Just as simple as the title. I know to pick the spot. I've learned that I don't do it as often as I'd like in the heat of the moment.
When it happens, for me at least. I can't recall much of anything other than THE spot. My eyes seem to be at a squint, more than a wide open, suprised feeling type thing. But I've failed miserably many times at describing how it "feels" to pick the spot and hit it.
Anybody care to try and describe how it "feels"
"Tunnel vision" is about as close as I can describe it, the spot I want to hit is in perfect focus, everything else is blurry.
I just picture the arrow where I want it. When everything is right thats where the arrows goes.
And it feels soooo goooood.
I would have to agree it almost feels like tunnel vision. I just focus on The SPOT and it just happens not always but when it does it's great!
Seems like on those perfect shots (which are fewer than I would like, LOL) I recount the shot and can't really recall what it felt like. I just know those are the times I had all focus on the SPOT.
You just let everything go except that one LITTLE thing you are looking at disappear. When you get it you will know. I love when I'm bird hunting with my longbow and a bird flushes, or is about to land in the decoys. I get tunnel vision so bad, all I can see is one feather that I have picked out, and I don't even see the bird, same thing happens when deer hunting.
I guess the best way to describe it is tunnel vision like never before as mentioned by slivrslingr.
good stuff folks! I know when it happens. I'm just struggling to have it happen every time!
I somehow think if I can put a description to " IT" It might help to make it happen more often.
keep it coming folks!
On a deer it is a little crease or tuft of hair. On a burlap target it is an arrow hole. On a 3-d it is a chewed up section in the middle of the chest.
QuoteOriginally posted by swampdrummer:
good stuff folks! I know when it happens. I'm just struggling to have it happen every time!
I somehow think if I can put a description to " IT" It might help to make it happen more often.
keep it coming folks!
What I do may help.
Take the whole picture in. Now zoom in, keep zooming in like some special effects on a movie. Keep zooming in until you release.
Sounds chinky...but is easier for me than just trying to pick a really really small spot...or pretending there's a tunnel.
Gave up on "spot" (never worked on live game for me). I now use the "button" technique as encouraged by Jay Kidwell in his book. Has made a big difference.
One thing that has taught me to pick the spot is to hang a small fishing float from a string in front of my target. I can really concentrate on the spot and not notice the overall target as much. It has really helped my overall shooting, besides that it's really cool to smack that small float at 30 yards.
I can't wait to feel the way you guys describe but I haven't gotten there yet. It doesn't work for me for some reason. It seems like I shoot worse when I focus that hard. Am I the only one?
I think there are times when I'm just as surprised that I didn't hit my spot as there are as when I did.
Yeah, I know it sounds crazy hilarious but it's true for me. I'm not great shot and most likely will never be but it's one of my goals.
The reason I'm surprised with the misses is I sure thought I had that spot drilled in my target mentally but then why the miss? I have to go back and look at my form, which can be tough at times because I've dropped "form" from my mind for the sake of "spot". For me, one doesn't work without the other.
I use a tiny banty sized Styrofoam egg suspended out in front of a backstop not so much as my target as a point of reference.
One of my other goals is trying to figure out exactly how am I using that point of reference. About the time I think I have it figured out, I know I don't. Why? Because there are times when I hit and I didn't think it would or I thought I've nailed it but missed badly.
For me one good shot means absolutely nothing and the same is true of one bad shot but if I can figure out the why and how of both I hopefully can reproduce the one I want and avoid the one I don't.
My bow is an object and will do the same thing every time(assuming there aren't any physical flaws in it) if I do the same thing every time.
When I am successful in pulling off that shot that is "perfect" the only way I can describe it is "Awe!" and believe me, it is awesome!!
I truly think we are talking about the same thing but if I've missed my intended target please let me know.
Your Humble Servant
God bless,Mudd
PS" also if you have a magic answer for me as to how to do it even 95% of the time, please tell me.
Here's a word that comes to mind for me:Exhausting!
Not in the negative sense, but when I am really drilling down, I find I get tired more easily. When I get tired of that level of concentration, I tend to get sloppy.
But true to form, Ole Roy nailed it above when he says that the "spot" is only part of the equation: Form, follow-up and follow-thru are crictical as the 'spot.'
I guess that is why more and more "teachers" are referencing the blind bale! work the bale, run the shot over and over and THEN focus on developing the spot. And each time you start to get sloppy and miss....back to the bale.
My Mind gets lazy doing that, too... it takes a lot of concentration and the world I live in keeps interferring and pushing in ruining the shot. Pushing out the world to focus on the running the shot and picking a spot then gets---exhausting!
But love the results. Still like a kid when that bright nock shows up exactly where I was looking!
Make sure you are not over extending, that will cause you to rotate you head away from looking at the "spot". Keep your head in a position that allows you to look at the target comfortably.
Picking a spot sounds easy, but alot of times, either on live animals or 3d/stumping, I forget to focus on a small spot and look at the whole target resulting in a miss or less than accurate shot. However, unless their is a tuff of hair, mark, or discoloration I have a hard time getting the tunnel vision like people mentioned. Sometimes I have to picture an imaginary object, like a button or bottle cap, on the intended target which helps me focus even more. Good luck.
THAT is why I Cant My LongBows, Ever so Slightly, it Opens up My "Field of Vision" so I can Really Concentrate on that Feather, or Hunk of Fur!!
Many, MANY Practice Arrows, Bad Shots due to My Concentration on the Spot and I let My Draw Slip, or I get Antsy and Turn Into an Arrow Machine Gun by Snap Shooting!! :archer: :clapper: :biglaugh:
Great topic. Please keep it going.
Since my stroke two years ago, my ability to concentrate on a spot has been greatly compromised. My form and strength has not and continues to be addressed using the blind bale. My groups were far better years ago when I had no form and could concentrate on a spot. Concentrating on a spot back then was natural and didn't give it much thought. I used to see only the spot and the arrow shade opening.
To me, picking, focusing and concentrating on the spot is equal to or possibly exceeds form.
Well I have continued to shoot hundreds of arrows weekly striving to use proper form, yet I have been virtually covey shooting. This art of traditional archery has its mystique that I am incessantly tormented to continue to shoot and shoot and shoot in an attempt to embrace that euphoric feeling when it all comes together.
I must retrain my mind to pick a spot, focus and concentrate. Please keep this valued information coming for it is greatly appreciated.
To me it's like a green light goes off in my head, then it all kind of happens without much thinking on my part. If I don't get that green light I shouldn't be shooting. I do seem to do best if the "spot picking" starts to happen as soon as I see an animal and decide I want to kill it.
When I see my target approaching I start looking at the vitals already picking a spot. I stay completely focused on were I want the arrow to hit. I do not take my eyes off of it. I'm not checking my stance or how my fingers are on the string. When the target is in range I drop the string.
After i DRAW.. ...i Focus on a a spot......move my arrow in line with spot through secondary vision...relax the back of my hand......remove tow strap from fanny pack. :) .............I'm a pause shooter..1-10 second hold....i decide exactly the millisecond to release arrow with my brain....nothing about my shot is unconscious....all i practice now is form, form,form ,form, follow through, follow through, follow through......I do not focus on a spot till i draw because it cuts down on Premature release or "short draw".........thats works for me in my case..................there are tons of very very good instintive game shots, however i need more "rules" during my shot to correct my un-athleticism.
It feels excellent :bigsmyl: )
Shoot straight
Margly
Good stuff folks. I've been thinking about this all day. In the last year and a half since I started shooting trad again I can only remember twice( on game) that I've KNOWN the arrow was goinging to the SPOT.
This thread has at least given me some sort of description of that FEELING.
I can do it all day long on a target in the yard. I'm even shooting a blank target and just picking out little scuffs or wrinkles in the foam to shoot at.
I'm at the point now that I can identify the causes of the misses on game.Its usually not picking the spot but occasionally it happens when I do silly stuff like not bending at the waist out of a tree stand. Last week I shot under a hog at 10 yards.I was standing thigh deep in mud and the hog crossed behind me. I didn't reach full draw. Knew it as soon as I let fly... I'm blessed to be able to hunt pigs year round on my own property so I get lots of chances to refine my shooting. the shootings been good enough to keep us in pork all summer but theres been enough misses in there that I want to improve. a lot!
Just have to get to the point where its not happening. Or at least its not happening more often than not! LOL
Thanks again guys. Keep em coming!
I liked the green light reference above.
I have drawn back on animals and tried to make it happen by guessing where to hold, what to look at ect. Not too successful.
When I am actually in a position that my mind is comfortable with, my mind tells me quite clearly, "I can hit that". And I do!
BigArcher
"In The Zone"
When you proactice enough and form and everything is at your optimal best and you have done it enough it happens you become part of the equation and everything clicks. The best hitters in baseball after seeing the ball enough can pick up the spin much the same as picking a spot. It becomes automatic and you can feel it when you are. But to keep it you have to practice... a lot.
Standing at the toilet in the dark and hearing the splash in the bowl!!!
Its all a blurrrrrr to me. As the critter is running off I seem to snap out of it and wonder what just transpired. Who needs drugs just go bowhunting.
In archery, if your mind wanders so will the arrow.
The best I ever was as a traditional shot was in the early 70's (17-20 years old). In those days I could visualize a "tube" going from me to the spot I was trying to hit. I began forming the "tube" (the tunnel some refer to above) during pre-draw. Once you get that feeling of zooming in on the small spot you must then take your mind off aiming (your eye will keep it going) and think about something that causes you to follow-through. I think "thumb to the shoulder".
I teach archery to teachers, most of which have never shot a bow. After shooting blank bales at 7 yards I reveal the tareget. The arrow groups get larger. This is because the teachers forget to focus on the "back of the shot" (follow-through). Once the point is made the groups re-tighten. Then I have them put a tiny piece of tape on the target to look at (pick a spot). For most the groups tighten much more then.
You probably already know that if you poke an arrow hole in the middle of a paper plate and look at it, your groups are smaller than when shooting at the paper plate without a hole. You can prove this by not looking at the hole, just the entire plate. This stesses the importance of seeing or imagining that errant hair, shadow, etc. that is in the kill zone of the deer, hog, etc. you want to kill.
Finally, there is another way of aiming without sights that works very well. It is caught "point of aim". There are three parts to it. 1). When you anchor see the bow string in the corner of your eye. 2). Then see the point of the arrow. 3). Put the point of the arrow on, below, or above the target, depending upon how far you are from the target. For instance at 14 yards, the point of my arrow (when I experimented with this) has to be about 6 inches below the heart to hit it. Of course with this method you are forced to pick your spot so you can reference the point of your arrow to it. By the way, then you must complete the shot by properly releasing, following through, and then reflecting on how the shot "felt".
I'm a gap shooter. I must pick a spot and I subconsciously (more or less) see the appropriate gap between the arrow point and the spot. The more I practice at various distances the more subconscious the gap will become and the more I will "think" I'm shooting instinctively -- and technically I suppose that's the definition of an instinctive shooter -- I see the spot and shoot it.
By the way, many veterans (I write this with respect)scoff at this point-of-aim method. I can tell you this. After shooting compounds since 1975, and sights on compounds since around 1981 I began in earnest teaching myself to shoot recurves without sights this past December. I started with point of aim as described above. After a while I was able to consciously ignore the bowstring and even the point of the arrow but I still saw a vague gap. Now, it appears as if my bow arm knows where to be at the distances I practice (14-25 yards)and all I have to do is stare a hole in the tiniest spot I can imagine. I think I've stumbled upon (for me) how to train onself to be a subsconscious or instinctive aimer. The proof for me is when I've comme to anchor and then second guess the elevation of my bow arm by raising or lowering it, I invariably miss high or low respectively -- 90% of the time (or greater) I should have trusted my first "instinct".
Finally, one more emphasis on the archery's form, shot execution, and follow-through. All of these must become subconscious skills eventually so you don't forget to do any of them correctly. One example, the bow arm must be allowed to move during the shot (very slightly) and during follow-through (dramatically). When we were learning to shoot those who told us to "keep the bowarm still, up and unmoving until after the arrow hits the target" told us wrong. This is unnatural and causes us to fight the shot. Trying to do this can lead to all kinds of problems, one of which is a "soft bow arm" which leads to creeping. When I forget to do this (lean slightly into the bow grip)I hit a few inches to the right (I shoot LH). With the drawing hand if I don't think about sliding my hand (very quickly-reflexively because my active back muscles execute the shot) along the face, under the ear until the thumb touches the shoulder, I will hit left.
it's kinda like when you saw your first boobie.Same stare and same feeling...LOL :goldtooth:
double post sorry
QuoteOriginally posted by wapitimike1:
Standing at the toilet in the dark and hearing the splash in the bowl!!!
:thumbsup: :biglaugh:
When it all comes together I know the arrow is going to hit its intended spot even before I release. For some reason as I raise the bow and start to draw my focus on the spot becomes clear and everything becomes automatic. It is a cool feeling when it happens. My problem is, it doesn't happen nearly as often as I would like. I just don't have the natural ability to make it happen all the time, I have to really work at it. Similar to what Doc Nock said, when I am having trouble focusing the harder I try the more mentally fatigued I get, and things often just go from bad to worse. At that point I just usually walk away and come back when I have a clearer mind. If I try to muscle through it, I get more frustrated and end up re-enforcing bad habits.
The first deer I shot with trad had a burr caught in her fur right behind her shoulder. If I were a bettin man, I'd say the good spirit wanted that deer to be there. All I remember when the string slipped from my fingers was that burr. Every deer I have missed since then, I think back on the miss and realize I saw the whole damn deer and not that burr. Im still waiting on one of those big hogs to step out with a burr stuck in his fur in the right spot.
This is all about "focus"... When it's right a feeling of predetermination comes over me.. You know the arrow will hit where your looking..
John III
When everything comes together as planned, I often dont recall pulling back the the bow or loosing the arrow. I believe it is a combination of extreme focus and stimulus overload that puts me in "cruise control". I guess that is where all the practice comes into play.
It feels like a nice warm blank nothingness
deep inside your ooblah-doolah-oblongotta.
QuoteOriginally posted by lpcjon2:
it's kinda like when you saw your first boobie.Same stare and same feeling...LOL :goldtooth:
Hahaha, Tim that's it exactly, standing there with a blank stare and your mouth wide open...I now know why I love bowhunting. Thanks Bro.
Even when you think you're focusing on a small spot you're actually not. I got a lesson the other day on focus. We were shooting ballons inflated to about 4 inches. We all pretty much kept 5 inch groups. The guy who was blowing up the ballons started making them tiny just to mess with us. He was putting up 1" to 1 1/2" balloons. It shocked me but all our groups went down to about 2 inches or a little less. After 45 years of huntig wiht stickbows I thought i had the concentration thing down pretty good but I Guess none of us were concentrating on as small a spot as we thought we were before.
Sorry, meant to say "sometimes" you're actually not.
swamp donkey
You've landed on the real challenge of picking that spot. It is VERY difficult for some not to see the whole thing -- its that mind wandering thing. Now, if you put a black dot on that balloon you'd find it much easier to ignore the edges of the balloon and your group would be through the balloon. This reminds me of an old Little League coaching technique (I coached my son for about 10 years). You put different colored dots (ball about nicke-size) on baseballs. You pitch the ball to the youngster and ask, after he swings, what color was the dot? At first the kids can't see the dot (you have to put about 4 dots-same color-- on the ball on different sides). This causes the batter to really SEE the ball and of course focuses his "aim" with the bat. My son ended up playing 3rd base in college and was always a very good hitter. Sorry, I guess I'll be bragging on my kids until I can't.
When I am focused and really concentrating on "the spot" I see a bright spot right where I want the arrow to go, really almost like a bright white flare appears for a second on the spot. Best I can describe it for me.
Danny....I'm thinkin you best describe how it appears to me when I'm at the top of my game. It's as if only that bright spot appears to me at that brief moment.
I shoot differently when picking a spot on an animal or 3D target than I do when shooting at a spot type target. I have a scope like concentration when shooting animals or 3D only seeing the area or "spot" I want to see.....It seems when I'm shooting a bag style target in my basement my groups will vary depending on which side of the target I'm shooting. If it a the deer outline w/ the heart/lung area I can burn the heart out of it 9 outta 10 shots.....turn the target around to the multible "spot" target and it seems my brain or perripheral is overwhelmed by the number of spots and I find myself making more off the mark shots. Almost as if my "picking the spot" becomes blurred as my brain processes that said spot. May be the results of too much experementing in college tho.... :dunno:
Stare at this thing for a minute and see if you don't go cross eyed... :eek:
(http://www.american-bowhunter.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/500x500/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/3/7/37783.gif)
I just see where the arrow should come out, and "see" that.
Basically I aim for the exit not entrance.
When done right I don't even remember drawing.
Yeah, Mike, I cannot concentrate with all them spots on a target, give me a blank 3d and I am in the kill 99% of the time or like you said a heart area on a bag target.
"It" only happens for me with conscious breathing. Look at your target and take a deep breath and exhale while feeling your feet on the ground and your body relax. Burn your focus on one spot and let the rest happen. If I think about the shot or form in ANY way I blow it every time.
It really is a 'zen' thing, and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about when it happens. Also, the more you shoot this way the faster you get to a point where your mental form is as solid as your physical form.
Good luck!
During your day, not while driving!, pick out something and try and stare at it and it alone for as long as you can. You might be surprised at how short a time you can stare at it. I think we have lost the ability to just stare at something and let time pass by. We have to move from one stimulus to another in this fast paced world it seems. So, you might need to rediscover the art of the stare! David
I look right through the spot. The release and the arrow on a string into it.
Feels pretty good. Not all my shots go like this however...
Joshua
I never thought about it until you asked... so... thanks for asking.
For me there are two phases.
The first is everything that leads up to the release. The second is the release.
When everything comes together it's like this:
I pick my spot and, again if everything comes together, I really do see the flight of the arrow before release. I just know that I will hit where I want.
But the second part... well that's the tough one.
For me it feels a bit like losing my balance and at that curicial moment when all hope of recovery is lost I quit trying to keep my balance and, instead, jump. Like being a little kid at the pool's edge. You want to jump in, but you're a little afraid, so you lean forward in Olympic diving position, lean a little further, a little further and all of a sudden you are going to fall in. No stopping it, so you dive.
Does that make sense?
aim small/miss small.
Part of the problem for me is even the spot is not a fine enough target. I try to look at the smallest thing I can see and then look at just a part of that. For example, if you are looking a an "o", I try to just look at the bottom of the "o". The problem is when there is nothing to pick out that stands out from the back ground. I think the guys that are projecting a button or something like that have the right idea. I would use that if there is nothing else to focus on. You can practice picking a spot and then narrow it down even more on just about anything we see.
Good luck in your quest for "THE" spot.
Curlis
Part of the problem for me is even the spot is not a fine enough target. I try to look at the smallest thing I can see and then look at just a part of that. For example, if you are looking a an "o", I try to just look at the bottom of the "o". The problem is when there is nothing to pick out that stands out from the back ground. I think the guys that are projecting a button or something like that have the right idea. I would use that if there is nothing else to focus on. You can practice picking a spot and then narrow it down even more on just about anything we see.
Good luck in your quest for "THE" spot.
Curlis
The key is once you've established the sight picture (aimed) you must then get your mind off aiming and think about keeping the bow arm muscles active and the back in the drawing arm side active. Your eye can aim without you thinking about it. This is so you'll follow through properly.
I proved this (again) to myself last week. A group at 35 yards (point-on for me and new distance for me in my transition back to traditional) will be 30 inches in diameter if I concentrate on aiming at release. However, if I aim and then my last thought is on follow-through the group shrinks to less than a paper plate. Still not ready for prime time at this distance.
I'll be teaching this in Colorado for the next three days starting tomorrow.
I'm a fanatic about positive thinking when it comes to coaching. So, I'd change the cliche from "aim small to hit small". The mind should be kept from contemplating "missing small".
I'm far from a great shot, but I am getting better. I've found that I shoot much better at 3D targets, because I use the outline of the body to help guide me to the right spot...well let's all it "area".
