# Focus on Pins, or focus on Target?



## Shawn2820

Is it better to focus on the target while aiming or to focus on the pins while aiming. Im having a very hard time just setteling in and it seems like my pins are moving a lot. But i am focusing more on my pins on the target too.


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## cnmodaw

The best is to try both and see what works best for you. Some great pros focus on the pin, as do many pros that focus on the target. A great coach taught it to me this way...You can only think about 1 thing at a time using your "concious" mind, but your subconcious can think of hundreds if not thousands of things at the same time. So the most important thing to do is to use your concious mind and focus on the target, more specifically the exact spot you are trying to hit. By taking your concious mind off of the pin, first is you do not notice pin movement nearly as much, reducing the onset of target panic, second is you never take focus off of the intended spot you are shooting at. Your subconcious mind will take over and put the pin where it needs to be. If you start trying to focus on the target, then on the pin, your concious mind has to switch back and forth, breaking your concentration and your focus. It does take practice, even in extreme cases my coach has taken all the pins out of the housing of some of his students and told them to just focus on the spot you are aiming at and execute a perfcet shot.


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## Shawn2820

That makes sense, ill give it a try.Thank you.


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## [email protected]

Ask yourself why focus on something that moves(pin).Burn a hole with concentration in the target and let shot break.Pin watching for most will lead to target panic.


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## mike 66

good advice ^^^ill add this. if you catch yourself watching the pin and you cant focus on the x 100%..... try a circle..it will allow your mind to focus better on the x.. some say look through the pin but some folks have a hard time doing this.


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## AJ the TP Guru

I've done it both ways, and frankly shoot no better or worse either way.

But what I have noticed is that more of the guys coming to me with target panic seem to been more inclined to focus on their pin.

And I will say that hunting has been more productive (for me) when focusing on the spot on the game animal I wish to hit.


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## mike 66

I see your system real help.... Dont work with everyone, im talking about kids ............


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## subconsciously

Aiming is important. Make sure you spend time on your shot sequnce. You can be the best "aimer" in the world, but without a solid shot sequence (process) it will do you no good.
I feel aiming is way over rated. You need the same process to get consistant results.


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## WhitBri

^^^^^^That x 100. A solid shot sequence your are 100% comfortable with and confident in will do more for your score then any other thing. To help the shot sequence I advise going with the aiming technique that helps you relax. For some this is focusing on pin and watching it float, other its seeing through the pin and focusing on the target, in the spot game you see circles, pins, circles, dual magnification lens, etc. You have to match the reticle and aiming preference to the individual. You should feel calm when aiming so you can execute the shot well with proper backtension and surprise release. I tend to focus more on the pin or dot in my scope. Just passively watching it float. I tend to tense up when I focus too hard on aiming or focusing really hard on the x. With the dot I kind of just watch the white/yellow halo around the dot and watch for the sight picture I want and passively attempt to hold that sight picture by having a relaxed hold. My three keys to a good shot are a solid setup/form, relaxed hold, strong backtension. When you are trying different reticles or techniques stick with one for atleast a couple weeks/ atleast 10 shooting sessions, or however long it takes to wear the new off of it. Changes early on may be extrodanary or horrible, but may end up being different after the new wears off. Have to give one change at a time a fair chance to succeed or fail.


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## aread

subconsciously said:


> ...I feel aiming is way over rated. You need the same process to get consistant results.


You are right. Even Len Cardinale who wants us to immerse in aiming, cautions that aiming is no more (or less) important than any other part of your shot. Every top coach that I've ever heard comment on this subject, says the same thing. Aiming is just another part of the shot sequence.

Allen


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## slicer

Great info so far. I challenge you to take your pins out of your sight and just shoot good smooth feeling shots while looking through your housing. Don't try to center anything, line anything up, or hold anything steady. Try hard NOT TO AIM or calibrate. Your subconscious will take care of that. Once you get this feel going...just shooting good feeling shots, put your pin back in and do the same thing looking at the target. Keep your emphasis on good strong, smooth feeling shots... Lot of trust goes into high level archery.


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## Rick!

I've made a conscious (no pun intended) effort to trust concentrating on the X after acquiring my sight picture and it has improved my score and really improved my X count. (I've gone from 295/30X to 298-300/40X+ with my first 300 last night.) Like the others have stated, if I don't execute every step in my shot process properly, I don't hit an X. I'm getting fairly adept at recognizing when things aren't going right, especially when I recognize that I'm watching my circle wander around the target, and draw down a lot. It's disappointing to draw down on a really good "hold" when I haven't done something as simple as relaxing my bow hand fingers but it is especially satisfying hitting an inside out after resetting.


