Confidence building?

[wetfeathers]

What do other shooters do to regroup and get back on track when suffering from misses?  Last night I missed my 6th deer this season and my confidence is shaken.  I pick a spot, I anchor, everything feels good.....and I miss. This is getting discouraging.            Any tips for rebuilding confidence?

[Michael Pfander]

Take a break for a week.  Do something different that you can focus on and enjoy then come back to it.
MAP

[BOWMARKS]

With all the deer you are seeing I would have great confidence in my woodsmanship, I might try a couple practice shots before getting into my hunt each time out?????  

[centaur]

From the pic on your avatar, it looks like you have had some success in the past. Practice shots, some stumping, and drawing, holding and letting down without shooting might get you back on track.

[YORNOC]

Are you shooting high or low? any consistency in where your arrows are going when you miss?

[wetfeathers]

I shoot every day and I've been shooting well.  Maybe a week with the kids hunting ducks is a good idea.  I can try again as the rut heats up.  Thanks for the suggestions.

[wetfeathers]

David, my misses have been high and low.  Always good right to left.    

[juneaulongbow]

How about killing some small game? Rabbits, squirrels, birds... Good luck getting back on track.

[Bowwild]

You might try a form of visualization. My most practiced shot is 13 yards in my basement. When I have a shot like that (most of mine are 8-21 yards) I imagine I'm about to shoot the deer on my range.

[typical2]

For evening hunts I stump shoot on my way out to my spot.  Helps me...

[Gooserbat]

Try a practice shot from your stand. Use a blunt and pick a leaf or something for a warm up.

[CoachBGriff]

Squirrels!  If you have any in the area, it always gives me confidence when I pin one to the ground.

[mgf]

This is a topic that's near and dear to my heart because I've missed deer the last two years in a row.

Part of my problem is that a shot opportunity is so rare. I haven't gotten 6 shots at deer in the last decade let alone in one season. After many cold sits over weeks or even months a deer finally shows up and I guess I freak...knowing that it's almost certainly the ONLY chance I'm going to get. Lots of pressure.

Still my take on it is this. What I need is practice shooting at deer. There's not much I can do at the moment about the lack of deer so I control what I can.

1st, I bought a 3-d deer and shot it to pieces. Second, I approached my shooting practice with the intention of building a very high level of confidence.

At the time of my last two misses (the last two seasons in a row), I was shooting pretty good (scoring 260+ on an NFAA 300) but I still lacked confidence, especially, when there were deer around.

I'm not sure how I did it and, since I haven't had the chance to shoot at another deer, I can't say for certain that it worked but, I'm really cocky (confident) in my shooting right now.

Inside of 20 yards and for certain inside 15 or 17, I can hit anything. I can do it fast, slow, sitting, kneeling or standing. I've destroyed a bunch of arrows lately. I shouldn't shoot groups but I love the sound they make when they hit each other.

I can't imagine missing a deer's lungs again let alone the entire deer. Inside 20 yards (actually more like 25), my worst shots are still very close to my spot and will result in a dead deer.

See? Cocky. I'm like Byron in that I say there's nothing that I can not hit.

No, I can't hit a flying aspirin. I couldn't even see one but I think attitude is everything. As they say, think you can or think you can, either way you are right.

I let my perfect shots convince me that my next shot will be perfect and I let it be.

Now I just need another deer so I can prove it.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Draw, hold, aim, let down. On a target. Better on an animal if possible.

[mgf]

Sorry for the long post but archery (like most things) is a head game. You can shoot well and then shoot poorly in a competition or with an audience.

You might be able to hit squirrels but crumble under the perceived "pressure" of a deer.

There are lousy archers who kill deer every year.

In the last two years I missed two separate deer with three shots. Yep, last year the doe actually circled around and gave me the exact same shot again.

Both deer were standing in almost the exact same spot 17 yards from my tripod. All three shots sailed harmlessly over the deer's back.

My shooting has NEVER been that bad except when shooting at deer.

I remember the shots very well. I remember drawing the bow and nothing felt familiar. It was like I had never shot a bow before. Nothing that I knew and practiced was there for me to use.

Unable to summon the composure to know what to do and do it, I just let go of the string.

I've never had that happen when shooting at a squirrel. Squirrels are small and I do miss some. The difference is that when I miss one, I just go find another. When I miss a deer, I usually have to wait a year before trying again.

It's one shot for the gold. One chance to make an entire year of practice count for something.

Oh well, that's enough out of me.

[mgf]

One more post and I'll stop for a while...I promise.

Everything I typed assumes that you can shoot and the problem is only when the target is a deer.

Sometimes we're not honest with ourselves about our shooting ability.

I know a lot of "traditional" hunters don't like paper but shoot 60 shots at a NFAA blue face and take your score to heart.

We always hear/read guys say they can hold a 6 inch group at 20 yards. That'll keep all your shots inside the 4 ring and if only half of them hit the 5 spot it'll get you a 270. Not that many of us can actually shoot a 270.

When you shoot that blue face and score some 2's (most of us will) that tells you that you really will miss a deer some percentage of the time.

I think that with the shooting complications of hunting conditions like cold, heavy clothes, general discomfort and pressure, you have to plan on your worst shooting being more relevant than your best.

We all miss but the question is  how often and by how much.

I think it pays to actually measure it.

[Longbow58]

Hunting with the kids sounds like a nice break. Take some time away and it will come back. Good luck!

[mgf]

Hunting or fishing with the kids is always nice but my experience is that problems don't fix themselves.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Some guys are great archers on 3D and targets, but go all to pieces when they get an animal in front of them.... I've seen that a lot over the years.

I consider myself a pretty decent shot if i spend the time to practice regularly. Come hunting season i do not shoot as many arrows, but i shoot a few arrows often....

I think my biggest problem when i miss one of those easy shots that i should absolutely not miss, is that i haven't picked a small spot and focused on it. I shoot at the whole deer instead, and blow the shot.... Just did exactly that last week at 25 yards... i hit anchor and said to myself, "That's about 25 yards..." then i raised up and shot right over her.

There is a lot to be said for "Aim small...Miss small" and what ever you do don't think about anything but that spot and let your instincts do the rest.... You are not alone brutha....We all screw up and start thinking about it at the wrong time occasionally.

[Jake Scott]

mgf makes some very interesting points.  I like his style.  I missed 6 deer of all shapes and sizes last year.  I took each of them hard.  I took them so hard that my friends were concerned that I was so caught up in trying to get my first trad deer that I was no longer enjoying it.  Not true.  I wanted it (I've achieved it now and want far more), I wanted it more than anything I've ever wanted as far as hunting goes.  I hit the practice range.  HARD.  I shot, and shot, and shot my bow until all my arrows were ragged, then I refletched them and did it all again.  Thousands upon thousands of practice arrows from every conceivable angle and scenario.  There is an adage..."Don't practice until you can do it, practice until you can't do it wrong."  I don't mean to imply that you haven't practiced, not at all.  That is my therapy and my method.  It is part of the journey for me.  When I was fortunate enough to have a nice doe present me with a shot last week, I went into autopilot for the shot.  No thought, just muscle memory and my body and mind doing what it had done thousands of other times.  She fell in 40 yards.

I am no expert, heck I've only killed one deer with a bow.  The above is how I tackled my missing problem.  It could well show up again, but I don't think so.  That's my process, it may not help you a lick.  I sure hope it does.

You can do it!!!!

Good luck,

Jake