Aiming method

[Legolas]

After decades of hunting successfully using the instinctive method where I just look at the point I want to hit, I now have seen other methods like gap shooting, fixed gap, string walking, and even using sites on trad bows.
I would like to hear what methods you all employ to hunt or shoot at targets.

Jimmy Blackmon had a unique way where you shoot at a spot at 15-17 yards by putting the arrow tip on a mark say 15 inches below the bullseye and seeing where the arrow impacts. Then you draw again and mark on your riser where the arrow impacted by holding on the same mark. This creates the gap you are shooting with. So then for ranges 10-20+ yards you get your arrow point lined up under the bullseye but put the mark on your riser at the bullseye level.

[GCook]

Been a point and shoot guy since I started.  Been quite deadly that way but keep my hunting shots short and past 20 yards accuracy was not that consistent. 
Took a Joel Turner clinic in May (after a shoot I shot mediocre in) I switched to gap.  I'm a lot more consistent and feel very confident to shoot a pig out to 25 yards.   Still figuring out my longer gaps for 3D but honestly the positive impact it has had there was pretty significant as well.
Only have killed five animals so far this year (our pigs moved down by the river I guess because of the drought) and only one using this method but I've placed decently in my last three shoots while still figuring out the gaps and tuning as it changed my draw length an inch or so. 
Said I never would but after shooting over four pigs in a row early this year I had to change something.

[LookMomNoSights]

I still struggle to pin a name on my aiming style to this day ......not sure what to say or what you'd call it.   Mostly instinctive?  Yeah that's for sure ....... but there are also other little things that take place.  There are things I do before I even draw the bow ......like imagining or visualizing my form while my bow arm is coming up to prepare for a shot.  I align my form / arrow closest to dead on with left and right, before I even put tension on the string.  Fast forward,  once at anchor,  I reference or confirm my left / right of shaft alignment sort of with my peripheral vision.  Then,  the elevation .......  that's the weird part.  That's where I feel I just know where the arrows gonna hit,  out to a certain distance that is plenty for hunting.  Though I'd never be partial to shooting animals out to 40 yards,  I'm plenty good on targets out to that with tight groups.  The close shots like 20,  all I have to do is make sure to follow through with all my little mental nuances,  and not cut any corners thinking the close shot is a "gimme".   Burning the shooting mantra into your soul ......  consistency happens then.

[LookMomNoSights]

Been a point and shoot guy since I started.  Been quite deadly that way but keep my hunting shots short and past 20 yards accuracy was not that consistent. 
Took a Joel Turner clinic in May (after a shoot I shot mediocre in) I switched to gap.  I'm a lot more consistent and feel very confident to shoot a pig out to 25 yards.   Still figuring out my longer gaps for 3D but honestly the positive impact it has had there was pretty significant as well.
Only have killed five animals so far this year (our pigs moved down by the river I guess because of the drought) and only one using this method but I've placed decently in my last three shoots while still figuring out the gaps and tuning as it changed my draw length an inch or so. 
Said I never would but after shooting over four pigs in a row early this year I had to change something.

GCook,  curious ....... did you loose draw length or gain it in changing your method?

[GCook]

Been a point and shoot guy since I started.  Been quite deadly that way but keep my hunting shots short and past 20 yards accuracy was not that consistent. 
Took a Joel Turner clinic in May (after a shoot I shot mediocre in) I switched to gap.  I'm a lot more consistent and feel very confident to shoot a pig out to 25 yards.   Still figuring out my longer gaps for 3D but honestly the positive impact it has had there was pretty significant as well.
Only have killed five animals so far this year (our pigs moved down by the river I guess because of the drought) and only one using this method but I've placed decently in my last three shoots while still figuring out the gaps and tuning as it changed my draw length an inch or so. 
Said I never would but after shooting over four pigs in a row early this year I had to change something.

GCook,  curious ....... did you loose draw length or gain it in changing your method?

Lost an inch.  Went from a high anchor at my temple to under my eye on cheek.

[LookMomNoSights]

 
I was thinking that.   Glad you got a system that is working for you and you are seeing good results!

