The fine Art of Instinctive Shooting
By Jeremiah Retherford
World Broad Head Flight Champion winner of the coveted Drake Flight Medal and World Broad Head distance Record Holder
Instinctive Shooting and some tips for Traditional Wood Bows
I will assume most of you have been shooting at least long enough to know how to shoot your Bow. Whether you have a lot of experience with Traditional Archery or just a little; this Instinctive Shooting article should help you improve. I believe Instinctive Shooting is the best way to shoot a Traditional Bow if you are a hunter. Reference point shooting (aiming) like Gap Shooting and the various other reference point shooting systems and techniques people have used may be more consistant for you if you are Target Shooting? The choice is up to you and the best way to decide what works best for you is to try the various techniques and see what you are more comfortable with. However…I will say that if you are a serious hunter (Except maybe for the stand hunter) that Instinctive Shooting using the Swing Draw is the best way to go with a Traditional Bow . But it takes alot of practice to be consistent at various ranges (roving is probably the best practice there is). But practice is at least half the fun!
First let me point out a few things about instinctive shooting that most people are not really aware of. Most people that say they shoot instinctively really don’t! I am not calling any one a liar, but I am well known for calling a spade a spade (no racial slur intended!). Almost every Archer I have ever met that swears they shoot instinctively will invariably make sight corrections when they shoot. This is a common and natural tendency. But lets say your first shot goes low to the left…now you know you will have to correct and shoot higher to the right. Most people in this situation will consciously make an effort to shoot higher to the right to correct. If you do that you are not shooting instinctively! Your mind, body and spirit know that first shot went low to the left so don’t worry about making corrections if you really want to shoot instinctively! Forget about it!
Most people will be better off pretending that they are being attacked by a wounded Grizzly. What if you were being attacked by a big, mean, teeth popping, pissed off Bear? Would you stop and aim and make shot corrections? NO (at least you better not)! You will get your Bow up and to full draw as quickly as possible (Swing Draw Baby!) and get the arrow in the air. And if you have practiced and practiced and practiced you will drill that Bear right where you want the arrow to go (right under his chin if his head is up high enough to get the arrow into the chest area)! You have one shot! Your life depends on it! BUT…you don’t have time to think! You don’t have time to aim! In about 1 or 2 seconds you will be buried in Bear! Oh by the way… If his chin is down and you don’t have a shot at the chest, shoot him in the nose if his mouth is closed. If his mouth is open shoot him right in the mouth! If you shoot him in the hump you will just make him mad! A shot like this may be considered a snap shot? But if you have practiced alot then it will be PURE INSTINCTIVE SHOOTING ! No thought, just action!
A habit takes about 21 or 22 days to form (so say the experts). SO if you can shoot your Traditional Bow every day for at least 1 half hour (1 hour or more is even better), without developing any bad habits you will be well on your way to great shooting with your new Traditional Bow (assuming you have just purchased one of My Traditional or Primitive wood Bows).
You will be relying on your mind and body’s natural tendency (instinct) to align things and also your body’s muscle memory. It is much like snap shooting (I hesitate to use that term though). You point and shoot, you don’t think about it. Like any martial art if you have to react it is already tooooooo late! Yes Traditional Archery is (or can be) a Martial Art ! The fusion of mind, body and spirit. If you have to think about it you aren’t shooting instinctively! When you are aiming, you are thinking about where you are aiming you have just left out your spirit and body. All you have left is your mind! You can’t shoot a Bow using just your mind! You have to get your body and ultimately (if possible) your spirit involved too. If you are thinking and trying to aim… at the very least you have left your spirit and body behind in the reaction mode. If you are reacting it is already too late to ACT!
Welcome to my WORLD.
Form or technique…
Here is where you want to develop GOOD habits. And avoid developing the bad habits. I love the Nike add that says “Just Do It!” This is so true in many physical activities but especially true with Instinctive shooting (and most of the things we do well).
