The year was 1988, the place Seoul, Korea, the event the finals of the Olympic archery competition. Jay Barrs, representing the United States, carefully watched the flags posted near the course. His competitors were watching them, too.

As each archer took their turn, they “read” the flags on the ground, made their adjustments in aiming, then sent the arrows toward the target face, some of the shots covering 90 meters (99 yards). Jay, however, was the only one who had noticed a small, but significant detail during his practice rounds: The flight of the arrow could be determined more accurately by how a high Olympic flag nearby was reacting to the wind rather than the lower ground flags. The competition discovered this too in a couple of days–but it was too late. Jay Barrs had captured the Olympic gold medal in men’s archery.

As this example reveals, a razor thin edge can mean the difference between winning and losing when the world’s best archers gather to compete against each other. Each man, or woman, has spent years practicing and studying their sport in order to become skillful enough to qualify for the competition. Both physical and mental conditioning has been an important part of their regimen, with the mental part being the most significant factor–most say as high as 90%.

10 Ways To Gold Glory

Whether you are a beginning archer or a seasoned veteran, I believe you will gain knowledge as you read the following tips from Jay, given in his honest, but articulate, off-the-cuff style of teaching.

Hours at the range practicing from all sorts of angles and distances will put you on the fast-track to more bow kills.brad herndon photo

1. Form.

Actually, the very first step to successful archery is to start with a basic, decent form. I mean it’s amazing how many guys out there just do not pull their bow properly. They generally have their bow set really heavy and they are improperly pulling the bow with their arm, not their back. Start out by getting someone who knows something about archery to show you the basic foundation of form. And then practice your form first; don’t worry where the arrows are going– which is totally against human nature, especially with archery because you get an immediate feed back. As soon as you let the arrow go, if it hits the middle, it’s a good shot, if it doesn’t hit the middle, it’s a bad shot.

Well, that’s not necessarily true. I’ve shot lots of good shots that didn’t hit the middle. I’ve also shot a lot of bad shots that did hit the middle of the target. Don’t get caught up in where the arrow ends up; in the beginning get caught up in how the arrow got there, the mechanics of archery. And basically the better you get, the more you think about form, believe it or not.

2. Consistency. Once you get good form, then work on consistency. Ironically, if a shot is executed exactly the same every time, even a person with poor form might shoot well. Of course this is rare, so what good form does for you is allow you to make a bigger mistake and get less error out of the shot.

3. Know your equipment. Get comfortable with your equipment, understand how it works and why it works. Don’t be scared to play around a little bit with your equipment, the way it’s tuned. Don’t let someone else tune your bow for you, learn to do this yourself. Learn what happens when you do shoot, so if something goes wrong, you will know how to correct the problem. However, don’t get so carried away with tuning that you have to tune constantly. You can take a new untuned bow out of the box and put it in a shooting machine and shoot better groups with it than any archer can shoot.. The only reason you fine tune a bow is because then you can make a bigger mistake and get the least amount of error down to the target.

4. Practice. …

5. Practice. I put this one in here twice because you can’t shoot too many arrows, I can guarantee it. I have yet to see an archer who

Target panic happenswhen bowhunters try tohard to aim the arrow.Instead, concentrate on thesmall area you want to hit,your mechanics and hand-eyecoordination will do the rest.photo by brad herndon

really and truly has burnout. I’ve seen a lot of them claim they do, but I have yet to see one that has shot enough arrows to have a severe case of burnout.

Most archers, whether hunters or tournament archers, sometime in their career encounter target panic, an inability of the archer to hold the sight on the intended target. In a moment I will mention a method of practice which will correct this aiming error for most archers, but, it should be noted, this problem may be avoided by beginning archers if they learn proper aiming techniques.

For example, most of the time the cause of target panic is the archer is trying too hard to aim. Generally aiming is the last thing you should have to think about. It’s like throwing a baseball. You don’t aim a baseball, you look at what you want to hit and you throw it. Archery is a lot that way. Basically your eye will not let you not aim. It’s just the way you’re put together. If you look at what you want to hit, you’re going to aim, that is just the way your mind works.

