The Eyes Have It Do you shoot your bow with one eye closed? If so, you may benefit from a little experimentation. Shooting with both eyes open can give you distinct visual advantages when hunting, and ease anxiety and over-aiming when target shooting First, you must be certain you are right eye dominant (for a right handed shooter) or left eye dominant (for a left handed shooter). Here’s how to find out: With both eyes open, aim your finger at an object across the room. Now close one eye, then the other. Which ever eye still aligns you finger with the object is you dominant eye. If you are right eye dominant and shoot right handed (or left eye dominant-left handed) you will be able to try aiming and shooting with both eyes open. It may feel a little uncomfortable at first, but give it a fair chance. The advantages in hunting can include increased field of vision at a critical moment, better vision of you hit on the animal, reduced tendency to “peek” at the shot, and better vision in dimming light. Both eyes open may not be for everyone, but for some it can help add comfort and accuracy to the shot…..And accuracy is what we as archers must continue to strive for! The Fear of Missing I had a guy come into the archery shop the other day who had just been out hunting. I asked if he had seen anything. He hesitated as he said, “Well, I missed one. And he was big.” As the conversation went on the man mentioned that when he was at full draw with his 20 yard pin on the vitals of the monster buck, all he could think about was DON’T MISS! Every archer has nerves. Every archer also has the power to control their nerves. Negative reinforcement will most likely result in a bad shot. The same applies to shooting a 3-D tournament or target shooting. Have you ever had a bad practice session? Yes you have, because everyone does. People are afraid of not achieving their personal expectations (The fear of missing). The biggest difference between shooting poorly and turning it around is a positive visualization. Instead of thinking, “I’m shooting awful,” think, “I know I can hit this target, I do it all the time!” This directly relates to shooting at an animal. If you can stay calm enough to know you will make the shot, you will hit exactly what you are aiming at. Try imagining every shot hitting the bullseye the next time you practice. You may be amazed at how well you shoot! Perfect Practice Makes Perfect Every year many hours and dollars are spent to increase the odds of arrowing your favorite game species. It seems that the latest bow or bow accessory is always a great idea to achieve the best accuracy, but really, a new bow is not going to turn a below average shooter into a pro. It would be unfair of me to say to a customer “buy this new arrow rest and your groups will shrink.” There are many technological advancements to new equipment and I’m not here to tell you that updating your archery setup is not going to attribute to success. What I am saying is that the best bow does not produce the best shooter. Practicing correctly produces the best shooter. Backyard practice can be good, but the controlled conditions of an indoor range and record of each arrow you shoot is the best way to establish your proficiency and progress. Get involved in your local pro shop’s or local archery club’s league. Leagues are a wonderful way to judge the progression of each practice session. Instead of saying “my groups looked pretty tight tonight,” you can say, “I shot five points better than last night, yes, I am improving.” Plus, you are shooting around archers that may have some valuable advice. Remember, a good archer is a good archer. Leagues are designed for all archers, not just target shooters. In fact most people involved in leagues are avid bow hunters. Check this issue of Outdoors Weekly for a list of excellent pro shops near you, or log onto www.mnarchery.org for a list of MSAA archery clubs. | 
