# Back tension for accuracy



## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

I didn't want to hijack the "Aiming-Poll" so I'm posting a new thread instead.



Bill Hays said:


> Classical archery... recurve, longbow and even kyudo you draw high and come down. Combat pistol, draw and come up to the target, front sight center of mass.
> I've done a lot of archery including "mastering" kyudo, but I still revert to the old draw low and come up to the target.
> My style is a mixture of kyudo for the drawn to anchor position, combat pistol for the raise to target, sight it a little like a kentucky long rifle and release as smooth and clean as possible while pulling back slightly at the end.
> Easy!


On the "Aiming Poll" I think Bill gave some great advice on accuracy. I have been experimenting with this method of maintaining back tension until the shot is gone. In my recurve days I greatly increased accuracy by pushing the bow towards the target just prior to the release. At the same time I pulled back a bit harder on the string. The forces were directly opposing and this helped prevent those straying shots that happen when we try to just hold the bow/slingshot steady instead of pushing it towards the target. The "push-pull" idea helps maintain back tension throughout the shot. If we let our back tension collapse just prior to the release then our shots will often go low or stray.

During my years in archery I could hit tennis balls at 20 yards and smash nocks/feathers when I focused on maintaining back tension. I'm just starting to work the "push-pull" method into my slingshot shooting with hopes of the accuracy following. I have already seen some improvement.

Push-pull for accuracy. Give it a try.









Cheers,
Northerner


----------



## Peresh (May 3, 2010)

Very interesting concept of push and pull. I often see the low shot and now I realize the back tension is what has failed. Hmmmmmm....I gotta try this one



Northerner said:


> Classical archery... recurve, longbow and even kyudo you draw high and come down. Combat pistol, draw and come up to the target, front sight center of mass.
> I've done a lot of archery including "mastering" kyudo, but I still revert to the old draw low and come up to the target.
> My style is a mixture of kyudo for the drawn to anchor position, combat pistol for the raise to target, sight it a little like a kentucky long rifle and release as smooth and clean as possible while pulling back slightly at the end.
> Easy!


On the "Aiming Poll" I think Bill gave some great advice on accuracy. I have been experimenting with this method of maintaining back tension until the shot is gone. In my recurve days I greatly increased accuracy by pushing the bow towards the target just prior to the release. At the same time I pulled back a bit harder on the string. The forces were directly opposing and this helped prevent those straying shots that happen when we try to just hold the bow/slingshot steady instead of pushing it towards the target. The "push-pull" idea helps maintain back tension throughout the shot. If we let our back tension collapse just prior to the release then our shots will often go low or stray.

During my years in archery I could hit tennis balls at 20 yards and smash nocks/feathers when I focused on maintaining back tension. I'm just starting to work the "push-pull" method into my slingshot shooting with hopes of the accuracy following. I have already seen some improvement.

Push-pull for accuracy. Give it a try.









Cheers,
Northerner
[/quote]


----------



## drgreen (Feb 21, 2011)

that was the key for me to getting accurate too, great advice


----------



## Bill Hays (Aug 9, 2010)

One of the best videos I've done showing this is the entry video for Hawk's shootout.
The angle of the camera allows you to see how I draw while raising to target, pull to my long anchor, lower my cheekbone to the point where the fine hairs are just touching the top band, aim it like a long tube and try to release smoothly while pulling back just a little.

I'm not saying this is the best way... but it is the way I do it!


----------



## philly (Jun 13, 2010)

Thanks for the tip Bill and Northerner.
Philly


----------



## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

Fascinating stuff!
I have found that if I really hold a long time trying to aim I usually end up with shot going low. Usually when this happens I'll pop off several in quick succession where I just pull back and release with a minimum of aiming. I don't always hit the bullseye, but I hardly ever get the low ones either. Maybe the quick release is doing the same thing with the back tension.
I'll check out Bill's video and give this a try tomorrow. I'm looking for that breakthrough last little bit of accuracy, thanks for the tip!


----------



## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

After trying this out a bit I like it and can see the benifits for sure.
I think the biggest issue is learning not to "jerk" the pouch on release, just to keep and slightly increase tension.


----------



## coyotebarren (Nov 12, 2010)

I did some tests on band elongation a while back. One thing I found out was that the latex starts to relax as soon as a person comes to full draw. The rate of this decrease in draw weight is determined on how much the bands are stretched. When a band is really stretched say, about 500% The bands lose about one ounce of draw weight per second. When its down to around 300% { as best I can remember} the loss of draw weight goes down to about one ounce every 2 seconds. Also I found it takes the bands a bit of time to go back to normal after the shot. I cant remember exactly but its safe to say if you shoot slowly your more likely eliminate variables in band speed and thus minimise low shots. If you want to try this experiment on your own then look into a rapala digital fish scale. They are pretty accurate and will show you how fast your bands are weakening in relation to band stretch and intervales between shots.


----------

