Shooting practice question
 

I am just curious how many of you folks practice shooting from as many different positions as possible?
Example:
Standing; weight forward, weight back
Kneeling; one knee, double knee
Sitting; on a chair, flat on the ground on your butt
From behind a tree or barricade
From a ground blind if you use one
Have I left any out? Do you think this is a good idea or a waste of time?
Would this promote good shooting form or deteriorate form?

RE: Shooting practice question
 

I believe you should practice from every position you can possibly conceive being in when the opportunity comes. I am guilty of neglecting this and it cost me a chance last year at a big doe at the end of last season when I found myself unable to draw my bow while sitting in bitter cold. I haven't bothered to work on this yet either! :eek:

RE: Shooting practice question
 

When i am practicing i shoot at different positions all the time.My first few shots will be at 20 yards standing,just to get the feel of the bow.Then i may sit down and kneel for a few shots.I would do the same to 30 yards and try different positions.Then i would get in my tree stand and practice sitting down and standing,shooting straight on,straight down and to the left and right.
I figure this is the best practice,to put yourself in a bunch of different scenerios.This way when the shot presents itself on your trophy you will be ready for it as you practiced this same shot all season long.:)

RE: Shooting practice question
 

DaveH and extreme1, I agree 100% well said!

RE: Shooting practice question
 

I practice from as many of the positions as I can. Changing your posture has an effect on your draw lenght and sometimes your anchor point/sight alignment.
Since I hunt Elk I find it very important to practice shooting from the kneeling (1 0r 2) on my knees and kneeling sitting on my heels. Even this slight difference has an effect on point of impact.

Perfect practice makes for more effective and effortless execution.

RE: Shooting practice question
 

Definatly do it , practice shooting from the sitting position as its a good thing to know when they sneek in on you , the less movement you make the better , allso if you are overbowed , especialy on length , you'll find out by attemting to shoot in the sitting position .

Wow!: The "Archer Sutra"!
 

Wow! Now just add:

Practice shooting from the "Lotus" position
Shoot blindfolded
While riding a unicycle. . .

RE: Wow!: The "Archer Sutra"!
 

Yes, Mark. And I do it with both hands and my 'best' arrows.:D

RE:Shooting Practice question
 

Len actually raises a great point...
Does any one other than Len practice shooting with your "weak" hand?
I often do this with handguns as you never know when a situation may call for this type of shooting. But other than a neat exibition of skills I never really attempted this feat with a bow.
Have any of you?

RE: RE:Shooting Practice question
 

mlaubner:

When you determine how you shoot a rigged compound bow with the opposite hand and bow arm, let me know.

Until then, here is a method of practice in case you have fallen out of your stand and are suspended by your safety harness and a deer walks by.

RE: RE:Shooting Practice question
 

c903,
Your picture did not show up, just the red "X", so I'm not sure if there is some cutting edged sarcasm there or you had some serious intellectual wisdom to add to a conversational post. From some of your other posts, that I have read in the past, I have to imagine that it is the former and not the latter. If you have some agenda other than an open discussion or exchange of ideas, I would respectfully ask you to not hijack my post and start trouble, because you may or may not like one of the posting memebers.

I have never attempted to shoot a bow "weak" handed. Len in Maryland not only does it, he does it with 1" groups at 20 yards. I have seen it with my own eyes. He does it with or w/o his quiver on his bow, i.e. fully rigged. I use an no-peep on my bow and am not sure if it is even possible to acheive this w/o doing it "instinctively".

Speaking of instinctive,... how is it coming w/ the recurve? This is the type of shooting I want to learn to do soon. Just don't have the available cash to purchase another bow right now. Even so I might have to go w/ the "non-traditional" recurve made by PSE...I think it's called the Coyote. Has an aluminum deflexed riser w/ takedown limbs and mounting holes for stab, sight, etc. I think I would mount all the "training wheels" and then take them off, one accessory at a time as I learned how to shoot the thing!
Best of luck and good shooting!
Mark

RE: RE:Shooting Practice question
 

I pretty much only shoot standing shots. 99% of my hunting is done from a tree, so I don't get creative wit hmy shot positions.

RE: RE:Shooting Practice question
 

I now get very creative, last year I had a shot standing on one foot and leaning against a tree. it's kind of hard to shoot a bow in the prone position, I don't practice that one much.:D

RE: RE:Shooting Practice question
 

I have been practicing every day at 18 - 20 yards, sitting, kneeling, standing.

My huntin buddy and I go to our outdoor range twice a week and (because there are few people who use the range regular) we try shots through various discovered lanes at the next target. It helps with ranging targets and demonstrates what we are ready for.

