hard time focusing during shoot

[Jake Fr]

I dont know why i am having a hard time focusing when i shoot i shoot  good at 15yds and completly fall apart at 20 and 25yds like i can pick my spot and this is a recent problem i didnt used to have this problem any help would be great

[Mike Gerardi]

Try shooting at 30 and 40 yards. It will make 20 and 25 yrds seem real close.

[Jake Fr]

I will try that any other tips i wounder if i shoot a blank target at 30 35yds with only one dot on it if that would help maybe my Brain sees toany dots on the target?

[dcmeckel]

I started to experience this also. Finally figured out it was right after I got glasses.I don't shoot with them on because I just can't get the hang of it. To get back in the swing of things I started picking spots inside of spots. Focusing smaller I guess. So far so good.
David

[buckeyebowhunter]

I too suffer from this same phenomenon. When I shoot at 15 i have no problem, but bump me to 25 or 30 and the wheels start to fall off. I think a lot of instinctive archers would also admit that they experience this because in reality to our eyes the target is twice as small when we back up another 10-15 yards. Like mike said, try backing up even farther and practice the long shots consistently. Also for hunting situations it is nice to have a 3-D target that forces you to pick a spot rather than just shooting at a circle like most targets have. For some reason I seem to shoot better at 3-D targets at longer ranges than I do with targets similar to those in your profile pic. Practice the long shots and the 15-20 yarders will seem like cake, and in reality 15-20 is about the max distance for trad bows in the hunting woods anyway. Good Luck!    

[moleman]

Jake, I ran into the same problem recently after purchasing what appears to be the same target you have pictured,.... my shooting went into the toilet!
What I found for me was that the target face is so busy ( to many spots and markings ) that I found my eyes wanting to focus on all of them and not just one!
I went back to a 3D target and a single spot bag target and the problem went away.
For me I found that a busy target face leads to busy eyes.

[Jake Fr]

Thats what i was thinkin that there is to much to focus on on the target it self and i shoot at all of it instead of picking a spot but i think i might have a remidy just need to go try it

[Brock]

that happened to me when my eyes started going bad....turned out that close up under 15 yards my eyes can focus on the target or spot and be good.  further away my eyes cannot focus sharp as I need or want...so when I am drawing they get diverted off to something else or a larger area as they try to re-focus.  The ticket for me is being able to focus good enough to make everything EXCEPT my intended spot disappear or become fuzzy.  Problem is at beyond 15yds they all get fuzzy even what I am aiming at.  I started shooting a little with some military glasses I had left over from my 20 years...rubber straps, small lenses...made to fit in gas mask.  plastic lenses...so I clean them and coat with NO FOG....and made a big difference.  Still not shooting like howard hill but definitely helps in the concentration where I can then worry about draw and release with one less thing causing issues.

[GRINCH]

Concentrate on the target before releasing the arrow,vary your shots from one target to the next,this will help your concentration.

[jrbows]

Sounds like yet another great use for duct tape, or anything that will cover up everything except one dot, I'd try that if you think the target is the problem, something I've been waiting to try is covering my dominant eye while shooting I seem to be a lot more accurate when I can get "coned in" vision wise and actually concentrate on the target with both eyes instead of just seeing the target with my non dominant eye, hope you figure it out, if not I'll buy that bag target for a reasonable used rate LOL.

[m midd]

The same happens to me when i shoot multi dot bag targets.
I can shoot my bales or deer fine. But a bag @25-35 yds i am all over the place.

[joe skipp]

Listen to Mike G...I'm a big advocate of long range shooting. Concentrating hard on those distant targets and making sure your form is there will only make you a better shot at the closer ones.

I shoot 40-45 yds at leaves, small foam pieces or better yet, roving the woods and stump shooting. I also throw in 50-60 yds because I love watching arrows fly. At 40-45 yds...you'll see exactly what your bow/arrow setup will do...bow poundage/arrow weight.

I've stated before, I won't hesitate to shoot at a deer 40 yds because of my long range practice and knowing my equipment, my confidence is there. That same confidence carries over on all shots 30 yds and under. Confidence and Concentration.....

[Outrigger]

Could be any number of things, including those mentioned above. I will add another possibility. Apparently you feel confident, and consequently relaxed at 15 yards. As you move back to longer yardage, you probably feel (conscious or sub conscious)a need to "try harder" to do everything right in your shot sequence. Consequently, you could be much less relaxed and thinking too much about what you are doing. In a sense, it is exactly the opposite of blind bale shooting. I would suggest first shooting for a while exclusively at the shorter ranges (15 yards and less in your case) and not even thinking about longer ranges. Second, you might want to back up even more yards (try 30) and just take a "what the heck" mind set and enjoy just shooting at a big target or even a blank bale (not blindly) until you simply feel relaxed doing so.

[Outrigger]

One more thought along the lines of my previous post. If you watch much baseball, you will occasionally here sports broadcasters commenting that a pitcher who is struggling is trying to aim the ball rather than just throwing the ball with his normal delivery (i.e., he is trying to hard). Not at all unlike an archer trying to hard, thus tightening up and not maintain his normal relaxed shot sequence.

[Green]

I found the best way to focus not only visually, but on all aspects of the shot, are to shoot one arrow only.  Walk/pull/repeat, but from another location.  Run your shot routine completely each time, focusing on each component like you would do blank bailing, and let your subconscious do the aiming.  Whether you're hunting or shooting a 3D tournament, there's no need to shoot groups unless you're just checking the consistency of your arrows (and this too is best done one at a time) or are preparing for something like a 300 round.

As for the target...tape a vertical line with something like blue painters tape, or use the tape to create a vertical and horizontal center point on the target and shoot for that.