I am often encountering different shooting situations in my hunting that may demand some flexibility in the way I draw the bow and shoot. For example, all my hunting is from the ground and I often make a stand 'on the fly' as I locate a new spot or wind conditions change. There may be tight branches or a stump to shoot over making a push-pull draw more reasonable. There could be a deer standing behind a balsam for a minute before it suddenly steps into the shooting window for a split second 'snap shot'....
My question is: who practices off season for all different types of shots by actually using many different draw and shooting styles? For me, this would be in contrast to the 'do it exactly the same way every time' lesson we hear so much. I do a bunch of swing draws with my eyes closed 5 yards from the blind bale, shoot some push-pull snap shots sitting on my arse at 15 yards, then maybe use a target style stiff arm slow expansion to conclusion shot with mantra at 20, then back to some swing draw snap shooting at various distances...etc etc. Anyone else found this type of practice pays off? The bucks in my woods seem to be steering me more and more toward this style of practice.
Dan
Absolutely. One of my buddies and I shoot 3D all summer like that. We take turns picking the shots, ignoring the stakes. Realistic hunting shots from behind trees, around obstructions, through openings in brush, awkward positions etc. Much more fun and really helpful.
That is what I do when I stump shoot. The only issue I have with it is that I think a good base needs to be formed first in order to truly establish consistency.
I try to keep my shots as consistent as possible, and spend the off season refining that method to be as accurate as possible. For me, consistency is upper body full draw alignment and my shot sequence. My legs and lower body can be twisted into a pretzel and I may have swung up on the draw instead of pulling straight back but if I can get my upper body alignment, anchor, and execute the shot the same way I'm usually in good order. It's been easier to fill the freezer the last few years this way.
I've missed too many deer early on trying to get shots off when I didn't really have a shot. I've been lucky with clean misses but probably don't want to push my luck any further.
Terry Green had a video of himself shooting from all different positions, standing, sitting, laying down, over the back, etc. Quite impressive! I'm not sure if it is still around but I bet Terry still has it.
Yes, I practice strange shooting positions constantly during the summer. Laying down, kneeling and holding the bow horizontal with the ground, etc. The great thing is, once you get confident with these types of shots, shooting from a standard shooting position seems really easy. I also practice leaning against a tree and shooting around behind me.
That's why I stump shoot.....not only is it fun but I like to try all kinds of "non normal" shots.
Yes, we have a small group that shoot these kinds of shots on a NFAA course that is wooded on both sides of the lanes. We speed shoot, take setting/kneeling shots, shoot through small openings through the trees on the sides of the lanes, and take some super long shots etc. with the best shot picking the next shot. It a lot of fun and I think it has helped us on our game shooting.
Yes.....still some "Bowhunters of Tradgang" DVDS left....let me see if I can find the trailer...
CLICK HERE TO VIEW TRAILER (http://www.tradgang.com/videos/firstwmv.wmv)
I only hunt on the ground and pick my set up to match the condition, bowhunter traffic, whether I am a lefty or a righty, and how good my warm shots have been. Thinking back, it seems that I have had many more shots that required something different than ones that allowed me to do the perfect backyard or indoor practice shot. It seems there is always a little something that needs to be done to accommodate a shot when still hunting or ground hunting without a blind. I have two things, don't stare at them before shooting, side vision, and when it is time to shoot get on with it and let the situation decide the tempo. For myself, a smooth quicker tempo is almost always better than an exaggerated slow motion tempo, but there have been exceptions where I was caught at partial draws, etc. When I hunted with the same form as my target style and bow sights, I realized that I would have to racially change how I did things no matter how good my target groups were. I had a terrible time getting off shots the way i wanted, especially when small game hunting. So I went back to what I saw what Fred Bear, Ben Pearson and Howard Hill did in the films that I had seen. That was a good season, I shot a Pearson Deadhead through a nice ten pointer on the move with my Bear takedown, when it was near zero out with a ground blizzard sneaking from plum thicket to plum thicket on a hill side late in the morning. Don't think of fluid and varied shooting as sloppy form, ending in a sloppy aim with a sloppy release. With practice a strong sure shot can be taken at a quicker fluid tempo with most any bow at varied positions. It is not such a good thing to have a good stiff form that works on targets nicely and then to pull the fluid fast shot out only for a hoper shot at a deer. I shot a doe up hill from me once while laying on my back. I practiced it many times and at less than twenty yards and in that position I knew that it would work. A guy has to get off his feet occasionally when sneaking around all day, I sometimes think deer hear something and come in to check out what they heard, it seems to happen more often that way when I have been still hunting really slow.
That's probably the best way for a bow hunter to practice. Standing in front of a bale punching bulls eyes all day does nothing but cement your basic form, which is fine, but does nothing to prepare you for shooting in the woods. As far as I'm concerned, once a person has good basic form, they should be out in the woods, stump shooting and taking odd/risky shots to find their real max yardage and to learn what they are and are not capable of with a bow and arrow. and to learn how to recover arrows too.
practice how you hunt, and hunt how you practice.
The more I analyze my shooting method the more it throws me off, no matter what position I'm shooting from. Focus, draw, release, then "think" the arrow to the target and most of the time I'll score.