Don’t get caught up in believing you must keep your sight pin perfectly still on the target, whether it be a deer or paper. I don’t know of anyone that can keep their sight pin perfectly still. It’s going to move–it may not be much, but the sight pin is going to move. So just accept that fact, and look at what you want to hit and let the sight pin have its natural movement on the target. Then concentrate on the proper execution of the shot, not where the arrow is going.

7. The Release. Whether an archer uses fingers and a tab or a mechanical release to shoot, a smooth release of the arrow is critical to shooting accuracy. Most archers, whether they be hunters, indoor target shooters or 3-D shooters, use a release aid, so I will discuss this in detail. I’ve seen very, very few people who shoot a release right. 90% of the people out there “jump” on a release. Whether they think they do or not, I can prove to them they do. If you have an archer pull their bow back, then let someone else trip the release, I can guarantee you if they are not using a wrist strap, the bow will hit the ground. If you can shoot a release aid without using a wrist strap, you’re grabbing the bow, punching the release. Because if you’re shooting the bow correctly, your reaction time is not fast enough to catch the bow before it hits the ground–unless you have your bow balanced where it doesn’t jump forward, which usually isn’t the case.

I understand in a hunting situation pinpoint accuracy isn’t necessary and that you’re not going to have the luxury of standing there and squeezing your release nice and smooth all the time. Still, you need to practice that way, and then instead of actually jumping on the release when a deer comes along, you will just pull up and lay your finger on the release, then just increase the rate of squeeze so it still is a smooth motion. This practice will result in improved accuracy, preventing you from dropping your finger on the release from about a foot away like most folks do.

It also should be noted many hunters hunt without a wrist strap and shoot very well on big game their entire career, having a lot of fun in the process. However, if you ever decide you want to shoot for score, the use of a wrist strap and working on a smoother release will be two of the first things you will want to focus on.

8. Overcoming target panic. One of the best ways to conquer target panic is to stand very close to a large target, say five yards, with your eyes closed. Then concentrate on slowly squeezing off the shot. When you get to the point where you can squeeze off every shot smoothly, then shoot with your eyes open, again making sure each arrow has a flawless release. After these two steps are mastered, then, and only then, put up a target face and practice shooting at it.

If your arrows still are flying perfectly when you are using the target, then start moving back five yards at a time, first to ten, then fifteen, then twenty. This method does not assure an instant cure of the target panic dilemma. Like most ingrained bad habits, it will take time to overcome target panic. Perseverance is the key word here.

9. The Importance Of Conditioning. Conditioning is very important at my level of competition. Regardless of who you are, or what you do, the better shape you are in, the better you are going to be able to handle what you are doing.

For example, hunting whitetails in Canada, where it might be zero to twenty below, demands that you be in good shape. For a hunter who is out of shape, after about two days of those brutal winter conditions they’re done– because it is tremendously hard on the body. I suppose there are no disadvantages to being in excellent shape. Even if it doesn’t make you live longer, you will die feeling good.

10. Poundage and yardage. If you can’t hold your bow directly in front of you and pull it straight back, you’re shooting too many pounds. Too many hunters have to hold their bow up in the air, draw the bow, then come down on the target. This is true because their biceps muscles are stronger than their back muscles, so they use their arm to draw the bow rather than using their back. Obviously they are shooting too much weight.

What this creates is a lot of unnecessary movement when hunting deer, and as a result, the archer is picked off by the animal on numerous occasions. Deer hunting from a tree stand is full of odd shooting angles. If the bowhunter makes sure he can draw his or her bow straight back at any angle, including in both the sit down and standing position, then they certainly are increasing their chances of success.

CAN 10 TIPS HELP?
Although ten tips described by a few hundred words can not carry the impact of speaking to a person face to face, there is sufficient advice here to make each of us a better archer if we apply ourselves to the task at hand. After all, these words are from an Olympic champion.

