shooting lesson

[Marty]

My son was home for the weekend and he and my grandson got the bows out for some informal shooting and stump shooting. I let my son shoot my 57# Quinn and I was shooting a 54# GM. Man oh man my son can shoot that Quinn. I have never been able to shoot that well and I have shot that bow thousands of times and put in many hours of practice. He shot it with three fingers under using a tab, and shooting his arrows with blazer vanes. He shot that bow as well or better than anyone I have ever seen shoot without a sight out to 30 yards or so. Here is the funny thing. He currently shoots a Mathews. He is deadly accurate with it out to 60 yards. It is his hunting bow of choice because in his words he doesn't want to miss any opportunities at a trophy deer. He does dig out his 60# Hoyt Hunter Supreme recurve and shoot it a little to keep in form but not frequently. Why does he shoot compounds and recurves so well? Of course he has rock solid repeatable form but what stood out to me is his concentration and confidence in the shot. His whole being goes into each and every shot. I have been worrying about all the mechanics of the shot to the extent that I have lost some of the concentration and my confidence suffers some. After watching him shoot this weekend I plan to work on changing that.:D

[DanaC]

The time to worry about mechanics is -before- you ever step up to the shooting line. When the bow is in hand all that stuff should have been settled so you can concentrate on the target. You CAN NOT focus on the target (or your sights, or the point of the arrow) if you're thinking about hand placement, anchor etc. Those should be automatic and not intruding on the shot.

At work, I frequently "air shoot" - pick a spot on the far wall, focus, draw and release. No bow in hand. Make sure the shoulders and back are working together. Hand travels straight back after release. etc etc.

Thinking is antithetical to doing.

[Desert Archer]

Dana,

I don't doubt that works for you (and others) but it isn't universal. I have to think through every step of my shot sequence...every single time, and it isn't just me. In the book "ARCHERY Shot Execution: A total muscle control approach" author Larry Skinner advises thinking through each step of every shot as well.

Dave

[falconpro]

There's a lot said in that statement "when your hot your hot, and when your not your not". Your son probably has so much confidence in his ability to shoot well at 60yrds. that shooting at 30 is easy, even with a recurve. Confidence in your own ability is easy to misplace, having it can make your nerve's a non factor. In my ever evolving quest for finding the keys to consistancy. I have began to realize just how important shooting from a quiet relaxed, non urgent state of mind is. Find that quiet settled place in your brain, and let yourself have fun. maybe Zen does have a place in archery!!

[Marty]

I love quiet, relaxed, and non-urgent a bunch!! We on the other hand were talking out loud about whether or not we though he would make his next shot and were generally giving him the rasberries when ever he had to make a winning shot. He was able to shut us out no problem. I think though that his belief that he was going to hit where he aimed was the key. He has ruled out missing. No, he didn't robinhood every arrow, but lets say the first arrow was always in danger when a second one was shot.

[Allen]

Marty,

My guess is that he can achieve a level of focus that most of us can only dream about. In fact most archers I've talked to don't even know that this level can exist.

I've chased it for some time since it was described to me as "A moment out of time when nothing exists but you and the target."

If he's achieved this, then he is very lucky. I'll bet that he thinks shooting is simple and easy, as opposed to the rest of us who think that we have to work hard at the complexities of shooting a bow.

Allen