I went through a period of that about 13 years ago. I' d shot NFAA competitive bowhunter class a couple of years and switched back to BHFSL. All of a sudden, I couldn' t get a pin in the dot to save my butt and, when I did, it suprized me so bad I snap shot at the target.

The harder I tried to do better, the worse I got. You say that fun shoot was no pressure. BALONEY!! You were pressuring yourself and you know it.

I tried blank bale shooting. I tried shooting with my eyes closed. I tried holding on target without shooting. I tried a release. But when it came time to put that pin in the dot and let go of the string, I' d get the shakes. Nothing I did on the target range did a flippin' thing to help. Target panic + target range = More target panic. More target panic, the more pressure you put on yourself to do better.

I don' t know if it will help YOU because we' re all different, but it did help me. I got into my archery box, dug out my judo points and started stump shooting. It was amazing that I could put a pin on a certain leaf, hold on it as long as I wanted and drill that sucker every time. About six months of that and my confidence was restored. I KNEW I could still hold and shoot. Get back on the target course though, and I' d fall to pieces.

I had to also change my focus. I did not go to a tournament expecting to win, or thinking I need to shoot some minimum score, or thinking I had to beat the score I' d shot last time. I went to enjoy shooting, and to enjoy the company of others that enjoyed shooting. I started having fun again, and I started bringing home trophies again.

At some point in there, I discovered the wonders of the act of letting down when the shot didn' t feel right.

It' s not going to be easy to get over it. In fact, I don' t think anyone that has a severe case of TP ever does fully recover. But you can still enjoy shooting. If you' ll take the pressure off yourself, that is.

Just remember that the last arrow you shot is ancient history. It' s gone. No going back to do it over. The only arrow you have to concern yourself with is the one on your bow RIGHT NOW. Take a deep breath, let it out slowly and focus. Draw, aim, execute the shot.

And don' t stand there for freakin' ever aiming the $%^! thing. Anyone that aims more than 10 seconds needs to either shoot or let down and start over.

If all else fails, find yourself a coach. Best of luck to you.

Actually, come to think of it, a coach should NOT be a last resort. Find one!