Here's a response I posted over on the Leatherwall:
I'll take this opportunity to jump in early, having been irritated by a thread having received 500+ responses to the assertion that 'instinctive' aiming is a myth. It is no myth, it is the way most archers have aimed these last 60,000 years or so. They have used it to feed their families, defend their communities and in some cases to conquer most of the civilized world.
I experienced a fine example of it this past weekend at the San Francisco Archers' annual Traditional Rendezvous. I shot with a fellow whose name I will not mention, not having his consent, whom I have long considered the most accurate instinctive archer I have seen. He recently won the first IBO Western Traditional Competition in the recurve classification. And he scored highest of 350 archers at the recent Traditional Archers of California rendezvous north of Santa Barbara. Both are unmarked 3D events, as was the one we shot on Sunday.
We both aim strictly instinctively out to 45 or 50 yards, near our point-on ranges, where it become impractical to ignore the arrow point so near our lines of sight. We absolutely do not estimate yardage, and tolerate no mention of it at unmarked events, as the rules specify. I had the honor of getting briefly ahead of him at the midway point.
For 40 targets, up hill and down dale, in deep forest, I don't recall him missing a target; I missed a few, but most of our shots were in the vitals. The longest was at a moose across water. That is the only one at which we discussed distance afterward. He thought it was 45 yards. I am pretty sure it was 52, my point-on range. But he outscored me, not knowing how far it was, exactly. We both saw it as fairly far, not too far, and made two good hits.
On other targets we both made some lung shots that were pretty much dead solid perfect, plumb center, with two arrows within two inches, sometimes touching.
I am here to tell you that instinctive archery is real, can be very accurate at various distances, and sometimes, now and then, when your focus is most intense, more accurate than any other method at hunting distances. - lbg
I'll take this opportunity to jump in early, having been irritated by a thread having received 500+ responses to the assertion that 'instinctive' aiming is a myth. It is no myth, it is the way most archers have aimed these last 60,000 years or so. They have used it to feed their families, defend their communities and in some cases to conquer most of the civilized world.
I experienced a fine example of it this past weekend at the San Francisco Archers' annual Traditional Rendezvous. I shot with a fellow whose name I will not mention, not having his consent, whom I have long considered the most accurate instinctive archer I have seen. He recently won the first IBO Western Traditional Competition in the recurve classification. And he scored highest of 350 archers at the recent Traditional Archers of California rendezvous north of Santa Barbara. Both are unmarked 3D events, as was the one we shot on Sunday.
We both aim strictly instinctively out to 45 or 50 yards, near our point-on ranges, where it become impractical to ignore the arrow point so near our lines of sight. We absolutely do not estimate yardage, and tolerate no mention of it at unmarked events, as the rules specify. I had the honor of getting briefly ahead of him at the midway point.
For 40 targets, up hill and down dale, in deep forest, I don't recall him missing a target; I missed a few, but most of our shots were in the vitals. The longest was at a moose across water. That is the only one at which we discussed distance afterward. He thought it was 45 yards. I am pretty sure it was 52, my point-on range. But he outscored me, not knowing how far it was, exactly. We both saw it as fairly far, not too far, and made two good hits.
On other targets we both made some lung shots that were pretty much dead solid perfect, plumb center, with two arrows within two inches, sometimes touching.
I am here to tell you that instinctive archery is real, can be very accurate at various distances, and sometimes, now and then, when your focus is most intense, more accurate than any other method at hunting distances. - lbg
