Hey folks. I' m wondering if anybody has a solution for Target Panic where a finger shooter is involved? I' ve been bowhunting since 1985 and love the sport. But, I got bit by the competition bug in 1995 and developed a very bad case of target panic. I started out competing in 3-D shoots and was very successful, then Field Archery, then Indoor Archery. It was in the indoor archery aspect of things that I developed this malady that is killing me. I' m afflicted in two ways. One, I sometimes can' t get the right pin on target. When this happens, I hold steady, but freeze the right pin off the target. The other way, happens more often, is I get on target, then can' t stop shaking. I usually pull the shot off, or flinch really bad. It sucks. I stopped shooting all together a couple of years ago because of this thinking that in time, I could pick it back up. Well, I went and shot a fun shoot on a 3-D course the other day, no competition, no pressure, just for the heck of it. I took four of my arrows from my previous shooting days and lost all four of them after the 7th target. Had four misses in a row. Needless to say, my confidence was totally shot after that. I used to go to tournaments and use one arrow for the entire event.

I don' t want to shoot with a release aid, as I' ve tried them before and never liked them. I want to get back to the level of shooting I was before. I' ve read books, watched some videos and nothing helps.

Any ideas? I refuse to go hunting until I get over this as I don' t want to wound an animal.