# Side hill shots.......



## XP35 (Oct 11, 2005)

First, how do YOU shoot them? Give it some bubble.....change the cut.....what? Combination of these?

And WHY is sidehill shooting different from just shooting straight up or straight down hill? It seems that if one trusts the bubble and they use the appropriate yardage cut that should be enough. Am I way off base?:confused3:


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## JAVI (Jun 19, 2003)

Experience will teach you this better than any of us can explain it… 

It’s easy to simulate a side hill shot…with a couple of boards…I use them with my students that are interested in advanced outdoor archery… 

In fact many of your practice shot and even your bow may well be sighted in on a slight side hill… 

BTW some bubble off for side hill and some hold off it's personal preference and experience with what works best for the individual.


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## field14 (May 21, 2002)

XP35 said:


> First, how do YOU shoot them? Give it some bubble.....change the cut.....what? Combination of these?
> 
> And WHY is sidehill shooting different from just shooting straight up or straight down hill? It seems that if one trusts the bubble and they use the appropriate yardage cut that should be enough. Am I way off base?:confused3:



Personally, I don't "change" anything....sort of.

One big important thing to realize is a "tendency" all of us have on sidehill shots...this "tendency" is to shoot our shots out to the "downhill side" of the target. The severity of which is perhaps related to the severity of the downhill.

The other important thing is a rule of thumb: MOST of us learned to "pre-load the shot"...that is BEFORE drawing the bow an during the "DRAWING" of the bow....put the top limb or cant it INTO THE HILL...then, when you hit "anchor"....LEVEL THE SITE UP, and keep it level. 

However, this pre-loading CAN depend upon how YOU tend to handle these situations...and if you haven't PRACTICED IT...then you don't know until it is too late.

The other part is how do YOU handle toes up versus toes down in your stance.... Most of us when our toes are UP can handle it pretty well...but we would be leaning "into" the hill with our bodies...cuz that's what we humans do, haha. This isn't bad...as long as we remember to maintain this and not MOVE OUR BODIES as we draw to anchor and "level up" the site when we get to anchor...This is a SMOOTH process, and not herky jerky all quick fashion... You learn this by doing it.

The other thing that is "natural" for us to do....we tend to align the bow vertically with the way the trees go! Bad news. Cuz the trees probably are NOT VERTICAL on a sidehill, believe it or not...due to a natural land re-positioning thing called "slumping"...TREES are NOT a good indicator for you to align with....but we ALL tend to do just that, hahaha.....So beware of the tree syndrome...it'll bite ya.

So, since the tendency is to shoot out the downhill side...you can see why we start the shot with the top limb into the hill...but we don't KEEP IT THERE...UNLESS....we know that we "overcompensate" all the time and still throw the shot regardless...

At this point, then you make YOUR judgement...for example....if YOU tend to still go downhill side even with a pre-load....you have to KNOW how much you tend to do this...and how much "bubble compensation" it takes to "cover it"...you gotta KNOW how much impact point left or right 1/4 bubble will give you, how much 1/2 bubble will give you, etc.

PRACTICE THIS INTENTIONALLY on FLAT ground...just to out on the range, and practice shooting...point on with the site...but with 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and full bubble cant first top limb left and then top limb right. LEARN how far the impact point moves left and right from center....this will help you IN THE WIND, AND on the goofy sidehills or uphiil/downhill AND sidehill shots on the field course!

Once you know this and your tendencies...you can read the target for what others have done ahead of you...watch the other shooters in the group to see what that sidehill is doing to their BODIES and their impact points, and then make your decision.

The other big thing to remember...don't OVERTHINK it...you've practiced this, make your "call" and SHOOT A STRONG SHOT.... If it still goes out the downhill side...then assess it....did you fall out down the hill...? OR do you need to "compensate"...only YOU can make that decision.

BUT...if you haven't practiced this stuff or haven't seen it before...then you are on a learning curve...so try the next shot with a more solid form...OR "compensate".

