Target training with barebow

[Russ]

Does anyone advocate barebow shooting as part of a target recurve archer's training? By "barebow" I mean shooting the same bow that you use for target (FITA or whatever), but without sight/stabs/clicker.

I imagine that shooting both sighted and barebow in the same training session would be confusing and not constructive; however I wonder whether shooting barebow for one session every week or two would be helpful in developping the instinctive aspects of shooting?

[Marcus26]

no I think it would be a VERY bad idea.
You will be moving away from the most important part of being a good recurve archer, and that is learning and getting better with the clicker.
Would be like breaking from compound shooting to punch teh trigger once a week. Not wise.
Good training would actually be shooting some compound, it teaches you to get use to shooting high scores and putting arrows into the middle

[geoffretired]

I think there may be times when shooting a bare bow could be of use in detecting a fault. The bow, in its bare state, may just show up something that needs to be "enlarged" to show properly.
One thing I recommend is shooting without a sight and no target to hit.
A little like clout shooting. This way, all that really matters is the form. The archer can focus on what they do rather than what they see has happened in the target. For many archers at the "just beyond beginner " stage, seeing an arrow in the gold can bring a good feeling that may be misguided. They often make terrible shots that go in the gold. Followed by good shots that go in the red and the messages get confused. With no pressure to get golds, the real work of shooting, well executed shots, can be given full attention. Progress with good form can be speeded up when there are no distractions from what seems like poor results.

[Jerry Tee]

I don't know about any one else but on the odd occasion that I shoot bear recurve I use a different anchor and of course a different method of aiming. So that means that almost everything changes. The only plus point is that I usually use a club bow with a light poundage (around 26 lbs) and that will find weaknesses in you loose as there is not so much poundage to get your fingers out of the way. On the whole not really worth it unless you have a specific problem with your loose.

[JohnK]

Since I started shooting barebow back in July I have only shot a target recurve with a clicker once. I found, much to my surprise, that it was far easier for me to settle and execute a clean and well timed shot through the clicker than it had been in the months leading up to the switch, and that was with a bow weighing in at over 6lbs more at my draw length than I'm used to.

I'm certainly learning a lot about the necessity of maintaining good alignment in order to execute a good shot when shooting barebow, and I think this is something that I could apply to other disciplines of shooting. I'm still sticking with barebow for the moment, but I am considering shooting with a sight and clicker once a month or so, more out of curiosity than anything else.

[Russ]

Originally Posted by geoffretired

I think there may be times when shooting a bare bow could be of use in detecting a fault. The bow, in its bare state, may just show up something that needs to be "enlarged" to show properly.
One thing I recommend is shooting without a sight and no target to hit.
A little like clout shooting. This way, all that really matters is the form. The archer can focus on what they do rather than what they see has happened in the target. For many archers at the "just beyond beginner " stage, seeing an arrow in the gold can bring a good feeling that may be misguided. They often make terrible shots that go in the gold. Followed by good shots that go in the red and the messages get confused. With no pressure to get golds, the real work of shooting, well executed shots, can be given full attention. Progress with good form can be speeded up when there are no distractions from what seems like poor results.

Wow, a lot of replies since this morning!

I also did some experimenting at the indoor range today and ended up doing something like what Geoff suggested (as above). Basically keeping the weight & balance of the bow and my anchor point the same, but without the sight block.

In any case it became quickly apparent that taking the stabilisers off would NOT be helpful, as the bow behaves so differently without them (nice thwack on the head)! It was also clear that I would need a different anchor and maybe even different tiller & nocking point, so I can see how shooting this way wouldn't really help my "normal" target recurve technique.

What I was actually looking for in the first place was a way to encourage myself to use a more instinctive aim. Any thoughts on this?

[napolienne]

Originally Posted by Russ

What I was actually looking for in the first place was a way to encourage myself to use a more instinctive aim. Any thoughts on this?

Concentrate on the gold itself, looking through the sight ring, rather than on where you are placing the pin (ie on the pin itself).Keep that focus until you hear the arrow hit the target. This can also help with the tendency to drop the bow arm to see where the arrow has gone.

Blank bale - helps you forget the concious aiming side of things, therefore allowing instinct to do its thing when you go back to the target.

Shoot with a small point - target pin/circle of card - to aim at. Again have the focus on looking through the sight ring at the target - you will eventually find that you don't really need to "aim" as a concious process.Groups will probably close up when this happens. The subconcious is very good at lining up concentric rings, so let it do the work!

[geoffretired]

Bu instinctive aim do you mean without a sight?

[Russ]

Originally Posted by geoffretired

By instinctive aim do you mean without a sight?

Yes, I did mean "unsighted," if that's the right word.

Although I DIDN'T mean that I was out to train for barebow shooting at the competition level; I do understand it's a different technique, and as such practically constitutes a discipline in itself!

It's just that so many aspects of a good shot (including - but not limited to - aiming) are truly instinctive, and I'm wondering if there isn't a way to train this up methodically. Quite a few useful suggestions have been popping up here since I first posted this morning (including yours, by the way - thank you!) and I'm looking forward to trying some of these ideas out!

[Russ]

Originally Posted by Marcus26

Good training would actually be shooting some compound, it teaches you to get use to shooting high scores and putting arrows into the middle

Right on, Marcus: I'm with you there... but unfortunately my wallet isn't...