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## aread

slicer said:


> Great info so far. I challenge you to take your pins out of your sight and just shoot good smooth feeling shots while looking through your housing. Don't try to center anything, line anything up, or hold anything steady. Try hard NOT TO AIM or calibrate. Your subconscious will take care of that. Once you get this feel going...just shooting good feeling shots, put your pin back in and do the same thing looking at the target. Keep your emphasis on good strong, smooth feeling shots... Lot of trust goes into high level archery.


I've tried this for a couple of years. It's not working well for me. Some shots feel absolutely wonderful and the arrow is an inside out X. Some shots feel absolutely wonderful and it's a blueberry. I think the problem is that to get an accurate shot, I have to focus on the scope housing first and the X second. My scores have gone down by about 10 points and 3 X's. I'm switching back to a either a circle or dot. 

Allen


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## Thermodude

Ive been following threads on how people shoot, and what they focus on durring the shot. Last night durring practice for the first time I focused only on the target, nothing but the impact point and I let my pin float. I could still see the pin but I didnt really bring it into the sight picture. I was amazed at how well I shot! This is for sure going to be part of my shot routine from now on!!


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## Shawn2820

slicer said:


> Great info so far. I challenge you to take your pins out of your sight and just shoot good smooth feeling shots while looking through your housing. Don't try to center anything, line anything up, or hold anything steady. Try hard NOT TO AIM or calibrate. Your subconscious will take care of that. Once you get this feel going...just shooting good feeling shots, put your pin back in and do the same thing looking at the target. Keep your emphasis on good strong, smooth feeling shots... Lot of trust goes into high level archery.


At what distance should you try this? Or does it matter?


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## Shawn2820

Rick! said:


> I've made a conscious (no pun intended) effort to trust concentrating on the X after acquiring my sight picture and it has improved my score and really improved my X count. (I've gone from 295/30X to 298-300/40X+ with my first 300 last night.) Like the others have stated, if I don't execute every step in my shot process properly, I don't hit an X. I'm getting fairly adept at recognizing when things aren't going right, especially when I recognize that I'm watching my circle wander around the target, and draw down a lot. It's disappointing to draw down on a really good "hold" when I haven't done something as simple as relaxing my bow hand fingers but it is especially satisfying hitting an inside out after resetting.


I must really be doing something wrong then because my circle seems to wander a lot. But i think i have a good shot sequence, but like i said before. I am self taught, so i could be totally off too.


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## slicer

Shawn2820 said:


> At what distance should you try this? Or does it matter?


20 yards is fine. The trick is to consciously center the target circle inside the circle of your housing, then forget about it and focus on the target while you COMMIT 100% to non-stop pulling through/relaxing...whatever you use for an execution method.....until the arrow is sticking in the target. 

It's the same as this exercise: Make a circle with your index finger and thumb. Hold your arm out and look through this circle at another round object across the room...like a door knob. Now, only focus on the door knob. You'll notice your circle (sight housing) gets a small float to it and it tries to center itself without conscious effort. That is your subconscious controlling the aim. All you need to do is look at the spot you want to hit, nothing more. This exercise also works with a pencil to emulate a pin: Hold a pencil lead up and look at an object across the room. You can even move that pencil lead over 2 or 3 inches off the mark and just keep looking at the mark while you relax....pencil lead comes right back onto it and floats over it. 

When it comes to a bow the actual front sighting device needs to in harmony with whatever target you are shooting. This is one reason so many shoot really well at distances of 50-70 yards, but their 20 yard shooting isn't as tight as they know it should be. You need to increase your pin or dot size at 20. The standard size pins you find on a sight these days are good size for shooting long distances. You quickly realize fine aiming isn't going to be possible since your pin dwarfs the tiny POI you are focused on...so many shooters will relax, let it float, and shoot a good shot. Gotta carry this relaxed attitude up to 20 yards indoor.


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## S Triplet

There is some very good advice on the thread.....
The OP'ers question is....Focus on pins or Focus on Target?
I agree with all the well written advice on focusing on the target...I will add....._*You can't hit what you can't see!*_
You decide what to focus on...lol


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## wv hoyt man

subscibed for future


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## S Triplet

*"I must really be doing something wrong then because my circle seems to wander a lot*."
If you are truly focusing on the target, you won't *Consciously* know this....
Anyone that has ever shot, in just a few shots has trained there subconscious to put the pin on what they want to hit......it's just natural .....trust that pin will be there, cause it will. Okay, enough of that!


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## slimshady2

When you shoot a basketball you look at the rim. The basketball is in the peripheral. The same is for targets.


