Just wondering what you guys do during practice, not competition or hunting.

When pulling thestring back and anchoring, most of the time, I can tell if my arrow is going to go where I wantit (or at least where I aim it) before I shoot. It's a feeling that everything is on. I'd say a good 80% of the time I can tell.

However, what do youdo when you don'tget the "feeling"? Not that you can tell that something is off, but the feeling of a good shot (maybe something to do with confidence) is just not there. What do you do? Do you let up or shoot? I find myself shooting about 70% of the time, and about half the time the arrow does not go exactly where I want it to.




Do I make any sense, or am I a little insane?

I know exactly what you mean..... Many times I can tell that I am not exactly on my anchor or that my fingers are positioned exactly where I want them to be...... In competition I usually let down...... In practice, I try to work through it.... When I have that "feeling" like something just isn't quite right, I typically slow down and really, really concentrate on keeping my bow arm still and gettinga good crisp release.... Most of the time it doesn't go exactly where I am aiming, but it still fall in there close enough for a "kill".....

It's so strange how you recognize a good shot before it even leaves the bow.... I swear I think my bow is quieter when I make a good shot!! Seems strange, but when my bow just has a muffled thump, you can bet that arrow is flying true!!! May just be that I am concentrating more on the shot than on the bow!!

You are not insane. I find my self doing the exact same thing. This year I made a promise to my self to start letting down when the shot just doesn't feel right. It is probibly the hardest thing to do.I try to shoot even when it doesn't feel right.

I think its pretty common for most people compound, recurve, longbow, to try to make a bad shot. I was told by a pretty good competitor, he lets off at least 4 out of 10 shots. I told him, I usually never let off. He is right.

What in the world are you talking about, I always feel on..... Not

I know just what you are talking about. If im on an animal, usually I second guess until the shot presented, is gone. Inoticed, the longer I hold the more assured Iam the shot will stink. Ilet up. Now when shooting at a target, I tend to take all shots. Bad or good. I guess that is what verifies that the feeling of a bad shot, was correct. Dont know if it is good practice, but i still tend to do it.

I guess, that is pretty much what I'm thinking. To take the bad shot anyway, so you know the difference when drawing at game. I usually see myself letting up more on 3-d targets, then on bails.

Same for me--very often I know something isn't right, and one of the hardest things for me to do is let down. Still working on it.....

Chad

I hear ya BC, same here. I just let um fly, bad shots dont bother me when I am just dinking around, if they did I wouldnt be doing this anymore [:'(].

I get that feeling too. Sometimes whenI'm just about to release, I can tell it will be a bad shot, and it almost always is once that thought enters my mind. Sometimes I can detect that there is something off in my form, but other timesif Ijust think I am going to make a bad shot,I lose focus and make that bad shot come true. It's like some crazy mind game.[&:]

Yup, I'd like to be the guy who figures this whole thing out.

But then again, our sport would not be as mystical.