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Instinctive shooting

Killed a nice boar last week with a 31” ata compound with fingers. I am a gap shooter but shot this one instinctive since it was only 7 yards! I find that my range shooting instinctive is about half of what it is using the gap method.

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I pick up a recurve about 3 years ago and I shot instinctive for 2. I never could surpass 15 yards for a ethical shot on an animal. I switch to gap and now I have no issues shooting a deer at 25. I'm confident in my abilities to 35 yards
 
You can definitely shoot a compound instinctive. It is more comfortable with a longer ATA bow. Also, be cognizant of the fact that it is easy to pop the string off of bows with shallow cam grooves. Elite comes to mind.

I find that shooting sans-peep with a single, fixed pin gives me the best of both worlds. The speed and low-light shooting capabilities of traditional, and the precision of sights.
 
Dan Fitzgerald and his boys shoot that way and Ted Nugent used to all (instictive without release aid) I can think of a lot of pluses for learning to do it. And a lot of modern archers are lost without a range finder and have lost the ability to judge distance.
 
I shot a compound instinctive for several years. Before modern fiber optics, pins didn't work well in low light conditions and shooting instinctive provided several advantages to the bowhunter with the number one advantage being the ability to shoot under low light conditions. If you could see the deer in shooting range, you could kill it.

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I had a (now deceased) cousin that shot older compounds (with fingers) instinctive and was a true dead-eye. He was a gifted shooter with bows or guns. He was hell on game and could also shoot 560s out of 600 indoors. He was also tops on walk thru courses. I witnessed him shoot robin hoods more than once.
I have another cousin that shoots traditional with a release. I guess he developed pretty bad target panic and shooting with a release cured his problem.
I shoot traditional instinctive. And yes I said instinctive. I struggled with all sorts of aiming methods until I realized that when I hit full draw, I was on target and I needed to truly believe that I was on target. If I draw and concentrate on only my form (and forget about the arrow) then I shoot much better that if I try to fine tune my aim. In fact I really need to put the spot I want to hit in my subconscious. I know they say to really concentrate on the spot and I do...before and during the draw. But once I hit my anchor, everything but my form becomes secondary.
When I trust myself, it's like I'm not even aiming. When I consciously try to aim, I don't shoot as well.
 
The only shot that is purely instinctive is the first one. After that we are aiming in some way. Shooting without sights or aids has come to be known as instinctive.

I was in Alabama a couple years ago at an indoor range. I was the only one shooting a longbow and it seemed strange to the compound shooters there. I was getting hit with questions left and right. A pro (sponsored) shooter asked if he could shoot my bow. His first arrow was dead center bullseye and he said if he knew it was that easy he would have done it long ago. He tried for about 20 shots and couldn’t get close to the dot he just punched. He asked me why. My answer was your first shot was instinctive and now you are trying to aim.

Good shooting comes from good habits, good form, and muscle memory. It takes good habits and good form to create correct muscle memory to execute a good shot. Bad habits make for bad form and incorrect muscle memory which lead to bad shooting and target panic. Shooting form is an aiming method in all weapons.

There is nothing wrong in saying I shoot instinctive but what we really do is point shooting.
 
My father in law has killed probably hundreds of deer shooting fingers with a compound. He killed 30 deer in one season on public and private land. He could take almost the whole season off of work and he hunted all day everyday. He said he has killed way more deer with fingers than he has with a release. He didn't have a peep and only used one pin. He also wouldn't shoot a deer past 25 yds. He said he could shoot in low light conditions better but couldn't shoot as far as he can now with a peep and release. He said he is getting older now and needs all the help he can get.
 
I shoot intuitively.... perhaps that will be more acceptable then the term Instinctively?

When I look at a spot and let things flow naturally I shoot far better than when I try to aim the arrow into a spot. I know it's time to quit for the evening when my shooting goes south and most of the time it's because my thinking brain wants to start aiming.
 
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DaveT1963 said:
I shoot intuitively.... perhaps that will be more acceptable then the term Instinctively?

When I look at a spot and let things flow naturally I shoot far better than when I try to aim the arrow into a spot. I know it's time to quit fur the evening when my shooting goes south and missy of the time it's because my thinking brain wants to start aiming.
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I like to finish with a good arrow. Don’t always do that tho. If I’m sucking I like to try again later. I get to full draw and anchor then close my eyes and release. I open my eyes when I hear it hit the target. That’s my form check up. I catch myself peeking sometimes. A couple shots this way helps me get back on track.
 
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