How do you practice?

[Ray Borbon]

I have not been practicing archery long. Still I can see that some of my field shots have been from kneeling and almost from a sitting position or just plain abnormal by peering on around the edge of some brush or cover.

Due to that I have been starting to practice many kneeling shots and from a sitting position. Lucky enough my practice location also allows me to shoot from up on embankments down to a target for downhill practice as well as behind the edge of a blackberry bush.

I have to wonder how much everyone else practices shooting from different positions and what they think about how much it will improve their overall effectiveness.

There just is no substitute for the field as I know wind conditions cannot be mimmicked as well as every single shooting angle. I have been to a couple of 3-D shoots which have improved my skills to a degree as well.

I guess when I first picked up a bow the thought never materialized to me that reality was far from a standing shot looking right at the critter who was waiting for my arrow to pierce it's lungs. Hunting could rarely be so simple for me. I don't really have anyone else I practice archery with so just throwing it out there on the web is fine with me.

I know some people have told me they try to shoot left and right handed as well. I am not sure I would be very accurate about that just yet.

[Ray Borbon]

delete double post

[Jack Whitmire Jr]

Ray I practice every position imaginable, then try to think up other situations that may arise while hunting.

Jack

[sdpeb1]

I have fun walking away from my target and at random distances, turn and shoot as fast as I can, it's pretty suprising how good you get at it and being an instinctive style shooter it develops good instinctive skills.

[Marshrat]

I try to come up with all kind of new shots. One that helps in the woods is to take a wood saw horse then nail two 2x4s as uprights 8inchs apart set this between you and the target now thread your arrow over the horse and between the uprights. Then move it and or you to diff. distances makes you learn the arch of your arrows. It realy comes into play when you need to shoot through the only hole between you and your shot. Plus if you get some compoud shooters to shoot with it realy drives the crazy because the dont have enof arch shooting those speed demons.

[HAWGDOG]

Stump shooting! If you see somthing you want to shoot at, shoot at it! If you miss, shoot again. You will soon figure out why you are missing and correct yourself.

[jonsimoneau]

For me, I try not to practice too much.  What I mean by this, is that I try to practice as often as possible, but I do not shoot too many arrows, and I never shoot groups.  I shoot about 20 or so quality shots and then hang it up.  I may go back an hour or so later and shoot 20 more, but anything over that in a single shooting session is normally too much for me.  I lose my concentration.

[reddogge]

Make sure you practice shooting under limbs.  You'd be shocked how much an arrow rises at 25 yards and would catch a limb and deflect.

[Keystone Cowboy]

My favorite way to practice is to get a couple of old balls (basketballs to baseballs) and throw them around the property (2 acres) and shoot from where ever the arrow stops, sometimes as close as a few yards and other times as far as 40 or 50 yards. It's never the same any two shots.

[bayoulongbowman]

First thing I like is close bale work say 7 yds 1 or 2 arrows no more , dont care where in the target the arrow hits...ur goin for form..after that still 2 arrows 15...few shot good form ...18...20....25....27...practice picking a spot.....something small...pick a spot..