There are few things in this world that you can really count on. Death. Taxes. The wind switching at just the wrong moment. And Randy Ulmer making the shot.
Whether it be in the final round of a high-dollar professional 3D tournament, a big money “dot shoot” against the world’s very best archers, or an weird-angle, wind-howling, through-a-hole-in-the-brush shot at a small piece of a monster bull elk’s chest, Hoyt USA Pro Staff member Ulmer makes it look easy. He’s also one of the classiest men you’ll ever meet, someone who’s always accessible and willing to help others become a better shooter.

Here’s a typical Ulmer bowhunting scenario:
“A couple of years ago I shot a really nice bull elk in Arizona,” Ulmer said. “I got into his herd at first light on opening morning, but things just weren’t right and I couldn’t approach them. So I had to follow the herd for maybe a half mile through the thick junipers. Pretty soon I could hear the bull start to violently rake a tree. When this happens, it’s generally a great time to make your move, so I slipped in on him really quick. I got to within 12 yards, but I couldn’t find any shooting lanes in the thick brush. Finally I got down on my knees and looked down below the brush, and found was one small opening. By then I was sitting down, and had to cant my bow significantly to the side to make the shot through that six-inch hole. I was actually shooting uphill at that point. Even though I was shaking like a leaf, I concentrated, and my arrow found its mark.”

Realistic Practice A Must
Ulmer tells the story to illustrate the key component for consistently accurate shooting at game — practice under simulated field conditions. “For bowhunters, it’s very important to practice to be a good target shooter, but both bull’s eyes and 3D are not all the practice you need to have ,” Ulmer said. “In those games you shoot most all your shots from a standing position from flat ground. As a bowhunter it’s very important to practice all sorts of off-balance shots, including uphill, downhill, kneeling, sitting, torso twisted around, off-balance, and so on. You have to learn to let your bow make the shot even when you’re in an awkward position.”

First, however, you have to build an equipment base upon which to take your shooting to this next level. “First and foremost, you have to have good equipment that’s well tuned and functioning properly,” Ulmer said. “Most bow makers make a good product today, if you buy at the mid-price point or above to ensure you have a quality bow. You need to make sure your bow-and-arrow set-up is well-tuned, because even if you make a good shot and it isn’t properly tuned you probably will not hit your target.”

The Mental Check List

Randy Ulmer is one of todays most accomplished archers. As one of the top 3-D shooters in the world, his tips are valued by bowhunters and tournament archers.

Ulmer concentrates on relaxing his hands and shoulders. “I take a deep breath as I nock my arrow and hook my release up,” he said. “Before I draw the bow I take another deep breath, and as I let it out I try to relax everything, but especially my hands. I draw back, anchor, as I anchor I make sure I’m looking through the peep’s center. I check for relaxation in my hands again, and also my face . I’m trying to allow the bow to shoot itself. My only job as a shooter is to point the bow. If I do this my equipment will do the job. One thing you should always remember is that if you have well-matched and properly-tuned equipment, if you don’t do something wrong during the shot, the equipment will hit where you want it to every time, assuming your yardage guess is right.

“It’s also important to let the bow ‘float’ — that is, don’t try and make it hold still on the exact spot you’re trying to hit,” Ulmer said. “No one can hold a bow totally still. The key is to not decide when to let the arrow go, but be a bit surprised when the arrow does finally take off. It’s a lot like squeezing the trigger on a rifle. I figure that as I’m aiming my bow I have somewhere between 5-10 seconds when the arrow will leave the bow, I’m just not exactly sure when. Now, in a hunting situation you obviously have to control that release moment sometimes. But when ‘building a base’ to learn to shoot well, it’s important to learn to shoot a surprise release.”

Proper Shooting Form Critical
Ulmer is a stickler for proper shooting form. “Without good form, you’ll never reach your full potential as a shooter,” Ulmer emphasized. “To simplify good form, think of your body as a capital ‘T.’ As you stand you want your shoulders over your hips, which are over your feet, so your entire body is straight up and down. Don’t lean back. Your arms should form almost a perfect ‘T’ with your torso when you’re shooting, with nothing out of alignment. Your release (trigger) arm elbow and forearm should be in perfect alignment with the arrow shaft, and on the same level as the bow arm.

