All I can say is LOST
 

Hey all,
I contimplated on posting tonight but bottom line I am feeling really lost. I have been fighting some target panic issues for the past few months now. I have probably blown up $200 dollars worth of arrows and almost feel like I will never shoot a bow again. I have made archery hunting my passion and up until my last bow purchase September of 2007 I always had fun shooting. Now I am struggling to enjoy myself. I have been mixing in some closed eye shooting at close range and feel like I have complete control with that. I then do some draw backs without arrow realease and can hold on target for 10 seconds. As soon as I go to release after all the preparation I revert back to holding low and punching the trigger. I am not a quitter but my happiness has left me. Any suggestions is appreciated. I want shooting my bow to be fun again.

Chris

RE: All I can say is LOST
 

What kind of release are you using? If not a back tension, I know a few people who have cured target panic by going that route.

RE: All I can say is LOST
 

Finally..I have someone on here that had the sickness I had....

I will not go into a long drawn out discussion...but here is how I fixed it....remember...you're fighting you brain on this...

Draw...hold on the target...and make a fist with the finger away from the release just hold there and relax....when you move your finger to shoot....just say....I have to hit in the zone....tell yourself you're not going to shoot but you really are gonna shoot....over and over I made the fist...and I bit my target fright....

RE: All I can say is LOST
 

I have not tried back tension but I have heard that you learn a different type of flinch with the BT release.

RE: All I can say is LOST
 

I'll give it a try .

[Deleted]
 

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RE: All I can say is LOST
 

no wonder I never had this problem:D

RE: All I can say is LOST
 

It is definitely a mental thing.I shot pure back tension for about three years to conquer it.If I could provide any advice at all it would be to relax firstly and secondly let the bow know whose boss meaning that just because you draw the bow doesn't mean you have to release an arrow.If you are not relaxed and under perfect control let down.
Professional archers let down all the time,you run the show not your punching index finger.Plenty of articles and books available to help with this,PM me if you would like the titles or authors names.

RE: All I can say is LOST
 

OK guys. I have no idea what target panic is. Can someone explain it to me?

RE: All I can say is LOST
 

I have had it for years. Worst of it was a season in which no matter what I did, I could not hold a pin on a deer to save my life. That was the year that forced me to switch to a release. I went with a middle finger trigger to get the best of both a trigger and back tension. A combination of that, and this exercise got me out of it: Draw and hold on a target, letting down several times. Now, have someone stand with you when you draw and aim, with them understanding that they should randomly tell you to "let down" or "shoot" after you tell them you are on target solid. You cannot shoot unless they say so. Keep the session at close range. Repeat for several sessions. When you go back solo, still draw, hold, and let down often.

This will get you back on track, but only temporarily. You can NEVER completely shake it, it will always be there to some degree.

When mine comes back, and it does many times a year, I simply adjust the trigger travel and tension on my release which throws off my subconscious memorization of when the release will fire. Back to a suprise release allows me to concentrate again only on aiming and not on firing the release.

Hope this helps.