Have you ever had the YIPS

[rkcdvm]

I had to take a break from archery after hunting season. Time just didn't allow for it. I was doing pretty well last year with shooting and I was shooting 3-4 days a week at the range. Fast forward to late March I picked up my bows to shoot and man it was bad. Arrow flight is good, paper tears are good, its not my bows. My pins are floating all over the place and my target panic is bad.
After a couple of weeks I started getting over the target panic . My hunting bows feel fine and my target bow I got 80% mods and cranked them all down to 60 lbs from 70 (my target bow was 70%). I'm about to start working with a coach again.
Anyone ever go from shooting pretty dang well to everything falling apart? I know archery and shooting sports in general are perishable skills . I never would have thought 3 months would have made such a difference.

 

[Billy Goat]

Archery is 90% mental, and the rest is just in your head.


Shooting past where you can hold, or I should say shooting in a way that your mind isn't comfortable with the float it's seeing is a sure way to drum up problems in a hurry.

Shoot less for a while up close, on a large target face. If you feel like you are starting to push it, stop. You will ingrained bad habits way faster than you can loose them.


I have seen several people start to fall apart in only a week or 2 just from being sick. Float opens up from loosing some strength, trying to force things and the dreaded TP surfaces.

 

[Taudisio]

I shot a deer in August and hadn’t touched my bow until this April/turkey season. No practicing. Bird came in and I must have held full draw for 45secs-1.5 mins before I shot him. No issues. I agree with Billy, it’s mostly a mental game.

 

[Jbehredt]

Shoot short for awhile and see if the easy sight picture resets things. Resist the urge to stretch it out. I shoot a lot of arrows in my basement (10 yards) for this very reason.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Yep. Target panic is no fun. Many say it doesn't affect them. There are some that it truly doesn't affect.

I get it BAD with my trad bow. Joel Turner has the only answer I've found to work for longer than a few weeks. As a matter of fact, his dope has always been the way I get back out of that crap.

 

[nphunter]

I get it pretty often for a shot or two when I start to get tired or I haven’t been shooting a lot. I try to just speak to myself when shooting and keep my concentration on my shot execution and not on the float. Honestly I can’t even tell you what my float looks like 99% of the time because I set the pin on the target and just start staring at the bullseye and telling myself to pull, pull, pull, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze over and over. (Loudly in my head) This works well for me.

I also like to shoot targets far enough away I can’t see my groups until I walk up to them. I feel like it gets in my head more knowing where I hit each time.

I also don’t adjust anything unless I’m noticing a trend. Sometimes I’ll shoot great groups but be low with everything, either from a form error or maybe dropping my bow arm. The next day everything might be perfect in the middle. If more days are low than in the middle I will make a small adjustment.

Sometimes I’ll just have a crap day and I’ll just put the bow away after a few groups to keep from getting frustrated.

 

[mattflipper]

Get a resistance release and give it a few weeks. Game changer. Get close and focus on your form and your release, ignore the impact. Don’t rush it. You’re in a battle with your brain and nothing physical. Been there and have dealt with this over the past 20 years.

 

[fulldraw71]

Sometimes I need to put the bow down and go get my mind off things and pick it back up an hour or two later. Or maybe later in the day. Today I was killing it and a passerby stopped to talk as I was nocking another arrow. He wouldn’t shut up so I tried to get rid of him and drew back. He stood there and watched me shoot at 40. I missed. Then again and he wouldn’t leave so thank god I was out of arrows. I went up pull arrows and he left. I get in my zen and all it takes is a distraction and I’m all messed up. Archery is 90% mental. I’m working on my mental game

 

[rkcdvm]

Sometimes I need to put the bow down and go get my mind off things and pick it back up an hour or two later. Or maybe later in the day. Today I was killing it and a passerby stopped to talk as I was nocking another arrow. He wouldn’t shut up so I tried to get rid of him and drew back. He stood there and watched me shoot at 40. I missed. Then again and he wouldn’t leave so thank god I was out of arrows. I went up pull arrows and he left. I get in my zen and all it takes is a distraction and I’m all messed up. Archery is 90% mental. I’m working on my mental game

