Practicing the "Cold Shot"

[jpcarlson]

#6949

Just read a great article about practicing ones “cold shot” to help determine our own individual ethical and effective range. The emphasis was also on not kidding ourselves as to how far out we think we will take a shot based on practice, but how close we should try to take it based on real hunting situations. Here’s mine from this morning, about 15 yds. I also had my little twin cheerleaders, that always helps:)

Jans

[jason samkowiak]

#56615

i like how you have a trail wore down to and from the targets. It shows you practice often. Thats what its all about. Great pics and a great reminder to all of us the practice as often as we can.

[grumpy]

#56859

Nice hat. 8)

[Charles Ek]

#57403

Looks like she’s expressing an opinion on your brace height.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#60488

Great idea for a thread.

Here’s my “cold shot” this morning, @ 18 yards, #57 Tomahawk, 645 gr. arrow:

2nd and 3rd shots, @ 20 yards, were much better:

Alas, 2nd & 3rd shots don’t count…

[jpcarlson]

#62108

Smith hammer, and here I thought you were shooting pretty darn good on the first shot, until I figured out you were going for the center bulls eye:) Still, great shootin! I have been doing my cold shot practice almost every morning with my twins. I think trying to make the shot with them running around and making noise behind me on the deck will help making a good shot while distracted, in theory:) I seem to be able to get most of my shots in a paper plate out to 20, and miss to the right edge when I do. Feeling pretty good about season opener in a couple of weeks! Good luck out there in your country. I love that Pierre’s Hole/ Teton River area!!!! Ever read the book “Beaver Dick”? It’s about a mountain man who homesteaded that area.

Jans

[jpcarlson]

#62109

grumpy wrote: Nice hat. 8)

Grumpy,

That old felt crusher has been with me since my dad gave it to me for my 12th birthday way back when. It has seen a lot of trail time and some good hunts!

Jans

[jpcarlson]

#62110

eidsvolling wrote: Looks like she’s expressing an opinion on your brace height.

Yeah, she thought it was about a 1/4″ low:)

J

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#62144

jpcarlson wrote: I love that Pierre’s Hole/ Teton River area!!!! Ever read the book “Beaver Dick”? It’s about a mountain man who homesteaded that area.

Jans

Jans –

Sounds like you know your Teton Valley history! I’m quite familiar with the story of ‘ol Beaver Dick. Have you spent some time here?

[jpcarlson]

#62216

I know a bit, but I am sure not all. I love history, and especially the Fur Trade and all that transpired out in your area. I used to live just north of you in the Madison Valley MT. My Dad is still up there at our cabin in the south end of the Tobacco Root Mtns. I spent many years around there hunting, flyfishing, climbing and skiing. Have friends around Driggs, tackled the Grand a couple of times, fished the Snake. If I could choose an area to retire in right now, it would be around there I think. The view from the Tetonia side is second to none!!! Always wanted to kick around there more hunting and fishing. The biodiversity of that region is jaw dropping, not to mention the scenery. Where do you hole up, what you do out there? PM if you like

Jans

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#63210

PM sent!

Anyone else? Let’s see your “cold shots!”

[Brennan Herr]

#8509

My first shot this morning….20 yards.

Hope I can do it in a few weeks!

[mhay]

#9583

OUTSTANDING!!

[James Harvey]

#13514

I just went out and cold shot my recurve at 9 yards, so don’t be mislead, you’d be at least doubling the distance of those misses at 20 yards 😉 The ‘target’ is the knot in the string below the left most shaft.

A couple of days ago I did this for my cold shot with the long bow..

If only pigs had a nice vertical line right behind their shoulder to help me aim…

[Brennan Herr]

#13582

Jim,

Nice work…don’t worry about 20 yards. Just get to within 10 yards of the pigs!