After our 28 target practice round we shoot 50, 45, and 40 yards from different positions until we are either tired or thirsty (beer). We try to exclusively shoot the longer distances after every round as this greatly improves our lesser distance shots and grouping.

I have gone out alone and have shot 2 to 3 hundred shots at the longer distances and have found that a twenty yard target becomes a much easier target to shoot at and from the various angles and positions I am capable of creating.

The longer shots help me to quicken (as in set in muscle memory) my sight picture, draw and hold/anchor, release and follow through. Any bad habits that I have are readily discovered and I am capable of correcting them.

RE: RE:Shooting Practice question
 

Might be fun to try from the edge of a really big tree stand or a cliff:D

RE: RE:Shooting Practice question
 

mlaubner:

Maybe you should not wear your feelings on your shirt-sleeve and shut off your firewall so that the image would open. Don't fire at moving brush. ;)

RE: RE:Shooting Practice question
 

I practice all kinds of positions.Try standing on 1 foot at 30 yards and you will see how important a secure and solid,balanced base is.;)


I like to sit on my but facing the target at 30 yards.I also like turning my body so that I am shooting almost completely backwards.I feel confident that I could take a deer with these shots out to 30 yards.



Sitting is actually my favorite position to shoot deer because there is a whole lot less movement required and I can shoot as well sitting as standing.

RE: RE:Shooting Practice question
 

TFOX,
I have been shooting more from the seated position. I agree with you on it being a solid "stance" as there really are fewer moving "parts"!
I just started shooting from 20yds but am working towards the 30yd mark.
I want to try still/ground hunting this year for the first time and realize that seated shooting is going to be norm. Before this season it has always been tree stand hunting.
Do you regularly get 30yd shots from the ground? or is this just practice so the 20yd'rs seem really close?

RE: RE:Shooting Practice question
 

Sure, I practice with my weak hand alot. Just in case while I'm out hunting I fall and get hurt and can't pull my bow back with my strong arm. I'll need to fire three shots into the air to let people know where I am.

RE: RE:Shooting Practice question
 

mlaubner

I havn't been fortunate enough to take an animal with a bow on a ground stalk.I feel that a 30 yard shot might be a neccesity in a stalk because getting extremely close is even more difficult from the ground.

RE: RE:Shooting Practice question
 

That's good advice TFOX, I am going to keep practicing from 20yds sitting and kneeling and then move back 5yds at a time to get to 30-35yds. I just want to make certain that I can keep all my shots in a 3" circle at all distances.:)

RE: RE:Shooting Practice question
 

While many different positions should be practiced, the one that I practice most is the sitting position. It is the one that meets my needs moreso since I learned to shoot with either hand.

ijimmy touched my nerve when he said:

Quote:

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...practice shooting from the sitting position as its a good thing to know when they sneek in on you , the less movement you make the better...

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I encourage everyone to try shooting with either hand. It opens up so many more opportunities and limits your movement when necessary.

RE: RE:Shooting Practice question
 

Here are a couple ways that my neighbors and myself practice shooting in different postions. We have a couple games that we play with our bows. One is called BIG BULL, this is just like HORSE in basketball. The first person shoots at a 3-D target or bag target from an unknown distance in the position of their choice and they have to hit in the vitals or the bullseye and if they do the other people have to follow and make the shot in the same postion. If you miss, you get a letter. The other game is 21, we play this with 3-D targets, the first person shoots and has to hit in the vitals, and if they do the other people follow. If you hit the 8 ring you get 1 point, 10 ring 2 points and 12 ring 3 points. First one to 21 wins. These games are fun and give you good practice in different positions and at different distances.

RE: Shooting practice question
 

You never know from what angle a deer will approach your stand so it's always a good ideal to practice different shooting positions. Shooting from some of those positions will also let you know real quick if you're trying to pull to much draw weight.

RE: RE:Shooting Practice question
 

MT. cool games...
Here's one I came up with to try and make my "Block" target last a little longer, as I was shooting through it after a couple of months...

Archers Tic-Tac-Toe

Objective:
Score three boxes in a row either horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
The first player to do so wins that round.

Rules:
1. This is a 2 player game.
2. Distance to target is 20yards.
3. Each player may use only 6 arrows
4. Scoring area is 4½ x 4½ inches with a centered 2 inch bull’s-eye for each of the 9 squares. The nine squares are divided by a ½ inch line which serves as a neutral zone. Arrows shot into this area receive a “no score”.
5. Flip a coin to determine the first shooter.
6. Shooting is done in rotation from this point on.
7. Any bow set-up and any arrows are legal.

