Target panic

[twohand]

Ok, mine has gotten so bad I can't stand it. I did a search on here and found a thread from a while back where Northjeff explained it to a tee! I have gone from splitting nocks to this unexplanible tension in about 4 years time.It was funny reading through the thread, you could tell who had actually experianced true TP and the people who just have an itchy trigger finger. Here is what my shooting sequence has become.
1. Draw slowly and calmly,when I draw back I'm about a foot low(normal)
2. Slowly raise the pin
3. When I'm about 6" below the point I want to hit ALL muscles FREEZE
4. I try to calm myself
5. I end up forcing myself to lift the bow the rest of the way and end up squeezing the trigger as the pin goes past the point of aim,or I end up flinching and shooting :mad:
If I spend enough time shooting I can actually do alright dealing with the problem,but it has gotten to the point where I don't even want to shoot/hunt anymore because of the frustration. If anyone here recognizes this sequence in thier own shooting, try to find help NOW!!! I've dealt with mine for so long now it just makes it harder to get rid of. From what I've figured out so far is that the answer is in relaxation...NOT forcing yourself to concentrate.Forcing yourself to do anything just makes it worse.
Good luck fellow TP'ers,
Twohand

[chrisjan_81]

been there, i feeze about 4 inches from the bull. if i am shooting at 30 yards, i can put my 20 yard pin right where i want it, but it is VERY hard to get the 30 yard pin there. But i dont do it on 3-D targets, just a bullzeye.

[krt]

Sounds like the problems I was having until recently. The everything was alright until I got the pin just below where I wanted to hit. In the end, I believe my problem was at some point I stopped trusting the bow.

I just bought a slightly used bow that was all set up & can shoot it better than my old bow of 10 years. Of course my new bow is much more forgiving (8.25" brace compared to 6"), but I trust the arrow is going right where I aim the bow. It's much more enjoyable to shoot now.

[Banditto]

I hear ya. I have gone through bouts of it. But mine are high target freezes which are scarier than low target. I think I figured out that when it was happening I wasn't bending at the waist and trying to force my form to help alleviate the problem--which was making it worse.

[Trushot_Archer]

Stop and take a deeeeeep Breath :D

There are answers, but they take time and commitment.
Back tension, and a new "thinking" and programming" on the release if you can't do back tension are options. Plenty more but you have to commit. PM me of you want the evil cure forever :D

[DANN09]

To cure target panic. Start only 5 yrds from the target and hold the pin on the bull. Shoot 5 arrows and then move back 5 more yrds. and shoot 5 more always holding the pin on the bull as long as posible. Keep doing this till You get to your normal practice distance.

[TnRidge]

I read an article by Randy Ulmer on this ,and he said to move your torso instead of trying to raise your arm . It worked for me !

[mecheadSR]

For those who have it bad, as trushot said back tension release's are the only way to go, you can talk to the mind all you want but you will almost alway's go back to target panic.

[SR-Mechead]

[QUOTE=mecheadSR]For those who have it bad, as trushot said back tension release's are the only way to go, ]

I have seen people pull up and keep going right off thr target and release. I have made clickers for target shooters I have made clickers that will work for hunting,but the best thing to do is try a back tension release. Gary what was the name of the one that helped you the most. Stana what. :)

[safetreehunt]

I haven't been shooting that many years, but I thought I was reading about me here. Holy cow there's even a name for it, and dang it, I got it too. Good pointers I'll try the torso move tonite, but I don't know what a back tension release is? Any photos?

[twohand]

A back tension release, releases when you relax your finger rather than squeezing a trigger.

[TnRidge]

Back tension releases are a good way to help with target panic when used over a period of time , but they should not be used for hunting .The last thing you want is a surprise release at the moment of truth .

[NorthJeff]

Back tension releases are great, but you will eventuall punch those as well if you don't first master aiming.

In our attempt to hold on the target as steady as possible, we sometimes begin to "punch" the release when our mind tells us we are on. This is a viscous downward spiral. I had panic bad about 8 years ago, for a couple of years and the way I beat it was to shoot at a blank bale, practing form, but not really aiming at anything in particular. I did that for weeks, and every once and a while I'd see if I could hold on a target...a butter lid, spot, whatever. What I found was that I couldn't!....until one day. When that happened on that day, when I could finally hold on the target and shoot, I was very excited! I remember the event very vividly and from that day on I have beat "target panic".

It took lots of time and patience, but it finally worked. I also feel shooting 3D is better for someone with panic than spots as you are fixated more on a sometimes imaginary area, as opposed to a visual spot.

