I have been there, and from time to time I return. It has been stated, and correctly, that it is a mental issue.
Some mental issues can be overcome by sheer will, which workds fine for others, but not worth a darn for me in shooting a traditioanl bow. Still some mental hurdles require a different solution.
My solution to the problem is to focus all of my attention on the shot and nothing else. Not the deer, hog, turkey, javelina, elk, or whatever. I almost get to the point where that becomes the least important factor, until I take out my skinning knife.
How would one practice this, Dr. Ashby suggested changing things between shots. He is correct, as usual, about this as he is regarding the point where that "killer Instinct" point is reached.
That is not something you can plan for, it is something that will happen, given enough time. As an instructor of Martial Art, I see this happen with students all the time, regarding the area of sparring.
Forgive me, I digress, oneof the best reasons for shooting in 3D shoots, is the perceived pressure of shooting in front of others. It can provide the same kind of feeling, although somewhate less, than in hunting. Of course it is a target, non-living piece of foam, but we want to make a good shot so badly that we become distacted by the overwhelming(at least at that moment as perceived)that we fail to do what needs to be done to make the shot. Barry Wensel, as great as he is, does not like to shoot in front of others. Some of the best bowhunters known to man feel the same way. Fortunately for them, they don't have to worry about losing control when game appears and the shot is present.
I shot in my first 3D shoot of 2008 yesterday. Since it was mainly compound shooters, our group was held up, everybody knows that traditional shooters step up to the stake, looks, draws and shoots. Compounders make an event of every arrow. Now I can tell you from experience, that a lot of those guys don't take traditional archery seriously. It is a novelty to most, and well respect is not a given in that venue, but has to be earned.
For twenty of the thirty targets we shot that afternoon, we had an audiences. People wanted to see how these guys were shooting without release aids, carbon arrows, sights, stablizers, and binoculars.
Now I am not new to this phenom, but I never really cared for it until yesterday.
I found myself engulfed in the shot, to the extent that a miss could not even be a consideration. We then proceeded to place the arrow time after time into the spot that I sought. To ooohs, and awwhs. I can tell you for a fact, one year ago that would have bugged the stuffing out of me. I didn't like shooting in front of people, and I let it affect my shooting. The same thing holds true, at least for me, when hunting. My good hunting shots were always consumed by a total concentration on the shot, and placing the arrow where I wanted it to go.
Now that usually means that my legs will turn to Jello after the shot. I have been seen hugging my tree when I have made a good shot from a treestand to keep from falling.
Over the years the senario usually goes like this, I see game approaching, I get the shakes, I get shortness of breath, I get muscle weakness. I talk myself through this and as the game moves into my shooting range, I become calm. I focus on the spot and the shot, I tell myself, I don't care if I miss as long as the shot goes where the kill area is when I release. I assure you, that if you put in where it supposed to go, even if the animal moves, you have done your job.
Topic: The mental aspect of this sport..... (Read 507 times)