[mhay]

#14263

Good shooting Jim. My first cold shot today was 6 inches low at about 15-18 yards. That ‘HAMMER” blunt sending a spray of dirt and small twigs which thoroughly makes gray squirrels loose water on their way up the nearest tree.:D

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#14402

Cold shot this afternoon, 17 yards:

[James Harvey]

#14806

I had already done a little shooting this morning but went into the yard ‘cold’ this afternoon. First shot at the knot again, second shot at the milk bottle lid with a footed blunt:

[wahoo]

#15007

cold shot yesterday , missed a big blue but took feathers.He’s still out there – I’ll get him this morning

[jpcarlson]

#15353

Nice shootin guys! The game will rue(sp?) the day soon! I put a small black dot at the center of my plates and it helps me focus on a much smaller spot and tighten up my groups!

J

[mhay]

#15429

Dang it man ,,,this cool air has got my arthritis workin’ overtime . My cold shots so far today ,,,,well ,,,,I couldn’t hit a barn wall if I was shootin’ from inside the da’gum thing.

Returning from another squirrel hunt this morning ,,,no shots available while hunting,,,I paused on top a low , but very steep ridge , which abruptly goes from near vertical to a flat corn field . I nock a blunt ,,,pic a specific leaf on the ground at the bottom ,,,,,release,,,,’bout a foot to the right . Probably 20 yards .

I wouldn’t shoot at a deer from that spot by no means , but that shot this morning was very disturbing .

Yesterdays shooting was perty good ,,,,,,,,,,,,today ? Like I never shot a bow before :D.

[jpcarlson]

#15580

Hang in there, sometimes those bad days happen and I’m still fairly young:) We all go through it. I bet you will be able to pull your bow out tomorrow and you will shoot great!

J

[James Harvey]

#16080

Today’s effort as soon as I got home from work. That’s a pretty substantial miss at 9 yards… Stupid knot. It has a forcefield.

[James Harvey]

#16085

mhay wrote: today ? Like I never shot a bow before :D.

Haven’t we all been there 😀

[James Harvey]

#19169

I tried a different twist today. I call it ‘the fatigued shot’. I did a run in the morning, busy day at work then an olympic clean session at lunch time, so by the time I got to the range I was buggered.

So I figured if I just shot a group and took a photo, just as the ‘cold shot’ would well replicate conditions of sitting in the cold waiting for a shot, so would these replicate conditions at the end of a long day of stomping around hills with pack, tired and sore, when a shot presents itself.

Range 20m, wind nil. The group was ok for that range, but ahh, i put a star on the pic where I was actually aiming…

My line for the rest of the arvo was ok, but that first group, 😯

[Ralph]

#20679

Hey Jim, if you’re gonna shoot at your bow square why don’t you put up closer to that gold star? 😀 Nice group.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#25359

Sometimes I really like deliberately going out and shooting in the wind.

This was my ‘cold shot’ today, @ 15 yards, in an 18-20mph quartering breeze:

[mhay]

#27499

I finally had to admit that alot of my missed shots were due to the pain and discomfort of all my aching bones ( from the waist up).

Last few days I only shoot 2-3 shots and then put it up for 30 minutes to an hour .During this time I sit and study for my evening classes , which puts me back into a stoved up condition .

My neighbors have 3 big walnut trees which drop their leaves into my yard . I generally pick out a leaf for my cold shots . I just came inside from todays first two shots . Both drilled the leaves . One at 20 ,,one at 15 yards .

So , it seems I need to shoot often , but limit my number of shots to keep the pain down .

[Brent Whitaker]

#27629

mhay wrote: Dang it man ,,,this cool air has got my arthritis workin’ overtime . My cold shots so far today ,,,,well ,,,,I couldn’t hit a barn wall if I was shootin’ from inside the da’gum thing.

Returning from another squirrel hunt this morning ,,,no shots available while hunting,,,I paused on top a low , but very steep ridge , which abruptly goes from near vertical to a flat corn field . I nock a blunt ,,,pic a specific leaf on the ground at the bottom ,,,,,release,,,,’bout a foot to the right . Probably 20 yards .

