Trad Gang
Main Boards => The Shooters FORM Board => Topic started by: razorsharptokill on May 24, 2007, 06:20:00 PM
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How many of you estimate the range to your target, and how many just look at it and just "know" that if you execute good form and follow through that you can hit it? I guess gap versus instinctive comes into play.
I had a guy ask me how far it was to an object and could I hit it with my bow. I told him, "it doesn't matter how far it is. If it is within my ability/range I know it. That is the freedom a bare bow offers you."
Just curious what others "see" when sizing up a target?
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I use a combination of techniques. For short distances, up to about 20-25 yards, I shoot entirely instinctive. Usually about 25 yards and up I start to estimate distance. I "aim" instinctively but often intentional add a little for the elevation. Beyond 30-35 yards, I pay a lot of attention to estimating the distance and aim using gap or other means. Right now I do well up to 50 yards and start to fall apart again beyond about 60 or so. I need more practice time at the longer distances.
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I had a similar thing happen to me this past weekend. I was out stumping with a young man that uses training wheels and he asked how far I thought a particular fern mound was. I told him I had no idea, then sunk my blunt right in the middle of it. Then the young man congratulated me and told me it was about a 40yd shot. He then put his pin on it and proceeded to shoot high. I paced the shot and it turned out to be just shy of 30yds. To me 30yds, 40 yds doesn't make any difference if I feel I can make the shot then I'll take the shot. I guess to answer your question it's not really anything that I actually see but how I feel about the shot. I don't like to let the idea of different distances come into play because that's the sort of thing that would distract me from the shot and then it doesn't matter how close the shot is, I'm gonna miss.
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I guess you could say that in the beginning I was a gap shooter in that I consciously saw the arrow in my lower peripheral vision and aligned it with the target. As time went by I got to where I didn't remember seeing the arrow at all. In between those two points in time were thousands of arrows launched downrange at anything from 5 to 20 yards as my brain and body learned a new skill. I really don't think I can call my shooting "instinctive" because I learned how to do it over time. If it was instinctive I'd have been able to do it from Day 1 without all the time and effort I spent. As it is, I have complete confidence in being able to put a broadhead into the kill zone of a deer out to 20 yards. I know what 20 yards looks like and I also pace off distances from a blind and mark them with rocks or whatnot. I'm not much of a gambler when it comes to shooting at a deer. I wasn't when I hunted with a flintlock and the only thing that has changed since I went to a bow is the maximum range at which I'll take a shot.
John
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Originally posted by Jim/LI:
I use a combination of techniques. For short distances, up to about 20-25 yards, I shoot entirely instinctive. Usually about 25 yards and up I start to estimate distance. I "aim" instinctively but often intentional add a little for the elevation. Beyond 30-35 yards, I pay a lot of attention to estimating the distance and aim using gap or other means. Right now I do well up to 50 yards and start to fall apart again beyond about 60 or so. I need more practice time at the longer distances.
Same here my 56lb bow shoots pretty flat so at 30 I put my arrow in line with my target and move up about an inch then focus in and run my shot.
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I shoot a bow the same way I would try and "bean" someone with a rock. I would never shoot at a deer with trad gear beyond 22 yds, but last year I killed a doe at 27 yds with a perfect shot. That is sort of contradictory huh? Guess what I'm saying is I did'nt think about the distance. The shot felt right and I took it. I have let several deer walk at ranges of 20 yds and less because I just did'nt feel confident in making the shot or it did'nt feel right.
Think about this: Everytime you consider taking a shot at anything (target or game), you have a level of confidence in whether or not you can hit what you are shooting at. If you want me to shoot at a coke machine from 10 yards for a dollar a shot, I'll shoot till I can't draw my bow or you're out of money and I bet you would too. That is the level of confidence I want when I shoot at a deer. Sometimes it happens at ranges longer than I expected. Interestingly, the bad shots I've made on deer have been chip shots that I must have taken for granted or lost concentration on, but I think I learned from them.