Keep the feet comfortably spread, about shoulder width. The bow hand should be placed into the bow so that it won’t torque the bow at the shot. Also, there should be no interference with the bow string on it’s entire path, whether it be face, nose, chest, or forearm. The string must be free, which allows the bow to perform without interference from the shooter. And in everything, make sure you have ‘light’ touch, with no overbearing heavy-handedness.”

The key to perfect shooting is to release the arrow exactly the same way, every time , Ulmer said. “By using proper form, it will make it more likely for us to repeat every shot the same each time,” he said. “Really, shooting a bow is very simple. We just often try too hard to make it happen by grabbing it and forcing the bow, rather than relaxing and letting the equipment do the work for us.”

Controlling Buck Fever
If you don’t get buck fever, you shouldn’t be bowhunting, Ulmer said. The key is controlling it. “The best way to control buck fever is the same way we control the rest of our shot — through realistic practice ,” Ulmer said. “The more you do something, the easier it will become, over time. You learn to deal with it. Of course you’ll still get nervous, that’s part of the game, but that’s OK if you can make it a positive, not a negative.

“The way I do that is during practice sessions at home,” Ulmer said. “Conjure up a situation, make yourself nervous. That’s a positive, if you maintain your shooting form and concentrate. I like to practice with friends, and find that really helps, too. We have little competitions where we can say anything we want to each other when at full draw and aiming. It’s very tough to keep from losing composure when you’re trying not to laugh or they’re making fun of your chicken legs, but that helps you keep your composure when you’re thinking about something else or when your concentration has been broken.”

Tree Stand Shooting Success
“When shooting from a tree stand, remember the ‘T’ form,” Ulmer said. “Bend from the waist, and try to maintain the relationship between arm and torso. Even though you’re bent at the waist the arms should still be a 90-degree angle from the torso. Bending from waist is the key to consistent shooting from elevated stands. Remember, we’re trying to maintain the same form as it relates to the bow on every shot. And it’s the same for uphill shots.”

Two weeks later I was faced with the truest test for my new shooting style. A nice 12 point buck had run to my grunt call and was now standing along the edge of the wood lot, only 10 yards away. He was almost completely obscured by brush. He had scented my entry trail and was now looking side-to-side carefully and sniffing the brush. It was just a matter of seconds before he would blow out. I was already at full draw, searching for a hole to shoot through. Finally, leaning to my right I could make out a hole about 2 inches in diameter, perfectly centered on his vitals. I moved my sight pin into position and completely relaxed my now-quivering shooting muscles. The pin stopped bouncing, and in that split-second only one thought ran through my mind. I remember it as plainly as if it were yesterday. “If you don’t keep your wrist straight you’ll hit the brush.”

The grip hand is an important part of the follow-through. One way to achieve a better follow-through is to think of the shot in different terms. The shot is not over until the arrow hits the target.

I repositioned my wrist and squeezed the trigger. Instead of watching the deer for signs of a hit, I studied the small twigs surrounding my tiny shooting port. Nothing moved. I had him! Even as he broke out into the picked corn field I knew he wasn’t going far. He didn’t either. Only 100 yards from my stand he slowed, wobbled and then fell on his side. You’ve never seen a happier bowhunter.

If you can eliminate bow-hand torque you’re on the fast-track to better hunting accuracy. Here is a break-down of what causes it and how to get rid of it.

Handle-Grabbing Is A curable Disease
Akin to target-panic, handle-grabbing is a spastic involuntary movement that always results in diminished accuracy. Instead of keeping the bow-hand relaxed throughout the shot, the afflicted archer snaps his hand closed at the exact moment he releases the string. Watch 10 average shooters at the next local archery tournament. I’ll bet at least five are grabbing the grip on every shot. Heck, we’ve all done it, and I used to be one of the worst offenders.

