shooting off of the hand more accurate??

[rudderbows]

I recently started shooting off of my hand VS. an arrow rest. Found out I am hitting more accuratly more often this way. Strange enough, anyone else do the same thing? Why??

[radius]

logically no reason i can think of...in fact slight differences of hand placement could cause inconsistency in shooting...i shoot off the hand because i don't like built'up arrow rests on my self bows, i just put a mark on one side and sometimes a thumb groove on the other.  Accuracy is good.

[dragonman]

as long as I have a consistent hand position marked on my bow, i find it to be just  as accurate, not sure if I'm more accurate.

[adb]

I only shoot off the fist with my heavy warbows.

[markinengland]

A fixed rest is more accurate or at least more consistent because it can not move.

Off the hand does give you a much more direct contact with your shooting though which may explain why some people do better with it. I shoot terribly with any bow with a shelf because my instinct is so used to having the arrows lower down and on my hand. some would say I shoot terribly all the time!

[NTProf]

I tried a shelf several times, but I could never shoot as well as off my hand. But I don't have any reason. And perhaps the hand is more "forgiving" than a "hard" shelf. But I don't know.

[George Tsoukalas]

Not for me. I use a little leather shelf. When people use shelves they sometimes hold a smidgeon below the rest. The closer you get to your fist the more the accuracy. IMHO. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Jawge

[Kegan]

Not for me. I use a little leather shelf. When people use shelves they sometimes hold a smidgeon below the rest. The closer you get to your fist the more the accuracy. IMHO. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Jawge

I started using small leather shelves too. Turns out I can shoot faster with them- who would have guessed ? And Jawge hit the nial on the head, most people find it easier to shoot with the arrow closer to their hand because it's more pointing along their line of sight- just like anchroing the arrow closer to your eye.

[Jesse]

 I would think a shelf thats too elevated will make your point on range even further out leaving a bigger visual gap between arrow tip and target. Even if you dont consciously aim I would still think it makes it harder. Just my opinion. I didnt really test it out I shoot off a shelf but I'm not opposed to shooting off the hand. If it works for you then go for it. 
How ya been Jim?

[robbsbass]

  I have found that shooting off the shelf more accurate because to put it in simple terms, your arrow is always in the same position. If you are shooting off your hand, your hand position can change, also if you are wareing gloves in the winter, the position of your arrow will change again. To me, to be a good shot you have to be consistant, and to be consistant every has to be done exactly the same every time you take a shot. This is just my opinion.

[Kegan]

Shelf, elevated rest, your hand- there seems to be some misunderstanding. When shooting off your hand, the only incosistencies would be in the bow's action, not your shot. Slefbows aren't perfectly consistent, so it's not as big a deal as with, say, a modern recurve.

Likewise, an elevated rest means your hand will just be slightly lower than otherwise, the aim being the same. However, with an elevated rest variations in cant will throw off your form more dramatically than shooting with the arrow closer to your hand. Likewise, some moving targets only give you time to "point", and here your brain my get in the way of your practice. Other than that, everything about the shot would be the same.

[JBL]

Since shifting over to the thumb draw and shooting of my hand my accuracy has improved tremendously.  I think it is just the whole concept of being more "in tune" with the instrument.  I place my hand in the same spot everytime and just shoot so there is no difference between each arrow.