Every time you shoot your bow, you strive to shoot exactly the same way every time, shot after shot. Accuracy with a bow means repetition. Doing the same thing exactly the same each and every time you shoot. Your best bet for such a repeatable action is a solid anchor point that you can reproduce no matter what the conditions and circumstances are.
An anchor point that is never the same, sometimes the same or most times the same spells trouble for the archer. Accuracy will suffer and the archer's confidence level will go down accordingly. The best way you have to make each shot the same is with a consistent, repeatable, comfortable anchor point. This is one of the foundation blocks for accuracy with a bow.

Which anchor point is best for you?

Your anchor point affects things like your draw length, release-aid alignment and finger placement against the jaw and/or cheekbone, and also what you see through your peep sight. It's hard to tell just by looking at a person exactly how they should place their hand against their face for the perfect anchor.

There are many factors to take into consideration including your facial features and bone structure. There are just too many variables to take into consideration to just jump to conclusions without thorough regard taken. Unless you have a qualified archery coach helping you the best you can do is go with what's typical and what tends to work for most. With this in mind you may only need to change your style a bit to find the anchor point that works best for you.

In hunting circumstances it can sometimes be tricky and at times almost impossible to duplicate your anchor point exactly each time unless you have perfected it before hand. Shooting at targets is more exacting than shooting at live animals. Target shooting is where you work on your consistency so in hunting situations anchoring the string comes naturally. Most animals won't hold still for you while you ready yourself for a shot. Your backyard targets or 3-D's at the range, they stand still when you prepare to shoot at them and you shoot these while you're relaxed. Wild animals have a tendency to get your adrenaline going causing anything but relaxed shooting conditions. Even some situations on the 3-D range will get you blood pumping harder than you would like.

Bulky hunting clothing is a common deterrent to less than perfect anchoring in field conditions. Practice with what you will be using in the hunting conditions you will encounter. Make sure to wear an arm guard when you hunt with long sleeve shirts and if you have a thick hunting jacket on use a chest protector of some kind to keep the bulk of the garment away from your string when you release the arrow. For the tree stand bowhunter your safety harness will serve a dual purpose in this instance, holding the excess material away from the bow string when the arrow is drawn and keep you safe from a nasty fall at the same time.

Consistence, How to get it?

Different shaped faces will need different anchor points. Going over tiny details to find the "perfect" anchor may seem like painstaking labour for some, but it's hardly a waste of time if you expect and desire consistency in your shooting. Your buddy's anchor may work fine for him but it probably will not work as well for you. You must work to find your own anchor point and even when you think you've found it, work some more to convince yourself that it's as good as it can get. Confidence in your equipment and yourself is needed to achieve your accuracy potential.

Make sure you have solid bone to bone contact between you drawing hand and the side of your face. A floating anchor is the result of not having any contact between the draw hand and face. This position is almost impossible to repeat with any accuracy and consistent for shot to shot repetition. Use a solid anchor position with at least one knuckle of the drawing hand in solid contact with the jaw.

Another thing that produces a floating anchor is not having the tip or side of your nose touching the bowstring at anchor. Touching the bowstring on the tip or the side of your nose is a sound, consistent way to produce accuracy from correct anchoring. Your nose touching the string is a proven checkpoint in combination with your string hand knuckles having bone to bone contact with the side of your face, and the peep sight centred with your shooting eye. When your nose just touches the string this is also consistent with correct draw length and not a draw length that is too long for you. With three points of contact to hone in on this is a solid base for accurate shooting.

The importance of a peep sight

A bowhunter not using a peep sight in conjunction with a sight on a compound bow is at a great disadvantage when shooting at varying angles (up and down) and using different shooting positions (sitting, standing, kneeling). A tied-in string peep has the potential to aligning your eye and the bowstring exactly. A peep sight allows you to centre the shooting pin even in touchy situations and still shoot well. Before tying in your peep sight make sure it's where it needs to be.

To check to see it your peep sight is in the right position you should draw your bow back with eyes closed and when opening your shooting eye only you should be able to see through the peep sight without moving your head even slightly. The peep sight should be centred to your eye, then you've got it positioned in the correct, natural way in accordance to your shooting style. If not, move it till you can draw, open your shooting eye and see through the peep sight clearly every time without moving your head. This is very important for consistent accuracy.

Bowhunters must be able to see through their peep sight in low-light conditions. Make sure the hole is large enough for this by testing it at dawn or dusk. If it is not big enough to see through, make it larger or get a larger peep sight and install it as above.

Finding your "perfect" anchor point isn't hard to do and it really is super-important for every archer out there. Whether you shoot at target, a 3-D or a live animal the important thing is the accuracy of the shot and how consistently you can make it. Take your time, play with various aspects of it and eventually you'll know whether or not you've found it. When you do or if you already have, then you know how comfortable and nice it is to shoot consistently day after day and not just shoot arrows and hope they hit the target. When you repeat your anchor, reliable accuracy is never far out of reach.

Wait!!! The ethical shot may just present itself if you wait for it.
Wait!!! The recommended time before pursuing the game animal.
Check your equipment, be prepared and hunt safe.
Wear your fall restraint while hunting from a tree stand.
Good hunting.

Ricky Comeau

"An archer wants to see how far away from the target he can get and still hit it.
A bowhunter wants to see how close he can get to his target before he shoots."
Dr. Mark Timney