Introduction
Shooting does not just end at target practicing or indoor beginner competitions. With experience and skill, archers must further their knowledge and learn how to shoot an arrow in natural outdoor conditions. An experienced archer should get his aim even in different conditions. Be it rain, wind, scorching sunlight, or snow. It is unlikely to control the weather, so it is better to prepare.
In many outdoor tournaments, you might use the wind better if you learn how to shoot a bow and arrow amidst the wind. Even the wind will not stop you from hitting the aim with the proper technique. It will indeed be challenging at the start, but every practice session will help you overcome your weaknesses. Here are a few tips to win against your most formidable foe in archery: wind.
Tips to Level up your Archery Game even in Winds
When shooting in the wind, you are up against mother nature. This may feel like a lot of burden, but shooting in the wind will be easier once you understand these tips.
Identify the Wind Patterns
First off, understand the pattern and direction of the wind. Is it light breezy or gusty intermittent flows? There can be a tailwind, headwind, or crosswind. To prove yourself as a skilled archer, you should learn how to shoot an arrow in all these different patterns. To identify the wind patterns, focus on the trees, banners, or posters, and assess the wind speed and direction.
The most commonly encountered wind directions are headwinds and tailwinds. Headwinds tend to make arrows fly high, so you should aim slightly lower than your exact aim. Tailwinds, on the other hand, force arrows to go lower. In such conditions, release your arrow a little higher to the aim. You may not hit right off in the first go, but practice will surely help.
Learn When to Shoot
It is better to shoot between the gusts in gusty winds so that the arrows hit right. In the case of constant winds, you should first take practice shots to judge how far the winds take the arrows. Another part of learning where to shoot is knowing how the wind affects your shot. Is it the course of the arrow or your ability to shoot consistently? This can be judged by increasing the poundage of the arrow and trying group shots. In most cases, it is the arrow flight, and hence you need to work on the releasing pattern and direction to counter the wind.
Be Confident and Resilient
In the whole process, you must trust yourself and be confident. Archers who start panicking when it gets windy miss their aim not because of lack of skill but due to fear. You must focus on the fundamentals of the shot process to target the aim and shot. Archers shooting in the wind should trust their judgment after evaluating the wind. Believing in yourself helps in two ways.
Firstly, it allows you to execute a solid shot less influenced by the winds than a feebly released shot. Secondly, this will help you accurately judge the next shots based on how the wind affected the arrow. Finally, arrows shot in fear, with hazy judgments, trembling hands, and in sureties will further decrease your chances of winning against the winds.
Set Posture and Control Body Movements
Your body posture should be upright, and you should be balanced before releasing the shot. This also includes building up inner strength. If you are thinking of taking outdoor shooting to professional levels, you must do bodyweight exercises and build strength. In addition to that, investing in high-end and specially designed equipment will also improve balance and shooting experience amidst windy weather.
Taking the Right Aim (Aiming-off)
Another pro-tip when aiming in the wind is to work on your aim. Aiming off is one of the techniques you can work on. It allows you to compensate for changing wind directions and is easier to practice. You simply have to imagine the arrow hitting different points on the target and not essentially the center.
Another widely used technique is bubbling off. This technique allows you to hit in the middle all the time while slanting your bow into the wind. If the wind flows from left to right, angle your top limb towards the left or push it against the wind. In this case, a bubble inside your level would be to the right of the middle of your aim. The major drawback of the bubbling technique is its lesser accuracy compared to aiming off.
Practice is the Key
The only way to win against the wind in a big competition is to defeat it several times at home and learn the art gradually. Nothing can teach you better than regular practice sessions in the wind itself. It is because how your bow and arrows behave in the wind can only be understood through hit and trial runs. So instead of calling it a day off when there is gusty wind outside, get ready and use this opportunity. Also, register to small-scale outdoor tournaments to learn to handle all this under pressure.
Use the Right Arrows
When shooting in the wind, you should use steadier, small-diameter arrows. To comply with these requirements, outdoor arrows have thinner shafts, lighter points, and are designed to have a straighter path. Therefore archers tend to pick the right type of arrows while shooting in windy conditions.
The Bottom Line
Now that you have all the tips regarding shooting an arrow in the winds lined up, you should take your sin against the wind. An archer should always push his boundaries when it comes to learning new styles of archery. Shooting in the wind involves no rocket science but dedication and practice.