SOMETIMES you are going to shoot to the uphill side...its a miss either way...BUT you may have over-loaded, or if your belly is towards the slope, you may have simply "leaned" into the hill naturally during the shot, all the while holding "level"...but your body sagged on you, hahahaha.

Of course then there is the uphill/downhill-sidehill combo...then you gotta know your tendencies for the "pre-load" for the sidehill...and by looking at the high low holes...know how many clicks it takes for YOU to cover a given distance out of the bull to get back centered. IF you have PRACTICED mis-setting your sit on flat ground so you KNOW how many clicks or numbers it is from the "identity line" to the bulls-eye, and how many clicks it is from the X-ring to the Outside edge of the bulls-eye, then you got it nailed...pretty much....assuming that the people ahead of you knew what they were doing...and the holes in that target DON"T LIE, they do tell a story!


Field shooting is a PRACTICE game...and it takes PROACTIVE practice to get it down pat....it is also a THINKING PERSON'S game too...you gotta THINK, and you gotta learn to KNOW instantly whether it was YOU, the equipment, the target itself???? That is what makes shooting on ANY field course so much fun...you not only shoot your way through the course...but if you want to do well...you keep your head on straight...and you THINK, you WATCH, and you LEARN....

I dont' think in 41 years that I've ever shot a field TARGET, let alone field ROUND, that I didn't learn something on!
field14


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## XQuest (May 5, 2003)

*All the above is sound advice*

To put it in short terms side hill shooting takes our flatland practice completly out of context and we have to practice side hill shooting to get a good straight in line follow through for a good shot.


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## SuperX (May 21, 2002)

first thing I do is make sure my stance is level. Then I draw with my top limb tip tilted into the hill and set up my shot as usual and make sure my bubble comes back to level without having to torque the bow at all. The top limb will want to tip down hill a bit more on a side hill than on flat ground so starting the draw by tipping the top limb into the hill will result in the bow returning to plumb without having to force it.

as Dean says - the final secret is to follow straight at the target.


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## AKDoug (Aug 27, 2003)

I dig a hole. That's why you see me wearing my heavy hunting boots on the field course . I try to get my feet level first than worry about the rest.

Nathan Brooks once told me that if you draw on a sidehill and you need to cant your bow INTO the hill after you are done drawing..let down. Forcing the bow to cant into the hill after you are at full draw adds bow arm tension and torque to the grip. By starting your draw canted into the hill a bit you will not add tension to get level. At that point I just keep my bubble centered and shoot the shot.


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## SuperX (May 21, 2002)

AKDoug said:


> I dig a hole. That's why you see me wearing my heavy hunting boots on the field course . I try to get my feet level first than worry about the rest.
> 
> Nathan Brooks once told me that if you draw on a sidehill and you need to cant your bow INTO the hill after you are done drawing..let down. Forcing the bow to cant into the hill after you are at full draw adds bow arm tension and torque to the grip. By starting your draw canted into the hill a bit you will not add tension to get level. At that point I just keep my bubble centered and shoot the shot.


Does Nathan come to nationals? I haven't seen him there the last 2 years


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## field14 (May 21, 2002)

If you cannot get your feet "level" even with some "construction work", then you gotta know how toes up or toes down affect you and your "level ground" stance...so PRACTICE toes up and toes down by using a "slant board", which you can make in minutes...and you can adjust the angle easily too...

Just one more thing to PROACTIVELY practice ahead of time so that WHEN you get a sidehiller that you CANNOT get level footing on...you are ten up on MOST other shooters that haven't a clue...and never practiced it either!

Thinking man's game, folks...and the best of the best...have LEARNED it WELL...

So much of this is "automatic" for the top level guys, that it is second nature and they don't think much about it...They make it look so EASY...which it is...if your HEAD IS IN THE GAME...and you don't psyche yourself out by "sweatin' it out" or thinking that it is complicated..cuz it is NOT rocket science...it is practice and experience...and so much fun and challenge.

