Instinctive shooting

[scout34]

I recently bought a takedown recurve and have been shooting it quite a bit recently.  At first I was trying to get a consistent sight picture by using the arrow tip as a reference point.  I read a little bit about instinctive shooting and gave it a try and found that I could get much tighter groups, though my consistency is still not all there.  How do you shoot and what tips do you have for a beginner?

[Dee]

I started shooting a recurve when I was 7 years old. I shot the recurve because that was the most modern bow you could buy in 1957. Dad was not a hunter, and the 20# pull bow hunted everything from birds to rabbits until I got a shotgun as a teenager. By then though I had bought a 30# fiberglass recurve made by Colt. Still have it.
Instinct is the best explanation, I rest the thumb against my cheek and look down the arrow at my target, unless it was a running rabbit, and then we simply led the rabbit as one would with a shotgun.
Over the years I gave up the bow until a few years ago my oldest son brought me a 45# recurve. It's funny but you never loose you instinct even after all these years. I am seriouslly thinking about getting back into bow hunting, but it will be with the recurve. I have never cared for the newer compounds and all their gadgets.

[Woodbutcher]

Scout34
It's all about form for me. If I'm focused on my shooting form, instead of the sight picture, it works. As soon as I think about visual references, something moves, or shifts, and .....!! 20 to 25 yards, more or less, and it works.
 At longer yardages, for target, there is a visual reference point, but it adds to the burden of keeping everything in order mentally.                                    Woodbutcher

[jgalar]

Change your target. Shoot at a piece of vertically mounted tape. Windage is the same no matter the distance. Don't be concerned about being high or low at first just concentrate on windage. When you shoot from different distances your mind will sub-consciously work out the distance for you.

[mparks]

Pretty much all instinctive for me.  I try to keep my form and anchor consistent and just concentrate on the center, of the center, of the center of the target.  I can shoot as well as I can concentrate.  Some days are better than others but a paper plate is in danger out to 20 yards.

I've tried using the arrow as a reference.  Call it gap, point of aim, "becoming the arrow" or whatever.  Just doesn't work that well for me.  If I step back to 40-50 yards for a few shots than I may more attention to the arrow more because my instinctive eye hasn't been tried through practice to shoot at that range.

I've read books by G. Fred Asbell, Byron Ferguson, Jay Kidwell and others and I've learned bits and pieces from each.  I still come back to following Asbell's method for the most part.

[jneilson]

I've been an instinct shooter since I got a little bow with the suction cup arrows circa 1968. Just practice, practice, practice. I shot daily from the time I was 9 till I was in my 20's with various bows ranging from my first real bow, a 15 lb'er to a few compound bows. I always start out at 10 yards or less and work my way out till I can't hit the target anymore. Having someone to critique your shooting usually helps too.

[HammerMan/LongbowMan]

I shoot instinctively with a longbow and a CSS compound.  About 30-35 yards is about as far as I can concentrate and still shoot accurately.  Fed Asbell's video on instinctive shooting helped my out alot.  The video shows how to shoot a longbow, recurve, and compound instinctively.

[Mac11700]

Instinctive shooting is all about teaching your brain where your bow hand has to be at different yardages and with the particular arrow your shooting (weight)...It's just like learning to throw a baseball or football to someone...or how to walk up to a door with out stopping and open the door knob and to do this with out stopping to measure the distance to the door....Your brain is the best computer in the world...allow it to work at a subconscious level without you trying to do the "figuring"...and you can be deadly accurate at much further yardages than most folks believe...This takes practice...and to practice properly...you start at a close range say 5 yards..with just a 1" X 1" dot on the target butt....pull back touch your anchor point and instantly release...Do this about 25 times...Don't think..don't aim....just concentrate on nothing but the dot...stare at it until you can see everything on it...Your brain will know that you have to move your hand up to hit the dot..and without thinking.....and you will hit very close to the dot and from then on till your ruining your nocks.....Put up a new dot...move back 5 yards ...before you even lift your bow arm...really concentrate on the dot for a minute...Let your brain work for you with out thinking about the different distance..your brain knows it has to move your hand in a different position...but hasn't seen the arc to the target yet...About now is when your subconscious stalls...and you start thinking.." How much do I move it up..to hit that dot..." You know it has to..so just return your conscious to staring at the dot..for a minute...because I know you will have tried to gage the distance to it by looking at something else off the target.. after a minute really concentrating on the dot...just draw an arrow and release ...without taking your eyes off of it...I will bet your vertical is about perfect...and your horizontal impact is a bit off...Your not thinking...just shooting...