But to Just Do It , you have to be shooting from habit. Not thinking, not aiming. It has to be a natural thing, just like pointing your finger or catching a baseball or walking and talking at the same time (if you are talking while you walk you are not thinking about walking). DO you stop and think when you point your finger at something? NO! And you shouldn’t stop and think when you catch a ball (or anything that has been thrown at you or to you) either! Hand Eye coordination!
SO first…forget everything you know or think you know about shooting a Bow. Let us start from scratch and avoid the bad habits. It is good to start with a large target, an official archery target is fine, but a paper plate will do. Take the paper plate and make a 2 or 3 inch circle in the center and fill it in with a dark color (black felt tipped pin). Now take that target and put it about 15 feet (if you feel more comfortable being closer then stand closer to your target) away with a safe back stop. Straw bales are good for a backstop. Make sure nothing behind your target can be killed (Small Children? Family Dog?) or damaged.
Now listen (READ) very closely…
Stand side ways with your opposite foot forward. If you are right handed then you are right footed, so put your left foot forward (if you are left handed reverse these instructions and put your right foot forward). I stand pretty much like a Boxer ready to jab. So what that means is lean a little forward and put a little more weight on your forward foot. I cant (lean) my Bow a little to the right (upper limb). Now you have your Bow in your left hand (right hand if you are left handed) and you are looking (NOT AIMING!) at your target.
Take a few breaths and empty your mind of all thought. That will take practice for most of you! Believe me you can push thoughts out of your mind! All it takes is determination and practice! If you have trouble NOT thinking then try replacing your thought with another thought. Ever changed your mind? Now after you have learned to replace one thought with another it will be easier to push a though out of your mind. Like this…you are walking down the street thinking…Oh man I have to get home and mow the lawn. A beautiful, sexy woman walks by (I am assuming most of my readers are men, if not, sorry), immediately you say to yourself…WOW that girl is fine! Now you either keep thinking about the beautiful girl or you can go back to thinking about your lawnmower? You decide! After you learn how to do that (exchange one thought for another at will) it will be a lot easier to just stop thinking or to push a thought back out of your mind.
Now as you bring your Bow up you will be drawing your Bow . But first…LOOK at your target. Now focus on that little 3 inch circle you made on your paper plate. Focus INTENTLY! When everything but that 3 inch circle looks fuzzy or better yet starts to disappear you are getting there. When you have that focus, start to breath in and at the same time start your draw.
As you breath in and start your draw, you should be bringing up your Bow to the full draw position. This is known commonly as the “Swing Draw .” Most people anchor at the corner of the mouth. That is fine BUT…DO NOT ANCHOR, EVER, NEVER! Your anchor point is a reference point! There should be no HOLD in instinctive shooting. As you touch your anchor point you now know that you have reached full draw…right? If your technique is half way decent, this draw will be consistent and your draw length will be consistent too. If your draw is consistent then you will be pulling the same weight (same length) every time and your arrows will have the same speed and trajectory! 1 inch of draw length will make a huge difference in draw weight and on arrow impact! Don’t reach or creep forward with your head to shorten your draw! This is a common mistake when fatigue starts to set in. Doing this will shorten your draw and slow arrow speeds. In other words your arrows will hit low.
Don’t lock your Bow arm! Push with your Bow arm as you pull with your drawing arm. Turn your left elbow (right elbow if you are left handed) out to the side (Rotate your arm so your elbow is facing out to the side not down). Your Bow arm will be fully extended but not locked (if you are pushing). Your drawing arm should end up with that elbow (right elbow if you are right handed, left elbow if you are left handed) at least as high as your shoulder (or fairly close to being in line with the arrow, a little higher than the shoulder is even better.
Okay now back to the draw…as you reach your anchor point (remember do not anchor just use this as a reference point) you are going to SNAP your fingers open! Do not let the string roll off the tips of your fingers! Don’t be lazy! This is not a rifle…you are not squeezing a trigger. SNAP your fingers open. Now when you do this you should have about 3/4s of a breath. For me it is not good to take a deep breath, somewhere between 2/3rds and 3/4s. OK! You did it! If you did all that without thinking (remember you were just focusing on your little black circle) you just shot Instinctively.
