Does he strictly hunt for bucks? If so, encourage him to shoot does as well. I'm not saying that it is OK to wound does....not by any means so anyone reading this please dont misinterpret me. What I am saying is that he may not be as "nervous" or excited about does and if he gets a few good kills under his belt he would be less likely to be nervous when mr. big comes by.

I believe there is no subsitute for the real thing.

Just an idea that I believe has helped me.

Wow........this is unbelievable !! The guy I started bowhunting with was the same way for several years ! He actually out shot me on targets regularly...........but hunting was completely the opposite ! I killed probably 6 bucks and 4 does before he ever recovered a single deer ! Talk about adding insult to injury !

I think he was about to quit bowhunting when he finally got one !

I think he had finally reached a point of frustration...........where he was so convinced he was going to screw up .........that he finally made a calm shot !!

I really feel like (for years) .........he would get so excited .....he wouldn't pick a spot ! I "think" he was just getting the pin ON the deer and punching the trigger !

He's killed 3 in a row now (all does).........so I think he has it licked now !!

He's got to learn to relax. He must be rushing the shots or taking bad shots. He has to take a last second to ask himself if the sight picture he has is what he wants. He MUST relax and follow through. Probably gripping the bow hard and all kinds of things. You can video all you want and coach all you want, but he really has to be the one to calm down and over come his bad habits at the moment of truth.

Tell him to envision shooting his own dog the next time he draws on a deer. That will make the shot very deliberate.

Being videoed has a very calming effect on me. I was amazed at how calm I was the first time I was on video several years ago. I can't identify the reasoning but for some reason nerves are non-existent for me when there is someone else is in the tree. I am sure there is some psychological explination for this (though I may not want to know what it is[8D]) It's worth a shot though.