Picking the spot, Can you describe how it "feels"

[Danny Rowan]

When I am focused and really concentrating on "the spot" I see a bright spot right where I want the arrow to go, really almost like a bright white flare appears for a second on the spot. Best I can describe it for me.

[LoweBow]

Danny....I'm thinkin you best describe how it appears to me when I'm at the top of my game.  It's as if only that bright spot appears to me at that brief moment.

I shoot differently when picking a spot on an  animal or 3D target than I do when shooting at a spot type target.  I have a scope like concentration when shooting animals or 3D only seeing the area or "spot" I want to see.....It seems when I'm shooting a bag style target in my basement my groups will vary depending on which side of the target I'm shooting.  If it a the deer outline w/ the heart/lung area I can burn the heart out of it 9 outta 10 shots.....turn the target around to the multible "spot" target and it seems my brain or perripheral is overwhelmed by the number of spots and I find myself making more off the mark shots.  Almost as if my "picking the spot" becomes blurred as my brain processes that said spot.  May be the results of too much experementing in college tho....    

Stare at this thing for a minute and see if you don't go cross eyed...  :eek:  

   

[Zbearclaw]

I just see where the arrow should come out, and "see" that.

Basically I aim for the exit not entrance.

When done right I don't even remember drawing.

[Danny Rowan]

Yeah, Mike, I cannot concentrate with all them spots on a target, give me a blank 3d and I am in the kill 99% of the time or like you said a heart area on a bag target.

[NorthernCaliforniaHunter]

"It" only happens for me with conscious breathing. Look at your target and take a deep breath and exhale while feeling your feet on the ground and your body  relax. Burn your focus on one spot and let the rest happen. If I think about the shot or form in ANY way I blow it every time.

It really is a 'zen' thing, and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about when it happens. Also, the more you shoot this way the faster you get to a point where your mental form is as solid as your physical form.

Good luck!

[snag]

During your day, not while driving!, pick out something and try and stare at it and it alone for as long as you can. You might be surprised at how short a time you can stare at it. I think we have lost the ability to just stare at something and let time pass by. We have to move from one stimulus to another in this fast paced world it seems. So, you might need to rediscover the art of the stare!  David

[jhg]

I look right through the spot. The release and the arrow on a string into it.

 Feels pretty good. Not all my shots go like this however...

Joshua

[Mitch-In-NJ]

I never thought about it until you asked... so... thanks for asking.

For me there are two phases.

The first is everything that leads up to the release.  The second is the release.

When everything comes together it's like this:

I pick my spot and, again if everything comes together, I really do see the flight of the arrow before release.  I just know that I will hit where I want.

But the second part... well that's the tough one.

For me it feels a bit like losing my balance and at that curicial moment when all hope of recovery is lost I quit trying to keep my balance and, instead, jump.  Like being a little kid at the pool's edge.  You want to jump in, but you're a little afraid, so you lean forward in Olympic diving position, lean a little further, a little further and all of a sudden you are going to fall in.  No stopping it, so you dive.

Does that make sense?

[Buckskin57]

aim small/miss small.

[curlis]

Part of the problem for me is even the spot is not a fine enough target. I try to look at the smallest thing I can see and then look at just a part of that. For example, if you are looking a an "o", I try to just look at the bottom of the "o". The problem is when there is nothing to pick out that stands out from the back ground. I think the guys that are projecting a button or something like that have the right idea. I would use that if there is nothing else to focus on. You can practice picking a spot and then narrow it down even more on just about anything we see.
Good luck in your quest for "THE" spot.
Curlis

[curlis]

Part of the problem for me is even the spot is not a fine enough target. I try to look at the smallest thing I can see and then look at just a part of that. For example, if you are looking a an "o", I try to just look at the bottom of the "o". The problem is when there is nothing to pick out that stands out from the back ground. I think the guys that are projecting a button or something like that have the right idea. I would use that if there is nothing else to focus on. You can practice picking a spot and then narrow it down even more on just about anything we see.
Good luck in your quest for "THE" spot.
Curlis

[Bowwild]

The key is once you've established the sight picture (aimed) you must then get your mind off aiming and think about keeping the bow arm muscles active and the back in the drawing arm side active. Your eye can aim without you thinking about it. This is so you'll follow through properly.

I proved this (again) to myself last week.  A group at 35 yards (point-on for me and new distance for me in my transition back to traditional) will be 30 inches in diameter if I concentrate on aiming at release. However, if I aim and then my last thought is on follow-through the group shrinks to less than a paper plate. Still not ready for prime time at this distance.

I'll be teaching this in Colorado for the next three days starting tomorrow.

I'm a fanatic about positive thinking when it comes to coaching. So, I'd change the cliche from "aim small to hit small". The mind should be kept from contemplating "missing small".

[TxAg]

I'm far from a great shot, but I am getting better. I've found that I shoot much better at 3D targets, because I use the outline of the body to help guide me to the right spot...well let's all it "area".  

I can hit dots on a target from close ranges, but my groups widen as the distance grows...this doesn't happen so bad when shooting a 3D animal target. Maybe it's just ingrained in my head from years of hunting. Of course, I'm also the guy that can go to the zoo and imagine a perfect shot for all the critters I see.

