Different Planes

For my final post, I decided to test author and experienced archer Brian J. Sorrells theory of shooting arrows from different planes. According to Brian J. Sorrells, he explains, "Canting, or tilting the bow to the side gets the upper limb out of the line of sight for normal shooting" (Sorrells 52). What Sorrells is explaining is that the more tilt you have in your bow, the increased chance of hitting your target (because nothing is blocking your view). Another plane Sorrells suggested was, "When bare shaft tuning, do not cant (tilt) the bow, but hold it as close to vertical as possible" (Sorrells 52). Unlike before, Sorrells is telling the reader that you can shoot with your bow being vertical, however he doesn't elaborate on whether or not it is better than the first method suggested.

To test these ideas, I decided to shoot arrows with my bow being on horizontal and vertical planes. I chose a horizontal plane because at that angle, no part of the bow is blocking your view of the target. While I was testing these methods, I noticed that the horizontal plane had more arrows scattered throughout the target and a greater distance from the bull's eye than the vertical plane. The conclusion I drew from this test was that the vertical plane gave me a better chance of hitting the bull's eye than the horizontal plane. What do you think the author's purpose was for including the cant (tilt) method if it didn't work?

Horizontal Plane Results

Vertical Plane

Shooting Form

According to Brian J. Sorrells, “A solid stance is the foundation of good shooting form” (Sorrells, 58). What Sorrells is trying to convey to the reader is that a good stance (like standing up or kneeling) is heavily reliant on the shooting form you have. I decided to test this quote by using two different shooting forms. One way was having my feet parallel to the target and having my feet turned 90 degrees away from the target. While I performed this test, I observed that neither shooting form hindered nor improved my accuracy. The conclusion I drew up from this test was that there was no one shooting form that worked better than any of the forms that you can use. If you were currently in archery, which shooting form would you use?

Results of Shooting Form 1

Results of Shooting Form 2

 

Parker Woolworth: Stance

Another method of improving accuracy that the guide had was to do different Stances. The stances that the guide recommends are “to kneel on both knees…The second is to kneel on the left knee and extend the right leg out to the side.” (Sorrells, pg. 89). Another stance the guide suggested was to sit down and shoot. After testing these stances out, the one that made me more accurate was kneeling down. Not only was it accurate, but it was safer. While I was shooting arrows while sitting or in a kneeling-extension stance, every once in a while, arrows would bounce off the target and would come inches away from hitting me. In conclusion, why would the author include accuracy improvement methods in the guide if they are dangerous to you and others?

Parker Woolworth: Arrows

One of the most frustrating things about archery is trying to decide which type of arrows you should use. According to the guide, “Before choosing your arrow shaft, you must know two things: your draw length and the draw weight of your bow at your draw length.” (Sorrells, Pg. 19). What this quote is saying is that you must select an arrow that doesn’t weigh too much and isn’t too long. Would you pick the longer, lighter arrow that travels a longer distance, or pick the heavier, shorter arrow that deals more damage to your targets? For my next task, I wanted to test which type of arrow is better for shooting at long distances.

For this task, I used 2 different types of arrows: ¼ inch and 1/8 inch arrows. While I was performing my experiment, I noticed that the ¼ inch arrows where getting closer to the bullseye slightly more than the 1/8 inch arrows. I also noticed that the 1/8 inch arrows tended to get caught in the wind and spiral out of control. In the end, the conclusion I drew up from this experiment was that the ¼ inch arrows work better at hitting targets from a further distance than the 1/8 inch arrows.