I don't know if it's just me or what.
I can go out and shoot at my target at 20 yards and have groups that go from a couple of inches to about a foot, but every time I shoot at one of my dogs toys, like an old soccer ball, I can drill it at unknown distances.
Is this something normal? My target's about 2' square and I've painted a blaze orange spot about 3" at the center for a "spot".
Keith
same thing for me, i think its knowing the distance and just feeling the shot are two totaly different things.
Aim small, miss small! For me I can shoot better at a single small object than at at a target butt. I can concentrate better that way. Getting close to the season I will take only one shot at each of my 3 deer targets. A week before the season I will only take one shot a day, sometimes one in the morning and one in the evening.
Try shooting one arrow and retrieving it before you shoot another.
Pat
I am exactly the same way. I can usually hit a tennis ball at 30 with my judo's but put a target up on the range and I am all over the place at the same distance. I think it is just focusing and concentration!!
Glad to hear I am not the only one. I do the same thing. I was having a heck of a time last night shooting groups and when I was walking back one time I spied a pop can in the woods and drilled it. I paced off 25 steps. I can't figure it out either. Concentration is the name of the game. I just hope the elk I shoot at has a pop can sized tuff of hair I can aim at.
You need to clear your mind while your shooting weather it be at dot's or a tuff of grass in the yard.
Its so simple, yet most never grasp the simplicity.
Keith. Cover the target with something of the same color to make up a big square. Then put a very very small dot on it, not in the center. Aim for the dot. Remember what I did in the range by taking the targets off the bales and then putting a 1 inch dot on it..you will aim smaller. If you can find an old burlap sack, (sort of the color of a deer) you will be amazed at your groups. Hard to focus on a spot when you see multiple colors
Better yet, crumple the paper and shoot for a shape or shadow like you would on a live animal. I try not to use any artificial focal point to shoot at because the animals I shoot at don't have any.
Trying to shoot groups is detrimental to my shooting. Once the first arrow is in the target it becomes an artificial focal point. Put 4 or 5 in the butt and you also start worrying(even if it is subliminal) about hitting the other arrows. Stump shooting, which I don't do enough of, is probably the best practice for instinctive shooting because each target is unique and each distance is different. I do shoot at a large foam block most of the year but it is mainly to keep my archery muscles in shape but also to hone my form. Concentration is the key. Pat
Try practicing with only 1 or 2 arrows per round. You'll get tired of walking to get your arrows and you'll slow down and concentrate. Works for me.
Eric
question: is the dog carrying the toys when you shoot?
No - but the cat might be. :D
Steve
All good stuff guys. I have dropped to only shooting a few arrows at a time.
I've got an old piece of burlap Charlie, I'll give that a shot.
Stump shooting does sound like a better alternative, i.e., more fun, think I need to go back into the woods!
Keith
Keith, If you have the fundamentals down pat, when it comes to crunch time you WILL put the arrow where it needs to go! Think positive! Pat
paper targets are great if your hunting paper targets. Try 3-D targets, stumps, balls, soda bottles anything that will make you pick a small spot or shadows like Pat B said.
I like shooting at a NFAA "Hunter Face" All black target with a white dot -- I shoot better and it helps me concentrate better.
I find it difficult to shoot a "Field Face". With the primary color being white it has less contrast than the Hunter Face...
Now this is my opinion, take it or leave it. When I find a target or situation that I find "comfortable" while shooting, vs. one that is not so comfortable; I make a concisous effort to work on the uncomfortable situation MORE!
Again my opinion, but once you have your form elements down, you know how to shoot, you've done before and you've probably done it very well at different points in time...So the question becomes why sometimes and not others?
You can probably pick apart the form elements that contribute to any problem, but my opinion is all problems (once you know how to shoot) stem from stress, lack of confidence or fatigue (mental and physical)--In short most shooting problems begin in your head.
So I'm of the opinion that the worse thing to do is to hide in your comfort zone. If you don't shoot dots well, make an effort to shoot dots once a week. If you don't shoot well in front of people, invite a group over to watch you shoot once a week or make an effort to shoot in a couple of tournements each year.
