RE: Shooting style
Sounds like another one has been bitten. My wife don't listen to me much either. I usually get, "is that all you ever talk about?" Meaning all I talk about is archery. It isn't all I ever talk about, I talk about huntin and fishin and lovin too. <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
If I'm not mistaken, the king of instinctive, Asbell, shoots split fingered. I don't know about Ferguson.
I shoot split fingered and anchor middle finger to my eye tooth, thumb behind my cheek bone and my little finger is touching my chin for a loose 3 point anchor. I shoot using a latigo tab but may change to a cordovan tab because we may be moving to a much wetter climate in extreme N. California (80" of rain ave. per year) and the cordovan is supposed to hold up better in wet weather. If we don't move, I'll stick with what I'm using. They last a long time.
As far as my shooting style, I have to say that I shoot instictive. I've been mulling over this for a few months now and have experimented with my site picture when I shoot. If I think about it, I can see the arrow in my site picture which would be a reference point for my shooting. However, it distracts me to do so and my shooting suffers because my concentration isn't on my target. I don't hold anchor for more than I hit it and the arrow is gone. Have always shot like that and probably always will. That means that I'll never be a great target shooter, but I'm not a target shooter anyway. I get lucky once in awhile, but for the most part, I can't consistently hit groups. What's important to me is that I can hit the target with my first arrow, each and every time.
These are considerations that you will want to make before settling on a particular style of shooting. I would have to say that most of the top target shooters probably use some sort of aiming method like gap shooting. You'll figure all this out when you get into your shooting and find what works best for you. Just remember that to be consistently good with your shooting, you have to shoot a lot and you will have to vary your shooting. Meaning you will need to shoot from a variety of distances, angles in relation to the target, both elevated and on level ground.
The best advice I can offer is to read the books and shoot your bow. When shooting, don't concentrate on hitting anything but the bails or target butt. Stand close and work on your form, anchor and release. Once you have those three things down, the accuracy will naturally follow. Have fun.