The first arrow I shoot when I begin to practice is the one that stands out the most in mind. It's not unlike the one arrow I will shoot deer hunting.

If I'm consistently grouping arrows where I want them to go, a few flyers here and there don't upset me. Why? Because, I like to shoot and at some point ya just get a little tired. I don't get tired from shooting out of my deer stand.

Properly tuned equipment will facilitate shooting accuracy.

I have always been taught that form is the most important aspect of archery.  Accuracy will follow perfect form, that is why we practice "closed, open, closed" before and after every lesson.

I tell my younger brother when we shoot together (@foam blocks, straw bales), that if we are not out in the woods trying to find one of mine, it was a good shot!

If I'm shooting in the basement (ie....it's cold as hell outside) then I'll shoot pretty much from 25 yds.  But I my lean over to one side, I may hold my bow horizontal on one shot, vertical on the next an all places in between.

If I'm outside, I purposely mix it up.  15 yd shot, then a 25 or a 30, then a 17.3 or whatever.  If I'm working STRICTLY on a form issue, then I'll stand there at the same yardage all day and pound the target till I fix what's wrong.

Mcgroundstalker...forgive me for being thin skinned today.  I just get very tired of hearing folks say "well he's death on a target but can't hit a deer to save his arse".  Believe me, I hear that alot.  I recognize you didn't say that but I did have to take issue with shooting groups and hunting.  It works well for me but is also ain't for everyone for sure.

well then you are not just a group shooter, then are you otto.

i agree with biggie on this one, i take one arrow out to practice with me and that is all i shoot. i go get that arrow and just start walking away from the target and where ever i stop is where i shoot from. and i just started throwing my arrow in various directions from the target and shooting from where it lands.

i believe if you only shoot groups and are a instictive shooter then your subconcious will start to make slight adjustments to move the arrow to where it needs to go. if you start to hit left then  your subconcious will start to aim a little right. at least that is what happens to me.
this is not good because most of the time we have to point of the arrow in the right spot it was a mechanical error that made the bad shot.

imo, outside of working on form, shooting one arrow at a time from various ranges is better practice.

One reason why I don't care to shoot just 1 arrow is that I can't measure any improvement that way.  All I can say is "yeah, that woulda killed him" or "that one was 2 inches left and down".  If I do that for 10 or 12 arrows, I'm left with nothing to benchmark myself against.  I'm constantly trying to be a better shooter (and so is everyone else, I'm sure) and the best way for me to do that is to shoot groups and see how what I did today stacks up against what I did last week or last month.  Obviously we all have our opinions.

In the end, all any of us can offer is what works best for each of us.

Shooting groups can draw your attention away from accuracy.IMO Too many arrows in the way to get good concentration. If you can put a single arrow in the kill zone at 20 yards any time you shoot then you are accurate enough. Pat

"Shooting groups can draw your attention away from accuracy.IMO Too many arrows in the way to get good concentration."

Not if your shooting small groups.  If you're shooting small groups, then trust me dude...you ARE concentrating.

Shooting good groups from any distance builds confidence...

Someone, (I think Ron La Clair) a  while back wrote that to determine one's true hunting accuracy, or, "hunting group" size, that they should fire 1 cold shot (no warm up shots) into a target at the same given distance each day for 5 days.

The group at the end of that 5 days would be representative of that hunter's average size group as it relates to shots at game in the field.

I tend to agree with that, but I also think that if you hunt from a treestand or from a ground blind, you should shoot your groups accordingly as well.

YB

Otto, I have never had the opportunity to shoot more than one arrow at a deer while hunting. My practice consists of shooting at 3D deer, one shot at each. When I shoot at a butt to keep myself in shape, I have a small item suspended about 4' in front of the butt and that is what I shoot at. When I hit it it gives me a moving target to shoot at.
  When I try for groups my shooting gets inconsistent. I believe it is the other arrows that distract me.  Everyone has their own practice methods. The ones above work the best for me.
  Even at 3D shoots, I don't keep score. I buy a score card to support the shoot but when I keep score I worry more about the score and my shooting goes down hill. I shoot for kill shots and in my experience sometimes a shot in the ten ring would mean a wounded deer in real life because of the angle of the shot.   Pat

If your 1st arrow isn't in the bullseye, do you still shoot a group around that 1st arrow? Do you shoot AT that 1st arrow, or try to hit the bullseye the 2nd arrow then start grouping?

Biggie, I never shoot at bulls eyes. Either at the kill zone on a 3D target or I pick a non-descriptive spot on whatever I'm shooting at. Pat

Keeping on with Biggies" statement.   If you can't do it at 20, don't shoot critters at 20....but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try it at 10 or 15  (if you  CAN do it at that range.)  As you get better...expand.
ChuckC

Biggie

I'm always aiming for the bullseye or if I'm shooting at a 3D target, then the 12 ring.  If the first arrow misses 2 inches left or right or where ever, my second shot is still aimed for the bull.

Shooting groups or roving isn't an either/or proposition. There's no reason why a person can't benefit from both.

Have a look at the online tourney. It will let you know what the average person is shooting at 15 yards. The average score has been been 46-48 points. Have a look at the targets you'll get an idea.

 Week 1  

 week 2  

 Week 3  

 Week 4

I'm the one shot type from different yardage and angles. I avoid shooting groups from the same spot for one thing once I have an arrow in the target that usually gives me a nice bright fletch to shoot at and makes picking a spot a whole lot easier.
 If you shoot instinctive that spot is crucial  a good many times on the 3D course that first shooters arrow good or bad will suck the following shooters.
  On small game I use blunts or judos a hit is usally fatal or non fatal so I don't worry  much about taking an ethical shot.

Well, I am new to traditional archery, but a longtime bowhunter/shooter. As for practice, I do some of everything that has been mentioned. I don't do any of them as well as I would like to, but at least for now, I can blame that on being new to instinctive shooting.

I don't understand how a person can be a good shot during one type of practice and not at another though. To me, a person who can shoot accurately, should be able to shoot accurately regardless of whether they are shooting groups at known yardages, stumping, one shot from unknown yardages, or otherwise. If you concentrate and put forth the same effort on each shot, I would think that accuracy would be the same regardless of practice routine.

I do think that practicing in various different ways can only server to better your accuracy(IMO).