Do it again (and again and again and again and again and well you get it!!!)
Now relax…take a few breaths…Focus on your little black circle…start to breath in…as you reach full draw you should have about 3/4s of a breath…as you just start to feel your anchor point…SNAP your fingers open. Don’t do anything else but what you just read! DO NOT compensate or correct for each shot! Do Not Aim!
DO…Focus…Breath in as you draw (while bringing up your Bow) and…Release. Yes it is just that simple. Focus, draw and release , then do it again and again and again. Your mind has the input, your muscles will remember and your Body (hand eye coordination) will line things up for you if you give it a chance. By that I mean if you do not force it and think about all the variables and try to get it all together. This is awesome information for any serious Hunter. When you are ready for the shot at your game animal there is no hesitation! No Hold, no Buck fever. There is no time for any of that! Just look at your target, not the whole animal! Just that small spot that you have picked for your target. The heart lung region for most shots (but really just the center of this area). You don’t even have to estimate the range! Your mind and muscle memory will have all that input already if you have practiced at various hunting ranges/yardages. So all you have to do is …focus, draw and release.
Just Do It.
If your stance is consistent and your draw length (anchor/reference point) is consistent and you grip your Bow consistently (in the same place with the same pressure) and you nock your arrow consistently (the same place on the string) then you will develop a very good habit. There are a few things that can help keep you consistent with all of these variables. When you get consistent, you will be shooting good. When you do it all without thinking you will be shooting great!
If your Bow has an arrow shelf you are lucky! One less reference point to NOT THINK about! If your Bow has no shelf then make sure your grip placement is consistent so your arrow will be located in exactly the same place for every shot. Make a mark or wrap the handle with some thing so your hand and so your arrow too, will be at exactly the same place for every shot. Maybe you are starting to see that consistency is very important! Do not under estimate the importance of this consistency!
So now that your arrow is placed in the same position for every shot, you will want your nocking point on your Bow string to be in the same position every time you shoot. I mark my strings with a permanent marker then I wrap enough serving or thread on that spot to stop my arrow from going any further down the string. You have to shoot a few times to find your nocking point. If you have to, have some one stand behind you and watch your arrow as you shoot. If the tail end of the arrow kicks up when you release, then your arrow is nocked too low. If the tail end of your arrow kicks down, then your arrow is nocked too high on your string.
Since this some one is back there already you may as well have them check your arrow’s spine for you too. If the arrow is not kicking up or down then you have the right nocking point on your string. Mark your string in some way for consistency (serving or thread as mentioned above). Now shoot again and have your friend tell you if the arrows spray left or right. Generally speaking if they go left the spine weight is too low (your arrows are not stiff enough). If the arrows are spraying right they are spined too heavy (your arrows are too stiff). Just the opposite if you are left handed. Depending on how bad they are spraying you should go up five pounds or down five pounds in spine weight and try it again to correct the problem. Usually 5 pounds either way is enough (if I made your Bow and arrows), but if you have to keep experimenting with different spine weights until your arrows are flying right.
I will tell you what spine weight will work well for your Bow (if I built your Bow). The only problem is everyone shoots differently so your Bow may shoot differently for you than it does for me. SO even though I can get your Bow and arrows matched perfectly for me, they may be off a little for you. SO shoot your Bow until you are comfortable with it and then start experimenting with different spine weights to see what works best for you and your Bow. Usually My Bows and arrows are pretty close to right on for my Customers. Sometimes, if I have made a Bow for some one who is very tall or very short or has some kind of weird shooting style, I may be off by five pounds. It is important to get your arrows matched right to you and your Bow (and your shooting style).
By now, you should have your arrow’s spined right for your Bow and you should have your grip placement right. You also should have a consistent placement (at the handle) for your arrow and consistent nock point on your string. If not don’t worry, this will all start to come together with time and practice. Don’t think about this stuff when you are shooting. Just shoot.
