If you couldn' t get the ' point and shoot' instinctive style to work for you, then forget it. Like Lilhunter says, not just everyone is good at it. Instead, concentrate on what you want to hit, but be aware of where the tip of the arrow is, in relation to the target. Gap shooting is a lot more consistent.

The beauty of it is, after you' ve shot that way for awhile you find you think less and less about where the tip of the arrow is until you finally don' t think about it at all. In other words, gap shooting eventually becomes instinctive shooting.

A lot of guys I know have never figured out what arrow spine they really need for their bows. You put the correct arrow on a well tuned bow, get a good solid anchor under your eye, execute a good release and follow through, the arrow doesn' t have any choice but shoot down the middle. All that' s left to do is elevation, and that' s where gapping comes in.

Some people like to build a deep mystique around instinctive shooting but, good grief, even Og the Caveman was shooting instinctive. And making a living at it. I doubt he ever once worried about what size his groups were.

Seems like I put this in every post like this, but it' s the truth. Get away from the target butt. Put some judo points on your arrows and go stump shooting. A clump of grass, a leaf, a dried cow pie, weed stalks, grasshoppers, a can left by some slimy litterbug... All kinds of worthy targets to take a poke at. Maybe even go home with the makings for rabbit stew at the end of the day.

You have much of that kind of fun and they' ll have to drag you, kicking and screaming, back to compounds.