I wouldn’t shoot at a deer from that spot by no means , but that shot this morning was very disturbing .

Yesterdays shooting was perty good ,,,,,,,,,,,,today ? Like I never shot a bow before :D.

I think it was the Grey Archer that said on days like that the best think you can do is just put the bow up and sleep it off! Messes with your head. No worries, I am sure it will come back fast. I have days like that at least a couple times a month, and I shoot daily, usually for a minimum of 30 minutes…*Just saw your last post. I concur!! If I shoot much LONGER than 30 minutes I start spraying arrows all over creation!

[James Harvey]

#28078

Couple days ago I had a shocker, something like 8-9 inch group at 20metres cold. I thought I took a photo but apparently I didn’t. Rest assured they were left, right, up and down, but none were on. There is an old man up here who stacks them up at 20m with a barebow. I’m glad he wasn’t around 😛

Yesterdays effort: 30m, no wind. I don’t do much shooting at 30m and have done virtually none since I’ve thrown myself into ‘instinctive’. The first two (low ones) were proper instinctive but I was so disheartened I did what should never be done in instinctive and made a conscious correction, the leaf on the sign is the target…

This morning was a bit better but still a good reminder of why I only shoot at rabbits that far away. 30m, no wind, center of ‘O’ was target:

[James Harvey]

#28088

R2 wrote: Hey Jim, if you’re gonna shoot at your bow square why don’t you put up closer to that gold star? 😀 Nice group.

Hah, the way I shoot Ralph, the safest place for anything is right where I’m aiming. I’d say behind me is safer but one time I shot a blunt at a target on the ground, it went low, hit a concrete lip, bounced straight back past me and hit my dog, nock end first 😯

I shot at a dog target today from 20m and clean missed, yet I hit my dog with a rebound Byron Ferguson couldn’t replicate. Go figure 😉

[Ralph]

#28542

Yeah, and your dog probably even used to like you! 😆

I’m trying to get used to 3 under so my cold shot is sometimes a little dumb but I’m getting there. Right now 15 yds. and less be OK. I hunt where 15 yds. may be quite the miracle if that close happens. 25 and under probably great. Until I get more accustomed to 3 under I better be some smarter and sneakier.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#28549

Couldn’t resist this opportunity for a true “cold shot” this morning 😉 (17 yards):

[mhay]

#28560

Smith , I’m hoping that the snow in your pic is ALL the snow I see this winter .:D

[James Harvey]

#28772

Ralph, what has spurred the change to 3 under?

Bruce, that is a properly cold shot and a fine shot at that 😀

Jim

[Ralph]

#28777

Jim, I been fighting target panic for a couple of years. I bought a 40# recurve at a tourney a couple of weeks ago to try to help with my problem and was encouraged to try 3 under. I have a couple of friends shooting really, really well and they have been coached by some of the big boys. The thinking was to make my pea brain work on something different. It was strange at first but I shot the best score on a 30 target course than I’ve done in a long time. Now it seems to be coming natural. I have theory and I’ll PM you on that. I’m an old dog but I ain’t afraid of new tricks. Don’t like blunts coming my way either :D:D so…………….

[Ralph]

#29508

😆 13 paces, 3 under. I’m pleased.

[David Coulter]

#29894

I’m seeing some nice shots here. R2, I’d be afraid of skipping one off the top of that torso into the mansion window in the back! dwc

[Ralph]

#29921

That’s why shoot close!!!!!!!!!!! 😀 Tell me about it. Woulda traded for smaller when I retired but I only wear the pants when she lets me. :lol::lol:

Improves concentration for sure:P

[Troy Warner]

#30040

dwcphoto wrote: I’m seeing some nice shots here. R2, I’d be afraid of skipping one off the top of that torso into the mansion window in the back! dwc

😆 skipping one into one of those tires would have been more expensive:shock: real hard to believe but tires are more expensive than windows in the RV world.

