This class picks up from where the bow making part of the Advanced Standard class leaves off. You have a self-bow; now how do you use it to your best advantage?
We'll start with honoring the lineage that kept archery and bow making alive in the west and the wealth of information from those folks, much of it true, that we have available to us today. Then on to the various shooting/aiming styles and the reason why the title of this class is sort of an oxymoron. The emphasis will be on instinctive shooting and how to apply and develop that skill for both simple enjoyment and hunting.
The question of the Primitive Ratio will be explored, not only as it applies to our pursuit of archery skills but as Tom used it in all of his skills classes. And in the case of archery, there are many aids available to us presently, that can save us tons of dirt time without resorting to peep sights and stabilizing arms (not that they're ineffective; quite the contrary, but they belong to a different style of archery than this class covers).
There will be some guests as well each night who will share their own stories of archery, whether with Tom at the Tracker School or in their own pursuit of the art. I'll be speaking of what Tom and I discussed over the past 3 years as we planned this class, and of the experience and somewhat painful coyote teaching from bow hunting on Tom & Celeste's land that I was blessed to enjoy a few years ago.
If you like the idea of primitive or traditional archery and want to learn how to become proficient with a bow in an instinctive style akin to how Grandfather and Tom used it, this class is for you. Having attended an Advanced Standard class is recommended, but not mandatory since this is more about shooting and practicing than it is building a bow. The only pre-requisite is the Standard class.