[McDave]

I haven’t seen the video on Jimmy Blackmon’s method of marking the riser that you reference in your first post, Legolas.  I’ll have to look it up.  Jimmy is well known for his videos on the fixed crawl, which is another method that is very useful for traditional bow hunting where most of the shots are within the range of 15-25 yards.

The rifleman taught me a method several years ago here on Tradgang that I still use, and I think he still uses too, that is very similar to the method you describe of marking the riser.  This method is to use the top of the strike plate to aim the shot, similar to a mark on the riser, but perhaps a little easier to see.  Using standard strike plates that either came with the bow or I have put on myself, I find that aiming with the top of the strike plate gives me a point on that is somewhere between 20-25 yards.  It would be possible to trim the strike plate until the top was calibrated for a specific distance, like it would be if you make a mark on the riser.  However, as long as I know from practice that the top of the strike plate represents point on at 22 yards (or whatever it turns out to be), I can use it to aim accurately at any distance I plan to hunt, from 15-30 yards, simply by holding the top of the strike plate slightly above, on, or below the spot I want to hit.  Since I’m not changing anything on the bow or string, like I would if I used a fixed crawl, I can easily change to whatever other method of aiming I might want to use.  Also, since I’m not using the point of the arrow to aim, I can use different lengths of arrows without changing anything, although of course arrows of different weights have different trajectories, but this doesn’t change the POI much in the 15-25 yard range.

[PrimitivePete]

Every once and awhile McDave you come up with something that makes me want to grab by bow and run out and try !!!

[Dave Lay]

I’ve always hunted shooting instinctive and really see no need to change. I can’t see me trying to figure a gap or any other aiming method when a animal only offers a brief shot window.

[GCook]

It's getting easier with practice where out to 25 I hit the gap quicker and less thought so I'm hopeful it will become more "instinctive" over time.
But for 3D I'm constantly hitting animals I would only hope to before so it's beneficial.
It also made my alignment a little different and working on the back tension change has  been a challenge as well.  I expect some increase in DL as that improves.

[Wudstix]

Just focus on impact point, draw, release and follow through.
 

[JR Chambers]

Some of that stuff is too complicated. Harder than Chinese ritmetic. I just look where I want to hit and shoot. Yeh more I practice. The better I get.

[Keoonik]

Always been an instinctive shooter. Any attempt at aiming has always resulted in fliers for me.

[BillyJack1975]

For years I used the “grip it and rip it” method of snap shooting with terrible results, which always lead to me getting out of traditional archery. Around 3 years ago I got back into it and quickly changed to holding, aiming and shooting a fixed crawl for about 6 months until I finally swapped over to instinctive. If I ever make a change, it might be gap. I still have much improved before I’d consider changing anything at this point.

[Whiteoak63]

I have always shot instinctive Stopped hunting with trad bow for about 15 years and used sight on my compounds. Killed a bunch of stuff but never really liked the process.
Kept telling myself I did not have time in my busy life to stay proficient with traditional bows.
Well I have made time and enjoy the 20-30 arrows a day.

[Red Beastmaster]

 I look at the spot I want to hit. If I do my part the arrow will go there.

[MnFn]

I have stuck with instinctive shooting for a lot of years.

 A couple of years ago I was offered the chance to shoot Tom Clum’s personal bow, a Poison Dart with (for me) his  long skinny carbons.

I grouped quite well with it, good flight and all. I really liked that bow, by the way.  But at twenty yards I was about eight inches low. Hmmm.  It seems my vision was somehow subconsciously using the arrow tip. Don’t know how else to explain it.  The points weren’t that heavy.

When I got home I took out my own bow and back to my normal shooting.  But that did intrigue me.

[Terry Green]

Instinctive.

[BAK]

I'm pretty convinced we all aim, but some of us are in denial.   

[JR Chambers]

I agree. I aim. I look at the spot and shoot. That is my aiming method. The same way I throw a baseball. look at the glove and throw to it. I do not walk up and down the string, or crawl anywhere of shoot at the animals feet. For me my way is easier and I am too stubborn to learn those other ways. For my shooting at game at 15 yards or less it works great. Now guys shooting the way I described above will be better shots for sure past 15 yards. I will not deny that. That way is better for sure.