Stay close R2 and it looks like three under is working out good so far.:D

[James Harvey]

#18281

I haven’t done one of these for a while but did a cold group this arvo after work. With my supermag at about 20 yards. Point of aim was the pink thing you see at the end… about 5-6inch group I think… I don’t shoot the supermag as well as my bigger bows but man I love it 😉

[Stephen Graf]

#18398

Nice group! That shooting will kill something. Good steady form too.

I guess your hunting season is over for the year… Did you get a chance to go hunting?

[David Coulter]

#18482

Nice Shooting, Jim. Any video with a well behaved pup is a bonus, too! Good luck out there. dwc

[Col Mike]

#18983

Jim

Welcome back. Did you get to do the kayak trip or was it all training.

By the way Dutch has improved much in his performance in your video’s but so boring compared to the last:D Oh yes good shooting my friend.

Semper Fi

Mike

[James Harvey]

#19308

Steve, we don’t have a season here in my State, but there’s no public land hunting either. It’s prime pig hunting time though, before the spring and summer rains come. And I found an uninhabited island about 30km’s off the coast here that’s full of feral goats. The bow will be packed in the kayak next time I go out there 😉

Mike, I got the kayak trip in but it was cut down and brought forward in typical military fashion. Only 2 weeks but very challenging conditions and awesome scenery. I’ll put some pics in the What ya got goin thread. And yes, very busy at work too… in the last 2 months I’ve spent about 6 weeks in the field.

Anyway, I did another cold shot vid this arvo after work, still sweaty from riding my push bike home! My daughter interrupted me so it was only one arrow and from about 18 yards instead of 20. Aiming at the yellow peg. Another miss, haha. I was going to sell this bow to fund a big jim’s take down that a fella was trying to sell here, but I just love this thing.

[Stephen Graf]

#19479

An island full of goats sounds like fun! But going 30 km off shore in a kayak sounds CRAZY. If you were going out there in a nice big boat with a nice big engine, I would want to go with you. Looking forward to pictures…

What bow are you shooting? It’s not the short bear bow you’ve been having fun with…

[James Harvey]

#19877

Haha, 30km where I live isn’t so bad… The great barrier reef’s out there protecting us from pacific swell and the water is warm. Pretty safe all things considered 😉

The bow is my 70# Barta bow. I can’t shoot it as accurately as my recurves out at long ranges where I’m gap shooting, but at instinctive ranges I seem to shoot it quite ok. I love the way the string is ripped from my fingers too… it tricks me into thinking I have a good clean release, haha.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#20035

Thanks for getting this thread going again, Jim!

Here’s my cold shot today – 17yds, seated on a stump, on a breezy afternoon (I was actually aiming for the center ring 😳 ):

[tigertrad]

#20721

ausjim wrote: Haha, 30km where I live isn’t so bad… The great barrier reef’s out there protecting us from pacific swell and the water is warm. Pretty safe all things considered 😉

The bow is my 70# Barta bow. I can’t shoot it as accurately as my recurves out at long ranges where I’m gap shooting, but at instinctive ranges I seem to shoot it quite ok. I love the way the string is ripped from my fingers too… it tricks me into thinking I have a good clean release, haha.

Yeah, 1 inch from a 1-inch spot… I’d say you’re shooting that 70 # bow “quite ok”….. 🙂

[David Coulter]

#20728

I’ll throw in on this one. I’m too lazy to photograph all my cold shots. I have to say, often my cold shots are my best. I suppose that’s a good thing.

The thing I like best about this thread is the honesty expressed here. Maybe that’s what kept me from posting so far!

My first group was at about 20-21 yards, farther than my hunting max by a few yards. The second group was a little shorter, but from inside the tree line and through some weeds blocking the target. I heard a funny noise in the second group that cost me a few bucks.. or should I say dollars here… best, dwc

ps. by the way, the aim point for these shots is the black hole under the first arrow to the right of the main group.