As you snap your hand around the grip the bow turns slightly, and generally this disturbance occurs while the arrow is still on the string. It doesn’t take much bow movement to throw an arrow off-line by several inches at 20 yards. It is obvious that both consistency and arrow flight will suffer from such a sudden change in bow position.

Pay particular attention to this aspect of your form next time you practice. If you find that you’re one of the many handle-grabbers, first try simply concentrating on keeping the hand relaxed throughout the shot. To make this work you’ll probably have to force your whole body to relax.

Adhering to the fundamentals of shot mechanics can have an instant affect on accuracy. The bow hand should be kept relaxed and dead throughout the shot. To eliminate handle-grabbing, think of the bow hand as nothing more than a pad that the bow rests against.

If this simple solution doesn’t produce the desired results, try adding a wrist sling to your bow (if you don’t already have one). A wrist sling prevent the bow from jumping out of your hand and bouncing down the range when you release the string without wrapping your fingers around the its grip section. For some shooters this simple accessory offers all the peace of mind required to relax fully.

In the ’96 Olympic games Linford Christie, an English sprinter, was DQ’d for false starting in the 100 meter dash even though a clock built into his starting blocks indicated that he started forward fully .086 seconds after the gun fired? Studies had proven to the satisfaction of the track & field community that anything less than a .1 second reaction time was anticipation, and therefore should be categorized as a false start. If .1 seconds is the quickest reaction time of the world’s best athletes, think how far down the range an arrow can be before you’re able to react to a surprise release.

I think you get the idea: a surprise release will completely defeat the handle-grabbing tendency. Without the knowledge of when the string is going to zip forward, you won’t be able to anticipate the action and thereby ruin accuracy by grabbing the handle.

A surprise release with fingers is difficult, but it can be achieved through the use of solid back tension and a smooth relaxing of the back of the string hand. However, it is much easier to execute a surprise release when using a mechanical release aid. Simply squeeze the trigger slowly – just like when shooting a rifle. A true surprise each time takes patience and steely nerves. Another method will almost guarantee the desired results.

A back-tension release similar to the Stanislawski, Carter Solution or Fail Safe Convertible or Whisper makes anticipating the moment of release very difficult. Shoot one of these models for only two weeks and I know it will change the way you shoot a bow – dramatically for the better. When you go back to a command release, such as an index finger or thumb-triggered model, before hunting season, the handle-grabbing tendency will be under control – as well as all other forms of “target panic”.

The second method for reprogramming the nerves is to view the shot differently: Too many bowhunters assume the shot is completed as soon as they mash the release trigger or quickly open their fingers. This isn’t true. The shot isn’t over until the arrow hits the target. By simply thinking in these terms, you won’t be as likely to do anything, including grabbing the handle, until after the arrow hits the target.

Hand Position

A high hand position with a mostly straight wrist produces the best results for most archers. Without a hinging motion, your wrist is more likely to remain steady throughout the shot. It takes some time to build the strength to draw and hold the string while gripping in this manner, but it will come with practice. You can always turn your draw weight down while making the transition.

How you place your hand on the grip itself is crucial to accuracy. You can introduce torque by inconsistent hand placement. As you experiment with several grip positions, strive to find the one which allows you to feel the force of the bow being pulled straight back against a small point in your hand. Keep your palm from contacting the grip. You definitely don’t want to feel any stretching in the skin of your hand – that’s the feeling of torque being built up. When you release the string the stretched skin will spring back to its normal position, taking the bow with it.

Eventually you won’t even have to look at your grip to know that you’re lined up properly – you’ll be able to instantly feel any small change in hand position. This is where getting used to a specific bow has its advantages.
Grip Design
A narrow grip improves your sense of feel and helps you to achieve consistency. This is one reason that such styles tend to reduce bow- hand torque. The fact that they also keep your palm off the grip is also a reason for their advantage. A grip’s design can effect accuracy in other ways, as well.

