Does anyone else hate bag targets?

[AZWarts]

Hey all,

I was shooting yesterday and cant firgure something out. I was splitting half in. pvc pipe in my lawn from 10 to 20 yards with no problems but when I shoot at a bag target I shoot horribly. Does anyone else have this problem?

[RedShaft]

i always have trouble with standard targets. too much too look at. need to focus on spot more and blur out the rest.

[statedriller]

I do too.  I think it's the size that messes me up.    When I shoot the bag, I have a tendency to aim at the center instead of a spot.  Aim small, miss small...

[The Vanilla Gorilla]

I only use em for form, not accuracy

[Kituwa]

I am the same way.It is good to use small targets like a tennis ball or something to hone accuracy and form but it is also good to use a bag target with no bullseye on it or a 3D target for hunting practice to force yourself to pic a spot like you will need to do on game. Most misses on game come from shooting at the whole animal rather than picking a spot.
Matt

[Jake Diebolt]

I am the same way with any conventional target. I can hit targets the size of softballs as 20 yards, but show me a standard FITA target and my groups open up wide.

[Night Wing]

Pin an oak leaf or something else equivalent in size on a bag target and shoot at that.

When my bag target starts to get a large enough hole in it, I put a pine cone in the hole and shoot at that.

[Terry Lightle]

Me,my practice is stump shooting and a 3d ever now and then

[Stump73]

Paint your bag flat black with that Krylon camo flat spray paint. Then go to Wal-Mart in the golf section pick up some orange wiffle golf balls. Hang it on a fishing line in front of the Target. Now you only have one spot on your target. You can get a couple weeks or months per wiffle ball depending on how many times you stick it. The bag you can just touch it up with here and there.

[Bladepeek]

I like that idea, plus by moving the wiffle ball around, it wouldn't eat up the center so fast.

[SKITCH]

I've been spray painting small dots on my bag with either bright white or bright pink paint. Kinda forget about the rest of the bag.....or at least that's the goal.

[Tall Paul]

I went to the local fabric store, and wrapped my bag target in burlap.  Sewed it up with dental floss.  Have done this for years.

Whats really interesting, is that I recently bought a new bag target and decided to shoot it without the burlap covering.  Was'nt long and my target panic starting coming back!

[StickBowManMI]

Try an Ames Pillow target with the picture of a buck on onme side and an Elk on the other side. Fill the target with plactic bags,old clothes, etc. Last a Long time and since their are no markings on each taget, You can concentrate better and improve your shooting. The Pillow target comes with grommets on the corners so that you can easily move the target for different distances.

[Gil Verwey]

I do what was recommended in one of the Masters of the Bare Bow videos. I pick the spot, I don't let the spot pick me.

I started off using a poker chip. I kept it in my pocket while shooting. I would pick a spot to shoot at. If I didn't shoot well at it I would take the chip out and look at it for a few seconds. I would then imagine the chip on the target where I wanted to hit and it made quite a difference in my shooting at a bare bag target.

This lets you pick the spot and not let the spot pick you. I always let the spot pick me in the past. I would look for a spot NEAR where I wanted to hit. Now I place the spot (poker chip in my mind) ON what I want to hit.

I think this idea was in the most current MBB video and works well for me.


Gil

[dragonheart]

Avoid the bag target!  They only feed the cancer of TP.

[Rich_S]

I've been shooting a bag target in my backyard for the past few months.  Yesterday I picked up a 3D target (Glen-Del Buck) at Dick's, my first 3D target.  Wow, what a difference.  I'm much more focused and saw an immediate improvement.

[PowDuck]

Absolutely hate bag targets. I started shooting the little golf whiffle balls, as someone else stated earlier. I use hammer heads, no field points. Even a tuft of grass or a leaf in the yard.

[overbo]

Shooting a bag target has made me a much better shot on game but I use a solid color bag target.
Not any golf ties,ping-pong balls,ect,ect, on any game I've killed.I understand the focus thing(been there done that) but for me,once I start putting arrows where I want them on a large blank target,my confidence sored.

[TSP]

I used to do what Gil does but got tired of carrying around a big bag of poker chips all day (they're heavy, and people were laughing).  Switched to potato chips and the problem quickly disappeared!      

I like bag targets, mostly because they're cheap but also because they work and last a long time.  Never had a problem 'picking a spot' unless it's one of the 'right on the edge' kind.  Those'll mess with your mind, but the challenging shots are the ones that'll make you focus the most, right?  No pain, no gain...

[Gil Verwey]

MMMM potatoe chips! I may have to try that when I get back from Colorado. I will just have to work out harder for next years hunt!