[James Harvey]

#21235

Bruce, I always shoot a bit low too when I’m sitting. I don’t know if it’s because I’m physically lower or because my draw is a little shorter or what. I’ll do a sitting one next time and see what happens.

Tiger, maybe I’m lucky that my daughter interrupted me and I couldn’t finish the group… maybe that one right on the money was an outlier of a terrible group that was about to get spread all over the target 😉 A group is always more honest than a single shot 😀

Nice shooting David!

[jczieske]

#22053

I have never heard of a “cold shot”, but I have been doing it with my broad heads in prep for elk camp in 1 week! My shots have been anywhere from 15 to 30 yds and out to 20, I am good to go. beyond that, I will have to let it go.

[Doc Nock]

#22225

NO pics this year…embroiled in relocation and trying to coordinate property/home buy long distance…daunting.

In the past, I’d sit in a stand for at least 15 minutes…and try to psyche myself out… gotta hit, gotta hit… then shoot.

I found that the quiet in the stand, in actual wood setting, really changed things from shooting around the house, elevated or not.

Know a guy who will shoot ONE arrow per day…at nearly 60 yards…and stands on his back deck for 15 min staring at that 60 yard target the whole time, letting the pressure mount.

He SWEARS that shooting at that extended yardage and living the whole day with how well (or not) he’s done, helps him really focus and it gears him up to shoot exceptionally well at 20 or 25 yards in real time!

I never had 60 yards to shoot myself but it makes some sense… I’d need a horse stall mat behind it to find my arrows! 😯

[David Coulter]

#22242

Doc, I admire that friend of yours. At sixty yards, I’d spend 15 minutes looking at the target and the rest of the day looking for the arrow. Definitely a good scenario for judos! Good luck with your house hunting. best, dwc

[Doc Nock]

#22253

Truth be told, t hat dude, DWC is a wheelie type… makes it somewhat easier at that range…but anything that extends your range on foam should work if you shoot ONE SHOT!

Live with it all day…play it over in your head, back, mind… then stand and recall every thing you did the day before and improve.

Pressure would be great and surely put you into channeling your inner self! :0

House hunting is done, David. Signed contact, signed mortgage ap today… now to wait and spend lots of money! 😮

TN, here I come. Any TN near Greenville, I have a post up looking for ya!

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#27842

Today’s cold shot – 15yds, from a deck a few feet off the ground:

[Ralph]

#28507

Bruce, I took the liberty of taking 2 cold shots this morning, one at 13 paces the other at 17 and from a bit different position.

Mine’s easier to hit than yours though cause mine has a bigger hole in the middle to concentrate on (or to hit and look gooder:).

I need to get some yoga block and patch that target up, it’s shooting through.

[Vintage Archer]

#28880

PRACTICING THE COLD SHOT….GREAT ADVICE A practice that I have been negligent in doing………Now that I got started practicing just shooting one arrow cold I have also started shooting from different positions using the cold technique.

Thanks for jogging my memory :idea::oops:

[James Harvey]

#33726

Good shooting fellas, I like the matching 3d targets 😀

Here’s another one from this arv, at the peg from ~10 then ~15 yards… I’m really loving this long bow.

Good hunting fellas, hopefully this practice pays off 😉

[James Harvey]

#34969

And every now and then you have one of these days 😳

Shooting at the yellow peg again from about 18-20 yards.

First shot was second from the left. I use a slight rotational draw, which means if I release early it goes left. Voila.

Second was full left. Dropped my bow to the left hard to make sure I watched the arrow hit the target after my terrible first shot 😕

Third and fourth were a little better but still a fair whack off. Practice practice practice!

