Multiple shooting styles

[dkforge]

Hi guys I just started shooting a recurve (actually any bow) a few months ago. Being self taught and learning from on here I always looked down the arrow at my target to aim my shots. At Denton I attended G. Fred Asbell's instinctive shooting talk and have now been playing with that style of shooting. My question is does anyone practice multiple styles of shooting? I shoot well looking down the arrow and with a couple of weeks of practicing instinctive I am not making out too bad with that style. Is there a reason to not get used to shooting multiple ways? I am sure there are some who are just diehard one way or another and I am not knocking any one style.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[zetabow]

I'm a tourney marked Field and unmarked 3D shooter and I use all aiming methods, I find being adaptable helps with those difficult shots.

I tend to shoot POA and Gap for Field and Instinct, split-vision for unmarked 3D

[Larry247]

Once you find the most comfortable anchor point that allows you to focus on the target more than your arrow, you can start to turn more of your intense concentration on the spot you want to hit.

Most gap shooters find it hard to let thier instincts take over and just intently focus on the spot they want to hit. Most feel like they may loose control if they can't see thier arrow and place it in a certain spot on or around the target.

Stay in close and burn a hole in the spot you want to hit, and move back slowly over time to get the feel of it.

[dragonheart]

What do you want to do?  Hunt or shoot targets?  Field, 3-D, olympic, hunting big and small game?  

There are shooting forms that simply work better for each type of archery situation.    

An analogy.  

You might hit some ducks with a .270 rifle, but for shooting them flying and quickly a shotgun works alot better for that.  

I believe you are going to find that archers that really excel have a single form or technique.  At least they focus on that style/technique for a particular type of shooting.

[McDave]

I use gap shooting for longer shots, and instinctive for shorter (30 yards and under) shots.  Since I don't shoot at game over 30 yards, I use instinctive for hunting shots.

Once I was shooting in a tournament in a group with a guy who was a really good shot.  He was shooting better than I was on almost every target.  Then we got to a 3D animal that was buried in some bushes, with just the vitals showing through a hole in the bushes.  It was about a 15-20 yard shot.  I put all my arrows in the kill zone, and the other guy was all over the place.  I think he even lost one of his arrows in the bushes.  I was wondering why, and then I realized that would have been a hard shot to make using gap aiming, as the bushes were in front of and all around the animal, and it would be very confusing to set a gap.  It was a very easy shot for me since I was shooting instinctive at that distance, had no idea where the point of my arrow was, and was only focusing on the spot I wanted to hit.

[TJK68]

I have not been shooting Trad very long at all, I shoot instictive. Take the advice of Larry247 and just learn to totaly focus on one small spot at say 8 or 10 yards, just keep shooting at it. After a few days you should see an improvement and then start to increase distance.

[dkforge]

Thanks guys I am mostly going to be hunting with the bow. Right now I seem to be shooting like McDave in that my instinctive is working well for shorter distances but past maybe 20 yards I start gap shooting. I guess that is because maybe I need to practice instinctive at those distances more.

Thanks again for your help.

[jim phenes]

if yu can shoot 20 and under instinctive then you can shoot 20 and out instinctive. It just takes time and practice, a great archer once told me practice does not make perfect. perfect practice makes perfect! concentate on your back tention focus on your spot make sure your anchor is the same every single time, you will get better with more shots under your belt. good luck and remeber to just have fun!

[YORNOC]

Learn them all! Never limit yourself without trying the others first. Each has its own application.
THEN decide if you want to concentrate on just one.

[Ben Maher]

I use whatever the shot warrants ... I just zone in on the target for close shots but once I am out past my "hunting distance" i use what I call my "pre aim gap" method ... where I consciously judge the distance and approx gap.
Many ways to skin a cat ... ad none of hem are any good without the shot sequence to let you carry them off . I worry fa more about form than aiming method .

for some it is a confidence builder to acknowledge the arrow when taking longer shots, just don't stare at your arrow tip. for others that have only shot instinctive at mostly shorter ranges, will find turning their attention to the arrow throws off their confidence because it is unfamiliar. If you shoot three under with a hunting anchor, you are seeing the arrow.  If you shoot split and anchor around the corner of the mouth you are also seeing the arrow, but lower and it does not help as much until you are 30 yards or more from the target.  Without following any specific philosophy, one can still develop a shot sequence that keeps them in the zone.  Just don't try to reinvent your form when trying a longer than comfortable shot on a live deer.

[dragonheart]

Originally posted by Ben Maher:

Many ways to skin a cat ... ad none of hem are any good without the shot sequence to let you carry them off . I worry fa more about form than aiming method .

Yes!