Uh Oh, Its Creeping in....

[Carcajou]

Ive been shooting longbows my whole life, won many tourneys over the years..had what was said to be perfect shooting form..I still shoot 50- 100 arrows a day, even in the harshest winter conditions...but as of late, I am having difficulty reaching my anchor point..I have a ritual that I got through in every shooting sequence, but something has changed..older age? I dunno? I have dropped in bow weight, shooting anything from 46-55#..I come back to try to achieve full draw, at my anchor, and my mind says, "Release"!
Anybody got a solution!!??    

[Curtis Haden]

Scott, I am certainly no expert, but I had to drop quite a bit of draw weight to cure my symptoms. Even now, they come back every once in a while, but its a lot easier to defeat, now that I know I can.

I shot an old 25# Bear Cub for a month or so, and developed an anchor that was really solid. I had to hook my thumb behind my jaw bone.  I worked on curing the panic first, then worked on the release last.  I had to prove to myself I could decide when to shoot.  Once I did that, the rest was downhill.

I've worked back into 40'ish pounders, but I keep the Cub handy.  I think the more you worry about it, the worse it will get.  Good luck!

[ron w]

Scott......slow down, talk your self thru each shot. Shoot one arrow, nock, draw, anchor, focus and release. Make it a ritual on each shot......this helped me, still have an issue when I shoot in a big group but when hunting I'm ready to go......still miss now and then.....lol!

[bucknut]

When I start having issues I move close to the target and shoot with my eyes closed for a few shots and feel my anchor and go thru my shot process.  There is no target to tell you you need to release. I do this at the end of most all of my daily shooting just to imprint how it should feel.  This has worked great for me.

[McDave]

Scott, this may or may not be a sign of target panic.  Target panic tends to strike experienced shooters more than beginners, as it is caused by the subconscious mind anticipating the shot based on many shots taken in the past.

If you have trouble coming to full draw when you intend to shoot an arrow, but not when you don't intend to shoot an arrow, then you might have target panic.  If you have trouble both ways, then it is probably some kind of physical issue like being overbowed with age (which I have too) or possibly an injury.

If you think it might be target panic, then I recommend Joel Turner's DVD, Ironmind, or Jay Kidwell's book, Instinctive Archery Insights.  Jay and Joel also have sections in the DVD, Masters of the Bare Bow 4.

[Carcajou]

Thanks Guys, I will implement all of the above..thats what makes this sport so great.

[Keith Zimmerman]

Get close to the target.  Focus.  Ive heard this helps.

[Carcajou]

[Chad Orde]

I hold to a 3 to 5 count when that starts happening to me. Simple but it works

[Kevin Hansen]

Either email or call Joel Turner. His system makes a ton of sense.

[Producer]

Drop down in weight to 40 or so. I have a friend who shoot 37lb and wins most of the matches he shoots.

[John3]

Read and own this book. instinctive archery insights by Jay Kidwell.

Superb book that will save your shooting!

[Hud]

What works for me is to periodically shoot for form shoot without a target, just the bail, bag, etc, if it has a spot cover it with plain paper. Try warming up a bit by drawing, aiming and letting down. You will find it is easier without a target. Focus on a spot, and avoid moving your eye back to your arrow. Just shoot a few good arrows, then quit for the day. Shoot every three days, instead of every day, give your mind and body a rest. Reconditioning your mind may take some time.

[paradocs]

Scott, did it happen all of a sudden?  Two years ago, on the last day of the season, I went out for an afternoon hunt.  As I walked past my target, I stopped to take a few warm-ups.  I could only make it to about 2" short of full draw; first arrow got away from me.  Kept trying, just couldn't do it...this with a 47# bow I'd been shooting for 2 years after dropping from 55-60#. There was no pain whatsoever.  I bagged the hunt, went inside and sulked.  Tried the next day without all of my hunting clothes on...same thing.  Suspecting a nerve root issue,  I took 6 weeks off from shooting; luckily season was over.  Skipped our first local January 3D shoot, too.  When I started shooting again in late February, everything was completely back to normal, and it has never recurred since.  Just pointing out that things aren't always just in our head; seems like my body is becoming as weak as my mind sometimes since I hit 50 awhile back...can't remember exactly when that was    

[Two Dogs]

Scott, I went through the panic thing bad back in the day, what I did was get very close to my hay bales & went through the complete shot sequence with  eyes closed slowly, feel everything with your other senses including follow through. Hope this helps, it's mind over matter.Keep at it brother!

[The Night Stalker]

I recently spent the weekend with Joel Turner at the PBS banquet. He taught his class and we got to shoot. I do not have it now but if it ever comes back, I know how to fix it.
Give Joel a call.

[Scott Barr]

Thanks for posting your experience Scott. Coming from someone at it for so many years weirdly makes me feel "normal."  I have only shot traditional for four years.  For the last three target panic has presented a major obstacle. I have read and watched videos over and over, including Joel's and Jay's . In addition to all the good advice you are getting, I just make it simple for myself.  I don't release until I am able to achieve relaxation at anchor and a surprise release. Specifically I wait for my eyes to relax. Some days are harder than others.  One these days I may have to let down several times before I get my mind right and relax. Clickers, montras, and blind bale shooting only worked short term for me.

[McDave]

Originally posted by Scott Barr:
Thanks for posting your experience Scott. Coming from someone at it for so many years weirdly makes me feel "normal."  I have only shot traditional for four years.  For the last three target panic has presented a major obstacle. I have read and watched videos over and over, including Joel's and Jay's . In addition to all the good advice you are getting, I just make it simple for myself.  I don't release until I am able to achieve relaxation at anchor and a surprise release. Specifically I wait for my eyes to relax. Some days are harder than others.  One these days I may have to let down several times before I get my mind right and relax. Clickers, montras, and blind bale shooting only worked short term for me.

This describes my experience perfectly.  I finally discovered that after the initial nervousness of trying to reach full draw, where I just felt compelled to get rid of the arrow, there would come a period of calm, if I could just pull through the nervousness and wait for it to happen.  Once the calmness sets in, I can relax my drawing arm, set my sight picture, and wait for the shot to go off.

[longbow fanatic 1]

I, too, have experienced this. When I reach full draw, I often have the sensation to loose the arrow before I settle my aim. Recently, I've begun doing what McDave said. I continue pulling with the rhomboids, fight through those feelings of dumping the string, and keep focus on aiming until the shot goes off. My shot takes a few more seconds to develop, but my groups have really tightened up.