Intuitive shooting questions

[hedgeapple]

From what I'm gathering from here is intuitive shooting is a very individual shooting style.  I'm new this type of shooting.  Right now I'm practicing with a cheap fiberglass, Wally World special I bought for my son years ago to bowfish with.  I am building a boardbow, and have staves to begin other bows as soon as I learn from the first.

My question:  Do any of you shoot with the bow at about a 45 degree angle?  I shool my wheelie vertically, but somehow the diagonal hold just seem right for me to shoot intuitively.  I've read that many Native American tribe shot that way.  But most shot from the chest.  I do bring the bow to an anchor point at my face.  Since I'm still learning, should I give up on this seemly natural way to hold a bow and learn to shoot it verticaly?

[troutbum76]

i am by no means an expert but i can tell you this. the angle you are talking about is called a cant. i think it would be safe to safe that most people shooting any kind of selfbow shoot this way. when shooting of your hand or off a small arrow shelf this angle keeps the arrow in place. i believe also that you should try different angles to find which gives you the best arrow flight. buy a good book and do some research on the net. before you even start try to hit any kind of mark on a target shoot very close to the target and develop good form. good form is the basis of good instinctive shooting. good luck hope some of this helped. keep at it, and practice as much as you can.

[hedgeapple]

Oops I should have put this in "shooting and hunting"  Moderator please move.  thanks

[Hillbilly]

Hedgeapple, it's whatever works for you. Most people cant the bow to some extent. I cant mine about as far as it will go, I usually shoot with my bow almost horizontal. Works for me. I could never shoot worth a crap with a vertical bow.

[Pat B]

G. Fred Asbell's book, "Instinctive Shooting" gives a good explanation about the how-to's of instinctive shooting. It is part of my library and I read it occasionally still and get something out of it each time.

[Kegan]

Byrion Ferguson's "Become the Arrow" and the DVD "Hitting 'Em like Howard Hill" will teach you how to shoot well enough- especially the DVD. It covers form in depth, and good consistent form is necessary to shoot consistently. That DVD is worht more, in my opinion, than the best bow and set of arrows out there.

I had to "unlearn" alot of bad habbits I developed from shooting Asbell's "No form, point and shoot" style.

Canting the bow is beneficial in that it allows you to 'channel' the arrow, remove the bow from your sight line, and sort of cushion the archers paradox. Holding it vertically isn't a very good idea, but it's completely possible.

[Pat B]

If my shooting is off I will sometimes shoot using a classical form with the bow held vertical, rigid stance and pull straight back to my anchor, hold for a second and release. This will tell me if it is me or the arrows. Generally it is me!
   Once you get your fundamentals down to where you don't have to think about them your style really doesn't matter as long as you are consistent.

[hedgeapple]

Thanks, Hillbilly, Troutbum, Pat B and Kegan for your wealth of knowledge.  I'll check out  the books and DVD.

[PeteC]

Hey Hedge apple,Something else you might consider ,when in hunting situations,the position which the shot opportunity demands,requires different body position,thus,may require a different angle of cant to line the arrow up with your line of sight.So,rather than have a"hard and fast" cant angle,be prepared to rotate your wrist,one way or the other,to line up the arrow  under your eye.Hope this makes sense to you. God Bless

[hedgeapple]

PeteC, it makes sense to me.

[Pat B]

Flexibility is the secret. You have to start with the fundamentals but once you get those down anything goes...and in some hunting situations you have to shoot from weird angles and if the fundamentals are in place, you can make the shot.

[hawkbow]

I agree completely with Pete and Pat...gat the basics down to a science, then practice from every possible position and angle. when that huge bull elk walks by at ten yards directly below you between two rimrocks on a steep mountainside... you will be able to make the shot with confidence..Hawk a/ho

[hedgeapple]

I work a 3 or 4 days a month delivering office furniture for a friends company.  Many of the more expensive office chairs are packed with scrap pieces of form, some are 24" x 24" x 4".  I've been saving those large piece to set up for a walking course around my farm.  This way I can practice alot of differnet elevations and angles.

[Pat B]

Take every shot opportunity and situation you can imagine while practicing. Take long shots, lay down flat on your belly and shoot, shoot through a small hole in a bush or try to sneak one along side a tree without hitting the tree. Use your imagination. You may never use most of these situations in a real hunting situation but if it shows up, you've been there. Getting good at long shots will really help your hunting distance shots.

[Kegan]

Some things to consider...

When you pracitce form, make sure it's the most comfortable and easily reproduceable. It will be easier to ingrain itno your muscle memory, and will allow you to shoot mroe quickly in the actual instance, and will still be ingrained (at least in your upper body) every time you make a shot- standard position or not.

A bow, with properly tuned arrows, shoots straight. Not at an angle, not off to the side. Just straight. Even the ones that aren't centershot.

So if you make a point to note the arrow in your peripheral vision (gap shooting and split-vision), you will be able to "map" the arrow's flight before you shoot it. And if you miss, you have something to imporve upon next shot.