Step outside of comfort zone and face stressful situations head on. It will make you a better archer and Bowhunter -- After all, Bowhunting is facing stressful situation an executing at a specific momement
I am the same way. Just can not focus when I shoot at a standard target ring. I shoot off my deck into the ground at leaves and clover. Shooting gets much tighter. I have painted my bag target black for some bear practice. Shooting large black object in the dark should get me ready for the bear hunt. Thought about proping it up agaist a 55 gallon drum.
You just need to learn to shoot for the center of things.The center of a 4ft target and the center of a dog toy are all the same size.If you can hit one you should be able to hit the other.
We all get stuck with a 'bored mind' and can't hit anything. When that happens you have to do something to wake that 'predator focus' to use a hammy phrase. I also clear the decks and aim at tiny spots, marks etc. Another thing I do is to hang a small piece (size of an egg)of styrofoam from a long string in front of the butt. It drifts and turns in the slightest breeze and keeps your mind focussed. Suddenly you are shooting again! You can also hang a tennis ball from a long piece of elastic, it will bounce around with the same result in your shooting. Candle flames are 'easy' for the same reason, the motion of the flame is easier to focus on.
chrisg
QuoteOriginally posted by mysticguido:
paper targets are great if your hunting paper targets. Try 3-D targets, stumps, balls, soda bottles anything that will make you pick a small spot or shadows like Pat B said.
3-D targets, stumps, balls, soda bottles are fine if you are hunting 3-D targets, stumps, balls, soda bottles :D
What James said - learn to hit the spot - any spot.
Steve
I see and hear people at 3ds talking all the time about trying not to miss.As long as you shooting trying not to miss you will never shoot as well as you could.You have to shoot to hit not the whole target but that center of the smallest thing you can focus on.Never approach a target with the mindset of trying not to miss.You always shoot for the center be it a 10 or 12 ring or one spine on the side of a pine cone or dimple on that golf ball..A smart guy that used to be on this sight once said "you will never hit sh&& by trying not to miss". :)
I stick a white plastic coffee cup lid on my dark red target. I used to shoot groups of four. Usually my first shot is the best, and I began to wonder if I had Robin Hood panic. (Not that the first arrow really had to worry about that.)
So for the heck of it, I made a son-of-William-Tell head out of a white bleach bottle stuffed with plastic grocery bags to sit on top of my block target. I put a red dot on the white background about the size of a silver dollar.
Now I shoot my first arrow at the white on red disk and then go for the smaller red on white. Now the second shot is better, and usually dead on.
I stopped shooting to miss, and now shoot a couple, take a break, relax, and shoot a couple.
This is probably no way to train for the Olympics, but it sure feels like it a better way to make one shot count. It seems like reversing the target/background from white on red to red on white really sharpens my focus.
I've never heard of the "try not to miss" thing, personally that concept makes absolutely no sense to me. If you were trying "not to miss", why in the heck would you be shooting in the first place? Isn't the goal to hit what you're aiming at?
Maybe I'm reading more into that than I should be.
I like the idea of the hanging targets to keep you focus, as well as the contrasting colors, think I'll try both of those.
Keith
"Try not to miss" is a negative way of thinking. Positive thinking is what puts the arrow where it is supposed to be! Pat
Keith many people when faced with a small target or a longer one are more focused on where there arrow is going if they miss than trying to pick the center spot on it.They go into it will not missing as the main focus instead of trying to hit the 10 ring.It is just a mind game like most things in archery.All I am saying if your mindset is trying not to miss a target you are just shooting at the whole target.When you get beyond that and start shooting for the smallest area on a target instead you have the right mindset to improve your shooting.jmo
Thanks for the break down on it, sounds like that's what I've been doing on the target.
Keith
I shoot broadheads at cans and clay pigeons; which both give great satisfaction when you hit them. I am now shooting at pieces of the clay pigeons.
A favorite target of mine are candles. Nothing more fun than shooting in the dark of the moon at lit candles ( I would have to aim 48 degrees up to not hit my own land). I really like candle shoot competitions. More laughter that way than any other way I have shot.
aim small - hit small