who here becomes the arrow?

[Brianlocal3]

For those of you who shoot gapstinctive/instinctive do you visualize the flight of the arrow as Byron Ferguson suggest? I was a more conscience gapper, and then the gaps became ingrained to where I did not think about them any more, but since switching to split finger the gaps are so big up close I have just learned my sight picture, but I have yet to achieve the ability to visualize the flight of the arrow.  Who out there does this?

Not me! I just look at where I want to shoot and my brain tells my left arm (right handed) where to go. I have never been able to consciously gap. If I try to "see" where my arrow is pointing then my vision goes to the point of my arrow and off my target. I too shoot split fingered.

Bisch

[Brianlocal3]

Bisch,
good point, I threw in some un needed info. Without gapping at all, do you visualize the flight path of the arrow?

[Craig]

do you visualize the flight path of the arrow?

I say yes I do. I don't gap shoot, but I can tell by the flight of my arrow if I can make the shot or not. That is if there is a branch in the way of the target I can tell if I'm going to hit it or not.

[Brianlocal3]

craig,
that is what I am after. How did you go about learning that? is it no diffeenrt than ingraining a sight picture? I shoot pretty good id say. Im no Rick Welch or Byron, but I am confident, and since I am comfortable with were I am I want to go to the next  level but I just can not seem to grasp the visualizing part yet

[calgarychef]

You need to do more stump/3d shooting.  Over branches, under them, up/downhill that sort of stuff.  You'd be amazed to see how high an arrow rises on a 30 yard shot.

[slowbowjoe]

I don't consciously visualise the flight; I sort of split vision shoot: aim at the spot I want to hit, have a secondary check on the arrow for alignment, but not elevation. I don't see the point on the arrow, just the shaft. Gauging elevation is done instinctively. I stump shoot a lot, and shots at varying distances and angles helps me with the an instinctive sense for the elevation. I have not tried actual gap shooting; don't even know what my point-on distance is.

[reddogge]

I shoot split finger, have all my life, but have a relatively high anchor. I use a modified gap system where I set the gap, switch focus to the target and I watch the arrow in flight to the target, thus ingraining the trajectory into my brain. The gap is just an initial check the get me in the ball park elevation wise.

My gap run between 15" and 20" between 10 and 35 yards. Shot a 3-D course yesterday and missed one bedded doe at 30 yards, skimmed her back, and pulled one shot off a 15 yard raccoon due to bad release. Otherwise all in the animals which is good for me.

[Stumpkiller]

I shoot enough and for long enough distances that my brain has an arrow trajectory ingrained.  I hold Byron Ferguson in highest regard, but once you release then the arrow itself has very little to do with the outcome.  ALL the work had to be done before that instant: spine, trim, fletching, form, aim, release. No matter what the arrow wants it is too late once it is in motion.

Maybe he should say: "become the trajactory".  

I know that if the day's first target seems to be 30 yards I have to focus on a spot 6" higher than I normally would at 20 yards.  The arrow is dropping much more than that, but my mind has to meet my brain halfway.  ;-)

As Calgarychief opined: if you do a bunch of roving or small game hunting in cover you get to know what kind of window an arrow needs for clearance along its flight.

[grayfeather]

I Am The "ARROW", it started out as a way to focus on the target when drawing back.But now i become the arrow when i shoot.I think it helps me ,and  my friends call me the "ARROW".

[bihunter]

Brian,

 I've tried differant methods of shooting. Read all the books & watched all the videos. I shoot the best using Byron Ferguson's method. With that said, Bob Westley's book explains gap the best.

[Brianlocal3]

I understand gapping, and with 3U I was to the point of not even thinking of gaps anymore after I shot it long enough.
But since coming over to split I have notice that I have learned my sight picture (only to 30 so far, baby steps)  but I no longer use the tip as a reference but the shaft.  It's specifically the visualization of the path of the arrow. Maybe it's just something that will come to me, but I really like having a concrete way to learn

[Legolas]

I BECOME THE B00GER (just Kidding)
If you shoot 15-17 yards 10,000 times instinctive and then step back to 25-27 and aim exactly the same the flight of the arrow like a bullet drops.It should hit low and the same place.
Now with a scope on a rifle you use retinal aides to tell you how much to hold over.
SO WHY AS ARCHERS DON'T WE JUST AT 30 YDS AIM THAT MUCH HIGHER THAN THE BULL?
Seems such a simple solution.

[Brianlocal3]

At 30 with spit I can use my gap and that's what I'll do in more of a split vision manner. I am point on at 53 yards, BUT the idea of projecting seeing the flight of the arrow interests me. I can gap all day long 3U and know my measurements. I just have not spent a lot of time measuring actual gaps with split yet as I am still tweaking a few things here and there to find my "perfect " form.

[chachamooby]

Seems like I "become the target" at work--dooh!

Really I do visualize the trajectory once I'm farther than 18 yards or so. Takes a while to learn to trust your inner calculator though. Toughest part for me is to avoid "correcting" for the drop. Stumpkiller explains what I'm trying to say pretty well.
I had my biggest improvement when I quit trying so hard to have perfect form and aiming. Kinda went at it like when I was a young pup and said to myself- "it's not hard to shoot this thing--just shoot it exactly right there" and poof--it really goes there. (sometimes)Ha! more fun like this also!!

[Brianlocal3]

Cha,
I know the feeling with sometimes I don't focus on form and just shoot as I amaze myself