# Shooting Between Heartbeats? Can it be done?



## Brettski7 (Sep 13, 2017)

Don’t see why it couldn’t. Those shooters know there body. What benefit it would bring is the better question 


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## huntinfool85 (Jan 10, 2012)

Seems like it would be hard to do in hunting situations with the adrenaline and higher heart rate. Although it might help calming yourself down before the shot.


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## Z3R0 (Nov 6, 2014)

huntinfool85 said:


> Seems like it would be hard to do in hunting situations with the adrenaline and higher heart rate. Although it might help calming yourself down before the shot.


This is the "Competition Target Archery" forum...

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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

Define "world class." 100 yards? 200 yards? 500 yards? 1000 yards? Bench rest? Free Style? What class event?

I don't know of anyone that can slow down their heart to shoot between heart beats, but there is the calmness that can be collected where there is pure silence, no thought, no feeling, no nothing. Good eating habits and controlled "good" food, drink intake and controlled breathing will do wonders. 

"Wired" there was no sense in even pulling my rifle from the case. Heart beat would have the cross hairs bounce all over out of the bull's eye. Calm and collected (with 24X scope) I could hold on a bullet hole at 100 yards.

Haven't you experienced that shot you knew was going to be dead center even at the release of the arrow? What did you feel, if anything?


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## Reverend (Nov 2, 2004)

SonnyThomas said:


> Define "world class." 100 yards? 200 yards? 500 yards? 1000 yards? Bench rest? Free Style? What class event?
> 
> I don't know of anyone that can slow down their heart to shoot between heart beats, but there is the calmness that can be collected where there is pure silence, no thought, no feeling, no nothing. Good eating habits and controlled "good" food, drink intake and controlled breathing will do wonders.
> 
> ...


Lanny Bassham wrote that world class Olympic rifle shooters shoot in between heartbeats.


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## whiz-Oz (Jul 19, 2007)

Did he mentioned that they do it without knowing? That's pretty well established and has been for about 30 years, if not longer.


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

Dumb me doesn't know of cartridge rifles in the Olympics. Air pistols and air rifles. Coolest up close target screens showing shots on targets.

Tried precision rifle at 100 and 200 yards. These are five 5 shot groups. Best I ever managed was a .204" C/C with my Savage 110 FVSS - 26" bull barrel - 10.4 pounds with 5 rounds. 24X scope. I was beat by this grand old lady shooting a .22 PPC and her average was .168" C/C. Yes, 25 shots.

My Freak was a Savage 110 Sporter (pencil barrel)- great as long as only 3 shots - shot one group of .080", two of .081 and more in the .higher .080" realm. Scope bigger than the rifle - 56MM

I don't remember much other than the rifle going off - remember seeing the target until what little recoil shook the picture.


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## Reverend (Nov 2, 2004)

whiz-Oz said:


> Did he mentioned that they do it without knowing? That's pretty well established and has been for about 30 years, if not longer.


Hmmm? So how can they "know" they're shooting in between heart beats if they don't know they're doing it? SMH


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

I'd say sit back, get relaxed as possible, and try to feel your heart beat.


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## wabbit (Jan 12, 2016)

Reverend said:


> Lanny Bassham wrote that world class Olympic rifle shooters shoot in between heartbeats.


and this has been scientifically validated where or as is known as just psychobabble...

let's see concentrate on heart beating....crap lost target sight...ok, back on target sight...wait, heart is racing cuz i lost target sight...screw it...either pull the trigger or release depending on which sport we are talking about.


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## Reverend (Nov 2, 2004)

Such anger... such hostility... better stop listening to that heavy metal... or is it gangsta rap?


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## Brettski7 (Sep 13, 2017)

Knew I had seen this somewhere before way back. This is just one google search and one of many videos. Also plenty of articles, stories, etc out there. Plenty of pro shooters snipers etc who have talked about it. Some people just don’t like to believe the truth though. 

https://youtu.be/yX2bVJm94b0


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

With a scope, especially a powerful scope, you can see the effects of your heart beat. The cross hairs seem to jump to your heart beat. Like I noted above if I was "wired" it was useless to compete. I did, but I was somewhere at the bottom of the score sheet. 

If think Terry Wunderle noted of good eating and drinking habits. For sure he once penned of the supposedly good drinks that had sugar in them to cut them in half with water. Okay, no sugar rush. Good breathing also controls heart beat. Many have noted how they breath and what gives them the best results. This is calmness. And then, for archery, the noted calming drug talk that surfaces every now and then.


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

Brettski7 said:


> Knew I had seen this somewhere before way back. This is just one google search and one of many videos. Also plenty of articles, stories, etc out there. Plenty of pro shooters snipers etc who have talked about it. Some people just don’t like to believe the truth though.
> 
> https://youtu.be/yX2bVJm94b0
> 
> ...


The difference between mortals and immortals. I more less felt nothing or pure calm I guess. At the time, on call 24/7 made travel difficult, I shot mostly club events. I held club records at different clubs for shotgun in Trap, precision pistol, precision rifle and 200 Meter Silhouette with a pistol.