I’ve got a bow that was very difficult for me to tune because of the way the grip felt in my hand. Every time I shot an arrow through paper I got a nasty tear to the left – about three inches long. I can come close to bullet-holing only if I grip the bow in a very unorthodox manner – at least it is unorthodox for me. I’m sure if I shot the bow a lot I would eventually get used to gripping it in the method required for good arrow flight, and I wouldn’t be able the shoot the bows I now shoot well.

One of my hunting buddies recently had this problem when going from one bow style to another. By simply applying a little pressure to the side of the grip with his thumb, he went from a nasty right-to-left tear through paper to a perfect bullet hole. This is something that can take a long time to learn, and is why I think many bowhunters quit on a bow and deem it untunable or unshootable long before giving themselves enough time to get used to the nuances of its grip.

The same bow-hand torque that makes a bow more difficult to tune also makes it less accurate in the field. By taking the steps to eliminate bow-hand torque you’ll be much effective on the 3-D course this summer and in the field next fall.

To see what near-perfect form looks like in slow motion, watch the video below.

The grip should be relaxed. Let your fingers hang naturally without forcing them to straighten. Avoid grabbing the grip when you release the string.

Many archers go wrong by grabbing the grip when they release the bowstring. It is an involuntary reaction that naturally creeps into the shot and destroys consistency. Focus on keeping your bow hand relaxed throughout the shot. Use a bow sling so that you don’t have to worry about dropping the bow while working on this important skill. Don’t force your hand to stay open, just keep it relaxed and let your fingers hang naturally.

Tension in the bow arm makes steady aiming difficult. Any tension in your body is transmitted through a rigid bow arm right to the bow, as if it were a hyper-sensitive antennae. If you can keep your bow arm very relaxed throughout the shot your accuracy will improve greatly. Consider bending it slightly (just enough to unlock the elbow) so it be softer and act as a tension insulator instead of a tension transmitter.

“Focus on keeping your bow hand relaxed throughout the shot.”

Many bowhunters have the bad habit of dropping their bow arms just after they release. Eventually this creeps into the shot earlier and earlier until it becomes a chronic problem. My buddy Dan does this, and it has cost him two really nice bucks during the past two seasons. On both bucks he shot just under the deer’s chest at less than 20 yards!

The shot isn’t over until the arrow hits the target, so hold your form with a steady bow arm until impact for optimum accuracy. Increased strength is the key to relaxing at full draw, so maintain a regular practice schedule. Your maximum bow weight can make a difference here too. It’s impossible to hold your aim steady if you’re straining with too much poundage. Sometimes being over-bowed even prevents you from getting a shot. Being involved in the warranty department at PSE, Terry Ragsdale hears many strange claims, but he remembers one in particular.

“The shot isn’t finished until the arrow hits the target. Hold your follow-through, including a steady bow arm, until impact.”

“A hunter sent back his bow, claiming that the cams were freezing up,” he said. “With absolute sincerity, the hunter told of a nice deer approaching his stand, and of his inability to draw the bow. Even though they worked fine before and after that incident, he honestly believed the cams had somehow locked up. Cool weather and excitement got the better of him, and he didn’t have the strength to draw.”

Letting Go

Realistic practice in hunting settings and wearing hunting clothes will improve your confidence and help you deg your gear and technique.

Because the timing of the shot is often more important than pinpoint accuracy under many bowhunting conditions, your release method is likely to be a bit more abrupt than if you were focusing on target shooting form. Don’t get jerky, however. When shooting a release aid, keep the trigger pull smooth, but don’t get too hung up trying to squeeze off a surprise-release. With fingers, get into the habit of relaxing the back of your string hand to trigger the shot rather than trying to voluntarily open your hand.

Focus Brings It Together
Ragsdale is widely regarded as one of the world’s best bow shots, and he is quick to point out that there is no such thing as perfect shooting form. “Walk up and down the line of any major tournament,” he said, “and you’ll see people shooting with all different kinds of form, but they all shoot very well. Consistency is more important than any particular form.”

On the other hand, Terry is a firm believer in “aiming hard” when shooting at targets, as well as game animals. Aiming hard is his term for focusing undivided attention on the small spot he wants to hit. He feels it is one of the most critical skills for the bowhunter and surely the one element that brings everything together for a great shot at game.
Realistic Practice

Concentration on a single small aiming point is the aspect of shooting that brings all the other elements together.

Just as you wouldn’t expect a professional football team to head into a big game without at least a certain amount of full-dress scrimmaging against the “scout” team, you shouldn’t enter the bow season without a few dress rehearsals of your own. Duplicating the conditions of the hunt during practice pays some very important dividends, as I found out (once again) a few seasons ago.

The big 10 pointer was following the line of does past my stand toward the unharvested bean field beyond. With only a few minutes left in legal shooting time, I was glad they were walking quickly. Just before he got to my shooting lane I drew my bow and aimed through the peep sight. I was shocked to find that the buck was about as well defined as a drifting shadow. The pin was a fiber optic model, but not one of the brighter styles on the market. I could barely see the pin as I aimed. Thrown off by the situation, I failed to concentrate well enough. OK, I panicked. As the buck passed less than 20 yards away, I rushed the shot – sending an arrow right in front of his chest.

I had gotten lazy in my preparation for the season and had skipped my usual low-light practice sessions. I should have discovered the pins weren’t bright enough, and the peep too restrictive for optimal hunting. It was a painful lesson I won’t soon forget.

Not only should you practice in low light, but you should also wear your hunting clothes a few times. What you find out in late summer and early fall may prevent your string from catching a loose flap of cloth, or a chest pocket, ruining your shot at a giant buck. If you’ll be hunting from a tree stand, practice from an elevated position. For many bowhunters, arrow impact changes when they shoot down at the target. Make sure you find this out before the season.

“Consistency is more important than any particular form.”

Practice at unknown distances in order to improve your range estimation skills. For most experienced bowhunters, getting the correct range is the hardest part of any accurate shot in the field. The more you can practice this important skill, the better you’ll perform this fall. 3-D shooting is the perfect tune-up for hunting. You’ll become better at judging distance, and you’ll have a great opportunity to debug your hunting bow. Everyone seems to be using customized tackle in an effort to score higher in this summertime sport. That’s great, but if you do that, just make sure to switch to your hunting rig as you get closer to the season.

When practicing, focus all your attention on each and every arrow. According to Terry Ragsdale, “As the season approaches you need to bump up the practice regimen. Shoot 75 to 100 arrows each day, for the last week or two, to gain the strength needed to hold the bow steady. Don’t get lazy on a single shot; shoot each arrow with intense concentration. Find something small to aim at with each shot and focus hard on it.”

There are few things more exciting than making a tough shot when the chips are down. But the satisfaction comes with a price tag attached. To be a consistently deadly bowhunter, many hours must be spent during the off-season perfecting technique.
Handling Uphill And Downhill Shots

If you are shooting downhill at 20 degrees treat a 40 yard shot as if it were 36 yards.

Whether your shot is sharply uphill or sharply downhill, the challenge is the same. Unless you remember to compensate by aiming low, you’ll miss high.

Downhill: When shooting down a 40 degree slope you must use your 30 yard pin to hit right on the mark at 40 yards. Most bowhunters wouldn’t allow for this much compensation – a factor that has, no doubt, contributed to the longevity of more than one bull elk or wide-racked muley. If the downslope flattens to 20 degrees, you must treat a 40 yard shot as if it were only 36 yards.

Uphill: Intuitively most bowhunters wouldn’t expect the same situation when shooting uphill as downhill, but from an aiming standpoint, they are nearly identical. Your arrow will hit high unless you aim low. A 40 yard shot up a 40 degree slope requires you to aim as if the intended target was only 31 yards away. If the upslope is a more gradual 20 degrees, aim as if the target were 37 to 38 yards away.

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