SHOOTING WITH ONE EYE
Does anyone have any experience in archery with one eye? Recently I had an accident, and have lost the use of my left eye.
Now, I hold the bow with my left hand, and draw the string with my right.
If I try to shoot western style with the arrow on the left side of the riser, I have no problem. But, it is a concern when using the ring and the arrow on the "proper side of the bow." It seems to be that the riser is getting in the way of the target.
I never realized that I was using my left eye to see around the riser, but now am fully aware of the magnitude of the loss.
Does anyone have any experience with this, or know of anyone with experience with this?
Thank you
Joe
Now, I hold the bow with my left hand, and draw the string with my right.
If I try to shoot western style with the arrow on the left side of the riser, I have no problem. But, it is a concern when using the ring and the arrow on the "proper side of the bow." It seems to be that the riser is getting in the way of the target.
I never realized that I was using my left eye to see around the riser, but now am fully aware of the magnitude of the loss.
Does anyone have any experience with this, or know of anyone with experience with this?
Thank you
Joe
Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope you were able to resume other aspects of your life in reasonable order.
Have you tried sighting down the shaft so that the arrowhead is placed a little to the left of your intended target?
Have you tried sighting down the shaft so that the arrowhead is placed a little to the left of your intended target?
Joe, Yes, sorry for your loss. I suppose you will have to learn new techniques. This is a Mongolian woman with thumb ring shooting off the left side at WTAF 3. I love her expression.
Thank you for the pic. I am having a hard time imagining how her thumb and index finger could be touching the arrow and the arrow remain against the riser of the bow. Very talented.
Justin, Thank you, all seems to be going fine, studies will continue early next year and I still am able to chase the kids around.
Thank you
Justin, Thank you, all seems to be going fine, studies will continue early next year and I still am able to chase the kids around.
Thank you
Perhaps canting the bow clockwise and using the valley created with your hand and riser would help?
The other Mongolian woman in Jack's photo has her left eye open and she's muttering "Left a bit... left a bit..." :D
Seriously, your problem is going to be with calculating distance and not with aiming. Lots of people shoot with one eye closed, but to judge distance you need two.
Seriously, your problem is going to be with calculating distance and not with aiming. Lots of people shoot with one eye closed, but to judge distance you need two.
To accurately judge distance with one eye, head or body movement is needed. It's like when you are seeing a new object and you tilt your head and walk around it to judge it's size. It's still hard though.
I shoot right handed, but I aim with my left eye (shooting instinctive) even though my right eye is dominant. I am canting the bow clockwise to a point where the bow arm covers the target for the right eye. I tried to experiment with different bow angles where I would see the target with both eyes but I only feel comfortable and aim better with the bow covering the right eye.
I noticed that looking along the arrow with the left eye (aiming eye) helps a lot. To do this the arrow must be underneath the eye, and the only way to do this is to put the arrow under the chin (I am assuming right handed archer, arrow on the right side of the bow, aiming with left eye). I try to gently touch the arrow with the middle point of my chin and this provides for a good anchor for me. My draw length is quite long at 33", but i think a shorter draw would still allow this lowered position. Books describe this lowered anchor point as being blind and not very accurate in comparison to higher anchor points, but I'll use whatever works.
P.S. Sorry I just realized I was thinking about shooting just with the left eye, not the right eye. My apologies!
I shoot right handed, but I aim with my left eye (shooting instinctive) even though my right eye is dominant. I am canting the bow clockwise to a point where the bow arm covers the target for the right eye. I tried to experiment with different bow angles where I would see the target with both eyes but I only feel comfortable and aim better with the bow covering the right eye.
I noticed that looking along the arrow with the left eye (aiming eye) helps a lot. To do this the arrow must be underneath the eye, and the only way to do this is to put the arrow under the chin (I am assuming right handed archer, arrow on the right side of the bow, aiming with left eye). I try to gently touch the arrow with the middle point of my chin and this provides for a good anchor for me. My draw length is quite long at 33", but i think a shorter draw would still allow this lowered position. Books describe this lowered anchor point as being blind and not very accurate in comparison to higher anchor points, but I'll use whatever works.
P.S. Sorry I just realized I was thinking about shooting just with the left eye, not the right eye. My apologies!
I once performed some experiments on aiming using an eye patch over first my left eye and then my right eye. Naturally I am right-eye dominant and I cannot blink with my right eye separately whereas I can close the left eye. Wearing spectacles that corrected both eyes to the same strength of vision, I found that there was no advantage to using one eye or the other. Aiming was slightly different from eye to eye so I had to adjust. Once I had adjusted the groups were about the same. This was shooting with a thumb ring and on the right of the bow.
Regarding Mongols shooting on the left side of the bow, usually they put the thumb on the string far enough down from the arrow that they are not touching the nock. In the cases like your photograph, the wrist is usually turned far enough that the index finger is off the nock and no sideways pressure is applied. In other cases an "L" shaped rest is tied to the left side of the bow. Mostly, marks on the knuckles of the bow hand are used for sighting.
If you decide to shoot normal right hand thumb ring style, use slightly stiffer arrows that fly a bit to the right and sight down the arrow with your right eye. This style of aiming is called "internal aiming" in the Middle Eastern books. At long distances you can influence whether the arrow lands to the left or right by slightly varying the pressure on the nock by the index finger. However, this is difficult to do consistently and too much pressure results in slapping the grip with the arrow or breaking the side of the nock.
Regarding Mongols shooting on the left side of the bow, usually they put the thumb on the string far enough down from the arrow that they are not touching the nock. In the cases like your photograph, the wrist is usually turned far enough that the index finger is off the nock and no sideways pressure is applied. In other cases an "L" shaped rest is tied to the left side of the bow. Mostly, marks on the knuckles of the bow hand are used for sighting.
If you decide to shoot normal right hand thumb ring style, use slightly stiffer arrows that fly a bit to the right and sight down the arrow with your right eye. This style of aiming is called "internal aiming" in the Middle Eastern books. At long distances you can influence whether the arrow lands to the left or right by slightly varying the pressure on the nock by the index finger. However, this is difficult to do consistently and too much pressure results in slapping the grip with the arrow or breaking the side of the nock.
It has been a little while since I had been on here and was not aware of all the responses. Very helpful, thank you every one. I am going to try some of the techniques tomorrow.