Shooting Instinctively - Relearning

[BT]

I dont believe this is just a traditional practice so I put this here in the shooting section. While the barebow compound shooter seems to be as rare as chickens teeth anymore, I have been looking at a Oneida in the future, so it's not a lost cause yet ;D

Anyway...

I was talking with Doegirl awhile back about shooting instinctively and I was reminiscing about how I used to be deadly with my bows as a young kid.... without the use of sights and such. I really was very good and I just seemed to have lost the ability between then and now.

Well after talking about it and thinking on it for a couple of weeks it occurred to me that the reason why I couldn't do it was due to the fact that my equipment had changed between then and now. What had changed most was the speed of the bows I was shooting. Back when I was very young, the fastest bow I was shooting was maybe 110fps due to lack of draw length and weight.

It occurred to me that the reason I was able to shoot so well with those older bows was the fact that I had learned to judge the arch of the arrow much in the same way as the arch is judged when throwing a basketball into a hoop. The lack of speed of the arrow also allowed me to see very clearly what was going on as well. Today I couldn't even see an arrows flight much before it hit the target. ;D

So I took a light longbow and shot it most of last week and I really watched the arrow when I shot it. Guess what?!.
I was able to hit my target with great ease and consistency by the end of the week.

Now I have not been able to take this back to my faster bows because I simply cannot see the arrow as I need to, due to the higher speeds but I am now thinking of trying some new things like tracers on my arrows, to help me see the flight of that arrow.
It would be great if I could get back to instinctive shooting

[smj]

I think I've mentioned this book before here, but I'll do so again -

Instinctive Archery Insights: Revised Edition, by Jay Kidwell.

You would find this very much worth a read... Shooting a bow instinctively, is very much like tossing a baseball. We learn early in life how to toss just about anything, and make adjustment for the toss depending on weight and wind, up hill or down. All on the fly, back in the good old brain. Same deal with archery.

The only negative, it does take time to get there without sights. Also, to go a step further, while I think it helps to see the arrow and the path, I also think that once you understand your arrows flight for your bow and arrow combined - you don't have to see the arrow in flight. Just focus on the spot you wish to hit with the arrow. This is really just a re-calibration of the good 'ole gray matter between the ears...

www.amazon.com/Instinctive-Archery-Insights-Jay-Kidwell/dp/0963971824

[smj]

By the way... the arrow does not know, or understand, what type of bow has shot it. It will pass through the atmosphere in the same fashion - scribing an arc that only changes due to speed and arrow mass/wind drag and cross wind. Simple physics. I think folks like Howard Hill had/have great intuition for this. I believe this is why Howard could do so many of the things he is known for.

[BT]

You hit it SMJ. The problem with my perception was speed and therefore the inability to see flight. I was shooting today and had to get back to nearly 30 yards before I could pick up the arrow in flight. The lighter bow I was using last week, I could see from 5 yards to 40 yards because the arrow was traveling so much slower and the arch was so much more pronounced.

I first needed to see trajectory in order to have a feel for it is maybe a better way of describing why I needed to go back to a slower bow in order to get it back to where I was when I was younger. I think this is why Gene Wensel refers to the fun of watching a properly launched arrow. It is like throwing a basketball at a hoop, knowing that you will make it. You dont have to watch it but it is enjoyable to watch it sail into the hoop.
If you dont memorise the trajectory first, you will have a hard time hitting that hole each and every time from one or varying distances.

What was said relating to needing to see the arrow after trajectory is patterned in the brain is spot on. At the end of last week I was simply shooting and never did look (on purpose) at the arrow. It was just like throwing a ball and much more fun than aiming.