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## mike 66

the pin WILL float...... some more than others get use to this time just watch it float. learn to enjoy watching this..... there is no one on this earth who can shoot a spot and HOLD it still on this spot perfect.... its not gonna happen....just let it float when you get to this in your shot seq. and its floating... keep telling yourself find the center , find the center till the shot breaks...


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## psearcher2

Ive tried staring at the x for years now, I shot okay I guess a lot of 55x's and at tourneys it would go down. My problem was my pin would still drop about where the blue and white meets. I aim like this on guns and bows. Lately I have put my pin on the x and starting pulling with my back tension. I have shot alot of 59x's and a few 60x's. When I get nervous my min drops and I try to focus on the x but I switched it up for this year, I havn't shot any tourneys yet but excited to see if this changes!


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## eskimoohunt

Yup


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## eskimoohunt

Shot sequence is mentioned here a lot, can someone run through theirs on here?


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## zmanastronomy

The target is a stationary object and the pins are a floating object. Because of that you should focus on the target and the mind will stay one step ahead of you.
If you focus on the pins, the mind is always in a conflict because you'll try to force the pins instead of just letting them float. 
I used to focus on the pins and my groups were horrible. Then one of the monarchs of our archery club explained to me how the mind works and it made scents.
Try focusing on the target and when the release goes off, you'll be amazed at how the arrow finds the X. The mind is always one step ahead... if you'll let it be.


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## Rick!

eskimoohunt said:


> Shot sequence is mentioned here a lot, can someone run through theirs on here?


Here's a basic sequence (mine):

Set stance
Nock arrow
Attach release
Apply tension to release and set grip
Acquire target, inhale and exhale once
Straighten bow arm and raise bow
Inhale deeply and draw bow 
Exhale slowly and allow click and relax as much as possible
Adjust sight ring to target and stare at X (aim)
Start squeeze and keep concentrating on X (keep aiming)
When shot breaks, allow bow to go where it may while not letting it drop.
Assess shot result and compare to sight picture.
Inhale and exhale and reset. Add extra breathing for targets 3, 4 and 5.

When it doesn't feel right in any of the steps, draw down, reset and start over.


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## eskimoohunt

Rick! said:


> Here's a basic sequence (mine):
> 
> Set stance
> Nock arrow
> Attach release
> Apply tension to release and set grip
> 
> 
> 
> Acquire target, inhale and exhale once
> Straighten bow arm and raise bow
> Inhale deeply and draw bow
> Exhale slowly and allow click and relax as much as possible
> Adjust sight ring to target and stare at X (aim)
> Start squeeze and keep concentrating on X (keep aiming)
> When shot breaks, allow bow to go where it may while not letting it drop.
> Assess shot result and compare to sight picture.
> Inhale and exhale and reset. Add extra breathing for targets 3, 4 and 5.
> 
> When it doesn't feel right in any of the steps, draw down, reset and start over.


Thanks


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## eskimoohunt

zmanastronomy said:


> The target is a stationary object and the pins are a floating object. Because of that you should focus on the target and the mind will stay one step ahead of you.
> If you focus on the pins, the mind is always in a conflict because you'll try to force the pins instead of just letting them float.
> I used to focus on the pins and my groups were horrible. Then one of the monarchs of our archery club explained to me how the mind works and it made scents.
> Try focusing on the target and when the release goes off, you'll be amazed at how the arrow finds the X. The mind is always one step ahead... if you'll let it be.


Yeah. I practice this way and I was getting 1-2 inch groups at 33 yards, When I got on the course my bad habits of watching the pin and trying to "time my shot cam back from time to time on a couple targets. It will be a work in progress, Any tips that could help me that you used please help


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## Underground

AJ the TP Guru said:


> .
> 
> And I will say that hunting has been more productive (for me) when focusing on the spot on the game animal I wish to hit.


Absolutely,
If I am shooting 3D, I look at where I want my shot to go on the animal. If I'm shooting at Target bags, its a real struggle NOT to look at the pin instead of where I want the arrow to go.


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## ron w

it's really about understanding how your brain works......
the central cortex....the main controller of your brain....realizes the object is to keep the pin in the middle of the little white circle. when you concentrate on the X, it processes commands for the correct muscle groups to do this by comparing what your eyes are telling it the pin is doing, in comparison to the little white circle, which is stationary at the end of it's focus.
when you concentrate on the pin, your eyes see the pin in the same position all the time, it is the end of it's focus, so it sends confusing messages to the central cortex because your eye sight has no comparator to judge pin aligment against, because the little white circle is constantly moving, but the pin appears to be stationary.


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