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#37914

Today’s cold shot – 18 yards, in the rain:

#55 @ 28″ Big Jim’s “Thunderchild”

660 gr. arrow, 28.5% FOC

[James Harvey]

#39998

Bruce, the more I see your dayglo fletching the more tempted I am to follow suit. Do you buy them precut from somewhere or are you buying bigger and cutting down?

DWC, I know you’ve mentioned the bow elsewhere, but what is that you’re shooting? It’s got lovely lines.

[James Harvey]

#40056

I tried something different for no good reason today. Mostly because I was about to have a martini (sans vermouth) at 3 in the afternoon and really wanted to shoot my two favourite bows before that happened. So I did a cold shot with my 45#, 48″ recurve, shooting a 30″ carbon arrow, followed immediately by a cold shot (almost) with my 70#, 64″ long bow, shooting a 31″ Sitka Spruce arrow… both about 18 yards…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_BzjKx0Das&feature=youtu.be

(sorry for some reason I can’t get the embed link from youtube…)

[David Coulter]

#40336

Jim,

Nice shooting. Great that you can hammer in there with two set-ups like that. Love the dog and the kiddie pool in the yard.

My bow is a Leon Stewart Slammer Special. I ran me Leon at a trad shoot in Northwest New Jersey some years ago and just loved his work. Turned out he is a real gentleman, knows his stuff and is very willing to share. He helped me into a really nice bow and helped me learn to shoot it better with a few simple reminders.

Thank you, david

[Ralph]

#40827

13 paces-love it:)

Especially when it’s one of these

Then my other bow

Now all I gotta do is the sneaky part.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#42012

ausjim wrote: Bruce, the more I see your dayglo fletching the more tempted I am to follow suit. Do you buy them precut from somewhere or are you buying bigger and cutting down?

Jim –

I get those 2-1/4″ shields from Lancaster Archery:

http://www.lancasterarchery.com/gateway-2-1-4-shield-feathers.html

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#55860

*thread bump*

Today’s cold shot truly was fairly cold – 33F, with about a 12-14mph crosswind.

Distance – 14 yds

Bow – Big Jim’s ‘Buffalo’

Arrow – GT Trad 5575, 600gr.

[Ralph]

#57106

You shoot for a couple of hours? :?:D

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#10710

Today’s cold shot. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then…

[Ralph]

#10754

Good shot Bruce!

Down this way though it’s “Even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then”. 😀 It’s pronounced “akern” 🙄

[David Coulter]

#29171

Full disclosure, it wasn’t the first shot, but the second, but still a first of sorts for me. Took this shot at the end of this log from about 15-18 yards, I guess, and the arrow just disappeared. Shining a light down the rabbit hole I could see the green glow of the nock. I walked back to the house for my trusty Sierra Saw and an old shaft to use as a depth gauge and retrieved the arrow. Never dull. best, dwc

[Stephen Graf]

#29569

That’s a good one!

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#29782

Ha! Well done, David. I need to get out in the woods today and wander….

[David Coulter]

#30190

Had a beautiful morning here, about 27 degrees. Sucking up this nice brisk weather, as it’ll be gone soon. Went stumping in a different spot this morning, just across the road. Half stumping, half doing an inventory of future firewood and half checking deer trial use. All adds up. best, dwc

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#42157

Today’s Cold Shot:

24 yards

Robertson ‘Primal Styk’ – #52 @ 28″

Arrow – 550gr. GT Trad 5575

Now if I could just do that every time…:wink:

[Ralph]

#42253

I figure you do it pretty often.:D

Good shot.

[Ralph]

#43010

Bruce, if I can within 13 paces of turkeys!!! 1st four shots this morning.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#43063

Good shootin’ Ralph!

I really like your new quote as well.

[arthurw]

#11242

Yesterday’s cold shot at 15 yards. 2 inches left of the 1 inch diameter dot which was my aim point, elevation perfect. I firmly believe that what I’ve read on this forum has helped my shooting. What’s funny is, I shot two at 20 yards and was a measured inch high of my intended aim point.

[Author]

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