I’m fortunate enough to have three great archery shops in my town, all run by great folks with about a bazillion years of experience with the stick and string.
Full Draw Archery, Custom Archery Center and Backwater Outdoors serve a city of a couple of hundred thousand folks. There’s a bunch of bowhunters around here so they stay busy. The good thing, too, is all of the folks at the three stores are or have been deer hunters. They know what hunters do, how they hunt and what they’re describing when they’re looking for a bow, arrows or accessories. They’ve hunted with compounds and other bows. They’ve tried what they sell, so they know the PSE and Mathews and Bowtech and other bows or crossbows in their shops do this or that.
It’s definitely more beneficial than going to the Big Box Mart, asking a question and getting That Look of Confusion. Local owners with experience do matter, so support them if you can. They can give expert advice, make a tweak or suggestion, or just chew the fat.
Custom Archery Center was closest to our old home so I’d pop in there at lunch or evenings to shoot. George Harris would offer a few shooting tips, usually for me to “lower your elbow.” Harris probably said that more than anything over the years, and I try to remember it.
The best way to shoot a bow is rooted in some fundamentals, of course: a good stance with feet shoulder-width apart, a grip that doesn’t torque the bow, a smooth draw that forms a “T” with your arms and shoulders and the bow in line with each other, a consistent anchor point, and a smooth release.
Choosing a release, an anchor point, how you grip the bow or other parts of the process obviously vary with each shooter. But the basics, the foundation, shouldn’t deviate. Have good form, consistently, during practice or 3D competitions or whatever, and that will translate into the woods during deer season.
And keep that elbow down.
This is a nice video with the basics about how to shoot a compound bow: