I picked up the recurve a few months ago (6 to be exact)and consider myself pretty good after months of practice.
What do you consider a good shot?
Somebody who can hit a paper plate every time at 20 yards? 15 yards? 10 yards?
I can put an arrow in a paper plate at 15 yards every singe time.....and most of the times at 20 yards.
Would you experts consider this ready to hunt? I feel very confident about my shooting as well.
Someone who can replicate how well they shoot at paper plates while shooting game is a good shot.
I recommend finding a game farm if you have not spent a lot of time around close quarter animals....go and sit with the deer, feed them...get used to being close to them...and practice shooting from an elevated position if you are going to hunt that way.
Thanks......oh I am very familar with hunting.....I killed many animals with one of those fancy wheelie bows for years...lol
Being a good shot on a target, and being a good shot at an animal, are closely related in some ways, and vastly different in so many others. Also, shooting animals with a traditional bow is very different than shooting them with the other type. A good place to start, is to know the distance you are very comfortable shooting in, then, limit yourself to only shooting animals with in that range. Once you start to see and understand the differences in equipment, then start to push your limits, this though could take many animals?
Thanks,
I'm no expert, but no sense in over thinking this either. If you can consistently hit what you shoot at, I guess you would be considered a good shot.
Thanks for the reply! My farthest I am comfortable with is 15 yards at an animal and I REFUSE to take an iffy shot! I passed a doe at 10 yards yesterday because it was not broadside......she was quartering away.....but the angle was too steep for me. She left....leaving me without a shot.
QuoteOriginally posted by stagetek:
I'm no expert, but no sense in over thinking this either. If you can consistently hit what you shoot at, I guess you would be considered a good shot.
I learned this a few months back when I was all over the place I realized I was thinking too much about shooting.....I also understand the importance of being confident in your shot more than ever now!
Confidence.
What about shooting inside a 45 rpm record at 10 yards. Used to be a lady, Betty Grubbs who shot barebow who did demonstrations on TV with 45 records and ping pong balls in the early sixties. She won several field archery nationals so she was a good shot. She had very short archery career and started shooting with her husband when she had cancer. Had to get to the top in a hurry and she did. Won her first nationals just after 3 years of shooting. Bet she was good because she had had confidence she was the best shooter out there and usually was and shot higher scores than the mens divisions. She's in the Oklahoma Archery Hall of Fame.
Same with an old friend in golf who won the Masters in '57 (Doug Ford). He told me lots of stories about his " best pigeons" but one that was interesting was when his uncle (a golf pro) lost a lot of money to some gamblers. Doug just got his uncles money back by skinning the culprits pretty good,like no big deal. I'd say that was confidence.
Seen artists friends and other atheletes do the same to make a living and they had confidence they could.
I couldn't tell you. There are days when i think I am good, then the next I feel like I have no business with one of these things in my hand. I am fairly consistent out to about 17 yds. That is, about 90% of my shots hit the vitals on a deer target. But I really won't know until I get in range of a live deer. I have practice a bunch and put in many hours of shooting, i pray it comes together if i am able to get a chance.
Lots of practice and confidence.
If you know you can make the shot and do.
QuoteOriginally posted by boinky:
I picked up the recurve a few months ago (6 to be exact)and consider myself pretty good after months of practice.Quote
i'd definitely say you are on the right track.
QuoteWhat do you consider a good shot?Quote
I consider a good shot hitting what i'm looking at or within a certain area of that spot majority of the time. For example, putting 3/5 arrows in a 4" circle and the other 2 in a 6" circle at 15 yards is good to me. at 20, I'd say a 6 and 8" circle.
I shoot a lot of competitions and I heard a buddy say(he is a VERY GOOD SHOT), "everyone misses from time to time, but the better shot will just miss by less". So no matter who it is, they will miss their spot probably more times than hit it, but the better they are, the closer to that spot they will be.
QuoteSomebody who can hit a paper plate every time at 20 yards? 15 yards? 10 yards?Quote
Not exactly an answer to your question, but if you can't shoot a pie plate consistently at 20, then do NOT shoot a deer or live animal at that distance.
QuoteWould you experts consider this ready to hunt? I feel very confident about my shooting as well. [/b]
I would say yes, if you can stick it every time! but you would have to limit yourself to a closer distance than that.
As stated before, hunting live game is so far from shooting a target. The targets are moving, breathing, looking for you, jumping the string, etc. I find the hardest thing for me to do when dealing with live prey is remembering to pick a spot. It gets tough to pick a spot when your worried with where is this animal looking? are his buddies looking at me? am i going to get busted? when can i draw? etc.
I guess it would depends on what your doing. Like 3d, field archery, hunting, aerial and more. Some can be good at all some could be good one or some.
Being a good shot and being a good hunter are two different things. You can be a good shot while practicing in your backyard, but you may not shoot so well at a 3-d course, when people are watching, or while shooting at game.
I think everyone's archery expectations of what is accurate enough for them differs greatly. For me to be a good shot, I expect to stack arrows on top of one another at 20 yards. I'll let you know when I get there :thumbsup:
Good accuracy begins with a repeatable shot sequence and the ability to replicate that shot each and every time, no matter the circumstances.
Good shot? Someone who can consistently hit what they are looking at, every time. That said, we have many variables to contend with. Wind, distance, angles, tree branches and bushes,etc. Therefor, I advocate that bow hunting is a short range sport. The shorter, the better. If you KNOW your limitations and FOLLOW THEM, I don't see how you can go wrong. There is no law that says you must kill a deer when you go out. There is no shame in coming home empty handed. Wounding an animal because you didn't follow your personal limitations is just despicable.
Regarding hunting ready. I always say go hunt.
If you can only shoot 5 yards well, then keep your shots 5 yards or less. THAT is your responsibility, and you CAN do it.
Once you graduate to 10 yards, then you expand accordingly. Etc.
All of us are different in ability and equipment. Doesn't mean I shouldn't hunt, but it does mean I need to keep it inside MY limitations, not yours.
This is one, maybe THE reason that I am very against having shooting tests to be allowed to participate.
ChuckC
I agree with Chuck!RC
As far as hunting I would say being on a very secure surface!!!! :help:
Every time any animals big or small get in my sight the ground where I am sitting starts to vibrate so hard I have to hold on so I do not fall over from a heart attack. :banghead:
"Good" shooters often send their arrow buzzing harmlessly over the backs of close and calm critters. It happens. As said, hunting is so much more than being a good shot, as you know. You already passed on a 10 yard shot. Perhaps therein lies a piece of the answer; the "best" shooter is the one who knows when he or she should take the shot. There's no magic range number to put on it. A 10 yard shot could be a chip-shot, or it could be as impracticable and improbable as a 100 yard shot depending on so many factors. I think you're on the right road, don't forget to enjoy the ride!
DETERMINATION . and well tuned equipment !
My opinion is this...To be a good shot,an archer should be able to consistently hit a softball size area of any givin target,from various angles and elevations,and positions. My opinion of distance's that the forementioned softball area should be consistently hit is from 10 yards..out to 30 yards. Almost all archers have good days on the range,and bad days on the range. My opinion is...that if you are having a BAD DAY try to shoot 10-15 yards. If your still having a BAD DAY go and do something else. GOOD DAYS an archer that is in good control of there equipment should be able to stay in that softball area 80% of the time. Lastly....you should have a lot more GOOD days than BAD days. Get 10,000 shots out of traditional bows. Recurve or longbow. In a couple/few year period...you should be very good if you've been paying attention. Have fun shooting pal'. And shoot as much as you can without fatigue setting in. When you start feeling it..Stop. Practice,practice,practice. rat'
To me its all about consistency and knowing what to expect from yourself. My best nfaa scores are in the 250's, but I feel good about my shooting if I score 235 and have no shots outside the 3 ring. Likewise with 3-d I am OK with averaging 8 per target if I don't miss the 8 ring on Deer sized targets all day. Eliminate bad shots. You don't have to make a world class shot to kill a deer. Practice until you don't miss a deer sized target ever in a practice situation, whatever that distance is don't excede it when you hunt.
confidence and knowing your limitations...and then living within those limitations no matter how large the rack, how strong the desire, how pressing the ego stroking of your peers.
how far you shoot or how many you can put in a paper target bullseye mean nothing to me.
QuoteOriginally posted by longbow fanatic 1:
Good accuracy begins with a repeatable shot sequence and the ability to replicate that shot each and every time, no matter the circumstances.
That about sums it up!
Bisch
I would suggest to go small game hunting to develop your shot timing and your nerve, not to find your limitations, but to expand your abilities and perhaps your limitations.
QuoteOriginally posted by pavan:
I would suggest to go small game hunting to develop your shot timing and your nerve, not to find your limitations, but to expand your abilities and perhaps your limitations.
Thanks for the advice! I tried putting a stalk on a squirrel...........he was very wiley and ran off before I got a shot.
I was really interested in seeing if what I think makes a good shot is the same as what you guys think......I almost always shoot alone so it makes it hard to compare myself with others.
As for hunting animals, I killed bobcats, foxes, numerous coyotes, deer, hog, bear and a mountain lion with a wheelie bow...
Changed to recurve for a change.
Thanks again for all the advice, I feel that I am on the right track and will be able to connect on a deer in short time with a recurve.
Some people will probably disagree with me but I feel you have to have some athletic ability and good hand eye coordination to be a top shot.
As a kid I could shoot dimes out of the air with my red ryder BB gun after a little practice. Same with bows before TP raised it's ugly head.
Form and consistency are paramount to being a great shot. If you are not the greatest in the hand eye coordination department, point of aim shooting, properly learned and practiced will have you shooing right along with the best shooters out there.
Assuming the equipment is tuned, and that's most important, but once that's done; Consistency with the mechanics of your shooting, the hand placement on the grip, the finger placement on the string, the draw the, the anchor, and the release. Once you get those to the point you do it the same every time, you'll see the groups closing up.
That'll make a person a good shot.
Being a good hunter is being a good shot first, and then there's lots of other things that go into it.