Archery Books for Archery Nerds

I figured I’d put together a list of archery books I’ve nerded out on over the past few years. No particular order here—they’re just grouped by category to keep things from turning into a quiver full of chaos.

Now, to be clear: I don’t treat every chapter in these books as gospel. Instead, I see them more like trail markers along my own archery journey—some I follow closely, others I nod at and keep walking. I’ve also included a note about who I think each book is best suited for, in case you’re trying to figure out where to start or what to add to that special section of your bookshelf.

Side note: Books? Who has time for those these days, right? But honestly - if an author has taken the time to carefully organize their thoughts, write, edit, rewrite (probably multiple times), and finally publish, there’s a good chance what they’ve created is more thoughtful and valuable than your average clickbait blog post. (Yes, even this one.)

Technique & Skill Development

1. The Archer's Reflex – Jes Lysgaard

   Focus: Shot process management, biomechanics, target panic remediation

   Audience: Intermediate to advanced archers and coaches

2. Total Archery: Inside the Archer – KiSik Lee & Tyler Benner

   Focus: NTS (National Training System), high-performance technique

   Audience: Serious recurve/barebow recurve competitors and NTS coaches

3. The Archery Drill Book – Steve Ruis & Mike Gerard

   Focus: Drills for consistent form and shot process

   Audience: Intermediate to advanced archers and coaches (great for structured practice)

4. Planning to Peak in Archery – Larry Wise

   Focus: Periodized training plans and performance tracking

   Audience: Competitive archers and coaches planning training cycles

5. The Art of Stringwalking – Martin L. Godio

   Focus: Barebow aiming and tuning with stringwalking technique

   Audience: Barebow archers (target or field) looking to master advanced aiming

   Mental Game & Performance Psychology

6. With Winning in Mind – Lanny Bassham

   Focus: Mental training system for competition

   Audience: Competitive athletes across all sports, especially archers under pressure

7. Attainment – Troy Bassham

   Focus: Additional mental game principles

   Audience: Athletes and coaches establishing or polishing a mental management program

   Traditional Archery & History

8. Become the Arrow – Byron Ferguson

   Focus: Visualization, instinctive aiming philosophy

   Audience: Traditional and instinctive shooters

9. Instinctive Archery Insights – Jay Kidwell, Ph.D.

   Focus: Psychology and science behind instinctive shooting. Visualization and confidence building for any archery style.

   Audience: Archers who want both intuition and analysis.

10. The Witchery of Archery – Maurice Thompson

    Focus: Humorous and poetic reflections on 19th-century bowhunting

    Audience: Lovers of classic outdoor writing and traditional archery roots

11. Hunting with the Bow and Arrow – Saxton Pope

    Focus: Stories and techniques from one of archery’s modern forefathers

    Audience: Traditional bowhunters, history buffs, and fans of Pope & Young legacy

    Equipment & Tuning

12. Tuning for Performance – Jake Kaminski

    Focus: Step-by-step tuning for Olympic recurve (also attributable to barebow recurve setup)

    Audience: Intermediate to advanced archers who want to self-tune their setup effectively