5 Archery Mistakes Beginners Always Make

You're probably making at least two of these mistakes right now, and the crazy thing is, nobody talks about them. I've been shooting for years, and I made every single one of these when I started. Some of them took me months to fix. So today, I'm breaking down five archery mistakes that almost every beginner makes. And more importantly, exactly how to fix them. Let's get into it. Gipping the bow too tightly. Mistake number one, and this, is the one I see more than any other, is gripping the bow too tight. When you're new, your instinct is to hold on. The bow feels powerful, it's got tension, and you don't want to lose control, so you squeeze. Here's the problem. When you grip tightly, your whole arm tenses up, and a tense arm means your arrows go everywhere. Left, right, high, low. There's no consistency. The fix is simple, but feels weird at first. Open your hand. Let the bow rest against the base of your thumb and the meaty part of your palm. Your fingers should be completely relaxed, almost hanging loose. When I first tried this, I thought the bow would fly out of my hand. It won't. The bow sling, or your finger pressure, keeps it secure. Shoot with a relaxed grip for one session, and you'll immediately see your arrows grouping tighter. It's that big of a difference. Mistake number two is collapsing the bow arm at full draw. This happens when your front arm, the one holding the bow, isn't fully extended and locked. Instead of pushing the bow toward the target, you're letting the draw weight push you back. Your elbow bends slightly inward, and the whole shot collapses. The result? Arrows hit left, for a right-handed shooter, and you lose power. It also looks and feels unstable. The fix? When you're at full draw, think about pushing your bow arm forward toward the target. Not aggressively, but with intent. Your elbow should be straight, but not locked. There's a difference. A micro-bend is fine. A collapse is not. A good cue that helped me. Imagine you're trying to reach the target with your bow hand. That mental image keeps your arm extended and stable. Inconsistent anchor point. Mistake number three is not having a consistent anchor point, and this one destroys your accuracy more than any other. Your anchor point is where your drawing hand lands on your face every single time you shoot. It could be the corner of your mouth, your cheekbone, or under your chin. The problem beginners have is they anchor in a slightly different spot every time. Sometimes a little higher, sometimes a bit more forward, and even a millimeter of difference changes where your arrow goes. Here's the fix. Pick one anchor point and commit to it for at least a month. For most beginners, the corner of the mouth is the easiest and most reliable. Every time you draw, your index finger should touch the exact same spot. You can even practice this without shooting. Just draw, anchor, check your position, and let down. Do it 20 times. Build the muscle memory so that when you do shoot, your hand goes to the same place automatically. Punching the trigger. Mistake number four is punching the trigger, and this applies if you're using a release aid. When you punch the trigger, you're consciously slapping or punching the button with your finger or thumb. It's a sudden jerky motion, and it throws your shot off because the bow moves before the arrow leaves. The fix is to use what's called a surprise release. Instead of deciding when to fire, you slowly squeeze your back muscles together until the release fires on its own. You shouldn't know the exact moment it's going to go. Here's a drill. Draw, anchor, aim, and then focus on pulling your shoulder blades together. Don't think about the trigger at all. Just pull, pull, pull, and eventually the shot goes. This takes practice and patience, but once you get it, your accuracy will jump noticeably. If you shoot traditional or barebow without a release, this mistake doesn't apply the same way, but the principle is the same. Let the string leave your fingers naturally. Don't flick or pluck the string. Let it roll off. Not following through. Mistake number five, and this is the one most people don't even realize they're making, is not following through. Follow through means keeping your form frozen after the shot. Your bow arm stays up. Your drawing hand stays near your face. You watch the arrow hit the target before you move. Most beginners drop their bow arm immediately after the shot, or their drawing hand flies back. The moment you move, the bow moves, and the arrow is still in the bow for a fraction of a second. The fix. After you release, hold your position for two full seconds. Count them. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, then lower the bow. This sounds too simple to matter, but it's one of the biggest accuracy killers in archery. Your arrow needs a stable platform for every fraction of a second it's in contact with the bow. Move early, and you've thrown the shot. If this video helped you, hit subscribe. I'm posting weekly archery tips for beginners, and there's a lot more coming. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next one.