Soooo..... What is a good shot

[dhermon85]

I seem to shoot better with others. It's always fun to try to bust someone else's arrow!

[onewhohasfun]

What is your goal?  Is it target archery, or to be a good shot on game in the field.
I know I am probably the odd ball here, but I never shoot groups. The only target I own is in my basement, but I still pick a different spot for each shot. I don't like busted nocks.
98% of my practice is stump shooting. I shoot a lot of arrows at 30 to 50 yds. all unknown distances. Makes that 20 yd. shot a gimme. There are only 2 possible scores for each shot, DEAD or NOT DEAD.
Maurice Thompson felt that shooting groups at known distances actually hurt his ability to kill game. I agree.
Your practice should mimic your hunting in every possible way.
Your first shot is the only one that counts.

[Pat B]

Putting that one shot right where it need to go. I've never had the opportunity to shoot a group at an animal so I don't shoot for groups when I practice. I take one shot at each spot I'm shooting for.

[joe ashton]

I think that is one of the big attractions of trad bows.  It takes about 30 minutes to learn how to shot a bow and a life time to learn how to shot it better and better and better.
Joe
PS there is a fine line between hobby and Mental Illness.

[Tajue17]

your shooting sounds really good at the 3D but not sure if you have made any big game harvests but thats where your skills will truely shine or truely suffer, hear me out.

I started about 25yrs ago and I lived on the 3D course same as all my buddys and archery friends, there where a bunch that shot 3D making kills on aolmost every target but in the woods at deer they couldn't hit the kill zone at all,, seriously I'm talking wounding animals every shot it was insane because back on the course to check out the equipment it s was dimes and eights this wasn't everyone but maybe 1/3rd of all the people who I thought where top shots...  

then there was those guys I knew who on the 3D courses who shot fair,, not great shots but not bad, maybe havign no misses on the 3D's but only a few dimes out of 30,,,,,, these guys put so many arrows thru the hearts of deer it was impressive,, I'm talking most if not all of the deer I knew about where recovered in short time,,, on the course no threat at all but in the woods absolutely deadly!  

if you can not only think like your quarry, hunt smart in the elements, keep your composure, and still have the form and accuracy you experience at the 3D in the field I think you'll be a threat for sure.

[Birdbow]

When hunting with adrenaline doing it's thing to my heart and limbs, I find my performance degrades over what I can do at the range. Learned a trick during my law enforcement training - do some hard exercise ( fast laps, max pushups, etc.) then shoot. It's eye opening

[Flying Dutchman]

It takes some training to improve your shot. At the moment I try to train three times a week. On days I don't shoot, I do rubber band exercises, to make my muscles stronger. I aim at a small pce of paper which is a little bit smaller then 4 by 4 inches. I shoot in a row of three arrows per time. For me, the ultimate is getting all three arrows in. Two in happens on a regular base. Trying to get the third in, after hitting twice, makes me so nervous, I mostly miss       . However, last week I shot three in for the very first time, the hairs on my arms went up!

Here you see pics from my shooting which is representive for my form at the moment. The black  has a diameter of 10 inches.

   

   

Every time that start thinking that I am getting good with all of the backyard shooting and need a reality check, I go small game hunting. There are the kind of shots that work on my dead foam deer and the kind of shots work on a frightened very alive bunny. I have seen lots of trad shooters have good form on flat ground at targets and then try to pull a wanky out of their hiny when trying to shoot at a pheasant.

[Caughtandhobble]

Heck, it's really pretty simple... The first shot of each day is usually a great report card  

[cahaba]

I don't claim to be a great shot. It's been years since I shot tournaments. I mostly shoot in the back yard and rove stump shoot with 3K acres behind the house. I shot this Sweetgum ball at 17 long paces yesterday with 1st. shot. Sometimes I amaze myself. HaHa
It sounds like you are a good shooter and are like most of us in that you always want to improve. Good shooting...Dave

   

[YORNOC]

This is the point where you start experimenting with different styles of shooting and (gulp) different bows.
Some people excel at instinctive, some at gap, etc.
You need to keep an open mind if you truly want to improve. And possibly shoot a longer or shorter bow, elevated rest or shelf, split or three under, etc.
Everyone's personal style will be different.
A friend of mine was so adamant on snap/instinctive shooting that he would not give it up, and was an awful shot. We told him to drop bow weight, anchor and hold, try all different methods but he simply would not, fighting that he would eventually excel at it.
He never did, and shoots a wheel bow now.
Too bad, if he just experimented a bit, he could have improved and enjoyed himself much more.
Mess around a lot. Post season is the time to do it for sure.

[TSP]

I believe that with the advent of modern conveniences (videos and DVDs, YouT--- experts and yes internet armchair divas like us, lol) a disservice is being done for those who simply want to learn how to shoot a bow for the sheer joy of it.  Yes, media conveniences have increased archery exposure which is a good thing.  But not everyone wants (or needs) to shoot like an olympic archer, nor do they need to be told that it requires a complicated training regime or bag of gadgets.  

Accurately launching an arrow with a bow is a remarkably simple undertaking if we allow it to be.  Great men have shown that hitting the mark is mostly a product of good shot selection and hard work.  A good shot is the result of the sum of your own practical experience... which in the end is the best way to learn pretty much anything.  More doing and less theorizing...the old-school way.