Throw the ball

[Yellow Dog]

I know this has been covered a lot in the past. The debate of instinctive shooting versus shooting with some type of point of aim. I'm what I consider to be a "throw the ball" type of shooter. No point of aim and no consideration for distance. Either it's in range or too far. All my hunting shots have been 25 yards or less but when I release the arrow I don't think in terms or yardage. When you fire a baseball from deep in left field you don't think "it's 200 feet and I need to throw it this hard and at this trajectory" to get it there. After years of shooting your brain does the calculation and you just do it. Really enjoy shooting at night, target illuminated and no way to see the arrow, just look at what you want to hit and let it go. Just picked up this 59 Kodiak from Big Jim, came in the mail yesterday. Love the 50's style recurves, had a couple of the original 59 Kodiak's and they're a joy to shoot. Other than the bad leather wrapped grip Bear did good on this one. 60" 45@28, drawn to 30". Sweet! Five arrows in a row at 20 yards in the dark.

[tradarcher816]

I'm with you on this style of shooting. I made reference to it once on another talk forum and was shortly afterwards lambasted because I was referencing an "un-credible" style of shooting. Glad to hear I'm not crazy lol, nice group by the way, congrats on the new bow.

[nineworlds9]

You put the true nature of instinctive shooting quite eloquently.  Nice shooting.  The naysayers just don't get that its an aiming method, just a subconscious one.  Basketball players, golfers, etc don't gap shoot!  Sorry had to  :D  LOL

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Michael,  I'm with you on this one.

I don't use a  range finder when I'm casting my fishing pole. lol

[Rollie]

Thanks!  

[mike g]

People ask all of the time, How do you aim that thing....
   I tell them how do you throw a ball. Our, I say you just look at it and shoot....
   A good way to practice is the shootin at the candle in the dark....

[bowtough]

Right on Yellowdog. As an old quarterback and a second baseman of years gone by. I have used this analogy many times in explaining the art of instinctive shooting and instinctive throwing. You are spot on! The biggest buck of my bow hunting life so far was taken at fifteen yards at a dead run. He was chasing a fawn doe late in the post rut and as he came by my tree in hot pursuit, I let the hair covered computer do the numbers as I swung with him hitting him in the numbers as I used to hit my wideouts. No thinking just pure instints.       Wouldn't have had time to line everything up if using sights and trying to figure yardage, oh the simplicity of it all. Buck is in my avatar. Good hunting Bro, Gary.

[WESTBROOK]

Thats pretty much how I shoot.

The brain is amazing when it come to processing all that information and zeroing in on something.

As with anything else, some are blessed with more natural ability than others.

[fnshtr]

Agreed. What really made it clear to me was when I used a laser dot to shoot at after dark. Shot BETTER than when I have the distractions of other things in my sight picture (arrow shaft, tip, gap, etc.).

[hvyhitter]

I use a "darts" analogy. After many years on leagues I can hit the "tripples" just about every time. Shooting a bow is exactly the same. Muscle memory through practice.........

[Onehair]

I always find this debate interesting. Though I agree there is merit to some of what you say, I have to ask , what about the effort made by the catcher. Do you get that kind of help from your target? Just asking

[bigbadjon]

I won't get into the sight picture and start another argument on aiming. However determining range is also a visual input. How are you guys determining range in pitch blackness with no input froom your surroundings? Or can this black shooting only be done at a predetermined range?

[Archie]

I shoot this way to some degree, but I do shoot better and more consistently when I take the time and gap shoot.

Something that must be remembered is this...

Not everyone can pitch.  Very few people can reliably throw a rock and kill a bird with it predictably, and at will.  I played baseball and softball off and on all my life, and I remember very few who consistently threw the ball with the kind of accuracy that we need with archery.

But that's what makes sports (and watching sports) fun.  Can the hockey player shoot the puck into the hole that the goalie hasn't got covered?  Can that pitcher strike the guy out?  Can the batter hit off this pitcher?  Can this b-ball player make the clutch 3-pointer?

And it's shooting by these more "intuitive" methods that makes shooting arrows so enjoyable to me.

[LongStick64]

I made a similar post here on the shooters forum and was basically told I can't be accurate shooting in a simple way. What archers fail to realize we are all manufactured differently and there are many ways to shoot accurately. Some use a reference, some do not, some combine methods. It's whatever works for the particular shooter that is best.
For myself, solid form, along with a complete focus on the target has my shooting my best. To be fair I don't care to compete or kill paper, my shooting session are strictly about keeping as realistic as I can to hunting conditions.
Continue shooting in the method that allows you the most pleasure is the best advice I can offer. Don't worry about how anyone else shoots or aims.

[TonyW]

Michael -  Great bow!

[Shakes.602]

Yup, you just described My Style of Shooting as well! No Gap Method or anything like that. I Judge and let fly, and usually can hit what I am shooting at within 20 yards. Takes me an Arrow or 2 past 20 yards to zero in, but its all in the Brain and estimation from MANY Hours of Practice and a Few Lost Arrows. Glad I am not Alone!!

[Thumper Dunker]

With my eyes I can't see the bow or the tip of the arrow I have to shoot that way. It works.

[Traditional-Archer]

Everyone uses references, everyone uses gap shooting and point of aim. It is in every style of shooting unless you completely close your eyes and shoot in complete blindness. And then if you hit the target it's because you remembered where the target  was and are using point of aim and gap practice to point your bow in that direction. Throwing a ball or any object including your bow is just like having all of the mechanical devices of modern day on your bow. The difference is we take those devices off our bow and chose to use our brain to make the shot, for example. We remove the kisser button on a compound bow and come to full anchor at our eye tooth every time instead and use our eye tooth or another anchor point to replace the kisser button. Just remember one thing, archers did this first the kisser button came out way after archers started shooting bows. We have just come full cycle and came back to tradition. The muscle memory replaces let off on a bow, we have to hold that position and maintain our shooting position to be accurate. All of this comes from a practice shot and it just so happens that you are smarter than you give yourselves credit for. No one just shoots like the old saying is said, poke and hope unless you never pull your bow out of the closet every year and take that thing in the woods without ever shooting until the game is in front of you, picks the bow up not knowing the spine of your arrow the weight of your bow the draw length that you pull, the distance of your game and what end of the arrow is used to kill the animal. That is everything but,   PRACVTICED MEMORY.

[pokeanhope]

That's how I shoot exactly! I shoot no farther then 20 yards however, and can tell just by looking if its within my range.

[Longbow58]

My style also Yellow Dod, amazing what the brain can do when you teach it enough. Good to 20yds. getting better at 25 not ready to shoot that far at a deer yet.