Instinctive "snap" shooting

[jackdaw]

while perusing the powwow forum on tradgang the other day I came across a video of a very capable Archer who shot a bow much in the same style that I do. A style in which many of my friends claim that I snap shoot and take no time to aim..??  I always assure  them that I come to complete anchor and that the aiming "process" begins before I even start drawing the bowstring! as I start drawing the bow I am focusing on the object I am intending on shooting and my focus is and its absolute peak right at the moment I achieve my anchor..!!!! it is at that exact moment that I release the arrow on its intended path..!!!  If I attempt to maintain an anchor for any period off time my entire shot sequence falls completely to pieces! Most of my Archer buddies draw into a very deep anchor with multiple points of contact and then immerse themselves into aiming.?? I absolutely cannot do this..!!!!! For me the draw/release sequence must be one fluid/dynamic movement...much like Asbell talj s of throwing a baseball. You do not grip the ball, cock your arm and then pause.....stare even harder, then release...the throw would have lost all its "rythem" so to speak..?? This to me IS instinctive shooting..!!!!  I notice Fred Asbell and Fred Bear shot pretty much this way as well..!!!  There is no gapping, point on, or any "aiming" persay..??? I just stare at my intended target ..draw slowly while burning a hole in my target abd release at the moment of anchor. I have talked to many other archers and they usually shun this method as "snap shooting"....and tell me to aim longer..??? At what?? I already WAS aiming the whole time I was drawing..?? Anybody else shoot this "snap" method..?? Incidently, on days when my concentration is spot on, I shoot quite well this way.....quite well..!!!! I guess if it ain't' broke, don't fix it....grip it and rip it.....any thoughts..??? Best regards.....John

You are following the path of Ron La Clair, Fred Bear, Howard Hill, Ben Pearson, Art Young, John Schulz and a host of other archery 'grip it and rip it' shooters, as you put it. You will might be shooting a Hill longbow one day, if you don't control yourself. You Tube Hitting 'em Like Howard Hill by John Schulz and just check to see how close your natural form is to what you see, and then pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

[timbermoose]

I shoot the same way. When I first got into trad archery, I learned from watching YouTube vids of laclair, asbell, hill, bear, and the like. Tried the ferguson way for a bit but it never really worked for me. tried the way most guys at the range shoot and I can't hit anything. So, I use what works for me.

[mgf]

I don't know about the other's but Hill and Schultz talked about referencing the arrow to "aim". Didn't Hill write about his aiming method at some length? It sounds like what most of us would call "gap" or "pick a point" today.

I don't know about the rest of you but I don't really throw a ball very well. It occurs to me that since I do want to shoot a bow well that I might need to put a little more of a method to it.

I don't care how anybody else shoots but how many of you have sawn the sights or scope off of your squirrel rifle?

[T-Bowhunter]

I shoot the same way, I start aiming prior to the shot and aim until I hit anchor, I then release. If I hold to long I loose my concentration and me miss my intended spot.

[Sean B]

In my opinion, there is NO real way or "proper way" to shoot. I've shot pretty much the same way for the last 25 years. I have a pile of critters, Robbin Hood arrows and very few misses or bad hits that says that I'm shooting right for me. This is the reason that I cant shoot around other people. "you don't do this, or you don't do that...you're doing this......."blah blah blah......

[northener]

You answered your own question "if it aint broke don't fix it" I would suggest keeping on with what is working for you unless your really not satisfied and suspect you could do better.

I can not shoot as accurately snap shooting as I can when I hold and expand until explosion. I also aim before,in fact I never quit aiming until my arrow has reached its target.

I believe the answer lies in practice practice practice until the shot shoots itself without any conscious thought. let your subconscious shoot the shot.  
I am working on my shot all the time. I also believe it can take a lifetime to perfect and most of us will never have that kind of dedication it takes to achieve that level. I keep trying though.

[onewhohasfun]

Jackgraw, don't listen to your friends. I shoot the exact same way as you, and it works well for me. Basically the GFA method of shooting. I have been shooting this way since I started trad in 85. I think it has many benefits, a fluid pull thru draw and release being one. Never stop pulling.
In fact, I no longer have a conscious thought about any part of my shooting,including range estimation, and I shoot out to 50 yds almost daily.
I have an old Wensel video where Gene starts talking about "gapping" and Barry covers his ears and starts chanting "nah, nah, nah, nah, cause he doesn't want to even hear any part of it. I'm the same way. I'll bet that anyone that shoots like us has never had a bout with TP, (target panic).

