Can't Holding Steady

[SmokinVFT]

Im having trouble holding my pins on target. I haven't noticed it untilltoday when i went out to pratice. My pins are going all over the place and i have to wait till the pin moves over the bullseye to hit anything. Is this the start of target panic?

[Monie]

Hmmm...Has this been a problem before? Do you shoot with a straight arm or with your elbow bent? If you don't shoot with your elbow bent, try it. Afterall you don't shoot a gun with a straight arm, do you?

Try coming from the bottom up. Stop once your pin hits the target and hold it there a little longer than you normally do. Then let down. Repeat this. It should help retrain your brain.

[Rick James]

Umm yes. Typically after one has shot a while and somewhat developed the muscles to shoot properly many things can cause you to have too much sight movement. Usually it's form or the lack of using your body's bone to support your shot, but it can be a few other things too including draw length (which affects form) and some other stuff too. Once you get to the point that you can't trust your sight picture movement or float, you begin timing the shot and attempting to "drive by" when floating by the X. Anticipation of floating across the X can do horrible things sometimes........[8D]

[Arthur P]

Maybe your string/cables have elongatedand increased the bow's draw length. That'd be my first guess as to why your aim just suddenly started getting unstable.

[gibblet]

like rick said, if you're dropping your bow arm instead of aiming w/ your hips/shoulders, its very hard to hold the bow steady.

[KBacon]

Also concentrate on the spot you're aiming at. The pin will float no matter what you do... but if you concentrate on what you're trying to hit... you'll be amazed at how many times you hit it... even when the pin appears to be way off target. You can't hold the pin still.. so quit trying.

A few other things... your draw length may be too long.. which is quite common.. or you may be pulling more weight than you can comfortably handle... which is also quite common.

Another trick is to try shooting at longer distances than you're used to. Like 50 or 60 yds... or further. You'll be amazed at how easy it makes the 20 and 30 yd shots.

[stealthman]

A longer heavier stabilizer will help to make your bow aim better,it will stop the pin from darting around and it will tend tojust "Float" on the target.
As suggested above be sure that your draw length is not to long (better a littleshort than to long) and dont over do it on the poundage.
You may also want to get up close to the practice butt and shoot a few arrows with your eyes closed........just practice shooting with good form.......dont worry about where the arrow hits!
When you step back to shoot at your regular distance`s tell yourself its ok to aim........try to relaxe and have fun.........Iv been down that road with target panic and seen others with it.....hope this helps!!!!!!!!

[BGfisher]

Some very good advice by everybody. KBacon hit on a couple things. Draw length and peak weight can play havoc with aiming, especially if the draw length is too long, which is very very common. Tweaking draw length can be critical for steady aiming. There is always a sweet spot where you'll be rock steady. Even 1/8" can sometimes make a heck of a difference.

Couple that with too much weight and things can get ugly. Target panic can creep up on you. The trick to this is to recognize it and admit that it is happening. We are all susceptable to it. The idea is to NOT deny it. If you do then you'll end up forcing the issue and making things worse.

Best idea? Tweak the draw length, lighten up the weight, and learn to aim the bow. Train the brain, because that's where the problems arise.
Work on shooting form---one arrow at a time. Learn to shoot the bow. Let the bow shoot the arrow.