Test Shooters Wanted

[Doug Treat]

Steve, your form must be consistent (as in any shooting style) for this to work.  The distance between the nock and your eye must stay about the same for your "back sight" to be consistent.  I am shooting very heavy arrows-about 15 grains per pound for my bow.

[Doug Treat]

For hunting with my setup, I need to know where 20" is for individual animals that I am hunting.  For instance, on an adult elk, 20" below my intended point of impact (lungs) is about the knees.  On a deer it would be about right between the knee and the hoof, etc.  With this system, I don't need to know what the yardage is, as long as I'm between 10 and 25 yds., my typical hunting shot.

[Doug Treat]

Steve, to test this, use your normal form but don't look at your intended point of impact (where you want to hit) but just pay attention to putting your arrow point on a mark below your intended point of impact and see where your arrows hit at different yardages.

For my set up shooting split fingers, the point where the arrow and my index finger touch is about five  feet on the ground below the deers feet on level ground, this remains the same from 16 yards out thirty-five yards at which point that point of aim raises until it is on target at 64 yards with my slower bows to 72 yards with my faster bows.

[Doug Treat]

Pavan, that is exactly what I'm looking for.  In your case, it may not be a very usable way to aim, since holding 5 feet low on an animal or a target is hard to judge, but it sounds like your POA is consistent at different yardages.  So, it sounds like your "point-on" (the yardage where your arrow point is touching your point of impact) is 64 yards (on your slower bows).  For my shooting style and bow/arrow setup, my point-on is 35 yds.

[David Yukon]

Doug, have you used it in actual hunting situation?
I find it interesting, but to easy for me to mess up some thing....

[Roadkill]

Get some of the old archery hands in this.  They are probably miffed as your terminology is not what they would call it.  Modified gap?

[Doug Treat]

David, I have not tested this in a hunting situation.  I have used gap with all my traditional bowhunting kills so far, but I like this method better as it doesn't require judging distance for me as long as I'm under 25 yds.  Roadkill, which terminology is different?  This is how POA and Gap was explained to me and is what I have read.  Point of Aim typically was used in jolly old England on target rounds where the distances were really long and the anchor points were really low.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Yes, Doug, I get you. For me, I simply put that arrow tip right on target no matter what range out to about twenty or twenty-five yards, depending on the speed of the set-up. I shoot three-under. I sold a great bow that just would not work like this, making me try to put the point well under the target at those ranges in order to hit it.

[DGF]

I must be missing something here. Wouldn't your gap be 20" in all shots under 25 yards?

[fnshtr]

Doug
 You know I tried this and it works well for me. With my set-up my POA is 15" below intended impact from 10 to 25 yards. The only problem I had trying this system was changing my focus from my intended point of impact to putting the end of the arrow 15" below it. Just takes some practice to adapt.

Haven't used it hunting but may next fall.

Great thread!

Wayne

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Once i hit anchor my arrow tip disappears as i concentrate on the POI. What do you call that?

Now if i start looking at the tip of my arrow instead of the POI the target or critter disappears....  then it either runs off, or moves on me.    

wouldn't it be easier to just tune your bow and your shooting style to hit where you are looking?
This seems like too much to think about at crunch time to me.

[Glunt]

It certainly can work with the right combo of line of sight and trajectory.  I prefer to just concentrate on where I want to hit and let my subconscious keep track of the rest of the sight picture, but could be usefull to know.

 

[Tater]

I think in a hunting situation it would be very hard not to look at the Animal where you want the arrow to impact.

    If you have a clear shot as in no branches or brush to worry about no problem, but if you are not looking at your point of impact you could have a problem.

     I think it would be distracting trying to shift your focus back and forth between the point of impact to be sure you have no obstructions and the point of aim.

    I realize this is no more than 20 inches but focus is focus I think I will stick with one spot JMO

 Pat

[Jeff Roark]

What if you have to take a seated or kneeling shot? Does this change the POA?

[longbowben]

I also shoot 3 under with a high anchor point,My arrow is pointed right under what i want to hit out to about 25 yards and at 30 it covers what i want to hit.Im not sure how you get so much rise on the arrow you must have a low anchor point.

Originally posted by Kirkll:
Once i hit anchor my arrow tip disappears as i concentrate on the POI. What do you call that?

Now if i start looking at the tip of my arrow instead of the POI the target or critter disappears....  then it either runs off, or moves on me.        

wouldn't it be easier to just tune your bow and your shooting style to hit where you are looking?
This seems like too much to think about at crunch time to me.

This is EXACTLY why I have never been able to get the Gap Shooting thing. I have talked to many people who Gap Shoot and think I understand the system pretty well. I shoot a LOT of 3D and see a definite advantage to target shooting using th Gap method. But, if I try to consciously see where my arrow is pointing (even by seeing it in my peripheral vision while trying to stay focused on my target) I lose all focus on my target and can't hit the broad side of a barn.

I like your ideas here and see where it could be of an advantage to some people. For hunting I can see where it could have an advantage over regular Gap Shooting because it takes all the yardage guessing out of the equation and makes aiming the same for a wide range of distance.

Bisch

[Friend]

Both owning and maintaining relaxed control throughout the complete shot execution enables the archer to pick, develop and choose one’s personal aiming-type preference. Try to keep in mind that it is imperative to engrain the former before attempting to adopt aiming types. It is quite advantageous to own several different types in order to immediately accommodate different situations.

For me, one system I use is a sight window split vision system:

Close target – I say to myself  “1 inch”
~ 10 yard target – I say to myself “ 1.5 inches”
~ 15 yard target – I say to myself  “1”inch"
~ 20 yard target – I say to myself  “1/2 inch”
~ 25 yard target – I say to myself “Point on”

The aforementioned system keeps me focused and less prone to second guess during the shot. At anchor and with bow arm stable on the target I may repeat slowly to myself the committed assigned window, then release. My misses do not come from this aiming method.

Note: The commitment is made before I start the shot sequence.
………..If I look at my arrow, then I look at it miss.

[Doug Treat]

Friend, what you describe is what I would call shooting gap and what I believe Howard Hill called a split vision system.  Howard Hill used this but I think that his fast shots were more instinctive.  I think this POA system could be used effectively, esp. for a new trad. shooter, and then phased into more of an instinctive shot.
Kirk, sounds like you are shooting instinctive.

[Friend]

The less you acknowlege the arrow, the more instinctive the shot.