All that is left is your stance and your release. Let’s go back to your stance…stand with your opposite foot forward (like a boxer getting ready to jab). Feet about shoulder width apart (or what ever is comfortable for you). Throw a jab at your target. Did you hit the 3 inch circle? I know it is 15 feet away, but you know what I mean. If that circle was within your reach would you have hit it? If yes then you are standing about right. You must be comfortable and fairly relaxed. Don’t go to sleep! Don’t lock your legs! Just like you push with your Bow arm you should push with your forward foot. Don’t lock it. If you bend your legs just slightly then you know they are not locked. Now what is left? Your release! If you touch your middle finger to the corner of your mouth (like I do) then you know when you have reached full draw. You are not thinking about this! You are just waiting to just barely feel the finger at the corner of your mouth. Remember…at the same time you bring up your Bow, you are drawing and taking in your breath. You may get a full breath before you get to full draw. No problem! STOP, PUT YOUR BOW back DOWN! Take few breaths. Focus on your spot. Start to take another breath…as you bring up your Bow…you are drawing your Bow. Just as you barely feel that finger at the corner of your mouth…SNAP your fingers open! WOW! You just did it again. Did you empty all thought before you started your draw???
When you focused on your spot, you should have emptied your mind at that time. If not all is not lost. Stop, take a few breaths and start again. While you are focusing on your spot you have a chance to empty your mind. That is why I take a few breaths before I start my draw. It relaxes me and if I am thinking anything at all it gives me a chance to push the thought out of my mind. If you must think…think about your little 3 inch circle. Even better…when you draw your circle leave a little white circle in the center of your black circle. You can focus on that little white spot now.
Now you are doing it (just doing it?). You cannot think of two things at once! SO if you have to have a thought in your mind make it this one…FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS on that little white spot! DO NOT compensate for each shot. The natural tendency is to correct and try to shoot high to the right if the last shot went low to the left…RIGHT? DO NOT DO THIS!
Just Focus…Breath…Draw (as you breath in) and Release! Your mind is the best computer ever made, your body has muscle memory and a natural tendency/instinct to align things (any thing). SO…we are taking advantage of these natural tendencies or instincts. Practice, practice, practice…until it is first nature (forget about second nature whatever that is?) Don’t think…JUST DO IT!
BECOME THE ARROW! I haven’t read his Book, but it must be a good book if that is the name he used, (Become The ARROW) he must know. Yeah I gotta get that book some day. It is just that simple. It sounds a little complicated when you read it. Like wow, I have to balance breathing and drawing and focusing and releasing all at the same time while I stand right and make sure my arrow is placed properly and nocked right on my Bow string, oh yeah all of that while I try to empty my mind!
And don’t forget to hold your mouth right! (that’s a joke).
It’s like chewing gum and walking at the same time. You will do it easily after a few shots. Then you will settle down. If you haven’t shot much (or even have shot, but not with a Traditional Bow) your muscles will be weak and they will have a tendency to jump around a little. This too will settle down. As the weeks go by you will get better and better at balancing all of these things at the same time without thinking about it. Your hand eye coordination will get better and better. Then your groups will shrink. When your groups shrink to where you are happy with them(all hitting the paper plate at least), you get to move your target out farther and farther. 5 feet or so is enough for each move.
Later you can move targets (or where you are standing) around in a staggered way to get even more practice with distance judgment. SO you see you will never be done! You will just keep getting better and better! Maybe some day you will be shooting 6 inch groups at 150 yards like me! Nah, that is a joke! I can only do that at 100 yards (I wish). But one thing I can do very well…hit game! I have noticed some people are good game shots and some people are good target shots! Very few people are really good at both! Most target shooter use some form of reference point (aiming) shooting for better consistency. If you are trying to be a serious target shooter you may want to try some form of gap shooting? But for game hunting Instinctive Shooting can’t be beat!