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## Larry Nelson (Aug 22, 2017)

It is easier than one would think. Not a matter of thinking about it as it is feeling. All the attributes for precision rifle shooting hold true for archery. As I prepare for the next shot I pause to let the muscles calm and visualize my process. When I am doing this I steady my breathing, and feel what my body is telling me. I can feel my heart beating and when I feel things in sync I raise my bow to start the execution of the shot. Atfer the draw is complete and you find and center the pin on the target you can see your pulse moving the pin. When the pin has the least movement you are beween the beats of your heart and the release happens at this point. It may seem like a lot to think of, but it isnt. With some practice anyone can accomplish this.


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

Benched or prone with a rifle sure, offhand unsupported such as silhouette or archery I'd say no. Perhaps the very best position shooters can do it kneeling and standing but that isn't me.

However a high heart rate isn't going to help any shooting even if you aren't attempting to shoot between them.


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

SonnyThomas said:


> I don't know of anyone that can slow down their heart to shoot between heart beats, but there is the calmness that can be collected where there is pure silence, no thought, no feeling, no nothing.



Time between heart beats? Now, with a bow you start the execution and then the shot takes place. How much time is involved?


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## cbrunson (Oct 25, 2010)

As if worrying about your breathing patterns wasn’t dumb enough...

Maybe something you can focus on when they start having hooter shooter tournaments.


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## wabbit (Jan 12, 2016)

SonnyThomas said:


> Time between heart beats? Now, with a bow you start the execution and then the shot takes place. How much time is involved?


uh, er, a heartbeat? 
😬


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## Mahly (Dec 18, 2002)

If wanting a “surprise shot”, I don’t think I would want to time it between heartbeats.
That said, there has been commentary on what the heart beat does to the sight picture or even the hand.
Pondering if a shot doesn’t simply go off between beats all on its own.
The heart beats, a pulse of pressure goes though your body to the muscles that ultimately fire the shot, that pulse is the last little bit that gets the seat to drop (button or hinge). This may be part of the rifle shooter getting the shot off between beats (there is time between the beat, and when the pulse of pressure reaches the forearm/fingers.


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## TNMAN (Oct 6, 2009)

Just had my gall bladder removed a couple of months ago. A few days before the surgery they did a heart workup, and my resting heartbeat was 48 bpm. It used to be around 42 bpm when I was younger and still running. So that's 1.25-1.5 seconds. Plenty of time to trigger a shot that's already on the edge. But, I believe this is another one of the many things you don't have to think about and, more to the point, don't want to think about. Recommend finding something else to think about that does some good.


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## bowshootn70 (Oct 15, 2017)

All I’m saying is “anticipation” no way you can possibly do this without anticipation of the shot , which is completely opposite of what has been taught. Sure you can do it , but I find no reason what so ever for it, especially in archery. Different in rifle when you are laying against something, feeling the heart beat itself, so again, IMO is meaningless in archery.


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## whiz-Oz (Jul 19, 2007)

Reverend said:


> Hmmm? So how can they "know" they're shooting in between heart beats if they don't know they're doing it? SMH


You can shake your head all you like. Just because you have no idea doesn't mean that this hasn't been studied. Subconscious triggering of the shot during the steadiest period coincides between heartbeats with rifle shooters of even medium skill level. 
Do you really think that competitive shooting hasn't long ago put electrocardiograms onto shooters while they've been shooting? Maybe you'd better get up on what has been done rather than living in the middle ages. 
Go and read some shooting books by people such as Laslo Antal. The Russian shooting teams were studying this sort of thing back in the 70's. 
Here's a Finnish study from only 31 years ago in 1987 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3580727

Pretty much every country that is involved in competitive firearm marksmanship has examined this. It's well established scientific fact that it's a learned ability as part of a subconsciously triggered shot at optimum stillness.
Just keep shaking your head.


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## Bobmuley (Jan 14, 2004)

When shooting a rifle at any kind of distance from supported positions you can see what you're heart is doing to the sight picture, which makes it easier to "time" the shots when the picture is most stable. 

I don't know about you all, but I can't see what my heartbeat is doing to my archery site picture...hence I don't worry about it.


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## Reverend (Nov 2, 2004)

whiz-Oz said:


> You can shake your head all you like. Just because you have no idea doesn't mean that this hasn't been studied. Subconscious triggering of the shot during the steadiest period coincides between heartbeats with rifle shooters of even medium skill level.
> Do you really think that competitive shooting hasn't long ago put electrocardiograms onto shooters while they've been shooting? Maybe you'd better get up on what has been done rather than living in the middle ages.
> Go and read some shooting books by people such as Laslo Antal. The Russian shooting teams were studying this sort of thing back in the 70's.
> Here's a Finnish study from only 31 years ago in 1987 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3580727
> ...


I simply asked a question. You don't need to get your panties all wadded up. There's no need to be an arrogant and {equally unnecessary and insulting reply} in your response. After all I'm here to learn, which is why I posted the question to begin with. { more unneeded derogatory comments}. Do me a favor, don't post on my threads any more. I prefer to have civil conversations and discussions. {unnecessary parting shot}.


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## Mahly (Dec 18, 2002)

Enough with the personal attacks.


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## ropadop (Aug 22, 2002)

I have trained and competed in rifle, pistol, shotgun, and archery. I love all shooting sports. While there is a spectrum of shot execution, archery tends to farthest from the command/conscious triggering because of the risk of target panic. So, timing your shot with anything can be lead to punching and to target panic. Bad juju!


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