I'd also agreed with the post a page or two ago referencing a "green light." I don't consciously know when I release. I look at what I want to hit, come to full draw, anchor, i always make sure to hold, and then the arrow goes...sometimes I hold for 1 second and sometime 4 or 5.

[Brian Krebs]

I heard Byron Ferguson say on a TV show- that he aims for the center of the target; and then aims for the center of that.

 On animals I shoot for a hair or a tuft of hair- not a spot on the deer. My spot is the center of the hair.

 I have shot at deer and elk: and had my arrow go through the racks of record book ones. Your arrow goes where your looking; make sure your looking at the exact center of a spot made of the center of the vitals in the angle your on to the animal.

 I really think the idea spoken here about concentrating on a spot on the opposite side of the animal- the exit spot is an interesting idea; and I am going to try that this year.

 There are a couple things I read and want to address.
 One is that you really should be shooting well enough to be able to tell if your arrow will strike ~before~ you shoot. If you can recognize perfect concentration that will lead to a perfect shot- then your ready to go hunting.
 If that spot is only possible at ten yards; then you should get that close to shoot.
 If its twenty - you get that close; and if its thirty - well get to 20 if you can.

There is a song familiar to some of us here that says 'some days are diamond; some days are stone' - 'sometimes the good times won't leave alone'; 'sometimes a cold wind puts a chill in your bones'-'some days are diamond- some days are stone'.

 Its the same with some shots- you know that its a diamond shot. Some days you draw back and know its not. The ability to recognize that you are in perfect form and mindset- connected to the target; and when you are doing something wrong and don't have that 'feel' - allows you then: to let down and draw again.
 Your ability to feel that total confidence is something you can do; you know that feeling when your locked in- and the arrow flies true.
 It is important to know that feeling; but also to know when your going to miss.
 It really helps when your hunting. You may not shoot sometimes when you look back and shake your head that you didn't shoot... but the more you can do that; the more your ability to hit where you want..
 In time it is instinctive and connects you with nature in a way nothing else can.

 When I needed a bow and could only find compounds for sale; I got good with it. But I watched Fred Bear; and remembered shots I had made with my recurve and longbows on squirrels and ground hogs. Shots that were totally on.

 I looked at Fred; I looked at Ishi; I looked at the Thompson brothers and saw how good you could be; and some of their experiences.
 I knew to get that good for me: would be a long and hard journey.

 But I figured when I got old; I wanted to remember shots that were 'dead on' and from my intent and total concentration- my back muscles; my fingers pulling on the string; and my eye locked on where I knew the arrow would go.

 I figured that was a reward that could not be surpassed with a big pile of animals and trophies- but that with traditional bowhunting... the reward was worth the effort.

 Ishi's last words were that we would meet again in the flight of the arrow.

 That feeling was in Ishi; in Fred Bear and Howard Hill; and is in some of the shots you make all the time.

 It is a wonderful reward that does not care how rich or poor you are; what color or sex you are; or what age you are.

 Anyone can do it with practice. And practice is fun.

 That feeling is a place that every bowhunter wants to be.

 It is the ability to connect yourself with your target. You with the wild; in the flight of an arrow.

[joevan125]

Since I know my hunting land so well i just make sure im downwind of the food source.

I have over 15 stands up all over my property and hope to have 5 more before the season starts.

Hunt the wind always.

[Bonebuster]

This is the first time I`ve every really tried to describe it.

If I do it correctly, I can tell even before I draw my bow that I am locked on. I hold my bow out, with my arm fully extended, and "zoom" in on what I want to hit. I look beyond my bow, and pay no attention to it or my arrow. The spot I want, suddenly becomes in clear focus, and everything else seems to blurr out a bit. Once I am to that point, it`s form that completes the process.

I have learned that after one or two shots, I need to pull my arrows. I get much better results by getting a mental rest. Often, I shoot only ONE arrow.

It is almost more difficult to describe than it is to achieve.

[bucksdown]

there are many great suggestions for when the shot is approaching, all of them work. this may sound goofy but it works, something i learned years ago to focus on a spot. i would go out at night, take a flashlight, tape a cone shaped piece of cardboard, tape it around the flash light and shine it on my target at about 10 to 15 yards. this will truely make you focus on a spot. (now a laser pointer works even better) you will learn to focus and follow through, do this until it becomes second nature, then try some of the things the guys have suggested until you find one that works best for you when shooting targets or game. as doc bow said, focus and follow through are the most important.  

[bucksdown]

oh! one more thing i do, i made a base out of landscaping timbers complete with handle and wheels for easy mobility, drilled 2 holes for the rebarb in the legs of my 3D deer target, i shoot from my stand in the yard having someone move it at different distances and angles, pick a spot at entry, and exit. it's good pratice.

If my eyes are really focusing on a small spot, if my shot is off by more than just a couple of inches, I can see that it is off instantly in the arrow flight.  If the shot is right on, it feels like the arrow is trapped in an invisible tube that lines up with my focus.

[getstonedprimitivebowhunt]

Like Howard hill ..you burn a hole through the spot with your eye !!!