Normal chit chat in the background never bothers me but I can totally see that situation bugging me for sure . I don’t really get buck fever anymore but if someone was doing something annoying I’m pretty sure my shooting would fall apart . I actually started archery as an outlet to calm my mind . Some reason fishing does that for me . Relatively simple movements that are repetitive and in ideal situations repeatable . I’m sure everyone here is right with it being in my head . When I’m shooting well or even average, I don’t think about any of this stuff because it’s just an automatic process. I think after taking a break from archery , I’m not used to doing it so I am doing a lot of self talk and trying to self diagnose problems and it’s making things worse . At TAC I had to tell myself that I am supposed to be having fun and I shouldn’t care how I am doing . I should care about the fact that I am letting my score affect my mood .
After that my shooting improved a lot . I still need more consistent range time . I do think I should get a coach. I’ve been shooting for about 8 years now and have not had much, if any, formal instruction…. Other than the random YouTube stuff .

Thanks for all of the responses

 

[fulldraw71]

Yeah, you should be having fun or it’s not worth doing on the other hand when you’re having success it becomes more fun. I picked my bow up out of my case on my bedroom floor in October 2022 for the first time in about 10 years. I have shot the snot out of all of my bows in the last Year and a half. I know what it’s like to take a break off. It’s like riding a bike though you never forget you just get rusty.

 

[Beendare]

If by yips you mean target panic….

Every single shooter I know that has been shooting for a decade or more has had target panic.

Some shooters don’t even know they have it.

 

[jimh406]

Most people who've shot a lot have had target panic ... myself included. You can work through it. Shooting less is better. Also, shooting with your eyes shut and focusing not the release helped me. Minimizing changes until you get over it should help.

I'm sure someone has probably written something up step by step. My issues were decades ago.

 

[fulldraw71]

Shooting less is better.

This interesting. I believe sometimes taking a break is good. But what’s a definition of too much shooting? Every day? A certain arrow count per day?

I like to shoot daily but have taken breaks at times. Example got home one night last week and just didn’t feel like getting my bow out so I didnt. It concerned me that I felt that way as I have been through a lot of hobbies in my life and went full bore and after several years I got burnt out and moved on to other things. But archery is something I’ve been fascinated with and into since the late 70s as a young boy. I said to myself taking a break might be healthy.

But again to my earlier question how much is too much AND does it matter if your training at the professional level, for Vegas, for Lancaster, or just a local 3d guy who hunts a little each fall? I always thought the best of the best shot a couple hundred arrows every day.

 

[jimh406]

But again to my earlier question how much is too much AND does it matter if your training at the professional level, for Vegas, for Lancaster, or just a local 3d guy who hunts a little each fall? I always thought the best of the best shot a couple hundred arrows every day.

It's important to make every shot count no matter if you hunt or are a Professional or highly competitive field archer. Obviously, you need enough endurance to make it through the round. Field archery courses are 112 shots. With a bit of warmup, that's going to be close to 150 shots. There is time when walking to targets, and it's not over a few hours.

3D shoots are generally 30-40 at most in a couple of hours. Ideally, the most people should shoot hunting is 1 time.

If you are making sure every shot goes exactly where you want it to, then you probably can't shoot too much. However, my comment was specifically directed toward curing target panic. The more times you shoot the more you anticipate the shot which makes target panic worse.

 

[fulldraw71]

It's important to make every shot count no matter if you hunt or are a Professional or highly competitive field archer. Obviously, you need enough endurance to make it through the round. Field archery courses are 112 shots. With a bit of warmup, that's going to be close to 150 shots. There is time when walking to targets, and it's not over a few hours.

3D shoots are generally 30-40 at most in a couple of hours. Ideally, the most people should shoot hunting is 1 time.

If you are making sure every shot goes exactly where you want it to, then you probably can't shoot too much. However, my comment was specifically directed toward curing target panic. The more times you shoot the more you anticipate the shot which makes target panic worse.

