how to aim instinctive while holding?

[deermaster1]

When it is nessecary to hold at full draw, my groups are terrible.  i do not have target panic but i do snap shoot.  when i practice holding for hunting situations, even with tremendous backtension, my arrow seems to move to the left and float around the tasrget.  i cant help but notice and subconsiously jerk it back on target to release.  should i just concentrate on the spot and get a consistent holding pattern buy floating the arrow around the target and not care where the arrow is in relation to the target?  im kinda confused and would appriciate any opinions.  terry green, you said in my other post that when you have to hold, you just set a holding pattern.  what do you mean buy this? thanks anyone for any help.

[Stringdancer]

You may have too much bow.....

Mike

[Diamond Paul]

Sounds like you are pulling but not pushing with the bow arm.  Back tension involves expanding the shoulders via bringing the back muscles together, as in trying to touch your shoulder blades together.  If you do this correctly, you will be pushing with your bow hand while pulling with your drawing hand.  Also, if you notice your arrow moving left and floating around the target, you are not concentrating hard enough on the target.  You should only be aware of the target.  Stop thinking about "holding" and just think about "pausing" to focus more intently on the target; keep good back tension and the shot should just "happen" when your concentration wills it.  Good luck, Paul.

[laddy]

Sounds to me that if you can see the arrow floating around your secondary aiming is kicking in.  I,d use it to fine tune your aim.

[Brian Krebs]

I am wondering if your shooting left or right eyed- with the 'appropriate' bow?

 Are you left or right handed? If your arrows are floating left and your right handed; then your anchor is not 'there' when your releasing.

 What are you considering a bad group; for you; or for where you want to be; or where you think you should be?

 Something else; are you having fun shooting your bow? Its more important to have fun than to shoot perfectly. If your having fun; you can get better at shooting; perhaps at a slower rate; but you can do it.

 I shoot at everything but a 'target' I have some cola with aspartamine for a sweetner; and as its not really good for me; and I was given a bunch of it; I shake a can of it up real good and shoot at it. Its fun when you hit it. So are balloons. Moving balloons - like tied on a string to something; move around; and you can't get mad or disapointed with yourself when you miss- or get a bad group.

 I shoot at dark. I mean real dark. I shoot at lit candles. I can't see the bow and have to concentrate on the flame. I do this in a safe place where big misses are no danger; but it forces me to concentrate on the flame and although I hit it quite often; missing it is OK - a candle in the dark?

Are you shooting alone; or with others? Sometimes a little competition is a good thing; sometimes its just not.

Anyone who has shot with me knows I let the other person shoot first. Thats because I will then aim at their arrow. After they catch on; then its a real competition    

 I have had target panic; and shooting in the dark helps that; because nobody can see me as I shoot; and I think that was part of the problem.

 The way you described shooting; you in your internal computer know where the arrow is going; it seems to be competition between the body and mind to be perfect that can cause problems.

 Shoot totally for fun. See what happens. Shoot with one knee on the ground; both knees; one leg in the air. Give yourself a reason to miss; and see if you can still hit.

 No fun in trying to hard all the time. IMHO

[AllenR]

Originally posted by Brian Krebs:
 Its more important to have fun than to shoot perfectly.  

No truer words have been written on this or any other forum.

Brian is 100% right about this.

For nearly all of us, archery is not a life or death activity. If it's not enjoyable, there's no point in doing it.

Having fun is also necessary for good shooting.  It allows us to relax and just shoot, which is how most of us will shoot our best.

Allen

[Jack Aldridge]

If you want to shoot accurately you must have a repeatable, consistent, and workable form. Your thread leaves too many questions unanswered about your shooting style. I would suggest finding a good coach and spending one or two sessions with him or her to develop something that works for you individually.

[scriv]

Once again Diamond Paul is right on the mark.  Brian makes a good point as well.  My signature is proof of that.  Maybe I should have put Have fun = shooting strait.  Good luck.   :D

[mcgroundstalker]

Gonna stick my neck out here... Some fellas loose interest shooting groups. Maybe it's too much pressure on you to keep, let's say five arrows together. Why not try stump shooting out in the woods or an open field. This way you won't "brain overload" thinking about a miss.

Something that works for me is to "become the arrow" or use trajectory memory. Just as you come to anchor (watch) your arrow fly to the target in your minds eye... Then let her rip and follow through!

... mike ...

[deermaster1]

so if i have fun and smile, my holding hand will be rock solid?  sure i have fun, but its even more fun to have my question answered and to be able to hit my target.  i appriciate the thoughts, but i still dont know what to do differant

[deermaster1]

thanks diamond paul, you certinly gave me something to try and work with

[Diamond Paul]

Your welcome.  Think about shooting a rifle; you begin your squeeze as the sight finds the mark.  You don't worry about a little movement, as no one can hold a sight perfectly steady.  You just SQUEEZE it off, and you'll hit.  By the time you hit anchor, aiming is already done, or should be.  Think about moving the shooting elbow straight back, relax your hand, and it's gone!  I pause very slightly, but I don't try to sit there and hold, if you get my meaning.  That pause just lets me bear down mentally on the spot.  When I'm really shooting well, the spot seems to suddenly just swallow up my whole concentration; at that moment, the bow will go off on its own.  It's a Zen thing, I guess!  LOL!  Stick with it, and remember, work on the form at point blank range, without aiming.  Once you start trying to move back and hit things, only think about aiming, not form.  Good luck, Paul.

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by Brian Krebs:

 Its more important to have fun than to shoot perfectly.

Yep...and the more perfect I shoot the more fun I have.

Not sure I'd have much fun if I went around missing everything I shot at.

[Brian Krebs]

LOL Terry     The old gunfighter saying was "its not the fastest shot that lives; its the guy who takes his time and shoots straightest - and does it faster than the other guy...."

[Savate]

I remember an ancience Hawaiian surfer proverb: "the Best surfer in the world is the one having the most fun".

I'm cross dominant and have some of these same problems, but when I tried a left handed bow at the range it just wasn't feeling right (yet).  

I can SOMETIMES get really nice grouping shooting right handed, so I feel like its more about my form right now and that I might be able to figure out how to shoot "well enough" righty. (I think my problems are in my release as the string "rolls and twangs" of my fingers rather than a smooth release).

Besides, turkey season opens soon and I won't have enough time to re-learn left side shooting....maybe later.  

[AllenR]

Originally posted by deermaster1:
so if i have fun and smile, my holding hand will be rock solid?  sure i have fun, but its even more fun to have my question answered and to be able to hit my target.  i appriciate the thoughts, but i still dont know what to do differant

If you are having fun, you are more likely to relax and a steady bow arm is as much about relaxation than anything else.  The idea is to use only the muscles that you need and relax the others.  

It's much easier to do if you are enjoying yourself.  But like others pointed out it's much easier to enjoy shooting if you are relaxed.

I don't know which comes first.  Maybe you have to suffer through "no fun" to get to the other side where you are shooting well enough to enjoy it.

I enjoy shooting my bows. If I didn't, I wouldn't do it. Sometimes it's frustrating when I expect better performance than I'm capable of, but the good times carry me through.  

This is not to say that high goals are wrong, but unrealistic expectations seem to hurt more than they help.  The stress & tension of not meeting those has been a part of my battle with target panic for several years.  NOT fun!

Good luck,
Allen