Hunting Specific Practice

[Buckfever]

July 12th, 40 yards elevated.

2 words. I suck.

I had shot the field round, 4 arrows at 14 targets and was feeling good, so instead of shooting another round for a complete shoot I decided to go to the elevated targets and see where I was at.

First group:


Not good, so I tried on the second one:


This is exactly why I have shied away from from competitive archery. The skill set for hunting proficiency is not the same. I do like the long range shooting to burn in good form, but beyond that what I need is hunting specific practice. At this point I'd be way better off shooting at a 3-d target at 40 yards from an elevated position at various angles.

Friday I'll sight in the pendulums and begin the hunting specific practice.

I'll follow up with examples and we can talk about aiming and angles and the like.

[freedomrules3]

I'll be honest George , i do all my practicing specifically for hunting purposes. 100 yard shooting may be fun but more harmful than good imo for being on spot for hunting. i'd rather walk around my target at 30-40 yard intervals and take shots that i would come upon during hunting situations. my practices are nearly all from the ground since thats how i hunt the most , from the ground. 100 yards etc may be a hoot but it'll ruin ya for shooting deer especially at closer ranges. i was kinda wondering how long it would take to raise the red flags for ya .
my advice to anyone shooting archery for hunting purposes is to stick to your specific hunting style and practice that until you can do it in your sleep. when the time comes during season it will be a piece of cake. practicing shots that are out of the realm of hunting is fun but generally a waste of time and bad habits can be brought around goofing off imo .

[freedomrules3]

oh by the way dont kick yourself about that session , looks to me like a slight adjustment in your sights and youll be pokin the bull again

[eshoremd]

wow, you really suck george like rick said looks like a little adjustment and your there.

go eat a choc choc chunk and have an ice cold 16oz glass of skim milk. youll be good as gold!

im starting to think the mud pie fusion is the worst bar they got, and thats a good thing!

[Buckfever]

My curiosity about how I would fare against the Target archers took me away from my focus.

Right now I'm shooting quite a bit better at 65 yards on the ground than I do at 40 elevated. After all this time of practicing at the longer ranges, I am shooting no better than I was 2 months ago at 40 yards elevated. I still believe in the benefits of long range shooting becaus it abolutely teaches me good form. But I should of put a couple dozen arrows at 80 or 100 and then went straight to the 40 yard elevated target and done most of my work there.

Anyway the pendulums are on the bows, the 3-d target is in the Blazer. I'll get back on it on friday.

[Buckfever]

I wish I had brought my camera this afternoon. I was shooting at the 3-D target at 35 yards broadside no problem, drilling them. Then slightly quartering, no problem. Then quartering about 45 degrees, I was absolutely struggling to keep from shooting too far forward. I knew where I had to put it but my mind wanted to keep pulling it towards the shoulder and away from the guts.

And that's the thing about practising the angles. Early on I can't tell you how many times I would take out near lung and liver, because regardless of the angle I would aim for the same damned spot.

Aim for the exit, is easier said than done, you need to train yourself to do it.

I'll probably get out there again next Tuesday and I'll try and illustrate it some on the 3-D target.

[ncboman]

buckfever said:

I wish I had brought my camera this afternoon. I was shooting at the 3-D target at 35 yards broadside no problem, drilling them. Then slightly quartering, no problem. Then quartering about 45 degrees, I was absolutely struggling to keep from shooting too far forward. I knew where I had to put it but my mind wanted to keep pulling it towards the shoulder and away from the guts.

And that's the thing about practising the angles. Early on I can't tell you how many times I would take out near lung and liver, because regardless of the angle I would aim for the same damned spot.

Aim for the exit, is easier said than done, you need to train yourself to do it.

I'll probably get out there again next Tuesday and I'll try and illustrate it some on the 3-D target.

I don't know if you actually have these issues or are making forum fodder. ;D

I certainly have the opposite quandry. I never have problems lining up a shot on a deer to go thru the center of the breadbasket. I have had problems hitting the spot on 3D targets turned at angles. I have trouble going for a spot on 3D targets that is clearly not a killing shot.

If you're having problems on game because of shooting spots, you need to stop practicing so much and go hunting.

Very few hunting shots are taken at 40yds, yet you seem glued to that range or more. I practice sloppy shooting at 20yds far more than precision shooting at long range. Deer coming by, not enough time for perfection. Do you know what you can and can't get away with at close range? That's what puts meat on the table moreso than hitting a spot at 40+yds.

