Primitive psychotrigger?

[Christian Soldier]

Often times I let my mind go 'blank' when I'm shooting and sometimes that helps with target panic. Not worrying about the next shot or anything else, just this one arrow and its meeting with the target.

I usually draw as inhale, breath out a bit just after I reach full draw, and release. If I hold my breath, I know my shot was off.

[dmc]

Target panic is BRUTAL!!! I had it so bad that I left archery for at least five years. It was so dibilitating, that I was afraid to shoot a bow. I struggled with pulling a 30 pound bow to draw. No target? No problem. Target? Huge problem. Someone mentioned Jay Kidwells book on target panic, and that the only thing that helped me. The drills that he uses certainly helped bring the fun back into archery for me. I would literately shake like a leaf trying so desperately to pull my bow back. I figured at six feet, 195 pounds I could do it easily. Nope! Pretty discouraging. I missed the same deer a couple years back five times in two weeks. It still rears its ugly head, which just forces me to relax, visualize the shot, and try and block out all else but the shot.
 
I think the thing that helped me the most was to practice shooting by holding the shot as i passed over the target. I would purposely move my bow arm over the target, coming from all different directions, letting my string hand down in between each pull. Only when I was calm would I shoot. It might be six or seven times moving back and forth, or it could be three.

[Lee Lobbestael]

DMC, a psychotrigger might really help in your situation if tp ever flares up again.

[dmc]

Lee, I tried a clicker for about a year, but all it did was make me anxious waiting for the click to happen. I just have to revert back to Kidwell's book, and it seems to work for me. When I said I had it bad.....it really was an understatement!! I could not pull my bow back more than about 20 inches. I'm sure if someone was watching me, I'm sure it would look like Superman holding some krptonite. I'm sure they heard me saying in slow motion"can't .......pull..........back"

I finally get to enjoy archery again. For a while though, I thought I was a goner. I shot my friends compound ok, but was not interested in going down that road.

PeteC .....I feel your pain. Get a hold of some good videos or a good target panic book. PM me, and I can let you know the website where I got mine from.

Dave - dmc

[PeteC]

Thanks y'all. I have yet to buy the video,but have been reading up on different types of the affliction,and although I don't feel like I am much closer to whipping it yet,I have done something,and see a little hope. The root of the problem seems to be subtle changes I made in my form,because,one of the things that occurred to me was ,that it seemed something was a little different with each shot.(no consistency). As several of y'all had mentioned form as an issue,I have gone back to the basics. GF Asbell just wrote a very good piece on "push and pull"shooting along with maintaining constant back tension and a fairly low draw arm.It is helping with VERY focused practice. I have to concentrate so hard on the back tension to keep the string in the corner of my mouth,that my aiming is becoming sub-conscious,SOMETIMES.    I am able to lock on target pretty good out to 15 yards,where before it had to be 5 yards or less.(I killed a pig at 25 yards a couple of weeks ago and that was nothing short of Devine intervention. This is so frustrating because I have been very confident to 40 yards up to a year ago.)
Thanks Lee, I read the TG forum "reality check",and got some ideas. I attempted the psychotrigger,but my release fired when I would begin to move my finger toward my thumb.I never made it.
I'll keep y'all posted if I have a break through that might help someone else.  Thanks and God Bless