Because of my longtime career as an outdoor editor, I’ve been fortunate to work with some of the most accomplished hunters and shooters (men and women) on the planet. Many of these people write how-to articles for magazines and websites, and it was during a phone conversation 15 years ago with legendary bowhunter Chuck Adams (below) when he offered this nugget of shooting advice.
“Whenever I shoot at bag or block-style targets, I use my own bull’s-eyes,” Adams said. “I cut bull’s-eye circles myself. But I don’t make them all the same size. I cut circles with diameters of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 inches. The reason I go through this trouble is I prefer my bowsight pins to look the same as they hover over the bull’s-eye regardless of shot distance.”
Needless to say, Adams had my full attention. I kept quiet while he explained further.
“At 10 yards, I use a 2-inch-diameter bull’s-eye. Remember, for some shooters, they can’t practice beyond 10 yards in their basement. From that range, my bowsight pin floats within the edge of the circle. There’s no anxiety. I can concentrate on the bull’s-eye, and my release can happen at any time; my bowsight pin is on the money 100% of the time.
“If I move back to 20 yards but keep aiming at the 2-inch bull’s-eye, then my sight picture has changed. And it’s difficult to keep a bowsight pin from moving off the tiny bull’s-eye while aiming. For many bowhunters, this is a cause of target panic, punching the trigger, etc.
“To avoid these problems, I switch to a 4-inch-diameter bull’s-eye at 20 yards. That way, my pin looks the same on the bull’s-eye as it did from 10 yards. I have no trouble floating the pin within the boundaries of the 4-inch circle, and I can release the string with a relaxed mind.
“As I stretch the distance during practice, I keep switching bull’s-eye size. From 30 yards, I use a 6-inch circle; from 40 yards, it’s an 8-incher; from 50 yards, it’s a 10-incher; and from 60 yards, it’s a 12-inch-diameter circle.
“With this system, the size relationship between my bowsight pins and bull’s-eyes remains the same from 10 to 60 yards. And again, the bull’s-eye is large enough for each distance that I don’t have to worry about my pin leaving it while at full draw.
“Believe it or not, your brain and body will work together to group arrows in the middle of the larger circles.”
The Range Doesn't Lie
After receiving this shooting advice from Adams, I had to check it out for myself at the local range. And it worked exactly as he said. To this day, it was one of the biggest “lightbulb moments” I’ve experienced in archery.
For a final test, I stepped back to 50 yards (the local range’s maximum) and shot two groups of five arrows at two different bull’s-eyes: one 10-inch circle, as Adams recommended, and one 4-incher. After all 10 arrows were fired, I approached the target to see my results.
Again, Adams was right. All five of my 50-yard arrows shot at the 10-inch bull's-eye were within the circle, and most were near its center.
My group size was much worse around the 4-inch circle. I say “around” because not only didn’t I hit the smaller circle, but you couldn’t have covered those five arrows with a 10-inch bull’s-eye. I thought this would be the result as I was shooting at the 4-inch circle; I couldn’t begin to hold my bowsight pin on the 4-inch circle from 50 yards, and my mind raced with anxiety as I tried to time my release when the pin moved across the small bull’s-eye. Not good.
This archery season, I recommend you take advice from Chuck Adams when it comes to bull’s-eye size during practice. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results.
