I bought an HTR and loved it. HHA site and whisker biscuit with a Scott little bitty goose release. Got involved in 3D and then some coaching and the fun was zapped. I bought a lens, 10.8 stab kit, drop away rest, thumb release, etc. Was drilling Xs regularly at 40 and when I got excited I threw money at it and now can't consistently keep it in the 8s. Went for a lesson Saturday and shot so bad he took me off the target and had me shooting blank bales. 6' tall targets and I put one 8' up into his wall backstop. Half of me thought about putting everything back to simple and the other half didn't give a crap about it anymore. A guy at church offered to buy my rig and case yesterday and it actually felt like a relief. I tried to shoot a few arrows this afternoon and at arrow 3, I was miserable. Anyone else go thru that and give up? How long did it last?
Relax. Shooting is fun. You're putting yourself under too much pressure. When I find myself in the "pressure" mode, I just go out in the back yard and shoot at a bunch of different targets by myself. Heck I've even done for myself, what I do for kids when getting them into the fun of archery........... I shoot balloons! And if the wind is blowing, I laugh at myself when the wind and the balloon team up and beat me! (but I always get that darned balloon in the end!)
What you've got is loosely referred of as 'target panic'. It comes in many forms but has affected some of the great names in bowhunting at one time or another. I've always had a bit of it myself but lately it has gotten worse. I'm really gonna work on controlling it this summer and it will be part of my storyline for 'bowhunt or die' this season. My program is going to include both subliminal audio and stripping down my entire shooting process and basically starting over fresh. If you google target panic it will give you loads of information on it. Also keep an eye on the show and you will be able to follow my progress as well.
This winter, I took everything off of my bow besides the rest, and learned how to properly shoot a hinge release and then a thumb release. Shooting a bales is the best way to overcome target panic. I shot at the bales for about two weeks until my instructor believed I was ready to add a sight and start aiming at a large black target 10 yards away. After that, I've slowly graduated until I can now shoot any distance without target panic. It is a long, sometimes extremely slow process, but I promise, when you get done, you will enjoy shooting more than ever before!! Every shot feels like a dream now.
I once too went all out on all the gadgets. did the same thing as you are describing. I simplified everything with a basic hunting rig and that got me back in tune. I found I was worrying about every little thing that had to be right before making my shot. It was a real distraction. I gave up competitive shooting though I want to get back into it again someday for fun. money shooting put too much pressure on shooting. now I practice for hunting and it is much more simplified. my suggestion is to take a month off completely and take a break. this will clear your head. then practice for fun for a while before you start competing again. hopefully the break will help you realize how fun it is just to shoot. good luck!
Yea.. Just sounds like you got target panic and it's causing you to loose the fun. I can say target shooting does get boring and I do have a small case of target panic myself. (I'm back down to 4 arrows since I shoot quite a bit in my basement). Though, at that point, I know why I'm missing and on the next shot, just relax and let the bow shoot itself and I'm back to driving nails from all over again. It's really a mind getting all amp'ed up and then jumping to get ready for the shot, thinking too much. That's all.
You are taking it too seriously. Shooting a bow should be fun. When it becomes not fun is when it seems like target panic rears its ugly head. You can either work past it as these guys suggested or be a quitter. Only you can decide that.
After sleeping on it and getting to the office and reading these responses this AM, I've calmed a bit. Two weeks ago today I was shooting my HTR, WB and a 9" TR static stab and drilling my Xs. Although about 3 weeks ago I did ad a 4X lens to my HHA and lucky enough to not need a clarifier and it did improve my shooting since I could actually see the target at 30 and beyond. Two weeks ago today I bought a NAP Apache and I had some issues, mainly how it was loaded. Spent Wed-Sat trying to get a QAD pro tuned and timed and it just wouldn't. Spent the last two hours of daylight going back to an old WB before buying a limb driven rest about 10PM and going to a shoot at 8AM the next morning with a rest not fully in tune. Shot badly in that shoot. The little time that's past I've added a 10.8 stab kit, Stan SX3, etc. I live in TN and have a big audit of a client in Chicago and I'm leaving tomorrow morning and be back late Sunday night, so I'll be taking a break. I think I'll put the bow back like I had it and just lay off the 3D the rest of the summer. I wonder if adding that lens magnified some pin dance I never realized before a lens? May take that off and see. Thanks for the support!
****ens relax. Let me tell you what adding all that stuff to your bow did. It increased your confidence and as a result you shot better. Now your confidence is faltering and its impacting your shooting. Leave your equipment on your bow and get back to the basics as far as shooting form goes. Make sure you are not punching the trigger or anticipating the shot as that will kill your accuracy. The next time you shoot don't go out with the expectations i=of shooting Xs just shoot for fun but make sure you are in good form and concentrate on the shot itself. Record your shots and see if there us a pattern in the impacts. If there is then it could help lead you to the problem. The problem could also be you as stated above. Just remember why you are shooting. You are not making a living doing this I don't think. Get back to those reasons and enjoy shooting. Dont give up! Hang in there and start making those Xs disappear again.
I like your plan of action. I found my self headed in the same direction. I just didn't go as far down the path as you did before I realized what was happening. I made up my mind to simplify my shooting and to put everything I do within the context of hunting. I cut back to a 3 pin sight, limit my shot distance to what I would actually consider taking at an animal, and at 3D shoots, I will move to a closer flag "If I feel like I wouldn't take that shot if it were a real animal.". In which case, I wouldn't turn in my score card. When you take away scores, shooting becomes fun again.
Maybe with the better equipment you came to expect perfection and depended less on form which turned into target panic. Theres some great videos out there on how to combat target panic. I went to a hinge release and it helps. No one likes to not shoot good especially when you drop money on new equipment.
I have a good mind to take some of this stuff back. I paid a little over $1800 counting shipping for this special jumpsuit garranteed to cure target panic and it hasn't helped, plus I think it's made cheaply and falling apart. The fur liner is coming unglued on the inside of the helmet portion. The boots that came with it has the heel 3" taller on the left heel for a RH shooter and I can't see where that has helped me any. Basically it just hurts my back and makes it hard walking to retrieve arrows. Plus you have to shave your legs and I just feel greasy when I take it off. Only problem is I lost the metallic pendulum that goes down your back, hopefully I can get a refund.
Well, I'm not a quitter so I won't give up. It's like I tell my son - I've never lost at anything, I've been a little behind when time ran out, but not lost.
I did the same thing as you. Got a bow and started shooting. I enjoyed it and it became a stress reliever. I shot everyday and got really good. Kept a good group at 60 yards. Then I started to push myself and turned it into a job and thats when my target panic set in and it was no longer fun. Made me want to turn my bow into a bark density tester. Definitely had to take a step back and refocus my intentions.
I've been thinking about this since my horrible lesson Saturday and you're exactly right. I was a shooter and hunter who enjoyed a little 3D. I started having a bit of success and got too serious about it like it was a job. I used to envy people who got to hunt for a living, for example, not sure I do any more.
This is a great place to be, in my opinion. Once I step outside this box, archery starts to loose some of its fun factor.
I'm sure you know how to fix yourself. But I would add that I really like that drill where you hold your pin on the target for several seconds and then let down while not firing to be extremely helpful.