Good Luck! I've also shot 1000's of arrows indoors at 5-6' at a blank bale as well...positive reinforcement is critical.

[magnumhntr]

I went through a period of target panic a few years ago, and for me, shooting with both eyes open cured it. Now I shoot that way, and have eliminated the target panic, and it helped me to concentrate on picking a spot better on a deer. Try it and see if it helps....

[Banditto]

I wish I could remember who exactly wrote this, but I read a book by a sports psycologist on archery who coached for the olympics. The book said that archery among other sports uses a part of the brain that focus's concentration. So when you are shooting bad from target panic some other part of your brain took over somehow. So you need to retrain your brain to shoot.

One exercise was to practice shooting from a balance beam. Anybody can walk on a balance beam right? But how bout 100 feet up, or how about over molten lava--you get the idea.

So they would setup a balanace beam 2 feet up and practice shooting, then raise it to 4 feet, then 6. Eventually you could shoot like that no matter what was going on.

I wonder if there is a tie-in to why I shoot better from a tree stand?

[Trushot_Archer]

I'll start by saying I'm not a coach, or a Pro or anything like that but I have read quite a bit on the subject and the ideas I'll post are not mine but Bernie Pellerites as taken from his book..."Idiot Proof Archery"

I highly reccomend it if your having issues with target panic.

Here's a few ideas though....

Brain can't do two things at once. Like say, thinking of "Aim" and "pull the trigger" at the same time. Impossible to do, so what happens is when we actually pull the trigger with a conscious mind....we are no longer aiming.

We need to make the release sequence SUBCONSCIOUS and be made to run on autopilot without thinking about it. To do this takes time and practice.

First change what you anticipate when you shoot. By that I mean....chances are, when you release THAT is your conclusion of the release sequence. We all know that peeking or dropping the bow arm can have significant effect on accuraccy so change your thinking of "I'm done now".

If you shoot a release...make the ending of your shot sequence bringing the release back and toching your ear or shoulder. Do it every single time no matter what. THAT is the end and even if you start to anticipate it...by than the arrow is away from the bow and you can't adversley effect it.

Blind bale shooting. 3-4-5 yards. BIG bale. Don't aim. In fact close your eyes so long as your sure you'll hit the target and not fling one nto the neighboors pool.

Focus ONLY on the release sequence. If your using an adjustable trigger set it to heavy. Now draw, anchor (don't aim) rest your finger on the trigger and put about half the pressure it takes to release it on you finger.
No transfer the holding weight to your back (try to at least) and begin to Squeeze your shoulder blades together. You finger SHOULD NOT MOVE on the trigger...let you back muscles pull your entire arm very slowly and deliberatley away from the bow while keeping steady pressure on the trigger.

BANG! The shot will scare you. It's supposed to and if you were aiming you'll think "this sucks" as you hit no where NEAR where you aimed.

Don't worry. Your not supposed to. Do this at 3-5 yards 20-30 minutes a day 4-5 days a week for a month and a half. (told ya it wasn't a quick fix)

The idea is to ingrain the release sequence into your muscle memory and subconsious so that you can focus totally and completely on "AIM".

Eventually....you'll draw, anchor, aim and think "Start the sequence" or "Start the fire" or whatever. You won't fire right away because the sequence will take btw 2-6 seconds (average). Now the release is on auto pilot and all you do is aim aim aim aim aim.

when you get it down...you should develop a rythem of sorts and have buddy time you with a stopwatch from draw to release. You'll see that EVERY time you make a good shot it was exactly X seconds. Now if you go past your personal comfort zone in that rythem....let down and start all over.

This is just the tip of the iceberg here though. It's much more detailed and there's a lot more to it but this IS the sure fire way to rid yourself of it forever.

[mecheadSR]

:yeahthat: , Aiming is the biggest problem of target practice because we are concentrating so hard on a specific target, learn to put the pin on the target and then focus on pulling through the shot, this takes your mind off of the aiming part so your pin stay's right were you want it to stay. As trushot said it should be a suprise release if you do it right and after time you will refine your skills to were it will just become habit, it certainly put the fun back in hunting for me again.

[Hipskindt]

It got so bad for me I put the bow down for a few years. I am back on track now (knock on wood). I found that starting real close working my way back helped. I really broke the spell by putting a slight bend in my elbow. I don't know why but it allowed me to raise and lower the pin a lot easyer.
I am no expert but it might be worth a try if you hit a wall.

Tom