[centaur]

If your arrow goes where it is supposed to, then keep doing what you are doing. I have tried the snap shooting model, and all it does for me is lead to short drawing and the dreaded target panic. I hold at full draw for a couple of seconds, and that is what works for me. My hat is off to those who can snap shoot well.

[Longbow58]

Jackdaw sounds like a winner to me. Feather touching nose, middle finger to eye tooth , pull through to finish. Nice shot! Don't stop the process. Have tried the others ways but our way works best for me.

[Longbow58]

I really got to thank all the guys of Tradgang that have helped me become a better shooter. Posts like this and reading different posts about shooting styles have helped me tremendously. Thanks to all as I'm only into this trad style  for 5 years and enjoying it with every shot.

[black velvet]

All I can say is I shoot the same way and it works for me.

[Bud B.]

I don't swing draw but do something very similar. I'm not the most accurate shooter, but I keep my hunting distances close. I don't look at the arrow but see it under my eye with reference to the target. If I draw and hold, all is lost to where the arrow is going. I would describe my shooting to be like Mr. Bear's.

I shoot the way you do.

Watch Fred shooting in this video.

 

[mbugland]

I just finished reading the chapter from Hill in "Hunting the Hard Way" think it was in How I Shoot a Bow.  Hill explains his "split-vision" or secondary aiming. Your aim is calculated, always focused on the target and where you want to hit, allowing the point of the arrow to come into your field of view and aiming the point at the imaginary spot you need to shoot to hit where you intend... This could be high or low for distance, or a lead  calculated for a moving target. The one thing Hill highlighted was that you cannot allow your focus to drift back and forth from the tip of the arrow to the point you want to hit.
From trying to shoot in the instinctive manner, and trying to imagine doing what is described by Hill.... It doesn't make as much sense as it should on first read, but makes complete sense after shooting for some time, reading it, and going back to reevaluate how you are shooting. It is exactly what I have been doing, and identified a technic fault I had in the process, that is certainly could not figure out.
Hard to think that I spent years scrolling through Internet forums and web pages looking for the answers that have been around for 60yrs in this amazing instructional book

[dbd870]

I'm somewhat the opposite; I don't gap shoot or use any kind of "mechanical" method to aim, just focus on a spot, but I do hold anchor for 2-3 sec. - I find I need that time to insure I'm really concentrating on the spot. If I release as soon as I hit anchor point I do much worse.

[KentuckyTJ]

I also am a snap shooter. Been doing it my whole life. Where it is beneficial is when a critter is being drawn on and it moves. The snap shooter just goes with it instinctively, if you must aim you may get all flusterbated and have to begin the aiming sequence again. Not with a snap shooter. Snap on my friend!

Mine came from many many years of shooting fish. My buds are always amazed how I can pin down a speeding off carp on his way to deeper waters.

[K.S.TRAPPER]

Yep snap shooter here too and love it!  Just like Schulz and I shoot better then I ever have in my life.

You are doing it right don't change a thing.      

Tracy

[Dave Lay]

Originally posted by Sean B:
 This is the reason that I cant shoot around other people. "you don't do this, or you don't do that...you're doing this......."blah blah blah......

same here Sean...
i shoot the same and have for alot of years, i have killed a lot of animals doing so, if i try to hold for a extend period ( over a second or 2) my mind loses focus.. kinda like "ok, now what?" i have never excelled on the 3-d course and usually average in the middle to upper 3rd of my class, which i shoot strictly as practice for hunting, i have attempted to change to a diffrent style , im not sure why, i guess because everyone else was doing it, but have found that the focus and aiming while drawing then release when anchor is hit works way better for me than anything else... i do remember a quote by fred asbel that said " the anchor is not a resting place" or something like that....

[Pat B]

I shoot the same way. If I do find myself short drawing I'll hold for a second or two for a few shots then I'm back I the groove.
 When I first started thinking about trad archery I bought G.Fred's book, "Instinctive Shooting" and have been shooting like that since the late 1980s.

[jackdaw]

wow, great stuff guys! I have to put in here that up until recently I shot pretty much 5 days a week probably 60 arrows day not including 3d shoots...probably 16, 000-20, 000 arrosws a year if my math serves me correctly.??? but as one of you said, when I get to anchor if I continue to hold the question pops into my head "now what am I supposed to do".....and "why am I still holding this?"....and then things go completely haywire! I have to admit that when I am just about to full draw I am cognizant of the windage of my arrow as far as left and right are concerned. I've been shooting this way for seven or eight years...it is what works for me.