When it comes to bow hunting, most hunters find themselves 20 feet up a tree waiting for that buck to come walking by at 20 yards. When the moment finally arrives, don’t you want to be sure you’re doing everything right to make the perfect shot?
Many bowhunters fail to practice steep angled shots during the off-season and rely on their straight line target practice to carry them through bow season. Unless you’re strictly hunting from the ground, this type of practicing won’t get you very far. The most common mistake hunters make when they take aim from their treestand is that they don’t bend at the waist to compensate for the steep angled shot. Rather, they drop their bow arm to accommodate for the steep angle.
As professional archer, David Houser, discussed in the video above, drawing directly at the target as opposed to drawing straight back and bending at the waist will often lead to a different anchor point and awkward feel altogether. A bad anchor point usually equals a bad shot.
Take the time to practice from elevated positions and really focus on drawing straight back and bending at the waist to acquire the target below. By doing it this way your entire upper body should remain locked in perfect shooting position as if you were shooting from the ground. Even if you don’t have somewhere to practice shooting your bow from an elevated position, draw your bow back a few times and practice bending at the hips.