I can hit dots on a target from close ranges, but my groups widen as the distance grows...this doesn't happen so bad when shooting a 3D animal target. Maybe it's just ingrained in my head from years of hunting. Of course, I'm also the guy that can go to the zoo and imagine a perfect shot for all the critters I see.
I'd also agreed with the post a page or two ago referencing a "green light." I don't consciously know when I release. I look at what I want to hit, come to full draw, anchor, i always make sure to hold, and then the arrow goes...sometimes I hold for 1 second and sometime 4 or 5.
I heard Byron Ferguson say on a TV show- that he aims for the center of the target; and then aims for the center of that.
On animals I shoot for a hair or a tuft of hair- not a spot on the deer. My spot is the center of the hair.
I have shot at deer and elk: and had my arrow go through the racks of record book ones. Your arrow goes where your looking; make sure your looking at the exact center of a spot made of the center of the vitals in the angle your on to the animal.
I really think the idea spoken here about concentrating on a spot on the opposite side of the animal- the exit spot is an interesting idea; and I am going to try that this year.
There are a couple things I read and want to address.
One is that you really should be shooting well enough to be able to tell if your arrow will strike ~before~ you shoot. If you can recognize perfect concentration that will lead to a perfect shot- then your ready to go hunting.
If that spot is only possible at ten yards; then you should get that close to shoot.
If its twenty - you get that close; and if its thirty - well get to 20 if you can.
There is a song familiar to some of us here that says 'some days are diamond; some days are stone' - 'sometimes the good times won't leave alone'; 'sometimes a cold wind puts a chill in your bones'-'some days are diamond- some days are stone'.
Its the same with some shots- you know that its a diamond shot. Some days you draw back and know its not. The ability to recognize that you are in perfect form and mindset- connected to the target; and when you are doing something wrong and don't have that 'feel' - allows you then: to let down and draw again.
Your ability to feel that total confidence is something you can do; you know that feeling when your locked in- and the arrow flies true.
It is important to know that feeling; but also to know when your going to miss.
It really helps when your hunting. You may not shoot sometimes when you look back and shake your head that you didn't shoot... but the more you can do that; the more your ability to hit where you want..
In time it is instinctive and connects you with nature in a way nothing else can.
When I needed a bow and could only find compounds for sale; I got good with it. But I watched Fred Bear; and remembered shots I had made with my recurve and longbows on squirrels and ground hogs. Shots that were totally on.
I looked at Fred; I looked at Ishi; I looked at the Thompson brothers and saw how good you could be; and some of their experiences.
I knew to get that good for me: would be a long and hard journey.
But I figured when I got old; I wanted to remember shots that were 'dead on' and from my intent and total concentration- my back muscles; my fingers pulling on the string; and my eye locked on where I knew the arrow would go.
I figured that was a reward that could not be surpassed with a big pile of animals and trophies- but that with traditional bowhunting... the reward was worth the effort.
Ishi's last words were that we would meet again in the flight of the arrow.
That feeling was in Ishi; in Fred Bear and Howard Hill; and is in some of the shots you make all the time.
It is a wonderful reward that does not care how rich or poor you are; what color or sex you are; or what age you are.
Anyone can do it with practice. And practice is fun.
That feeling is a place that every bowhunter wants to be.
It is the ability to connect yourself with your target. You with the wild; in the flight of an arrow.
Since I know my hunting land so well i just make sure im downwind of the food source.
I have over 15 stands up all over my property and hope to have 5 more before the season starts.
Hunt the wind always.
This is the first time I`ve every really tried to describe it.
If I do it correctly, I can tell even before I draw my bow that I am locked on. I hold my bow out, with my arm fully extended, and "zoom" in on what I want to hit. I look beyond my bow, and pay no attention to it or my arrow. The spot I want, suddenly becomes in clear focus, and everything else seems to blurr out a bit. Once I am to that point, it`s form that completes the process.
I have learned that after one or two shots, I need to pull my arrows. I get much better results by getting a mental rest. Often, I shoot only ONE arrow.
