There is a constant argument presented, that if you can hit and group at a much greater distance than will/should be shot at a deer, one's confidence soars and (paraphrased) "..all other shots at a much lesser distance becomes a "piece of cake." Of the many absurd and unrealistic statements commonly made here, that advice and belief takes the "whole cake."

Whenever I add my 2-cents -sometimes 5-cents, I am primarily addressing the novice and average shooters, and primarily for the purpose of assisting them to initially develop the necessary (basic) knowledge and skills for bowhunting, and the appropriate bowhunting mentality. My sole objective, as it should be with all bowhunters, is to reduce the number of deer that are lost because of a bad shot indisputably caused by the shooter, or their gear, or both.

I am not disputing that confidence is an essential element that enables some people to be better at what they do. However, there is such a thing as "overconfidence" and "misguided confidence." I am also not disputing that there are valid reasons for some shooters to develop the skill and confidence to hit the mark at distances considered greater than realistic and appropriate for hunting conditions e.g., 3D competition, clouting, field archery, etc.

There, however, can be a downside to advocating that it is beneficial that all bowhunters learn to hit the mark at distances that is greater than necessary. Novice and average shooters who eventually develop the skill to hit the mark at a greater distance than is needed, or a distnace that is appropriate and realistic for hunting purposes, but do not constantly practice or do not consistently hit the mark, are likely to aquire "overconfidence" or a "misguided confidence" of their abilities and their gear's capabilities for hunting conditions. This is a shooter whom is apt to take a shot at a distance that was totally inappropriate, resulting in a wounded and lost deer.

I have shot "field archery" and know I can tune my gear and myself to hit the mark at distances greater than what is appropriate for hunting purposes. Do I still shoot-in at those distances for a "just in case" situation? No! The primary reason I do not is that to do so is wasted time and effort. Why should I spend the time, and sometimes deal with the frustration, to setup and tune my gear and tune myself to hit the mark at a distance that I will/would never shoot while in the field?

My gear, my form, and my mental conditioning are tuned to hit precisely where I aim, up to 35-yards. I use one pin set for 25-yards. I know exactly the "Kentucky elevation" for all distances greater than 25-yards up to 35-yards. Why do I limit my practice and setup to 35-yards? Because in the area I hunt, and in accordance with appropriateness, 35-yards is the maximum yardage I will shoot to avoid (just) wounding and loosing a deer. Barring Murphy's presence, I have total confidence I can make the shot, even though I do not shoot 80-yard targets.

Dependant upon the capability of the gear and the shooter, beyond a certain distance there are common and inconsistent forces that come into play that can and will affect the flight of the shaft and your accuracy on target. A novice and average shooter not understanding what these forces are, or that they are **"clenching" their form because the distance is stressing them, will begin to make, and keep making, adjustments in their gear and in their form that is unrelated to the long-distance bad shot they just made. Before long, their entire setup is out of proper adjustment and now they are not confident about their form, whether they ever had good form, have great difficulty getting back their form, and begin to suspect that their gear is junk. I have seen it happen more than once. I am
also aware that some shooters will become so frustrated with adjusting and readjusting their gear and their form, they just go into the field with what they have and hope that luck is with them.

[i]** The term "clenching" is what we used to use to describe what a shooter does when under stress (target panic). I have seen it (clenching), and I know many other shooters have seen it, even experienced it.[/I[

The shooter's entire body begins to become rigid, their muscles tighten, they hold the bow tightly, their bow arm goes out rigidly straight, their bow shoulder rises to their jaw, they start to hunch or lean back, their eyes begin to squint, they open their mouth, their string arm begins to creep, and they punch the release. I have witnessed some to actually close their eyes at the time of release.

All this to learn to shoot at a greater distance than is necessary, a distance you will not shoot, and a distance you should not shoot? I think not!

If being able to hit the mark at 60, 70, 80-yards could actually provide the confidence and ability to make closer shots a "piece of cake," then, setting up your gear, acquiring your form, and constantly practicing to shoot only at the maximum distance you will ever shoot should be so easy, all you would have to do is hand your bow to the deer and let them commit suicide.

I spend my time and effort, and instruct others, to setup their gear and practice at the maximum distance they will shoot in accordance with their abilities, give or take 5-yards. Rather than wasting time and effort setting up and practicing shooting at distances that are unrealistic, I spend time practicing to shoot through, above, and under, minor obstacles. One of the payoffs of conditioning myself not to be intimidated by minor obstacles, and learning to shoot past or around them, is that when I setup my stands or ground blinds, you, or deer, will hardly notice any cutting.

Last Saturday, from a ground blind, at 24-yards I downed an 8-point buck, having hit him precisely where I aimed. I had to shoot through 7" wide "Y" branch that was in a small opening. Had I not practiced these types of shots under said conditions, I would not have had the skill and confidence to make the shot. On the other hand, if my confidence was out of proportion with my skills, I might have taken the shot only to have blown the shot or wounded the buck but never recovered him.

Learn to shoot and hit the mark at 80-yards if doing so is your bag. I will setup my gear and spend my time learning to be consistently accurate at the maximum distance I will ever shoot while hunting deer. Rather than waste time on the impractical, I use the time to learn and practice shooting under as many conditions as I know I can be confronted with in the field.

Some might wax my butt at 60, 70, 80-yards on a target range, but in the "boonies," I might just leave some whimpering and babbling to themselves.

PS:

Being that Cargo had to ask the question he did, is an indicator that he is a novice or a skilled but average shooter. I mistakenly thought he was trying to ready himself specifically for bowhunting and bowhunting conditions. I now see he was trying to find out how to dust butt on a "target range." Big difference.


Edited by - c903 on 11/07/2002 17:57:08