Some pointers for Traditional Bows…
You may see a lot of guys shooting with a loose grip. This is not a good thing with most Long Bows. They shoot with the Bow just held loosely in the web of the hand. Don’t do this! Grip your Bow firmly and make sure your palm is making full contact on the back of the handle (belly side). You may have to try a few different positions to get your Bow shooting right. You don’t need a death grip. If your knuckles are turning white you are probably squeezing your Bow too hard. Firm…not hard is good. Check the spine of your arrows. Or have some one check for you when you shoot. Make sure your arrows are fletched with at least 5 or 5 1/2 inch feathers. Plastic vanes don’t seem to work as well with these Bows. Usually if your arrows are spraying you can settle them down with a little more feather (longer or taller).
Use a two blade, cut on entry broad head for all of your serious big game hunting. I like 125 grain Zwickey Eskimos and use them almost exclusively. Magnus as well as other companies make good broad heads too. Practice with your broad head arrows!!!
They will fly differently than your field tipped arrows, even if they are exactly the same weight. I kind of hate to say this but I use Carbon arrows when I am roving or tuning my Bow’s (tuning the limbs). The reason is I shoot alot of arrows and I have broken a million (maybe not quite that many) Cedar, Doug Fir and Spruce arrows and the Carbon arrows are pretty tough and will not bend like aluminum.
Brace height. Brace height is the distance from the handle (belly side) of the Bow to the string when the Bow is strung (braced). A good brace height for hunting is just clear of the feathers. Usually that is about 5 1/2 inches to 6 inches. This low brace height will give you faster arrow speeds for better penetration on game animals. It will also stress your Bow less, a good thing if your Bow is strung for long periods of time (like when you are hunting). For target shooting and practice or roving you may want a higher brace. Like 6 to 6 1/2 inches or even more. It is easier to shoot more accurately with the higher brace. You can buy shorter Bow strings to raise brace height or you can twist your string to shorten it (raising brace height)
What else? Oh yeah I use a 550 to 580 grain arrow (that weight includes the 125 grain broad head) for almost all of my hunting. I use 540 to 550 grain arrows for everything from Turkey to Elk.
I do like to use a heavier arrow 580 to 600 or more for big Elk and big Hogs. Black Bear are not very hard to kill so a good 550 grain arrow works well for them too. Feral Pigs and Russian Boars have a thick cartilage plate under their shoulders and over top of the ribs. In older (bigger) Hogs this plate can easily be over 1/2 inch thick. I have shot a few hogs in California that had a 1 inch thick plate. That is why I like to use a heavier arrow for the Hogs (not that I am aiming for that plate! But just in case). If I went to Alaska for Big (Brown) Bears or Moose I would use a 580 to 600 grain arrow too (maybe a little more for big nasty animals! Like 625 grains), with the same Bow.
A 40 to 50 pound Bow will kill cleanly pretty much any animal on this Continent (with the proper arrow!). So shoot the draw weight you can handle well and leave your Machismo at home! A lot of guys can shoot a 75 pound Bow, but they just can’t hit anything with it! When you shoot instinctively you will be able to shoot heavier Bows! There is no hold at full draw, so you can shoot heavier draw weights. The good thing about that is…you can shoot the heavier hunting weight arrows with a flatter trajectory. But shoot the draw weight that you can handle and shoot well. If that is a 40 pound Bow don’t worry. By the way if it is a 40 pound Bow the heavier arrows are still the way to go. They may be slower but they will penetrate deeper and kill more cleanly. I am guilty of shooting heavy Bows. I have been shooting Bows for almost 40 years (39 years as of this writing)! I like heavy Bows because I don’t have to be concerned (or as concerned) with the rainbow trajectory of a lighter Bow. This can come in handy if you just can’t get any closer without spooking the game. It has come in handy for me on many occasions. I do feel a little funny shooting a Turkey with an 85 pound Bow though. The flatter trajectory helps a lot for turkey hunting though. The point is shoot the draw weight you can handle well! I would much rather hit an animal where I want with a slower arrow than hit the animal in the wrong place (or not at all) with a faster arrow!!!
Keep the wind in your face and the sun at your back.
Feel free to e-mail me any time for advice or if you have any problems. Take care. Your friend Jeremiah
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Topic: Some good reading...Instinctive shooting and some misc. (Read 1206 times)
