Ok, when I shoot, my head is going in ....Oh, I don't know....15 different places at once. I set my stance, stare at the target, draw, anchor, then it all breaks loose. My brain tells me all kinds of things.......Don't forget to use your back, keep your arm straight, relax, relax, relax, oh yeah, don't forget to breath....Then I pretty much fall apart...

So my question for you is this. How do you control the mental aspect of your shooting?

LOL! If you ever see me shoot you will know that I don't control it!

I don't think,I just step up and shoot. I don't know why or how I got into that pattern but I really don't think about it, I just shoot.

dont think about it. i found that after i got a good solid form and anchor points that i repeated 1000 times and felt comfortable and natural i no longer HAD to think. no longer had to check the sight level because i KNEW it was level..no longer had that mental check list...when i was at my peak this summer it was 100% natural..draw..settle the pin and the arrow was there. it just felt natural when i did things right..and i could FEEL when i was doing something diffrent. took ALOTof practice to get there..and every so many shots id run the check list..grip, sight picture, anchor, sight level etc..i just got in a grove and went with it...

i dont know what the proper thing to do or anything is...thats just what worked for me...my first year of self taught archery...i wasnt perfect...but i was happy with my groups at 35 and 40yds...

Every spring I go to a deer farm close to home and go out and walk around the deer. Also have a lot of metroparks in area with alot of deer go and stalk the closer I get the more that break down goes away.

I've got a mantra I repeat after I come to full draw;

"Pick a spot, breathe, float the pin, breathe, pull through the shot, breathe, sque..."

I usually either release at this point or let down. The shot either feels good or it doesn't and when it doesn't I let down.

I wish I could just go on autopilot and have everything connect, but it just doesn't work like that [for me].

You don't and you can't. I do notice though, if a good shooter, slammer etc., pops up out of no-where, presents himself immediately within range, relatively quickly...I can pull off the shotreal smooth,without having to think about it too much. These are always my best shots........On the other hand when a large buck gets within eyesight, slightly out of range, and makes you watch him for 15 min., it's enough to give a man a coronary. You know, the one that will stare in your direction, not allowing you even blink your eyes, then slowly walking within range (meanwhile your staring at a set of antlers that only have been seen in your dreams...until now). By the time he gets to you, your heart isbeating so hard that it'smoving simultaniously with your lighted pin![&o].[:'(]..........Ithink everyone has a little buck fever in them.

If buck fever ever goes away, shoot me. I love my wife and I love my kids, but that moment that you feel it hit......it is my drug and I am a hopeless junkie
As far as control, Try what WashingtonHunter said. Develop a simple repitition. There is comfort and control in repitition. Mine starts with the draw: In my mind, I say smooooth, anchor, pin, breath and squeeze....
Each word represents a group of actions that is unconscious due to practice.

P.S. I got buck fever so bad when I stalked my avatar buck, I had to sit down and put my head between my legs to keep from passing out!!!

im pretty much the same as WH

This might sound funny but I like to sing a song in my head. I do it all the time when I trapshoot (since trapshooting is my second life) and found that it works just as well when shooting my bow. Give it a try, you won't be able to stop after youdo.