I have spent a lot of time talking about the best ways to shoot a bow with some of the world's top bowhunters. Here are a few of the key lessons I have learned from the pros on the subject of how to aim a bow.
I have been bowhunting for about 15 years now, and I’ve actually never watched a video on the process of shooting a bow. I really enjoyed this. I love the idea of focusing on the target more than your pin. Makes so much more sense to see the target and shoot when the pin is on it, rather than watching the pin floating around trying to move it onto a target. Thanks a lot, Bill! I just bought a new Elite Omnia and will be sighting it in this week. Good luck this upcoming season! Cannot wait for the content!
@@TonyP-ft1tu Tony, check out “ bow only outdoors “ channel and watch his learning channel about setting up and using various releases. Josh and his partner are just regular hunters not professional shooters but their techniques are spot on. Watch them shooting at a couple of TAC events. A fellow couldn’t go wrong trying out their style. Seriously, if you commit some serious practice with your release set up like he does you won’t believe the results. Doesn’t matter if it’s a trigger, thumb or hinge. GOOD LUCK MR.👍👍
I always focus on the target while aiming too and largely ignore the pins and how they float. Seems like some kind of magic pulls the arrows to the target spot regardless. Ya know, as long as the pins are in the ballpark to begin with.
Thank you for sharing your shot process. I was in target panic's grip for nearly 30-years. Thankfully, I was in the Army shooting service rifles instead of archery equipment. After I retired, it took me about a month to beat it. One good thing from all those years freezing below the target - I can hold my pin steady as a statue on my intended target while working through the shot. One piece of advice - cover your target with a black contractor trash bag once you are sighted in and just "aim" at the center of the black mass. You will read your pin float better and it may help you tweak your stabilizer setup. Good luck this fall and thanks again.
Thanks for the comment and input Richard. I had target panic bad too until I started shooting a surprise back tension release (hinge style). Something similar to the B3 Ranger that I still shoot sometimes (b3archery.com/product/ranger/) Beating target panic is the starting point, but using the solid fundamentals I learned from Randy and John, I actually improved my overall accuracy at all distances. Good luck and thanks for the input.
In sniper school I was taught a little different. I was taught the BRAS method. Breathe Relax Aim Squeeze. You inhaled before you shot and didn't hold it in at all.
Randy's method that adopted is to inhale and then let it half way out and hold it while you squeeze off the shot. Thanks for the input and the comment.
As someone once said many many times, lol, YOU GOTTA TRUST THE PIN FLOAT! It works people. With enough SERIOUS shooting and no command shots ( punching) you will begin to find out at the last microsecond the pin will go to the middle.
That’s exactly what I do when shooting my rifle! It works! Also I never shoot with gloves on, no matter how cold it is. It’s the feeling of the gun I believe makes me a better shot. As always, great video Bill!
I like gloves for the bow because it allows me to shoot with less hand torque on the grip. The grip can turn in bow hand and that reduces any affects of friction that might cause the bow to twist slightly on release.
@@kokomo6754 They are super cheap cotton jersey gloves that allow my hand to move easily on the grip. I like that because it pretty much eliminates friction so the bow finds its own best position in my hand - one with the least chance of having bow hand torque that is built up if the grip sticks to your hand. Not a huge thing, but since I plan to hunt wearing gloves I just shoot with them all year long. Good luck.
Thanks for the comment Robert. I would search out any advice from my two shooting mentors (Randy Ulmer and John Dudley). Their advice has always been really helpful to me. Good luck. Enjoy the process.
Randy was the best archer in the world at one time and is still very good even though he is past prime age for steady shooting! He is still one of the best bowhunters that ever lived. Not nearly enough people know about him and his methods.
This was a great discussion. I have to investigate the “pattern” thing you mention. Anchor point is equally as important and perhaps good for another discussion.
Agree. I have learned a lot about anchoring from those guys too - the importance of not letting your face make contact with the arrow nock. I will come back with another one soon.
Yeah i would say we are very similar in our shot process. Someone told me, embrace pin float, that helped me out a lot. Second, I don't have a method of pin pattern float like you mentioned, but now i kind of want to try it and see what happens, maybe figure 8 or something, idk. Thanks for the tips though
When I started focusing on the target instead of the pins, it really improved my consistency. What I figured out shortly was when my target was covered up by my pin, it was bound to hit where I was aiming … if that makes sense. Not sure if that’s scientifically sound, but that’s what simplified it for me and has worked well. 🏹 🎯
Did you shorten your draw length a 1/2" or so? I remember you string being a bit farther back and past the corner of your mouth. It drove me nuts lol. Looks perfect now 😀
Yes, I did. As I got older my arm span has decreased (I believe I am shorter now too) and it took a while for me to realize that my traditional draw length was just too long. Also, I think it is hard to admit that you are losing your physical attributes and you live in denial for a while!
Great video!! I am going to use the focus on the spot not the pin technique and see how I like it in the next couple of weeks because the float I get is distracting for sure.. I always enjoy the stuff you put out. Curious Bill if you think the "7 second focus window" might contribute to either A. Rushed shots or B. Target panic as you have a timer clicking down in your head to SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT. I think for me whenver I put a time frame on shot execution it starts to tense me up a little bit and I anticipate
Brennan, there is not actually a timer in my head. It is more of a concept or overall philosophy and not a hard rule. In other words, I just try to execute the shot as quickly as my shooting routine allows, so that routine is the thing that you need to fine tune to get the shot off efficiently. I try to get my pin on the spot (or close to it) as soon as I hit full draw - before I lock in my focus - so I am ready to squeeze almost immediately when I lock in. I never feel rushed. The only time this seven seconds seems to be a factor is when it is windy and I am trying for all I am worth to get the pin to settle - my aim time definitely can exceed 7 seconds in those cases. That is where I struggle (as I am sure most people do). Even when I am waiting at full draw for an animal to offer the shot, I am not yet locked in to aiming. Once I determine that the shot will happen soon - that is when I lock in mentally and the resulting shot is always off within 7 seconds. I think the 7 second rule is really related to locked-in aim time, not time at full draw. Good luck.
Meh, the 7 seconds is great, but I have found if you get stuck at full draw, just stop looking through the peep, don't let down. Restart your aiming just from full draw. It takes 100 percent of the stress off when you dont look through the peep waiting for the game to turn or clear the brush.
But where did Ulmer and Dudley learn their information? Everything you just said sounds like it’s right out of Chuck Adams’ books from the ‘80s and ‘90s.
Are you willing to do product review content? Me and my team are looking for hunters to go over our broadheads. We'd definitely would love if you could! Do you have a business email so we can talk more about this on Monday?
