RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Burnie you mention shooting at the ten ring on a deer targetbut of all of the 3-d targets that I've ever shot I've never been able to see the ring but I know the general area that it's in. I've been bowhunting for about 30 years and have killed 40-50deer and a black bear using the method that I described. Now I have hit 3 deer that I was unable to recover. Iagree thatjust flinging a arrow toward a deer is a mistake, but I disagree that picking atuft of hair or a crease is the only way to do it.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

I pick a spot.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

I pick a spot, pull my bow up, cover the spot with my pin and squeeze. I do agree that the angle of the deer has a lot to do with it. As the deer is coming in, I take the angle into consideration, as I pick my spot. I have tried like hell to pick a hair or tuft of hair but my pin covers it up when I get my bow up.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

I don't pick a spot, I go through a process in my head though.

From the bottom of the deer, following the leg up from where it meets the body;

"Three inches up, two inches back, hold, hold, release."

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

I have used both methods and picking a spot is my chosen method- I have found this easier to do with a single vertical pin - but love the results when the arrow sails into the exact spot you were aiming

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

I always pick a spot, like the X in the center of the target. It is what I've trained myself to do. The spot I pick is the one that takes my arrow on the best path through the vitals. By picking a small spot to concentrate on, it helps me to be the most accurate and keeps me from looking at the antlers or the whole deer.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

And that is your Spot!;)

Dan

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

I guess you're right. I thought about it after I posted it... lol

I guess I don't look for a particular spot on the deer to aim at, I just go through my process and thats where I end up. :D

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Man, I am screwed for picking a spot. Some have said pick a tuft of hair, others have said pick a dark spot or shadow, and still others have said pick a ridge in the muscle. Man, around here all we have is fat unsculpted, but well groomed deer that only come out on overcast days!!!

I have a little reminder on my riser that says:

P
A
S
A
F
T

It stands for "pick a spot and follow through." As others have said I envision where I want that arrow to enter to hit the exit hole and bury my pin in that spot until I release. It hasn't failed me yet (other things have, but not that).;)

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

I just point my arrow in the general direction and hope for the best. ;)

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Nope I didnt. I said when shooting at a target, not a deer target. You do look at the ten ring when shooting at a target. I just suggested to find an area/spot on a deer thats it. And I assume you are doing just that. Because if you were just slinging arrows at a deers area, you arenot picking a spot. And if you are doing that, you would not berecoveringall the deer you said.


Washington
You are, three inches up, two inches back. Thats a spot.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Behind your pin is a spot.;)

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Fine. :eek:

I pick a spot, yes.

:D;)

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Semantics if you asked me....

Unless that animal is standing still for a long time...your "spot's" gonna have to change. That good spot when he was 4 steps back there might not be the right spot when he is wher ehe is right now.

I agree that knowing the path your arrow is going to take through that animal is VITAL information. What better way to imagine that than having your pin on the animal and adjusting. That's the ultimate in the angle. It's a straight line from your pin through that animal (taking into sonsideration the angles).

The "spot" is constantly changing....unless that animal's standing still.

Wherever my pin is at the given time is the spot. I can't determine said spot until I get ready to pull the trigger.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

It's hard to believe how many pages some threads go;)

Dan

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

I hear ya, Dan.....but imagine shooting at a brown surface with no distinguishing marks. LOTS of times that's what we're doing. I see nothing wrong with trusting a hunter when he tells me he's taken into account the angle of the arrow.......and his pin is placed on that brown surface with that in mind.

ESPECIALLY since it's a known fact that the angle will CONSTANTLY change until the moment of truth.

It's one of those "pat" answers that I just don't like. Another "constant" that is everything but.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Nothing like a pissing contest about nothing.:D:D

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Amen!!

If a Bowhunter isnot picking a spot to shoot at, real or imagined I can't imagine what heis shooting at;)

Dan

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Exactly. You cannot just say I am going to aim (insert discription here) here. Your angleand the deer's position will change all of that. If every shot was broadside on level ground then yes a measurement would work. That's not how it happens though.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Question:

If a man pointed you and your bow at a solid white wall and asked you to shoot a hole in the center of it......what woud you do?

MY answer is.....I'd float my pin to the center of that wall and pull the trigger.

Have I picked a spot? If so..............Semantics. My spot's behind my pin.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Jeff, I completely understand what you are saying and agree with you. I don't think that the spot is a constant though. I guess for the guys that use a tuft of hair as an example that is constant and fits right in to what you are saying. That tuft of hair may be in the perfect place for a broadside shot, but on a hard quartering shot it will be way too far forward. So, the spot you pick is there at the time of the shot. Once you are at full draw and have the deer stopped in front of you then you pick your spot and put your pin there. If it moves before you shoot, then you have to pick a new spot.

I actually practice this at home be shooting at my 3d target from different angles and giving myself a limited amount of time to shoot. I walk around, stop, draw, pick my spot, and shoot. I give myself 5 seconds to do this. If I haven't gotten the shot off I let down and walk around again. This way I have to pick a different spot with every shot. It saves on beating holes in the same spot on my 3d target too.;)

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Wheres Bullet Hole Baily when you need him?