I get what you were saying. So basically if you shoot a lot and you start having issues like that then taking a break for a day or so might refresh you. I know I shoot bad at times like when setting up a new bow or a bow after new strings are installed. I get so invested mentally in setting peeps and nock points and everything else that when I go out to shoot I can’t seem to get in my groove. My best shooting seems to be when I just go pick up my bow and concentrate only on shooting

 

[N2TRKYS]

I’ve never had the yips. I practice about 2 weeks before the season comes in every year. I never practice during the season. After I kill my target buck, I put it up until 2 weeks before next season. Rinse and repeat. Super easy.

 

[fatlander]

Hinge and blank bale.

Anything else will be you just convincing yourself you “fixed” the issue while further perpetuating it, which will make it harder to kick down the road.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ElkArcher918]

I had to take a break from archery after hunting season. Time just didn't allow for it. I was doing pretty well last year with shooting and I was shooting 3-4 days a week at the range. Fast forward to late March I picked up my bows to shoot and man it was bad. Arrow flight is good, paper tears are good, its not my bows. My pins are floating all over the place and my target panic is bad.
After a couple of weeks I started getting over the target panic . My hunting bows feel fine and my target bow I got 80% mods and cranked them all down to 60 lbs from 70 (my target bow was 70%). I'm about to start working with a coach again.
Anyone ever go from shooting pretty dang well to everything falling apart? I know archery and shooting sports in general are perishable skills . I never would have thought 3 months would have made such a difference.

I think archery is alot like golf. You never master perfection you just better over the long haul if you put in the time and practice correctly. Enjoy the Process.

 

[fulldraw71]

I’ve never had the yips. I practice about 2 weeks before the season comes in every year. I never practice during the season. After I kill my target buck, I put it up until 2 weeks before next season. Rinse and repeat. Super easy.

You described me throughout the majority of my archery and bow hunting career, lol which spans back to the early 80s with some time off scattered throughout those years. Since I picked my bow back up a year and a half ago and started again I’ve been shooting like mad. I’ve worn custom strings out from notable makers using bloodline VEC99 on two different bows in about 12 months on each one. I’ve got a new set a buddy built me that I put on a week ago and I’ve been shooting the crap out of them and now I’ve got a torn fiber I just now noticed. In January 2023 I bought a yellow jacket target at Bass Pro shops and by the end of March or the beginning of April, It was so shot up, I had gorilla tape wrapped around it keeping all the guts inside of it. When I called yellow jacket and ask them how long these targets were supposed to last they said I did not have a good enough target for the amount of shooting I was doing. They sold me a big square crossbow target at wholesale cost and shipped it to me free lol!. Between January and April I probably put about 3000 arrows into that target. Then in September, I noticed a hairline splinter in one of my limbs, so I had to hunt with my back up bow and replace the limbs in November on that bow lol. And in February, I bought a replacement cover for this crossbow target because it was so shot up, It was herniated on all four sides lol. So while I used to be like you, I’m finding too much enjoyment in the sport right now to not shoot in the off-season. But dang is it getting more expensive now than it ever was before! Cheers

 

[N2TRKYS]

You described me throughout the majority of my archery and bow hunting career, lol which spans back to the early 80s with some time off scattered throughout those years. Since I picked my bow back up a year and a half ago and started again I’ve been shooting like mad. I’ve worn custom strings out from notable makers using bloodline VEC99 on two different bows in about 12 months on each one. I’ve got a new set a buddy built me that I put on a week ago and I’ve been shooting the crap out of them and now I’ve got a torn fiber I just now noticed. In January 2023 I bought a yellow jacket target at Bass Pro shops and by the end of March or the beginning of April, It was so shot up, I had gorilla tape wrapped around it keeping all the guts inside of it. When I called yellow jacket and ask them how long these targets were supposed to last they said I did not have a good enough target for the amount of shooting I was doing. They sold me a big square crossbow target at wholesale cost and shipped it to me free lol!. Between January and April I probably put about 3000 arrows into that target. Then in September, I noticed a hairline splinter in one of my limbs, so I had to hunt with my back up bow and replace the limbs in November on that bow lol. And in February, I bought a replacement cover for this crossbow target because it was so shot up, It was herniated on all four sides lol. So while I used to be like you, I’m finding too much enjoyment in the sport right now to not shoot in the off-season. But dang is it getting more expensive now than it ever was before! Cheers

That does sound expensive.