What is blank bailing, and why do you need to do it
Leigh Hauck March 6, 2025
What if there were an archery training technique that could solve any target panic issues you may have, improve your confidence, long range accuracy, and consistency, and that could be done in any basement or garage at just 3-5 yards? You might think that’s impossible, but it’s not. This magical technique is called blank bailing, and if you aren’t using it – you are missing out.
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What is blank bailing?
Blank bailing is the act of shooting your bow at close range – 3 to 5 yards – with no spots on your target, and your sight covered. By shooting at close range without anything to aim with or aim at, you are going to focus solely on your form, not on aiming.
When we commit all our archery practice to the range, we tend to focus more on aiming than form. This gets worse as you increase the range you are practicing at and tends to compound into greater issues.
When you focus so intensely on aiming at the spot on the target, your form gets ignored. If you start shooting poorly, you will focus harder on that target spot and less on your form.
This can get out of control quickly, causing many forms of target panic. Have you ever had the issue where you tend to hover your pin below the target, and find it very difficult to bring your pin up and onto the spot? Have you ever developed a nasty flinch on your release? Yup, these are both forms of target panic that blank bailing can solve.
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There are only so many things you can focus on at once, so you need to train your form into your brain and your body so that it happens without thought, so that you can focus on aiming without anything else suffering.
The truth is that you do not need to be taught how to aim. You do it instinctively every day. When you throw a baseball back and forth with your son or daughter, you are aiming. When you park your car in your garage, you are aiming the vehicle. You don’t think about it, you weren’t taught how to do it, you just do it. Archery is no different.
You do need to learn and practice your archery form however, and since you already know how to aim you will tend to focus more on that than your form if you aren’t careful.
Your foot position, hip position, hand position, drawing form, settling in, anchor points, release, and follow through are all key points you need to focus on without being distracted by aiming. *Enter blank bailing*.
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How to blank bail?
The first step is to cover up any spots you have on your target, and set it up at super close range. Take a sheet of paper or cardboard, and cut it to the size of your target. There should be nothing to aim at whatsoever.
The second thing is to cover your sight so that you have nothing to aim with. You can use a dedicated sight cover, or just put a sock over your sight. In the winter months when I am not shooting outdoors and only blank bailing, I take my sight right off my bow. It really helps to have absolutely no aiming points to focus on.
Next, you’re going to set yourself up as close as you can to the target while still being able to safely shoot. Remember, the point of this is not to hit a certain spot, it’s just about getting focused reps in and safely putting those arrows into the target, not your wall.
Now, you are going to take a couple of shots and realize that you have no idea what to focus on. That’s proof of your need for blank bailing! One step at a time, you will assess your form.
All of those points I mentioned above need to be honed and perfected. If you need help with what proper form looks like, I can’t recommend John Dudley’s videos on YouTube enough. There is a reason that I haven’t done any form videos on my channel, and that is because he has covered it so well.
As you hone each component of your form, you will develop a deep muscle memory. You’ll come to your target one morning and find that you aren’t thinking about your form anymore. You are just shooting, without aiming, and it will feel right. That is the magic of blank bailing when it comes together!
When should you blank bail?
I blank bail all through the winter, I make it apart of my morning routine most days. A cup of coffee, a podcast or some old-time rock n’ roll, and a couple of dozen focused shots has become almost like a meditation for me. It sets the rest of my day.
I come back to blank bailing multiple times through the spring and summer. Naturally, you will have bad days of shooting and you will come in and out of periods of target panic and bad habits. When that happens, go back to blank bailing for a few days in place of your range sessions.
Blank bailing is an archer’s reset button.
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Does blank bailing really work?
At my archery shop I offer a 6-week shooting course. Archers will come to me once a week for an hour-long shooting session in my shop. Your sight gets covered on day one, and it doesn’t come off until week 6.
Plenty of guys back out of the course as soon as I tell them that they won’t be shooting past 5 yards for over a month. But, the ones who have completed the course remind me every time I see them just how crazy that course seemed at the time, and just how much it changed their lives as archers – and they all blank bail regularly to this day!
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If you have any questions or would like to discuss the topic further, please feel free to reach out to us at sales@toothofthearrowbroadheads.com
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