I did them usually as a warm up but sometimes I did them mid way through a shooting session. After a few weeks I noticed something really really important.

I had a awesome float pattern and at 40 yards I could basically float and stay on a asa 12 ring the whole time and my pin would be on the edge sometimes but it really was pretty much on the 12 ring the entire float until I let down.

But

When I actually shot my bow my float pattern was bigger than the 12 ring every single shot.

This is where a few hidden lessons were at to learn about my execution of the shot in how I fired my release but also in my mental approaches to how I aimed in conjunction with my execution.

In the end I learned the proper disconnection between aiming and execution that allows me to actually shoot with my natural float in my back yard and in competition.

To get started my suggestion to you is to actually define your natural float by doing a few let downs per day for a good two or three weeks. Just come to full draw and float and study what it looks like, 40 to 50 yards is really nice and indoor at a vegas face is nice also.

Then your goal is to come to full draw and settle in on the spot and as you release the thumb peg on a hinge or get your thumb on the trigger of a thumb trigger the float pattern has already began and is totally unaffected my getting ready to start execution and then as you apply the pressures or rotation of the execution the float is totally left alone to do its job. This is where your true training begins and the lessons to be learned begin to slap you in the face over and over. It does take some time to eliminate the crap from your shot but sooner or later it is a good thing.

For me the biggest lesson has always been competition, lots of things work on a empty shooting line or the back yard but the moment you are on the line with other good shooters and it is time for the first scoring shot that is when a wall of crap hits you that holy Moses I am not right and what in the hell do I do now. Well, You learn and put in your time and get better and then when you go back home after getting your butt kicked you choose to not do things that only work in the back yard all by yourself.

 

[Alaska at heart]

Very timely thread as this is the aspect I have been working during my shot sequence as well.....a consistent float. One of the worst things for me is when I "steer" a shot into the X or 10 ring on a 3D because the results can so easily become the goal over the execution of an excellent shot. What I mean is that last instant correction where you know you are a bit out and you seamlessly adjust rather than continuing your float back to the spot. I love those truly "suprise" shots when the release (thumb button in my case) just seems to go off and you only know where the arrow went by the location of your pin.....rather than a "there it is" moment and precipitate a release execution. That is what keeps me going outside to shoot....knowing there are more of the good ones to obtain when everything else is secondary.

 

[aread]

Here is a decade old thread that has a lot of relevance to this subject:

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=269232&highlight=stopping

It was begun by the top thread starter on AT, EPLC
In the opinion of one great coach, getting from full draw to follow through is the key skill in archery. Keeping the pin on the target until the arrow is gone is key. Steady is good, but it's only half of it. Good follow through is even more important.

Capt Ace has a lot of good information in this thread.

JMHO,
Allen

 

[widow maker 223]

This may sound out in left field but when im super focused my float is minimal. On shots that im not focused is all over the white on a 5 spot.

 

[Luke Cool]

Actually, the sight is so light and so close to the center line of the bow that it doesn't require side weight or that much side weight. Bow tilting right is more us than anything....

I can hold my bow string up, balanced on one finger just above the grip. Try it on yours.
A right handed bow is right side heavy, even without the sight. Look at the riser, it's easy to see why.
Add a sight and quiver, and it's a lot more so.
When a bow is weighted and balanced, I find it is much easier to hold steady.

Thanks everyone for your response. I will look at adding some weight to try and center balance my bow. I understand that more weight will slow down your movements. Although, I do think one would be back to the same situation, once your muscles got use to the new weight, resulting in a same float.

Not true. All world champion archers use a bow that is both heavy and balanced. Its hard to argue with success.
All of them will also tell you to aim, take a breath and hold it, then finalize your aim and release the arrow.

I have been working on the release aspect as well, trying a few different techniques of getting that moon hook to release.
Any other ideas on this topic?

1) The bow has to be set up to fit you and your form.
Your bow and your form need to be comfortable for you.
2) Whither you add a stabilizer, a balancing system, or any other accessory,
the bow's overall weight and balance needs to stay in your comfort zone.
Do not over weight or severely unbalance the bow.
3) At full draw, holding against the back wall with a few pounds of force will steady your aim.
If you have a tendency to float in the let-off valley, your draw length maybe set too long.
4) Hold still for a moment after the release.
This keeps you from moving too soon and effecting the release.