Is it all in my head?

[BillJ]

I just took a trip to beautiful Montana.  While there, in addition to watching elk, mulies and mountain goats in Glacier National Park, I met Dave Windauer of Shaefer Silvertip Bows.  He graciously showed me around his shop, and let me shoot a couple of his fantastic bows.  Now I'm not much of a shooter, but with those bows, I felt like Howard Hill.  Spectacular groups.

I returned home and for the last couple of days have returned to my routine of flinging arrows from my Jerry Hill longbow at anything and everything I can find in my 10 acre property.  

Put simply, I have been lights out!  Everything I shoot at I hit.  Leaves are toast at 20 yards.  The center of my foam block is on borrowed time, and to top it off, tonight I put an arrow dead center through a starling at 40 yards.  That shot didn't deviate 1/2 inch in any direction from where I was looking.

SO, is it possible that shooting those great Silvertip bows boosted my confidence enough to make that great of a difference in my shooting?  That's the only explanation that I can think of to explain the sudden improvement.  Same bow, same arrows, same aging body, but suddenly better shooting.

Discussion?

BillJ

[JC]

Once the mechanics are ingrained, I think the mental aspect of shooting is THE major determining factor in how well we do/don't hit. Confidence is the primary mental aspect in my opinion, but stress effects my focus/concentration and that has a big effect to.

Sometimes, a run with a new bow will get you shooting very well. Not sure why that is but I suspect it has something to do with your brain "getting back to the basics" because your body is not 100% comfortable with the new bow and your mechanics revert back to "what you know".

Certainly no expert here, just my opinion.

[**oneshot**]

Archery is a mental game, along with alot of other sports.  How else can you drill a baseball sized hole in your backyard target at 20yds and then miss an entire elk at 15yds.
Thats what seperates the pro's from everybody else in their given sport.  They've conquered that six inch space between their ears.

[mike g]

Yes....Archery is 90% mental.
Yesterday with my new HIll bow....My string serving was to small for my nocks on my arrows, so after a couple shots came off my string....    which is very scary, I started loosing confidence....
    I had my Uncle come over and re serve my string....And then we went back out to shoot....What A differance, I was hitting the bull pretty good, At this point I hav'nt even tried 40 yds yet, we went bak to 40yds and my first shot was in the bull....
    I even shot a group of 3, one arrow from around 20-30-40 yds, all in the bull....
    Confidence is the Key to good shootin....You must think your the best Archer there is.

[ber643]

That is scary when that happens - for a second there you just know your bow is in pieces at your feet - from the horrible noise.

[Tom Leemans]

90% is in your head, the other half is fundamental physical stuff.  

[Ray]

Perfect gremlin Tom,if that worked I'd give it a try.

[nwt_harvester]

Found this old thread while searching for discussions on the mental side of shooting accurately.  I would have to agree with some of the other thoughts expressed above as I know and have experienced exactly what is being talked about.  

Now I know some of you wont like this but for me instinctive shooting as a sport is very similar to golf when I was younger.  At least on the mental side of things.  Like the confidence issue that has been brought up.  In golf or when I'm shooting an arrow I'll get this feeling that I know I'm going to make the shot I want even before I shoot.    

There is no doubt in my mind that confidence is the key to putting the arrow exactly where you want it.  How we get the confidence is another thing that baffles me.  For me its like a flavour of the day kind of a thing.  Some little change in my gear, or form will often times cause me to shoot awesome.  but usually It has to do with how i envision the shot.  The crazy thing is that what worked 2 days ago might suddenly stop and I have to think of something else.    For example about a week ago I was shooting and it sucked but the solution came to me and it worked amazing for the rest of the night.  (Again its hard to explain but in my mind all I had to do was release at exactly the right moment that it "felt right" and it would be dead on).  I wasn't able to shoot until a couple of days later but I was eager to try this "epiphany" I had earlier.  Well guess what that didn't work I was all over the place.  The next day I went out same thing.  So I looked at the target which is just a styrofoam block with a 1" black dot on it and tried to focus on it and imagine the shot and all kinds of things and then it clicked.  I just imagined my arrow flying right through the black hole and passing through the target.  When that thought went through my mind the confidence was there and I knew I would hit the spot even before I shot.  And I did over and over a few times until the black spot was gone.  Now I shot today for a while and I couldn't hit anything becuase I couldn't find that focus.  

