I am reading Bernard Cornwell's book 1356 for the second time. He describes English longbow archers practicing daily shooting at least 300 arrows. They did so shooting as many as 16 arrows per minute as far as 200 yards pulling 120 lbs. Purely instinctual shooting. With great accuracy.
I shoot one arrowhead at a time, because I am always battling target panic. I am wondering if maybe the act of aiming is contributing to my problem. Maybe I should be considering shooting 300 arrows at a time, the only aiming being picking a target and not overthinking it?
Thoughts?
I over think it every time staring at a paper target, no clue as to why. I like to walk through the pine thicket pick a pine cone and just shoot it, accuracy is great. If you don't have a pine thicket, walk away from your target in a random direction turn and shoot, walk a few more paces in another direction turn and shoot. I do this daily, may not work for others but it works for me. For some reason my instinctual aim on paper isn't all that great, but I can drill a random pine cone on the ground up to twenty yards no problem. Pick a target and shoot just like you said.
I was going to make a joke about owning 300 arrows, then I looked at my growing pile of shafts and realized I might just have that many
I scatter a few stuffed animals around my yard that I get from resale shops cheap, shoot at em with either judo's or hex heads at random distances. Great fun and improves accuracy.
I stopped shooting for quite a while due to this... I became too caught up in perfection and lost sight of the fun. It lead to target panic.
I now try to shoot a higher volume of arrows with a more forgiving target size while focusing form.
I need to check the perfectionist in me at the door.
Train for what you need. A person who was an archer in jolly Ol England during the times that they used them for war might very well need to shoot that many arrows in the course of a battle. Hitting your target n battle is a very good thing.
You, most likely, never will need to do that.
We have discussed TP a lot here over the years. My personal opinion is that, for one form of it, the aiming part is the problem. But one way or another, we have to aim (if we want to hit something).
I wonder how accuracy was defined in old England when the objective was to rain many arrows from many bows on the ranks of the enemy?
I can't concentrate for 300 consecutive shots. However, enough arrows need to be shot to build the necessary muscle memory into yourself. The trick is to determine how many shots are enough to build the physical fitness needed to shoot the hunting bow while retaining good form. That will vary from archer to archer. I don't like to concentrate on too much "perfection" in my shots, because I don't have the natural ability to achieve it, and besides, true perfection is not necessary to be a very good shot.
Once an archer gets reasonably good, perhaps practice should be varied to prevent boredom. Shoot some flat targets, some blank bale form practice, some 3D, and do a little stump shooting. The only perfection we should pursue is pure fun.
I like a variety of practice methods. If I only shoot one kind my shooting becomes specialized and it messes me up. The more comfortable I am under different conditions the less trouble I have come fall.
If TP is taking the fun out of your shooting, I would recommend Joel Turner's Ironmind approach. It didn't just help with my TP, it made it fun for me again, no matter how many arrows I want to shoot.
Probably one English longbow archer wouldn't have made much difference in a battle, because with all his training, the best he could do at 200 yards was get it close, and this wasn't horseshoes. 100 of them shooting at the same time was a different story, however. With 100 of them getting close, a few of them are going to hit, especially since the enemy usually marched or rode in close ranks.
Incidentally, at that time it was mandatory that fit Englishmen practice with the bow on Sunday afternoons, but illegal to practice at ranges of less than 100 yards (for fear of encouraging poaching).
My feeling about target panic is that there are many ways to cure it, so you should try whatever occurs to you. If the first thing you try doesn't work, try something else.
I do believe that not trying anything isn't a good plan. For me, that just made it worse over time. In fact, they say that anything you try will work, for a while. A famous archer once suggested folding up a dollar bill and putting it in your shoe under your left heel. He guaranteed that it would cure target panic....for one shot.
Too much target shooting causes problems for me. Probably for most everyone else too.
I shoot a lot, in my office, at six yards. The close range allows me to work on everything except aiming. I believe it has made me a better shot.
I find that I can only concentrate effectively for about a dozen arrows. After that, my accuracy starts to fade.
So I try to shoot a good dozen arrows then move to a blank bale with eyes closed for another 30 or 40 arrows to work on form and fitness.
This is my routine each time I shoot.
Works for me.
300 for building the muscles, one at a time for accuracy.
QuoteOriginally posted by Pat B:
300 for building the muscles, one at a time for accuracy.
:thumbsup: BINGO.....
My target is a 1 inch diameter ring cut from PVC and suspended in front of a block target by Spiderwire. I have three on the block and each gets one shot.
Love the shared thoughts and individual methods. I picked up several that I will put to use.
I would say wait for a nice day, go to a large empty field with 300 arrows in your back quiver. should all 300 at nothing , just watch your tempo and your anchor, and see how far they fly. Walk over to where they are and shoot them again, watching your anchor and seeing how far you can shoot them. You may need a catty to manage your quiver.
Seems like a recipe for shoulder problems. I seriously doubt English lords cared much about the physical health and longevity of their archers -- especially the mercenary longbowmen.
I also shoot mostly at close range 5-6yds in my garage but lately have added 1/2" black dots with a small white-out dot in the center to help focus on a spot in addition to form.
McDave,
Is that a dollar bill under the left heel for right hand and vice-versa for left?
You can only shoot one arrow at a time. It doesn't matter if you shoot three hundred in a session or not every shot is the first and only shot. You have to learn every shot is the same other than elevation. It doesn't matter if it is six feet or one hundred yards or paper or an animal everything should be the same. If you have target panic check out Joel Turners ironmindhunting.com.
one at a time when getting ready for hunting season, never had a deer let me shoot a fistful of arrows at them. plus it makes you concentrate more.
And as said building strength then shoot a lot.
It seems to me that more people suffer from target panic when they shoot a lot of arrows in the same setting and quite often that setting has scores targets and social ramifications. The ideal state is where one has there shot tempo and procedure down to a natural set of of motions that allows one to concentrate on hitting what they are shooting at without forcing their form particulars one issue at a time. I know of some young cp shooters that shoot fine until they have buck fever, all of a sudden their procedure fall apart and so does their ability to shoot a deer. I completely beat TP, first by convincing myself that I could indeed complete a shot. I find that shooting under 25 yards all of the time allows me to get stale. If I get a chance to just fling arrows with no ultimatum it is easier to maintain form than by needing to force form at a 3d event with lots of onlookers. some say to practice up close with the eyes closed to get the feel, but then when those same individuals open their eyes the evil TP shows itself in one way or another and then things start to multiply and overlap until full on TP is back. Hill suggested upclose with target on the bales to get good form seated, I think lofting a few at the distant horizon is more fun.