How to Shoot an English Long Bow

Take arrow and nock it on the bowstring. Make sure the odd colored vane/feather is in between your bow arm and the riser/shelf of your ELB.^[1]

Twist your arm at the elbow (wear an armguard of hardened leather) so that the string doesn't get under the armguard and bite you. This is called string slap, and can be very painful.

Grip the string with your index, middle, and ring fingers, with the arrow between your index and middle. Don't squeeze the arrow; pull on the string and the arrow will hold itself in place.^[2]

• If the arrow falls off, the nock may be too large or you may be twisting the string a little bit.

Hold your bow firm and pull back with your fingers. Draw the arrow to a comfortable spot on your face (called an "anchor point"). Make sure you always draw back to the same anchor point or your shots will become too inconsistent. Some draw to their chin with the string running up across the tip of their nose. Others draw to the back end of their jawbone, while others find it comfortable to rest the arrow up on their cheekbone, near their eye. In this form of "instinctive" shooting, it is most common to draw to the corner of the mouth. These spots on your face are called your "anchor point". Find one that is comfortable for you, and stick to it. A consistent anchor point is key to accurate, consistent shooting.^[3]

Focus your attention on the smallest spot you can find on your target and let nothing else distract you. If you have a target with rings on it, focus on a blemish on the target within the centermost ring. If it is an animal, pick an off-colored hair to focus on. The smaller the better. Pull back and hold until that spot becomes clear and all else around it becomes a blur. This can be anywhere from about one second after drawing the bow, to the moment you contact with your anchor point.^[4]

Relax the fingers of your right hand to let the string slip past them. This prevents the bow from jumping or lurching, which will throw off your shot.^[5]