It is almost more difficult to describe than it is to achieve.
there are many great suggestions for when the shot is approaching, all of them work. this may sound goofy but it works, something i learned years ago to focus on a spot. i would go out at night, take a flashlight, tape a cone shaped piece of cardboard, tape it around the flash light and shine it on my target at about 10 to 15 yards. this will truely make you focus on a spot. (now a laser pointer works even better) you will learn to focus and follow through, do this until it becomes second nature, then try some of the things the guys have suggested until you find one that works best for you when shooting targets or game. as doc bow said, focus and follow through are the most important. :archer2:
oh! one more thing i do, i made a base out of landscaping timbers complete with handle and wheels for easy mobility, drilled 2 holes for the rebarb in the legs of my 3D deer target, i shoot from my stand in the yard having someone move it at different distances and angles, pick a spot at entry, and exit. it's good pratice.
If my eyes are really focusing on a small spot, if my shot is off by more than just a couple of inches, I can see that it is off instantly in the arrow flight. If the shot is right on, it feels like the arrow is trapped in an invisible tube that lines up with my focus.
Like Howard hill ..you burn a hole through the spot with your eye !!!
tunnel vision... mmm, feels sweet.
I'm not that good of a shot but what I notice is that if I hesitate that one second longer and stare "though" the spot I am much more consistent. I also like to shoot at a blank surface (like a real target or live game) and pick a spot where there is none. I will use a piece of cardboard over my rag bag for the blank surface and then sometimes for orange dot stickers (this also keep me from shooting out my targets). Then follow it with a second shot. I am not real good at the snap shot I have to spend that little extra time at full draw, focus and follow thru.....When it all comes together its sweet :)
From dean torges...
Seeing Spots
©Dean Torges™
Every primitive archer loves stump shooting (or roving), but this pleasurable activity can contribute to bad habits for the hunter.
While roving, most of us see an object or feature that catches our eye. We shoot to it. We usually come very close to it when we don't hit it. The problem is that shooting game requires a much keener eye than that. It requires the ability to focus upon a spot beyond distractions which call to our attention, distractions such as antlers, horns or an animal's outline. Shooting game requires us to make shots to areas that do not attract our eye.
Stump shooting at obvious targets can develop a lazy eye and give us a false sense of our shooting ability. Next time roving, mix it up. Instead of shooting at a knot on a stump, shoot sometimes to a make-believe spot beside it. Instead of shooting at a conspicuous leaf, shoot to the upper left quadrant of the bare spot next to it, or to the barely visible leaf beside it. When the next opportunity at an animal occurs, you will be better prepared to create a spot where none exists, amidst distractions, too.
(http://www.bowyersedge.com/images/stumpin.jpg)
I am no target archerer. I would love to be, but for me its just not so. I have days when I feel I can't miss and that is because my form is just "on" that day. When I hunt, I very seldom miss due to the extra concentration. It wasn't until I watched my turkey video from last April, for the fourth time, that I heard myself take a breathe before the long second shot. I never knew I did it. I'm satisfied knowing I've programmed my mind to "do its thing" during crunch time. That IMO is instinctive shooting.
QuoteOriginally posted by elkbreath:
From dean torges...
Seeing Spots
©Dean Torges™
Every primitive archer loves stump shooting (or roving), but this pleasurable activity can contribute to bad habits for the hunter.
While roving, most of us see an object or feature that catches our eye. We shoot to it. We usually come very close to it when we don't hit it. The problem is that shooting game requires a much keener eye than that. It requires the ability to focus upon a spot beyond distractions which call to our attention, distractions such as antlers, horns or an animal's outline. Shooting game requires us to make shots to areas that do not attract our eye.
Stump shooting at obvious targets can develop a lazy eye and give us a false sense of our shooting ability. Next time roving, mix it up. Instead of shooting at a knot on a stump, shoot sometimes to a make-believe spot beside it. Instead of shooting at a conspicuous leaf, shoot to the upper left quadrant of the bare spot next to it, or to the barely visible leaf beside it. When the next opportunity at an animal occurs, you will be better prepared to create a spot where none exists, amidst distractions, too.
(http://www.bowyersedge.com/images/stumpin.jpg)
Well said.....along with the button idea and constantly zooming in on a spot untill you release, this is one Im going to start useing!!
:thumbsup:
Thanks, Ben
elkbreath, great stuff :)