Target panic

[Soonerlongbow]

Well, after missed shot number EIGHT I think I've determined I've got target panic. All but 1 was inside 17yds, with last nights on an absolute monster (130" buck for the area) at TWELVE YARDS!!! All the way in I said pick a spot, moment of truth and… whole deer.

A couple other shots I did pick a spot but my old string was a bit twangy without silencers and I bet you know the result. New string has beaver balls and gives a nice quiet thud that's barely audible.

Soooo aggravating!

[FoCoBlackWidow]

Sorry to hear it. I battle it as well and using a clicker has made a big difference. It doesn't prevent all collapses (I blew a "chip shot" a couple of weeks ago) but it has made me much more confident on animals.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Sounds more like Buck fever to me.... I've known a lot of excellent archers who have a hell of a time keeping it together when they pull down on any kind of large game.

Most of these guys either rush the shot and blow their release, or do not properly follow through by lowering their bow arm to watch the arrow.

I've helped a few of these guys get over it by having them incorporate breathing into their draw cycle. A lot of archers don't give breathing much thought. But when you are all jacked up on adrenaline, controlling your breathing is a big deal.

Get out there on your practice range and shoot the bale with your eyes closed at about 5 yards. Try and time your breathing to  breath in slowly as you draw your bow, hit anchor, then release your breath slowly and relax the fingers as your breath goes out....

What this does is.... it uses your chest expansion for the needed back tension, and your actual release comes as a surprise at exactly the same amount of back tension every time.....

It takes awhile to get the hang of it. but it's a great distraction that helps your form. As you concentrate on the spot, and your breathing, everything else becomes instinctive.  Also concentrating on your breathing will bring your heart rate down.

So next time you see that big buck or doe coming in. That's the first thing you start concentrating on is slow deep breathing.... Try it bro... it's amazing how much it helps....

[Mr. fingers]

I missed seven last year. I had target panick bad ended the season with my tag. Most of my misses were high and left.
I know it was me and not the bow. But I did get a new bow for this year and my shooting is dramatically better. Something about my old bows grip it's comfortable but big too big.When I picked up the other day and shot I can't help but torquing shots to my left. So I think part of it was the bow.
Unfortunately I have yet to loose an arrow at deer this year.

[ChuckC]

I believe most of us miss critters because we fail to pick a small spot.  For lots of reasons.  We all know we should.  We all think we are doing it.
But when the time comes we often shoot for an area on the deer and not a spot.  Sometimes we shoot for an area that INCLUDES the deer, judging by how far off we were.

We need to practice that part too.  Pick a spot.  A small spot.  Hit that small spot.

ChuckC

[Preston Lay]

There will lots of opinions on this subject. Its one of the great challenges of trad bow shooting. I think most of us deal with it in one form or another at some time. Joe Turner has some good insight and it can be read in the shooters forum. He's a nice guy and is willing to have people call him. One thing to keep in mind is if your reminding yourself to do everything right, its a bad start. Just let it happen.

[Diamond Paul]

Well, if you had true target panic, it would manifest itself on other targets, not just deer.  Buck (or just plain ole deer in general) fever is something else.  It is related, but it might not be simple anxiety over missing, and the inability to execute the shot that comes from that (TP), it might simply be the excitement that some people get when seeing and having a shot at a deer.  Being really close, as with a bow, ups that excitement and makes it hard to stick to the fundamentals.  Break your shot sequence down into steps you can mentally recite to yourself, pick a spot and never look at the whole deer again, and reduce everything to the sequence: draw, anchor, engage back, relax hand, follow through, or whatever steps you can make work for you.  Imagine you are shooting a blank bale shot with no result; the sequence is the end in itself.  Deer nerves and target panic aren't necessarily the same thing.

[Soonerlongbow]

Thanks guys!

[jess stuart]

For target panic the video Iron Mind Archery is great.

[Cavscout9753]

Even Fred Bear had target panic. To the point at the begining of his career he'd hope he wouldn't see a deer. Thats why he was quite a snap shooter (a snap shooter with a recurve?!) He of course over came it with adjusting his shooting style as will you no doubt. Look for some of his videos on youtube. Of all the famous trad archers he's one of my favorites. Very humble and able to internalize are articulate his processes well. Buck fever, target panic, whatever it is just keep shooting and it will work out. Look at it like this, you had a 130" buck within 12 yards. I botched a doe closer than that this season, haha. And anothet story goes in the quiver for the camp fire...