Scoring:
1. Arrows must be entirely in the square to count.
2. Stealing a square is possible, if a square occupied by the opponent’s arrow is not in the bull’s eye and you shoot your arrow into the bull’s eye. If the square is occupied by an arrow initially shot into the bull’s eye, no stealing is possible.
3. Any arrow “breaking the line” of the bull’s eye counts as a bull’s eye.
4. The round is finished when either player achieves a Tic-Tac-Toe.
5. If both players shoot all 6 arrows and no Tic-Tac-Toe is achieved, the game restarts with “no score” for that round.
6. Each Tic-Tac-Toe is worth 1 point.
7. A Tic-Tac-Toe scored with all bull’s eyes is worth 2 points.
8. A match is 7 points.

RE: Shooting practice question
 

Len,

That's a good idea to be able to shoot with either hand.

If I recall correctly, you shoot with a wrist release. While hunting, how do you switch the release to the other hand without a lot of movement?

Thanks,
Allen

RE: Shooting practice question
 

Len:

Just for clarification.

When you suggest that a person learn to shoot with either hand ,and that doing so allows one to shoot one certain bow with either hand should a situation during hunting warrant it, are you meaning to shoot the same compound bow (right bow with left hand, left bow with right hand) with the opposite hand and that this can be efficiently and accurately done in the field?

RE: Shooting practice question
 

Allen: Yes, I do use a wrist releases. Scott Rhinos to be exact. I have a release on each hand at all times in the woods. The releases stay attached to the grip of my bow and I put them on when I get settled in the tree. I have also stalked with them on; but, stalking will usually not demand this tactic.

Having to get my bow off the holder, turn 90+ degrees, and come to full draw cost me one of the biggest bucks I've ever seen in the woods last year. He was upon me (about 8-10 yards) from the rear before I noticed him. I had to be VERY careful/quiet getting into position for the shot. By the time I got to full draw, he was 30 yards into the thicket. Due to the brush and considering it was a 'going away' shot, I let him walk. He's still there because I saw him later in the season.

I have been shooting with either hand for about 3-4 years. It was a fluke that I one day decided to see how I could shoot my left-handed bow right-handed. What I found is that there is sometimes a parallax that requires an adjustment. When you shoot, say a right-handed bow left-handed, your point of impact may be a few inches 'out'. In other words, impact to the right of the aiming point on a right-handed bow. All you have to do is learn, when shooting with the opposite hand, is to aim 'out' with your pin to compensate. The bow I have right now is the first one ever that hits in exactly the same spot. The only bow that presents an almost impossible situation in this regard is the Hoyt 'Tec' series. The 'Tec' part of the riser lays on your wrist and hurts.

I must say, however, that a very neutral 'grip' is necessary. You should practice this a lot and become very confident before venturing out for game.

On the last day of the season, Davidmil and another hunting buddy, Rob, went into the woods on a cold day. Rob told me that he really needed meat to fill the freezer. Because it was so cold, and Davidmil forgot his boot warmers, Dave got down to drive deer. He drove 18 deer my way and the only shot I had was 45 yards behind the big tree I chose. There was NO WAY that I could get a shot left-handed. I proceeded to shift my bow to the other hand and executed a great shot that dropped the deer almost instantly. I would NOT have had a shot had I not shifted hands.

The next time you stop by the shop, I'd be glad to help you learn this technique. I'll never forget the time I got Joella Bates to try it. She screamed so loud when she shot that the other PROs around thought I was being bad.:D

RE: Shooting practice question
 

It is a good idea to practice, at least occassionally, from different positions.

Last year I learned how important it is....twice!!!

I blew a chance at a doe that came over a rise quickly on a trail that would have taken her right by me.
I was on the ground following the trail and she surprised me. She was so close, I had to freeze the instant I saw her. She saw me as I raised my bow to ready myself in case she gave me a broadside shot. She moved off to my right, and I couldn't even draw since I had stopped in mid-stride with my right leg forward.

Then, with the buck I did get from a treestand, I hit him high and too far back because he was off to my right as well. When he came out of the bushes, he was only 15 yards from me. Again I had to freeze. I was able to draw unseen, but executed a less-than-perfect shot and torqued it bad. If it hadn't hit him in the spine, which allowed me a follow up DL, he'd be hurt or dying slowly, and I'd be feeling like hanging up my bow.

Now, I make sur eto be ready by practicing from different positions, and putting more thought into how I place my feet in case I get caught with a deer appearing out of nowhere. (They do that, you know)