All my shots are off-hand and I just shot 1000 of 'em (see other post). I rarely get the opportunity to set upthe perfect shot on a restwhen I'm hunting because I do a lot of still-hunting/stalking. Because I've practiced it so much, now I think I shoot better standing than I do kneeling or sitting. Prone is still the most stable, but I may never get a chance to use that position hunting. A tip that seems to work for me: I try not to concentrate on keeping the pin (or crosshairs with a scope) on the target. I concentrate on the little tiny spot that I want the bolt to go. Then, I try to relax and let the sight picture settle down and squeeze off a shot when it "feels" right. I seem to mess up when I overthink my shot and I shoot better when I just let it happen. This is kinda nebulus, I know, but if you shoot enough, you can feel when you're going to hit and when you're not. One reason I don't use a scope is that I like to look with both eyes at the target, one through the peep and the other one looking around the pins. I've noticed that I have less of a tendency to pull the crossbow down and away on the shot so that I can see where the hit is. When I'm looking with both eyes, my right eye can't see right after the shot because of "recoil" but my left eye follow the bolt all the way to the target. No need to move the crossbow. 15 min. ago I was practicing and noticed a groundsquirrel that was begging to be removed from the herd. I got to 10 yards, looked at his beady little eye that I wanted to hit (with both my eyes) and when I knew that he was dead, squeezed off the shot. I hit 1/4" high but he didn't seem to care at that point. I hit him with a homemade Judo point- a blunt with a finish nail through it- that really tears a little fella up. Anyway, hope this helps.