Practice

[Sailfish]

I was watching a program recently and the guy was talking about practicing.
He mentioned many options that I never even thought of.
 
He said practice in all types of odd scenario's.
 
From your knees, around a tree, feet one way, and rotate your body all the way around. Even on one foot! Him and his buddies make a game of it; They try to put themselves in the most difficult shooting situations and see how close they can get to their mark
 
Do you do anything like this? I live in the city so it's hard enough for me to get to the range let alone out of doors so I can practice from my treestand.
 
I think it would be very beneficial though.
 
Your thoughts

[Woods Walker]

Yes, I do. I also shoot from unlikey positions and angles. I even shoot from laying flat on my stomach, and arch my back up so's I can get a shot off. That's definately a short range deal, but you never know!
 
I even take shots at half draw (I shoot a recurve), for the same reason!

[vambo991]

ABSOLUTELY, seriously climb a stand and have your buddy stay down and position a block or 3-D target while you practice your shots, your buddy can stand back and wait while you shoot, then remove your arrows and send them back up the rope to you. He changes the target locations and you change your shooting positions. When you're tired...you change spots with your buddy. My brother and I used to practice this way in his back yard. It was fun and it made me much more confident... also made me better at quick range estimation.

[Boe_Hunter]

Agreed.  It is important to attempt to repeat the potential situations you will be in during crunch time.  As a baseball and football coach for over 24 years, I have learned that you should spend the most time practicing the things that happen the most often.  Example, shoot from an elevated position exclusively if you are solely a treestand hunter.  Shoot sitting down (and from inside a blind) if you are a ground blind hunter.  If you are a stalk hunter, practice making  simulated stalk and then take shots from various body positions.
 
I also like practicing at yardages farther than what my normal shots at deer typically are.  The longer distances really need to have great form and concentration in order to shoot well.  This will make even the 30-40 yard shots seem easy, especially if you know the distance before the shot.

[wisbowhntr]

Yes practice all different ways when shooting your bow  .I do it all the time and sometimes I get funny looks when I do it .But that is the best way to practice.

[hunter480]

I`m doing well to remember everything about my form when trying to practice, much less purposely trying to mess it up.
 
Kisser button corner of the mouth, nose to string, DON`T squeeze the bow handle, pick the pin, elbow out, sqeeeeeeez the release............
 
[8D]
 
 

[msbadger]

Yep besides tree stand practice ...I place plastic milk jugs infront of straw bales and practice shoot them from a sitting and kneeling position as in turkey hunting...then I'll go for a walk in the woods and stump shoot....our land was logs many years ago and the stumps are punky soft and easy on arrows...I shoot instinctive and fingers so this is really good on keeping me on top of things....

[Woods Walker]

I shoot instictive also, and from ground thaw until freeze, 80% of my practice is done outdoors with Judo point arrows, roving in my back field.
 
In the early spring, dandelion flower heads are my target of choice, and now the Queen Anne's Lace is beginning to bloom, and then my "big game" weed season will begin!
 
Nothing beats drawing down on that big white flower head at 25 or 30 yards, loosing and Judo point at it, and then watching that flower head silently fall to the ground. Even if I don't cut the head off, but just make it move, that would still be plenty close for a deer kill!
 
The best part of this, is that it costs almost NOTHING!
 
"With Judo points, the WORLD is your target!"

[Lot to Learn]

Lot of good advice. Last year me and a couple buddies starting playing "pig or horse" like in basketball. First person calls a shot and shooting position like knees or behind tree.  I found it helped me most with determining range.

[Highlander Archery]

ORIGINAL: hunter480

I`m doing well to remember everything about my form when trying to practice, much less purposely trying to mess it up.

Kisser button corner of the mouth, nose to string, DON`T squeeze the bow handle, pick the pin, elbow out, sqeeeeeeez the release............

[8D]

Form is the MOST important factor, once it is commited to memory you will automatically repeat it regardless of the odd position you find yourself in. Concentrate on your T-form and you will find yourself on target regardless of the scenario. You must still practice these odd positions once in awhile, which makes the sport more fun anyway