[Brandywine]

Iron Mind's DVD is good.  So is Jay Kidwell's book available from 3Rivers.  Both WILL help.
Regards, Kevin

[Soonerlongbow]

A little epilogue to this story. So I got a decent buck but can't tell the story. The inlaws are having it mounted for me. While talking to the taxidermist i found out he hunts on property almost adjacent ours. Described the big buck I missed then he showed me a picture......of him holding it.

Closer to 150 not 130.

[fmscan]

I feel ya guy, I've missed a lot, some great advice above and remember it's the journey not the destination... If you wanted easy you would use a gun or crossbow... I can tell you that when you put it all together the sense of satisfaction will be so fulfilling.

[David lozzano]

Originally posted by Brandywine:
Iron Mind's DVD is good.  So is Jay Kidwell's book available from 3Rivers.  Both WILL help.
Regards, Kevin

Best advice you're going to find!

[Fritz]

Been there done that! A clicker was the answer for me.

[sheepdogreno]

such is bowhunting! id agree the fever is getting ya...i still shake like a leaf when i see a doe coming towards me...when that stops ill stop hunting...

[KSdan]

Ditto on Kidwell and Iron Mind (Kidwell's book is easy and cheap).

It affects all of us different ways.  It is a the dilemma for many sports; basketball-free throws, football-fieldgoals, track/field events, golf, etc.  Sports Pychs deal with it everyday.  

One problem I see on all the archery sites:  this is NOT a physical issue.  It is NOT a mental problem (as in mental illness anxiety)- IT IS a mental/brain process issue that has to do with the pressure/anxiety/excitement/fight-flight mechanism hard wired into all of us.  It can affect us all- though in different ways (i.e.- excitement over the deer, anxiety over getting to full draw, anxiety of releasing at full draw, focus,etc).

For example- I can "pick a spot" all day long on targets, stump shooting, etc.  Put a live animal in front of me- and I have not been able to "pick a spot" in over 25 years of shooting trad.  It will not work for me.  Kidwell gave me the keys to figure out why and how to resolve it.  I still do NOT pick a spot- I do something entirely different; the "button" technique.  When I train doing that I shoot awesome.  

Professional athletes have to deal with this all the time- some more than others.  The great ones learn how to handle it.  I have pro/collegiate athlete friends (one an Olympian and Amer Record holder) and they ALL had to deal with it using Sports Pysch.  It works.  

That is the mission/journey many of us are on.

You can resolve it.

Dan in KS

[Roy from Pa]

Iron Mind's DVD is good. So is Jay Kidwell's book available from 3Rivers.

Jay's book really helped me, haven't seen Iron Mind DVD.

[vintage archer]

I suffered from target panic for many years and tried many remedies to conquer it.

Changing my shooting style by incorporating a second anchor has helped if not cured the problem……..I shoot three fingers under using the middle finger in the corner of my mouth as the first anchor.
The second anchor is having my feathers touch my nose. This is common second anchor among archers that use a second point.
I set my feathers far enough down on the arrow so that I have to really use back muscles to get the back of the feather to touch my nose.

I think any thing that disrupts your normal shooting sequence will allow you to concentrate on over coming target panic Uusin a second anchor does this for me but it has to be practice continuously . The whole idea is to eliminate snap shooting and allowing even a instant to concentrate on a spot,

Not saying it works for every one, Target panic is a curse i believe which is caused by to much emphasis on instinctive shooting rather than deliberate form and concentration. Once form and concentration is conquered  it becomes automatic.    

I do believe like others have said target panic is some time  confused with buck fever.

You are not alone if you suffer from TP. I believe you will find a method to interrupt the process and can get  it under control. GOOD LUCK    

[McDave]

I believe the thing we call target panic is experienced under different names in many different situations in life. There are many situations in life where we feel nervous, unable to focus, and our muscles tense up so they don't do what we want them to do.  Imagine being back in high-school and asking someone you are really attracted to out on a date.  Imagine being at work and wanting to raise an unpopular issue in a meeting.  Imagine being insulted by someone and thinking of all the things later on you should have said but were too flustered to think of at the time.  It's not just sports; it's any time we are under pressure and our mind doesn't cooperate with whatever it is that we want to do, and are fully capable of doing.

Trying something different, like a clicker, shooting left-handed, or whatever, works for a while because it occupies your mind until your mind figures it out, but it's usually not a permanent cure.  

I believe that if you could figure out how to perform effectively in any of the non-shooting situations I mentioned, you could apply the same solution to target panic when shooting a bow.  I'm not sure I have an answer yet, but that's the direction my thinking is going.