Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Target shooting sweet spot

Do you folks notice the there is a bell curve for your best practice shooting?

I start out with okay hunting accuracy for 5-10 shots. Then I'm dialed in perfectly with great precision and form for the next 25-40 shots or so. After which my steady hold is getting less steady!!

This seems to be the time I'm most vulnerable to hit the trigger. This situation always bugs me because while hunting it's just your first shot. No warm up, no time to get in the groove.

Long practice sessions do make my first cold shot while hunting far better. My brain and " muscle memory" seem to snap in place better with more practice. I'm not actually sure I understand the term "muscle memory" well enough to explain it. So whatever the proper term is, is what I'm trying to imply. I also Notice that it's clearly easier to draw my bow after a dozen shots then it is the first few times or last 5-6.

One other observation, I have learned to stop shooting after I'm at that point where a steady hold gets tricky. I always want to stop with perfect form and confidence. I found shooting past the point of being dead steady creates a stress to correct problems which just gets worse and less steady. I nearly always try to quit on a high note!