How do you sight with your bow

[ToddRvs]

#4507

I do not sight down the arrow when I shoot. I use a snap technigue for shooting kind of like throwing a baseball. I learned this technique from watching old Fred Bear hunting videos and reading Howard Hill’s book. It works real well for me. This is a very fast way to get an arrow on target. It does take a lot of practice though. I drive my crazy sometime with how much I practice. She even locked me out of the house one night because I was practiceing so late. I made nice though and I promised to not do that again. 😛

Does anyone else use this technique or do you sight your bow another way. I have heard of walking the string but I could never master that technique. I find it slow and combersome.

[Cottonwood]

#31347

Many times on other forum boards, this question or one like it comes up. I am an instictive un-orthidoxed shooter, as I do not use my arrow tip or shaft to aim with, I could post a pic of a double snap shot I demonstrated for my son. I was talking with a buddy of mine in Hawai’i who said to use a laser dot projected on a target bale at night. I also incorperated a style of checking consistancy using a walk back method while doing this test.

That walk back method is basicly, shoot an arrow at 10 yards, then step back to 12 yards, then 15 yards, then 18 yards and end at 20 yards. So I started at 15 yards, stepped back to 18, then to 20 for 2 arrows. I stopped at 20 yards simply because I don’t bowhunt with a traditional beyond that and that is my call.

Some call it just plain snap shooting, quick anchor and release or another name by them is fine with me. Lets call it just plain instinctive shooting. At some point it is a quick anchor of such, no matter if it is at your mouth corner or right breast. But it is a fundimental of shooting as such. I underlined the first three letters of fundimental, because it is fun to do and there are those that would take the fun out of some one elses style of shooting because it don’t work for them.

I used a laser level light, that has a magnetic bottom so I could secure it to the metal of my gazebo. I projected it onto a target bale, and it was 10:30pm dark here and I could not see my bow or arrow, and had to feel for the index feather out on the string.

I have my shooting lane marked off with white tubes, that I could see so I know where certain ones are, at the yardages indicated.

I started at 15 yards, then 18 then figured why not back to 20 yards and then shot a 4th arrow just to make sure. I knew from the sound of my arrows hitting the bale target they had hit the bale, but I could not see where. The picture below, was and is the end result to my way of shooting.

Taken without flash, and then taken with flash.

I simply shoot, my way of style because it works. I know what Pappa Bear said:

I am a snap-shooter. That is true, except that I want to point out that there are two kinds of snap-shooters. Snap-shooting, as a general rule, develops from an attack of what is called “freezing,” and freezing is a triggering of the release hand by the eye. It is an involuntary triggering of these muscles that releases the arrow before you want to. The difference between the snap-shooter who has this affliction and one who does not is that if a full draw is not reached, no accuracy can result. In my own case, I always come to a full draw. There is no pause when I get there; the arrow is gone. If I try to hold, I cannot hit the target. I have suffered from this business of freezing. I went through three years of agony with it. – Fred Bear

I’m not a paper target shooter/archer, I am a bowhunter and practice for bowhunting and that alone. The First Shot of the Week events are fun to do, so I do them and welcome more members to participate in the fun, shoot your style in your fundimental way of shooting. There are times I have my bow almost horizontal/flat just looking at the target, other times my bow is between 2 and 3 O’clock on my hold as I have practiced what I do so many times I have lost count simply because it works.

Just remember, keep the word fun in it, and shoot your way and remember that your way is not the only way of shooting and that is why I stated in my post that I shoot un-orthidoxed because it works for me.

[Steve Branson]

#32478

Mine is very similar to what Cottonwood and Bear use. I did however battle with snap shooting without coming to anchor, but through blank bale shooting and mental discipline drills I have cured myself of that. I do however point the arrow at the intended target or spot before drawing and draw straight back, but more for alignment than aiming. I pause about a half second before the shot, my mental full draw check, but when I try to hold at anchor like Bear said I lose accuracy. My hold at draw limit is about three seconds.

[bruc]

#33179

I pick a spot 12-24″ below my intended target and aim at it. I come to full draw, find my anchor, maintain good back pressure!!! This is very important! Once I have done all of this I move up and find my “REAL” target and release.
This is my way of dealing with the affliction or DEMON:evil: TP.
It works::wink: Bruce

[MontanaFord]

#33197

I typically use the same technique that Steve described. Hold my arm out basically in line with my target, draw straight back, touch the corner of my mouth and cut’er loose. It’s all done with determination and a steady pull-through. My uncle swing-draws….starts with his bow arm down, and as he brings the bow up, he also draws to anchor, and as he hits his anchor, releases…it works well for him. He’s one of the more accurate recurve shooters I know around here.

Michael.

[Ed Zachary]

#36033

I put a sight on my bow and ended the chaos.

[Patrick]

#40639

Instinctive…I guess.

[Kegan]

#46774

Gap shooter. Almost like Hill’s split vision. Draw in line with the target but I don’t do anything consciously with the arrow up and down. When I ignore the arrow I have a bear of a time, almost as bad as when I only worry about it and not the mark.

[Hiram]

#49637

I use the arrow as a reference.I am a split vision gap shooter I guess, not a snap shooter. I do not want to be a snap shooter unless I have to be! I want an intentionally aimed shot each time. I do find myself shooting faster sometimes. When I find myself doing this, I go back to the bale and practice my sequence. I like to hold for at least a second or two. I like what Rick Welch said, ‘admire my sight picture” and hold for enough time to do that. I think snapping brings forth TP! AND BAD HABITS.

[sharpster]

#51577

I’ve been shooting for the better part of forty years now and always shot split finger, corner of the mouth anchor, both eyes open, “instinctive” but recently I switched to 3 under with a “gun barrel” sighting technique. Meaning I now anchor with the arrow nock just about touching my lower eyelid and the base of the cock feather touching the bridge of my nose. I sight down the shaft just like it was a rifle barrel and use the point or BHD to aim with. I tried this new style of shooting on the suggestion of a traditional archery coach and my left/right group went from 6-10″ at 25 yrds down to 3″ or less in my very first group. Form is still critical of course as it always is regardless of shooting style, because if I don’t release smoothly or more often in my case, fail to follow through completely, then I still get the results you’d expect- an arrow that is low and left of the rest of the group. It’s certainly not for everyone but this style has improved my groups/accuracy, and most importantly confidence more than anything I’ve ever tried before.

Ron

[RedTape]

#54092

I guess how I shoot would be called instinctive. I simply stare at a spot, draw and hold for a second, and release. I’m sure the arrow is in my line of sight, but I don’t consciously think about it being there. I try to focus on nothing but the spot on the target I want to hit.

[John Carter]

#59716

I shoot a complete sight picture.
I focus solely on my target “the smaller the better” but I,m usualy aware of my arrow within the over all picture.
At distances further than my point on I start to use a form of Kentucky windage that’s much the same as gaping over the target but I don’t work out distances like I would if I was using a dedicated gap system.
I’m very familiar with my bows tradjectory so long as I’m inside it’s point on I don’t really have to think “range” my subconcious already recognises that when It sees it.
All I really need to do is focus as hard as I can on my target and shoot properly,,,,,,good subconcious form becomes everything.
I seldom miss because I was aiming wrong,,,I can’t say the same for my shooting form.:roll:

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