I guess its both whats frustrating and whats addictive about the sport.  It just seems like the confidence (which I think produces focus) comes and goes as it pleases sometimes.  When its not there it is replaced by some sort of complacency where a person is somehow satisfied with shooting subpar.  But when you become dissatisifed you try to slow it down and focus and sometimes you figure it out sometimes you don't.  I do think that stress has a lot to do with it too.  Anyways enough of my ranting.  Now that you all think I'm a nut case.  I should go to bed.

[TSP]

From one nut case to another, aside from the gear used (an issue unto itself) I believe that shooting well is entirely based on form and focus.  Its really that simple.  Or complicated. However we choose to see it.  

I suspect that 99% of the reason why we have issues with focus, at least when shooting instinctively, is because we haven't done our homework with form.  Let's face it, picking a spot isn't exactly rocket science.  But for the moment lets assume we HAVE figured out the form part.  Why is repeatable consistent accuracy still so elusive?  

Here's a theory.  We think too much about it.  The little voice inside tells us to worry, scheme, plot, plan, calculate, circumvent, structure, re-structure, and become completely convinced that hitting that spot is purely impossible.  So we begin telling ourselves we need a crutch to help our insecure brain to do what it believes can't be done. Something 'else'.  Something to make it happen (if its good) or not let it happen (if its bad).  Something to ease our sense of insecurity about performing a simple hand-eye coordinated action that in reality is much like hand-eye coordinated actions we routinely do every single day.  Like eating.  Walking.  Throwing.  But shooting an arrow 'right there'!??  Naaa...too hard.  So we make crutch things in our heads.  Some make them imaginary...sort of a pretend crutch...and conquer the focus dragon enough to be comfortable and effective.  Others resort to physical brain crutches...like sights.  And clickers.  And all manner of stuff that, we're convinced or told, is necessary to 'hit that spot'.  Sometimes we convince ourselves that brain crutches are the ONLY way that anyone can ever learn to do the focus thing.  We come to believe that our solution (or method...productive or not) is the ONLY right answer in a world of wrong approaches.  I'm right and your wrong.  And we all know what happens after that.        :(

The need for form and focus, a universal truth.  An endless quest to find the perfect answer to the timeless question.....  Why the $#*&@! can't I hit that $#@*&!!+#% spot!!?    

What a great sport.
 
   

[sweet old bill]

It takes Zen to hit the target...Like Fred Bear said a million years ago, 5% physical, 95% form and mental ability. I once read that in China they would be able to see the arch of the arrow and then it coming down to hit the mark at shots that were over 300 yards... now for me that sure would be a mental requirement.

[NDTerminator]

From a purely amateur viewpoint, I think that Trad archery is about 80% mental and 20% physical.

I had a similar epiphany that began after I started shooting an SRF sight on one of my bows.
After a week or so of gratifyingly deadly accuracy I put the Hunter I down & started shooting my CM Hunter 56. Because of it's small sight window, The 56 is an instinctive only deal that has to be shot canted to open up the sight picture.

I love that little bow, but it isn't the easiest setup in the world to shoot well.  Be that as it may, the accuracy I had been enjoying with my SRF Hunter I tranferred seamlessly to the little Hunter 56.

Intrigued, I then took the SRF off my Hunter I and tried it with a cant, like my Hunter 56. If anything, my accuracy & consistency was even better than with the sight.

Clearly, the SRF sight instilled in my shoulder mounted computer the proper sight pictures at various distances, while at the same time the attendant success provided positive feedback that in turn inspires confidence...

[last arrow]

NTD

Keep us informed as you work with the SRF sight.  I keep hearing people say they use it a a training aid for barebow shooting.  But no ones explained it.  My curiosity needs to be satisfied...

[NDTerminator]

Will do.  If Tim will forgive me, I put it on my Kota  Prairie Swift this morning (with adhesive tape, not inserts Tim!!!).  Same story as before.  When the sight picture matches with the picture stored in the shoulder mounted computer, release.  Amazing how well it works...

[Taiga Recurve]

Bill J,
I have had the same thing happen to me, however, I am brought back to reality by the sound of my alarm clock.
Keep shooting lights out.

T

[nwt_harvester]

Ya your right TSP.  just over-analysed it.

[rybohunter]

I've been a basket case for the last 6 weeks or so. Finally went back to the shop and had the owner go over my form and "talk me down" and i shot as best I ever had. I knew it was always there, I just needed the confidence and forget about putting presure on myself.