ANYBODY can eventually learn to shoot bulls-eye after bulls-eye at 20 yards on level ground under ideal conditions...but throw in a variable such as an "odd stance" or weird lighting, or WIND...and all bets are off, folks! This is part of the reason why a LOT of people that shoot so well INDOORS at 20 yards....have FITS on a field course.

20 yard TUNE of the bow, 20 yard FORM, and lack of just PRACTICE, EXPERIENCE, and keeping a level head and not losing it before you shoot the first shot on a less than ideal target situation..

Remember, you are NOT shooting against your "competition"....you should be shooting WITH the course....and the only one you need to beat...is YOURSELF to become a real "winner." Some might say you are shooting "against" the course...but that is NEGATIVE thinking, and shouldn't be involved...rather, you should think, "my footing IS going to get as good as I can get it, and I'll shoot a strong shot." In this case, more than likely, you'll shoot a good arrow...But if you are thinking about how CRAPPY your footing is...well, take your "4" or "3" and pine away, hahaha. 
Dean Pridgen once told me..."if you have ANY doubt or negative thought during a shot or preparation of a shot...LET DOWN AND START OVER, and save yourself a MISS."

field14


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## XQuest (May 5, 2003)

*I couldn't have said it any better*



AKDoug said:


> I dig a hole. That's why you see me wearing my heavy hunting boots on the field course . I try to get my feet level first than worry about the rest.
> 
> Nathan Brooks once told me that if you draw on a sidehill and you need to cant your bow INTO the hill after you are done drawing..let down. Forcing the bow to cant into the hill after you are at full draw adds bow arm tension and torque to the grip. By starting your draw canted into the hill a bit you will not add tension to get level. At that point I just keep my bubble centered and shoot the shot.


Nathan says it the way it is.


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## C Doyle 88 (Sep 1, 2007)

Thanks to all, I believe this is going to be a great forum, with all this info, field, and shooters have to get stronger with every posting. -doyle-


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## rock monkey (Dec 28, 2002)

i've always been told to trust my bubble. even when it doesnt seem right, i have learned to trust it.

there's a short distance, maybe 15 or 25yd target on the new jersey course at the glen.....you'd almost swear your bubble is off. it is that tough. footing is no where close to the angle of the target. the bale is at a slope angle and that isnt close to your footing angle. those of you who have shot that course may remember it. not an easy one, but one that teaches you to trust the bubble.

i have never been able to bubble off, even on flat targets......just doesnt seem right to me.


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## field14 (May 21, 2002)

rock monkey said:


> i've always been told to trust my bubble. even when it doesnt seem right, i have learned to trust it.
> 
> there's a short distance, maybe 15 or 25yd target on the new jersey course at the glen.....you'd almost swear your bubble is off. it is that tough. footing is no where close to the angle of the target. the bale is at a slope angle and that isnt close to your footing angle. those of you who have shot that course may remember it. not an easy one, but one that teaches you to trust the bubble.
> 
> i have never been able to bubble off, even on flat targets......just doesnt seem right to me.


The other part of "trust the bubble" is to TRUST THE SHOT! That is how to "overcome" the tendency when aiming off (if that is what you do) to suddenly allow yourself to "center back up with the dot" or, if you are a bubbler...to suddenly "level 'er back up" just before the shot...FOCUS< DANIELSUN>>FOCUS....waxa on, waxa off.

THAT is part of what makes shooting field so doggnoned much FUN...learning to trust that bubble...and learning or at least trying to learn to TRUST THE SHOT and not force it!

Very few of us have learned those two little "principles" of field shooting...that is why I chuckle so much by those that say a "bubble" isn't NEEDED either indoors nor outdoors....I think, "THANK YOU FOR THE FEW POINTS" since I could use some HELP once in a while from the "outside".

TRUST THE BUBBLE....FOCUS...>TRUST THE SHOT. Then read XQuest's SIGNATURE at the bottom of his posts....no truer words have ever been spoken (typed):wink::tongue: XQuest says: *"""Follow through: "The last thing to come and the first thing to go".

Dean """*

field14


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