What do you consider accurate?

[James Wrenn]

Well my take on hunting accuracy is not how far you can shoot well but how you will handle not shooting farther than you can when that time comes. :)If you can only shoot 10 yds and you can let a deer walk at 15yds you are shooting well enough to go hunting. jmo

I personaly never quit tring to shoot better than I can.I always want to shoot better tommorrow than I am right now.Conditions play such a big part in when or what shot I take when hunting I can never say what my distance will be that day or even moment in time.I can usually average 240 or better on a 300 round with about any bow I pick up.So I would say I am in the 6 or 8" group at 20yds consistantly.Sure I shoot some 25pt ends which would mean sub 2" groups with 5 arrows at times but that would not be a real measure of my shooting.  

[Rico]

I understand what you are saying JC Good Post.
   I was trying more  to say what James Wrenn just wrote so well. Thanks.

[Otto]

JC

I hear you on the concentration level.  Shooting a dozen arrows at the same spot like that is VERY mentally taxing.  In fact, I find I can only do it once per session.  The ole noggin just gets fried if I try to do it arrow after arrow.  On the pic of the group I posted, I'm not sure I did anything physically different on those 2 shots.  They were more like, I felt focused and then 1 second before release my brain went off to LaLa land or something and next thing I know, I have a blown shot.

The other issue I have is being able to focus on a teeny tiny spot at 40 yds.  I've worn glasses for distance since I was 11.  Now as I approach 50, even with an updated prescription, it's flat out difficult to SEE and focus on a tiny spot at those longer distances.

[SteveB]

JC - I like the way you think. Your approach and thoughts on shooting are very similsr to mine. Nothing comes close to the pressure of actually shooting at game. Competitive 3D is probably next and, TO ME(ONLY), stumping roving the least - since it is hard to quantify results and about zero pressure.

Steve

[Otto]

SteveB

Agreed.  Stumping and roving is fun, but as you say, it's hard to quantify to determine how well you shot.  The brain only remembers the leaf or stray bottle cap that got center punched.  It tends to forget the shot that "looked" "close enough" but in reality would have been a gut shot on a live animal.

[longbawl]

Hi Leef
Wow a lot of good stuff on this tread.The main thing is to shoot.An try to shoot better today than you did yesterday.Its all good shoot groups, an shoot one arrow, go stump shooting.But i would add for hunting shoot your broad heads alot.When i put down my compound an went trad it became how close i could get not how far i could shoot.

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Originally posted by JC:
Hope to share a camp with you someday.

After enjoying your hunting stories here for a long time now, It would be my pleasure.

[BUFF]

I find that I get sloppy stump shooting and even when shooting my 3-D targets. It is too easy for me to tell my self " well it's in the lungs" on a shot that is 4 or 5 inches from where I was looking. As boring as it is,  I think I improve the most when I'm shooting at a small dot. I was told years ago your maximum distance is the distance you would shoot at your 3-D deer leaned against your truck.

[BigRonHuntAlot]

Well..., DEAD IS ACCURATE.      

[Jerry Wald]

Nothing like hunting to bring out the best or worst in your shooting though. I tend to agree with JC that hunting is the ultimate pressure on your accuracy. I'm sure we all agree that a wounded animal is not what anyone wants to see EVER. I know when I hunt I get as close as I can and usually that is under 15 yards. In the Yukon it'sw almost impossible to hunt from a stand cause the animals don't frequent the same trails much. All of my hunting is spot and stalk or calling. My last bear was stalked on the ground and I took him at 7 paces while he was eating. It also took me close to 2 hours to get that close. I had him many times at 15-20 yards but no angle.

When it came time to shoot believe me I was relieved to see the arrow fly. Alot of heart pounding prior to this as a few times he winded me and looked like he was going to leave dodge.

Then he turned quartering away and then it's burn a hole time on the hair behind the shoulder and pull and release. Alot of that doesn't happen shooting targets etc. I use them mostly for form and to check my accuracy.

Jer Bear

[JC]

Ooooooo Ron! I like THAT answer too...  

[Big'n]

I think some of ya'll misunderstood what I was trying to say. According to science the human mind cannot "concentrate" on more than one thing at a time. If you shoot purely instinctively (I know this could start another discussion), meaning shooting without reference other than the spot you intend to hit, it is impossible to concentrate on that spot and your form at the same time and shoot accurately. Something has to give. Something has to suffer. This is not my opinion it is scientific fact. It has to do with your attentional focus according to Dr. Kidwell.

I know personally that I can't shoot worth a darn if I'm up there thinking about my form. If I want to work on form, I shoot up close to the target with my eyes closed. I think alot of people slow their progress in shooting a bow accurately by trying to do too many things at once.

I understand the benefits to shooting groups as prescribed by some of the fellas above. Personally it confuses my instinctive shot. When I shoot groups from particular distance and then move, it takes my eye a few shots to adjust to the new distance. If I shoot one arrow then move my eye automatically adjusts to the new distance. I can tell what I'm doing wrong( in my form)without shooting groups. I don't believe it is needed for instinctive shooting.

I may have gotten off the given subject a bit, but thought I ought to clarify what I meant by my earlier statement. God Bless, DAVE

[JC]

Originally posted by Big'n:
According to science the human mind cannot "concentrate" on more than one thing at a time.

You're right, it is a topic for another thread...but in short response, I don't think that's proven anywhere. If so, combat fighter pilots, who process input from approximately 12 different sources and perform up to 15 simultaneous complex muscle movements would not be capable of doing what they do every day. If those people are simply multitasking at the speeds of a microprocessor...well that's close enough to simultaneous for me.

I say all this because I know I can both aim and work on form. My aiming process is as much a part of my form as my release...they are both integral parts of my shot. Again, you mileage may vary.

Sorry for the thread high-jack...

[adirondack46r]

JC,

I hope you don't mind, I stole your grandfather's quote for my signature. It applies to nearly every worthwhile aspect of life that I can think of as well.

Bob

[JC]

Bob, humbly honored, as I am sure he is too.

[Three Arrows]

JC my father told me that same thing when I was 14 yrs old.  He was a fighter pilot.  This thread seems to have very insightful and honest opinions about shooting and what some considers accurate.  I personally can zip in 3 good shots in a row and that's it, have to take a break for a while before I shoot again otherwise it is not accurate.  Correct me if you think I am wrong guys, but if you shot enough, you should know what happened with your form to cause your arrows to miss where they do.  It isn't that hard to figure it out!  If you paid attention to your shooting, you will recognize what makes good hits or what causes bad hits.  Most people prefer 3-D shooting because there is no defined target zones.  It's either 10 or 8.  Paper targets very much like the online shooting challenge present you with multiple zones.  There is also a bullseye to put pressure on you.  This is why we get so many of us divided into "archers", "hunters", and "hunting archers".  You know, those that shoot holes in bullseyes and miss game, those that shoot the crap out of game but can't hit a bale, and those that flat out shoot whatever they want!  It's just like JC's grandfather said...

[Labs4me]

Here's what I consider "accurate":

A bowhunter who can, with absolute confidence put his/her first and only arrow into the "kill zone" of a 3-D target at the following distances (in this or a similarly staggered order): 10, 18, 14, 20 & 16.

For bowhunting purposes, I've never much understood the "five out of five" in a pie plate at 20 yards approach to practicing. Unless someone happens to be expecting five deer to walk by at 20 yards.    :confused: