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"Instinctive" (Revisit)

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    "Instinctive" (Revisit)

    I didn't get to go hunting on this morning's season opener , so I decided to revisit the "Instinctive" topic.

    My instinctive shooting is actually quite a bit above that of most normal humans. Yes, I instinctively know to aim.

    OK OK, it's all in jest, but hey, I need some excitement to fill the void of not being in the woods with my bow.

    Thoughts?

    Rick

    #2
    I think the mind can be trained to do what we need to do to be successful.

    Gary

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      #3
      Originally posted by DRT View Post
      I think the mind can be trained to do what we need to do to be successful.

      Gary
      Agree.

      And, that training can lead to doing it so quickly, that it appears to be instinctive.

      Rick

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        #4
        I just autopilot anymore don’t really care enough to dissect anymore. I’m proficient that’s good enough. I used to look deeper and try to perfect and that lead to target panic. Now I just enjoy the sport and leave the thinking for those that want to walk that path.


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          #5
          I just use the force!! Over thinking it hurts my head.


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            #6
            That's really the definition of instinctive. Response without calculated thought. I believe I understand the inference you are trying to make. I somewhat agree. But there is still a difference.

            Gary

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              #7
              Target panic is created by lack of control in your state of mind,
              which is usually rooted in a lack of confidence in what you are doing,
              in both your ability, and your method.

              I've suffered it. Still do occasionally, but my handle on & control of it
              come in having confidence in my method/methods, which in turn give me confidence in myself.

              Control your mind, control the panic.

              It really is that simple.

              Rick

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                #8
                Never understood "target panic". I've choked before. In shoot offs during competition or when I was young and buck fever gripped me.
                But it only took me a few times of losing because I was not focused to understand what to do differently.

                Gary

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                  #9
                  I won’t argue what target panic is but I will tell you it is not the same for everyone


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                    #10
                    I hope I don't get it.

                    Gary

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                      #11
                      I have always said I shoot "gapstinctive". I am so adamant that I'm not an instinctive shooter, that my shot process has a whole word devoted to aiming! But I tried eyeballing my point the other day, just to see what my gaps are. It was scary... I started shooting 2+ feet high and all over the place!

                      Now, I know I must be setting a reference with SOMETHING in my sight picture, but now I couldn't begin to guess what. I don't *think* it's my arrow tip... doesn't mean that's true, but I don't think it's the tip.

                      So, in summary, I have a "soft" point of aim, that I can't define in meaningful terms, nor approximate with any semblance of accuracy when I try to look at my bow, or the arrow tip to aim. What do you call that? All I know is when I focus on the dot at the other end, and pull through the shot, the arrow gets where it's supposed to be.

                      **but... dang it! I must be aiming with some frame of reference! Maybe the general line of the arrow in my peripheral vision? I dunno. If I think about it too much, I shoot lousy.

                      *** Also, I aim slowly, and deliberately. Not what I think of when I think of instinctive/snap shooters...

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by RickBarbee View Post
                        Target panic is created by lack of control in your state of mind,
                        which is usually rooted in a lack of confidence in what you are doing,
                        in both your ability, and your method.

                        I've suffered it. Still do occasionally, but my handle on & control of it
                        come in having confidence in my method/methods, which in turn give me confidence in myself.

                        Control your mind, control the panic.

                        It really is that simple.

                        Rick
                        I 100% agree with this!

                        I had to learn the blueprint for my perfect shot PROCESS, and learn to trust that the PROCESS would get me out of any shooting troubles I encounter. That was the cure for target panic. I changed the definition of a successful shot from where the arrow hit, to executing my process flawlessly.

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                          #13
                          Ive been thinking about this alot lately when I was shooting my Yukon. Ive been told from one killer that he has to cant the bow to see the target with the string eye. I noticed that at various short yardages I had to have both eyes open to see where the arrow was going to hit because the point of impact was behind the limb...with the bow held vertically. As I moved farther...the point of impact moved down... closer to the grip and therefore from behind the limbs to the riser cutout and I could see the point of impact with my string eye. I wink my non string eye to focus the string eye down the shaft and correct elevation... but cannot do this for certain short yardages on certain bows. Ive developed instinctive bracketing aiming zones using my riser as reference. For me with the Yukon...point blank was 17 yard mark. 3 yards was 13 yard mark. I could see point of impact for those four zones using one eye. Between 5 and 9 yards...ish... I require a binocular overlap.

                          So...I was wondering...Can an instinctive shooter shoot with just one eye?

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                            #14
                            Y'all are making my head hurt.

                            I don't want to know too much about where my arrow shaft or tip are when I'm at full draw. I just want to feel a solid anchor and solid bow hand, then bore a hole with visual focus at the spot I want the arrow to hit like I'm Superman with laser vision. I would label this method "instinctive."

                            Now, this is if what I'm shooting at is between about 10 and 18 yards. Beyond that, I may look slightly high or even glance at arrow and back to target to gain a little awareness -- especially from 20 to 30 yards. Over 30, I'm referencing a buckle on my armguard or bowhand knuckle. But know that these shots over, say 25, would be most-likely limited to practice targets rather than deer. These distances requiring more awareness of arrow elevation fall into a kind of gray area between "instinctive" and "gap" -- what Malachai calls "gapstinctive". Yet, I still think that if I practiced more at the greater yardages, it could become ingrained as straight "instinctive."

                            There is another factor, as well. For me, with the heavy arrows I use, the elevation required for longer distances actually raises the bowhand to the point of obscuring or blocking the target. I suppose shooting really long ranges would just require lowering the anchor point to chin or even chest. Long distance shooting is a little irrelevant to me, though, because it's mostly pointless to shoot hunting weight arrows way beyond any conceivable distance at which one would take a hunting shot.

                            The reason to DO it would be to fine tune form, where mistakes are amplified -- leading to hunting-range shots feeling easy and automatic. But as for really long-range shooting...that's what they have Olympic rigs and light arrows for: to shoot targets out to 70 meters.
                            Last edited by tradtiger; 09-29-2018, 05:30 PM. Reason: edit: change "make" a hunting shot to "take" a ....

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                              #15
                              Not to hijack the thread but curious … for those how shoot without consciously aiming (my definition of instinctive), how often do you practice?

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