Keep on and you'll develop a mindset that'll have you hitting deer high because they're not as far as you want them to be. Killing deer with a bow is a close range proposition. Nothing about it is extremely difficult, moreso a series of simple tasks. Why make it difficult?

Making the shot is almost like tieing your shoe, easy once you've found a shoe that fits. Getting the deer into easy shooting range is much more difficult than actually making the 15yd shot.

Archery is fun and I enjoy it but I don't forget that bowhunting is not all archery. The archery part of bowhunting is the easy part.

[Buckfever]

"I don't know if you actually have these issues or are making forum fodder. "

nc,
I haven't been having too many problems in recent years. Mostly I try to share my experiences, for those who have not made the distinctions yet. I realize that most of the folks that I'm speaking to here and on John's site are already well past these issues.

I'll go out there and will be reminded of something and I will put myself out there so that the new guys might consider it and gain from that experience. Here locally I work with quite a few guys that are just starting out, but also the seasoned guys aren't all that proficient, so that flavors my perspective.

For expediency on my part I'll make the postings on several of the forums.

If my postings are seemingly condenscending to those of greater ability, I certainly don't want to do that and I'll think on that and see if I can somehow address it in my presentation. At the same time I don't want to appear arrogant as I think that will be off putting to the younger guys and to the seasoned guys who could use to step up.

I hoping that when folks see my field results and see how willing I am to make improvements that such a humble approach might make folks more open to looking at their issues.

The biggest hurdle that I deal with, with the guys locally is that their ego's get in the way of what are very small issues that can be readily addressed.

[ncboman]

I practice sloppy shooting at 20yds far more than precision shooting at long range.

I should have said, I practice shooting with sloppy form, seeing just what I can get away with and still make a killing shot.

I think if the pin is held in the kill zone, it's pretty difficult to miss because of bad form, at least at close range with the bows I shoot.

[Buckfever]

nc,
regarding that "sloppy from" practice. Do you find that you do better with a lighter weight bow setup? I know for the longer range stuff I put the heavier dampeners on and extend the length of the stab for a more heavier feel, but for the fast and loose stuff I just lightened up the XT as I have the Outback setup and found that I was much more proficient with the fast and loose shooting.

[Twanger]

I practice quick shooting and "hold forever" shooting to help prepare me for the season. Like Bowman, I tend to shoot the 3D targets where I think the best killing shot is for the angle of the targer, not to hit the 10-ring. I love shooting the 3D course, but only as a means to improve my bow-hunting skills, not as an end unto itself.

[fergy]

You Guys all have alot of bow time . but me a rookie , have little in the way of bow hunting. I get alot of good info, but some is over my head. Target I'm pretty good, 3-d is rough. how about advise on that. practice practice practice?

[Buckfever]

For hunting, buy a cheap 3-D target to get started. Practice shooting with broadheads from an elevated position at various distances and angles. Practice often.
That's it.

[freedomrules3]

fergy said:

You Guys all have alot of bow time . but me a rookie , have little in the way of bow hunting. I get alot of good info, but some is over my head. Target I'm pretty good, 3-d is rough. how about advise on that. practice practice practice?

When you are saying you can shoot a target well but not a 3-d very well, I'm assuming you mean a 3-d coarse. If that is the case, it sounds like a case of distance error. its easy to use your 20 yard pin when you know your at exactly 20 yards. Its harder to judge distance on a 3-d coarse even if they say this is x amount of yards it may be off just enough. I believe this is just another phase of bowhunting that has to be drilled into the mind , shot distances. Practicing is the key but a good setup is also important. make sure the bow is tuned and the flight is good by doing a paper test. find the best arrow weight and type by experimenting with different arrows and find what your bow likes. If your not happy with whats happening try changing up 1 thing at a time till it gets better.
What bow,arrow, setup do you use?

[Twanger]

I agree with buckfever. Get a 3D deer target and once you are happy shooting it out to 30 yds, start shooting it at unknown ranges, poor angles, kneeling, sitting, bending, and from a tree stand. Also practice holding for a long time before shooting. This will sound silly, but also practice shooting it from the left as well as the right side of the animal. Shooting a 3D deer target helped me with deer hunting more than anything.