BURN OUT

[tarponnut]

I'll quit when I stop breathing. I never get tired of hunting, shooting practice sometimes becomes a boring exercise in mediocrity(but that's mostly because I have such a limited bow range).
When I get shooting burnout, I hang up the bow for a few days, when I come back to it my accuracy usually is better. I tend to shoot better in the woods stump shooting and it's more fun.Mix it up, swap backyard practice for stump shooting or vice versa.
It's the same with Art for me, I don't paint because I want to, it's because I need to.

[2bird]

I got so burned out once I almost sold every bit of archery equipment I owned, I thought I had to shoot a certain way to be "Traditional", I was so tired of not being able to hit the broad side of a barn even if I was in the barn I was about to just hang it up for good. Thank God I finally found a new method of shooting because it gave me the confidence I needed and now just a few short years later I'm far beyond what I thought was possible without training wheels. No matter what or how you do anything you will feel run down from time to time but I suggest changing things up! If you not happy with your level of shooting try something different, don't let someone else's limitations be yours too.

[D.J. Carr]

The best part about bad days is they make good days that much better.

I recently had 2 todays where I wasn't shooting well, was gonna take a few days off...but decided to shoot some blind bale and one thing led to another and all of a sudden I was on fire, I couldn't miss, standing sitting from my knees 10-30 yards.  One of the greatest feelings!

It only felt that great because I had a few bad days.

[Charlie3]

Try keeping score on a NAA target when you shoot.

When I used to golf more often I would feel like I was having an AWFUL day through 9, then I would tally the score and realize I was only a few shots off my best score and re-focus for the back 9...sometimes you think you are doing worse than you really are.

If you are usually a 265 shooter and after an awful day you shoot 250 you will realize that it wasn't so bad and feel better about yourself.

As others have said, take a break. I usually stop shooting for about a month in the dead of the winter, this helps me re-focus too.

[2bird]

Charlie makes a good point... For example at a 3D shoot last weekend I dropped the ball on 11 shots! 2 misses and nine 5's, I was starting to beat my self up but I ended the course with a 8.81 average over 48 targets, which is not that bad.

[CRS]

Originally posted by Florida bowhunter:
any of you guys ever suffer from burn out or discouragement,  maybe from having a bad day shooting,  or from shooting every day or just not shooting to your expectations....ever just feel like quitting...if so what did you do to stay on track...

Not from traditional archery/hunting.  Only the burn out from not having enough time to practice/hunt/mess around with traditional archery/hunting!   :mad:

[Florida bowhunter]

I guess my biggest issue is trying to get the same accuracy,  as I did with my compound, I do know some guy's here at home that can shoot side by side with any compound shooter out to 40 yards, but they have been shooting a long time, I know that this will only come with practice and determination to succeed. .....thanks guys for all the upbuilding word as and advice much appreciated. ...

[Jay Bow]

I agree with ron w archery has been the one constant in my life since I was a kid
( I'm now 62 ) It's the thing I always go to
when everything else is burning me out.
A bad day of shootin is better than a good day
working .

[Wallydog]

If I get to watching too many "experts" shoot huge bucks every time they go out or listen to the wheelie guys too long I get a lil weird. Its purty hard to ignore the tripe about their new cant miss bow or zap-em-dead 4" expandable broadhead etc etc. As I aged I decided that 99% of that was sales pitches and some out-right dog faced lying. Its way more peaceful and enjoyable to take what the good Lord gave me and use it as best I can. Getting better (accuracy)ebbs and flows for me. Never been the guy who shoots little groups and it used to bug me some. Not anymore as I know my limitations (age and eyesight). Enjoy your trip FB!

[Thumper Dunker]

I don't practice I go and play with my bows when not hunting. Practice is boring, playing with a bow is fun.

[flinthead]

Between recurve, longbow, ILF, one competition compound[field] ,one hunting compound there are way too many ways to shoot than time. Tried sporting clays and a couple other sports and they were too expensive. Keepd sticking with archery. Was getting frustrated with Trad. shooting, then Ben Graham gave some great advice on anchors, holding , ect. and am back in love with Trad. shooting. Had read and heard advice before , but for some reason it clicked that day. Maybe the world is right[I am hard headed}.  Stumpin, target shooting, 3-d, clay targets, are all things to shoot with a stickbow. Mix it up some if it gets boring. Thanks, Roy

[BOHO]

I have quit a couple times. my problem started with being overbowed my whole trad archery life, over 15 years. now that I am shooting weights I can handle, its soooooo much better. I dont shoot year round. Id get burnt out for sure. I shoot from July/August to around March.

[Archie]

I just take a break and do something else for a day or a week or a month... I always come back to my trad bows though, because I like them!

Last week I was shooting terrible.  This week, wow, I'm a new man!  I don't live just to bowhunt or shoot my bow, as my aspirations are much higher than that.   But I enjoy shooting as a mental vacation from stress.  And I love to hunt with my trad bow, too.

[tradhunter]

Take your bow for a walk....find an open field, and shoot some arrows as far as you can. Then just enjoy the beauty of the flight! I think that more than a few of us has faced the downers a time or two. Getting out for some flight shooting and stump shooting reminds me of the simplicity and joy of what we do.

[Mr. fingers]

Yes!!
Sometimes I get so frustrated to,the point I think about selling all my trad gear and going back to wheels.
What keeps me going is that exact thought . And I know I would not be happy going back. Trad has made bow hunting feel like it did  20 years ago.  When I came from shooting wheels I would average 2-3 deer a yr. I'm not there yet with trad gear and that's what fuels me. Also look at the success the fellow tradgangers have. I believe what one man can do another can do. I get the journey thing now.  It's not about the destination but journey .
I don't measure success by what's on my wall but by how much fun I have With anything if it's not fun what's the point!

[joe skipp]

I stop shooting the bow June 15th and start back up August. I find chasing bass around for 2 months is very relaxing and gives me a much needed break from shooting 10 months out of the year.

When I pick my bows back up in August I get a good feeling with renewed energy.

[GreyGoose]

No, thank goodness, this isn't golf!

[Diamond Paul]

Yes, I've experienced burn out.  I've tried just about every bow out there, and every shooting style, and yet I never could feel confident enough to actually go hunting for anything other than the occassional rodent.  It's hard for me to accept the accuracy limitations of trad archery, honestly.  I was a 59x indoor shooter and a 550 field shooter with wheels; now, I can routinely miss a basketball from 25 yards.  It's the inconsistency that kills me.  I work at it and work at it, and most people who have seen me shoot say that I am pretty good; I have won some 3D shoots and such, though it has been a long time since I went to one.  Still, it is that inexplicable miss that kills my confidence.  I just get fed up with it.  I've started back shooting again.  Maybe I'll finally get the guts to go deer hunting this year, but I doubt it.  I think I love the romance of it much more than the reality of it.

[beaunaro]

I really don't think you will ever recover,  so the best thing to do is sell me all your bows....cheap.

LOL

[John3]

Put your bow away and don't think about it for a week or two... Rest...  It will come back!