Execution is Key

How well you execute your shot is key to consistent grouping. There are two points of contact between you and your equipment, one of these is your release hand with either your string or your release aid. Your execution then, is vital, as it has a significant effect on how well your arrow flies from your bow.

What do I mean by good execution? The answer can be different for each individual but whatever you do when you execute your shot there are some key factors you’ll need. Your execution should have as little effect on the string as possible, if you put any lateral force on the string in your release your arrow will carry that force into its path to the target. Your release hand should come directly backward from the arrow path.
 
How do you build your execution? First, consider the main requirement of your execution. Every force has an equal and opposite reaction. If your release motion moves away from your face this introduces a horizontal force which must be matched by the string and arrow flight. If you want your arrow to fly with maximum efficiency, which you do, then your release hand should move in the exact opposite direction to the arrow.

How do you achieve this motion? The muscles you use are very important. The muscles in your fingers, hand and wrist are best for fine motor skills, but that means tiny changes in how you activate your muscles make significant changes to how well they work. Your arm, too, is less consistent than your back. You should use your rhomboid. This muscle pulls your scapula (or shoulder blade) toward your spine. In turn this brings your shoulder back, moving your elbow as well. That rotation is what you should use to execute your shot. Be it by introducing rotation into the release aid to have it go off or expanding your draw to pull your arrow through your clicker. At the point your shot executes you want to have your elbow lying directly on the path of your arrow. That way, at the point of execution the force pulls your release hand directly away from the arrow so as to ensure no lateral force is introduced to its flight.

To ensure no vertical force is placed on the arrow you must put tension in your rhomboid at the right height. If you use your lower rhomboid too much you will create a downward force through your release motion as well as introducing an upward force on your front shoulder that will cause your arrow to go high. Similarly, if you have too much bias to your upper rhomboid your arrow will tend to fly low.

Balancing this pull on your release rhomboid against your bow-side rhomboid is what gives you stability in your aiming. We will cover this in a different article, but the important part here is that you wish to find this balance at the moment of execution. By doing so you ensure your bow is at its steadiest as the shot releases, again reducing any unhelpful lateral forces on the arrow as the bow itself isn't moving. This is also helpful in the final key factor of a well-executed shot.

Confidence. Your execution will not be consistent if it is not done with confidence. If you play it safe when you shoot by aiming too carefully then your shot will take too long, you will fatigue, become unbalanced and your execution will not have the same accurate direction it needs, while your bow is moving more than it would normally. While you can’t just ignore aiming and execute regardless of where your sight is pointing you should still execute with confidence. A more confident shot will be far more forgiving than a hesitant one, because hesitancy introduces tension in muscles that are supposed to be relaxed, putting more forces into the arrow flight. The chances are, you may think you aren’t aiming centrally but executing confidently will still have your arrow fly closer to the middle than you thought.

There are two key take-aways: Alignment and balanced back tension to get the shot to go off so that your hand moves directly away from the path of the arrow, and, more than anything, trust your shot and execute with confidence.