Night Practice!

[Cameron Unruh]

#5215

I came across a new experience over the past few weeks due to my heavy work schedule. With my schedule at work I do not seem to have daylight hours to shoot the bow but one of the advantages of traditional shooting over compound is that you don’t need sunlight to shoot. If you can see your target you can shoot even if it is pitch black all around.

The other night I was standing on the porch with the porch light on and shooting out at my target with a light shining on the center of the target. Not only was I able to consistently hit the mark, I was much more in tune with my form. I am not sure why exactly but I could feel the flight of the arrow and even though I could only see the very center of the target being that my target is black and it was night, I knew where each shot hit. I could feel if my form was off and in my minds eye I knew that particular shot hit left and low or that shot was right on. When I walked up to the target each arrow was right where I pictured it to be.

This night time practice for some reason is helping me focus on my form and has highlighted some poor release habits that I have formed and allowed me to correct by adding a consistent follow through step.

Has anyone else had this kind of experience?

[Charles Ek]

#38920

It’s a regular feature of some trad shoots around here, where I’ve done it on occasion. I haven’t actually worked on it with archery, but I have noticed the effect repeatedly with nordic skiing. I’ll leave it to the kinesthesiologists and psychologists to explain its basis, but I am a believer of sorts.

[archer38]

#39058

Its funny, I tried practicing in the last half hour of fading light to prep for bear season. My arrows were all over the place. Shoot fine in the daylight though. Don’t know why, I did everything just the same as always but my arrows would not go where I wanted them to. Same shot in daylight and I shot about a 4 inch group at 20 yds every time.

[Fallguy]

#39645

We have done night “Candle Light Shoots” at our club. The theory is that the light on the target focuses your attention and because it is dark all around, you are not distracted by stuff in your peripheral vision.

[Ralph]

#44301

I was so nuts about and couldn’t get enough shooting years ago that I’d go out into the mesquites (permission of landowner to be there) and shoot at a target set up about 10 yds. away in my headlights. A couple of sheriff’s deputies scared the fire out me one night, shook me down, decided I was legal but crazy and just ask me to call one of them if I go out again. Made sense to do so with spot lighters and all around.

It did seem to focus my attention more so with my field of view restricted.

At Memphis’s TBOT shoot we do a “coon shoot” after dark. We take reflective tape, punch out circles with a paper punch and put those in the eye sockets. Makes a need effect when the flashlight finds the animal. Thought, we are not practicing the above mentioned “spot lighting” :lol::lol:

Candle shoot sounds fun but here in the Texas Panhandle I believe the “breeze” would inhibit that. 😀

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