This is true instinctive shooting...Allowing your brain to work...with out actually trying to think about what your doing or knowing the true distance to the target...You can do this out to some incredible yardages...and do it consistently...Your brain has to know the arc to compute where to move your hand...I doesn't take long to do this...It has nothing to do with "Form"...I can shoot from a completely upside down position and hit my target... Having perfect form is what up right target shooters need to have...Not traditional shooters who stump shoot or bale shoot while roving...Yes...they may have just string and bow..but..shooting Olympic style isn't true traditional form...because there is no traditional form...It is completely unique to each shooter...Some may push pull to draw their bows...Some may set their arm and draw straight back..some may shoot with bent elbow..some may shoot with a ridged bow arm..Some may full grip with their bow hand..others my shoot with it open...It is unique to how the individual wants to do it at any particular  time...which can change as the hunting or shooting situation changes...Now...if your only going to punch paper or compete on an IBO circuit where shooting positions are fixed...then yes...having a perfect form that is repeatable is important...but for pure freedom from shooting with sites...is removing all the restraints put on archers by them...and "form"...is one of them...

Sorry for the rant..

Mac

[gila_dog]

Let the force be with you Luke...
When I try to use mechanical aids like sights, or even using the arrow as a sight, my accuracy and consistency suffer. Your eyes, brain, and the rest of your body can be trained to shoot arrows amazingly accurately without any artificial aiming aids. You just have to get your conscious mind out of the way and let your subconscious and instincts take over. Here are the most important aspects of instinctive aiming to me:

1. Consistency. Always draw to the same point. Mine is my thumbnail touching the corner of my mouth. I shoot with both eyes open, and focus my eyes and mind on the small spot on the target that I want to hit. The arrow is in the periphery of my vision, but I don't look at it. What I'm doing is pointing my bow hand at the target. Maybe my mind is referring to the arrow and other things, but I'm not aware of it.

2. Focus on a SMALL part of the target. This is really important. I think a lot of people find that they shoot better at small targets than they do at large ones. The trick is to focus your mind and your eyes on a small object on the big target. This is really important when hunting.

3. A good release is the most important part of good shooting. It's also the hardest part to master. I've done it very well at times, and very poorly at others. That's why mechanical releases were invented. I shot fingers with a tab for most of my life. Then I broke my middle finger and either had to stop shooting for a while or dig out and old mechanical release that I had. My accuracy and consistency improved 1000%. I know a lot of traditional archers will consider me a heretic for shooting with a mechanical release. So be it. What I really love is seeing my arrow smack that can, cowpie, stump, ant hill or rabbit. The mechanical release is a hassle to use, compared with fingers and a tab, but the release is absolutely consistent from shot to shot. And I've never shot better.

[scout34]

I've found that it is not an easy thing to get good with a recurve.  Had to put it down for deer season and hunted with my compound this year.  I'll try again next year.

[sidekick]

Read "Instinctive Shooting" by G. Fred Asbell, as mentioned already. Then read it again. I have shot both recurve and compound for years. The compound excels in accuracy and at greater distance from the target line, but the recurve is more fun for me to shoot, and in many ways, more practical in MOST hunting situations that I hunt in (southeast US). The light physical weight of a recurve compared to a compound is a real plus to me when bowhunting.

[scout34]

I agree.  A compound just seems kind of awkward to carry.  Not heavy, it just feels uncomfortable.  I much prefer the simplicity and feel of the recurve.

I have Fred Asbell's video, just haven't dedicated the time I need to really practice the stuff he talks about in it.