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Chris....with the year he had.....probably at his taxidermist's......making a payment.:D

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

being ive only shot 1 deer with my bow, i cant tell ya what i do.

i hit my anchor points, had a broadside 21yd shot. was ABOUT to jump the trigger and realized it...WAY high...woulda stuck him in the back. took that extra second and found the crease behind the leg...then watched my arrow sink into that....

someone on here i believe has PASS written on their limbs...Pick A Spot Stupid..im not gunna lie...havent forgot they yet, and i thought of it before i released the arrow...thats when i realized i was too high.

also use PASS for 3d shooting. first couple rounds i sucked. hit the targets...shot OK but not like i do shooting spots in my back yard...started PICKING a spot, weather i could see the X ring, or see a worn out hole, or shot AT my buddies arrows, or a different color where i think the X ring is...i find a spot and pick it and shoot for that spot. just like shootin spots in my backyard...

and yes, ive shot my buddies arrows more than theyd like...if someone says they shot an X, i will squeeze an arrow right beside it and say "boy i hope so! :D" on time 2 buddies were bein REAL cocky in good fun...1 was pumped he put it in the X....blacked out shafts and all, the sun hit it just right at my angle..CRACK! he wasnt happy...luckily it was just the nock...so after that the other buddy says boy was that luck or what...he was foolish enough to shoot before me...CRACK! nother nock went flying...dont talk smack when my game is ON and your shooting orange nocks! lol

picking a spot just seems to really help me shoot...

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

I always try to find s tuft of hair and aim for it. It's really not too difficult to do. The most important thing to do is to relax and aim. Too many times folks get rushed (or think they need to) to get the shot off. Take your time and AIM at something.:D

I always pick a spot.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

As soon as I seen my game I start placing the arrow through it based on the angle and as i draw in my head I still see the arrow and that's what I aim at. Just like if a nock was sticking out the side of it and replace it with my pin. I don't come up, down or to the side of it to keep from preload the shot and missing . Come up on the spot you can shoot high and down on the spot you can shoot low. When I get to full draw the pin I'm using is on it are really close. I shoot 3D the same way. All ways see the x in the center of the ten ring In my mind and replace it with my pin hold and shoot it.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

I'm gonna pay attention to this, more.

Another question.....All this 3D talk has made me think....

When I shoot 3D....there's sometimes nothing (no distinguishing marks) where I want to put my pin.....or where I NEED to put my pin to give myself the best chance at scoring on that target. Let's relate that to hunting. There's a tuft of hair that's visible at 20 yds.....but it's 2" left of where you need to place your arrow. What do you do, then?

Iron sights rifle shot.....60 yds? What's your "spot"?

Curious......

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

I don't know what to tell ya Jeff. I can ALWAYS find something to shoot at. The point is not WHAT the spot is, it's simply concentrating on"A" spot. It's not hard (for me at least) to concentrate on the tiniest of spots that I need to in order to make the shot. Using your example, if there was an obvious tuft of hair 2in to the right of where I wanted my arrow to go, then I'd concentrate on a spot 2in to the left of the tuft......Pretty simple actually.

I just feel it's better to concentrate and pick out a spot....ANY spot rather than aim for a general area behind the shoulder.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

i have to or i fall apart. i always try to pick out a spot.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

When I pick a spot, I usually have a pretty good day!!!!!

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

For me, picking a spot is pretty important - more from the standpoint that I don't dare let myself look at those horns. Gives me something to focus on.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

See John....this is what I have a problem with....that somehow...if you don't pick a hair....you're shooting at a "general area". That's simply not the case. What I think (and I say this because I KNOW I have done this in the past) people have problems with....is not checking their anchors, properly, when in the heat of the moment.

Simple question, really......if your pin is where you want your arrow to go.....why isn't your pin your spot (much as your bead is your spot when you're iron sighting that 60 yd shot). If you look at your line of fire as a laser.....and your pin is your guide......then you have a good game plan.

I don't mind going agianst the grain on this one. Again.....semantics.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

This is funny! Some of you guys blow me away with all your analyzing everything. Especially something so simple as picking a spot! Just too funny!

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

If you are not picking a spot you are not aiming,you are shooting at an area as others have said.Pretty basic stuff!

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Few more years under your belt and you will understand Frieda.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Reading all thisI realizethat you're all basically saying the same thing just in a different ways. Language whether written or spoken can be interpreted differently depending on the interpreter. So... the same sentence can be taken differently by two people who in fact are on the same side. Twisted aint it?

I do get what GMMAT is saying though. If you pick a tuft of hair to aim at, your pin covers it up anyway so what's the point in having to pick out that tuft if you already know where your arrow should impact? It's not like those who don't "pick a spot" just put the deer in the pin guard and let loose. They ARE looking at where the pin falls on the body of that deer.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

Actually once I have my pin on the spot I see right through the pin and it disappears right when I am about to let her fly. I am totally focused on a spot but not to the point of a hair.
I find when I have problems practicing is when I am to focused on the pin and not my targeted spot. Im out.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

I'm curious,for those of you who don't utilize mechanical sights and always pick a spot... What happens when there isn't a tuft where you need it to be? What if the deer isn'tsome scraggley swamp buck with hair out of place everywhere and all you got is a clean flawless brown coat? Or what if it's 2min before end of legal light and you can't see a single tuft even on the mangiest Louisiana swamp buck? Where do you aim then? Not patronizing, just trying to understand.

RE: How many actually pick a spot?
 

I try to aim at the exit, then pick my spot and exacute :)

RE: How many actually pick a spot?