This will be my sophmore year for bowhunting full time. Last year was phenomenal. I was shooting groups at 60 yards with all arrows touching, consistently. My first time ever at a 3D course with some guys from work and I placed out in the top 5 overall. I didn't even have to think about it... I would walk out my garage, knock an arrow, figure a distance as I'm drawing back, and drop an arrow directly into the center of my target. Hunting was great. If it had not been for a tiny branch I would have had 2 nice mature does... I was on top of the archery world.... I never stopped shooting but I did slow down. A little over a month ago we had a 3D tournament that was sponsored by my company. I heard afterwards that I was actually favored to win... over many guys that have shot for 15+ years and had dedicated target bows. I flat out shot terrible. I've actually never shot so bad in my life. Just days before I ordered 2 packs of knocks because I was breaking them off. What had happened!? I never stopped shooting. I didn't shoot as much, 2-3 days a week vs. 5-6, but it was starting to get way stinking hot out. So, I went and got the arrows that were proven so great what seems long ago. Now it seems I'm torquing the bow bad. Shooting a 5 arrow spread, I'll get 1 really good arrow where everything goes right. 40 yards and dead center bullseye. The rest are spread out over the target. Any suggestions? I have a back tension release but I'm not really struggling with target panic. Do I just shoot through it? I've been trying to shoot more and take my time, but it's barely getting better... Thanks guys for the help.
Relax and stop trying to be so exact. You heard some hype and tried to live up to it and now you are pressing. Stop worrying about getting a robin hood every shot and try and relax, feel your body go into position/anchor and just shoot the target. Aim for the whole target while you are warming up, not a spot. I would even get real close and just shoot with my eyes closed. Draw, anchor, feel your body set and release. Try to find your rythym again.
Also maybe get back to the basics. Move up and shoot at say 20 or 30 yards and don't move back till you are shooting like you you want and get your confidence back. Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
Thanks Bruce and Brad, good advice and I appreciate it. Hopefully just venting helped as well. I did move back up. I was shooting 40 tonight but I will move back up to 20-25 tomorrow.
Recently I hit a big slump after being a pretty consistent shooter for the last year or so. I didnt know what was going wrong, just holding my bow felt foreign. I wasnt nearly as steady and I was really all over the target. Finally, I found the problem. It wasnt really my focus or my equipment, I just got lazy with my grip. During my slump, I was holding my bow really deep in my palm, I didnt even realize it until my shooting started getting really poor. After adjusting and moving it back to the lower part of my thumb, everything changed. My steadiness was better than ever and my shots were way more consistent. For me, it was something really simple. Not saying I am an Olympian now by any means, but my crappy shooting became respectable in just a few targets.
I agree with bruce. Nothing physical has changed in your shooting. IMO you need to chill out, relax and shoot stress free. It's amazing what the mind can do to the body. Especially with something like target interaction and having your mind and body work together to achieve that. I don't want to get all Zen on ya lol, but there really is something to be said about it (same in golf which is more similar to archery than people think). Shoot 10 yards for awhile, shoot with your eyes closed and feel the shot, shoot just to have fun shooting. Forget about living up to expectations or being as good as you were. And if all else fails it's as easy as this........................ Hit the spot you're aiming for. Keep it that simple.
