Target Panic...Extreme. Literally ruining my life lol

[Patriot2]

I am fighting the "low hold" target panic that has creeped in over the last 2-3 years. Watched a lot of Youtube on it. Currently shooting at very close distances and making every shot good, or start over at 3 yards. I shortened my D loop 1/4" and if I am "stuck" low, I now just pull against the back wall with my draw hand and that pulls the entire bow/bow arm up due to the geometry of the shoulders/anchor/bow hand. So that addressed the whole "can't raise the bow up cuz it weighs 500#" feeling. I may have to ultimately use Joel Turner, but this seems to be working for now...............

 

[sebastian.cassell]

I am fighting the "low hold" target panic that has creeped in over the last 2-3 years. Watched a lot of Youtube on it. Currently shooting at very close distances and making every shot good, or start over at 3 yards. I shortened my D loop 1/4" and if I am "stuck" low, I now just pull against the back wall with my draw hand and that pulls the entire bow/bow arm up due to the geometry of the shoulders/anchor/bow hand. So that addressed the whole "can't raise the bow up cuz it weighs 500#" feeling. I may have to ultimately use Joel Turner, but this seems to be working for now...............

Just use Joel Turner. I literally cannot shoot without having Joel Turners words go through my head. Archery or firearm. It’s honestly annoying but it has made a huge difference.

 

[Ange86]

Blank bales and different types of releases. Only focus on the squeeze. Close your eyes if you have to. It’s a pain to overcome

 

[MallardSX2]

Start shooting a thumb release….. and practice shooting into a target with your eyes closed at point blank range. Do that 500 times.

Oh yes and right before you shoot….say to yourself “be the arrow”

You’ll thank me later.

Ps: I’ve been in your shoes. You got this $hit.

 

[aachey]

I think a lot, if not most archers have been in your shoes at one point or another. A lot of good ideas said already, so just need to try some and see if you find improvement. “Blind bailing” worked for me. I’ve gotten to the point where i know i’m about to punch the trigger and make a bad shot, but i’m able stop myself in that moment and reset. I generally don’t let down but i usually just settle back into my anchor point and go threw the mechanics again.

 

[Awhis]

I developed target panic several years ago and haven’t been able to break it. I can hold my pin rock solid at the bottom of the target but it’s impossible to bring my site up the inch or 2 needed to shoot center target. Great groups on the bottom of the target though


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[manitou1]

1) A quick but not permanant fix: blink your eyes a few times after drawing and before settling and releasing.

2) After drawing your bow, do a figure eight on your target... THEN settle the pin and slowly release.

3) The first time you draw to shoot each day, let your bow down without taking the shot. This teaches your subconcious "who" is in charge and helps you regain control of the process. Do the let down every few shots to every ten shots until you "retrain" yourself to control the shot.
This will not be cured in one shooting session and may take weeks or even months.

 

[Smallie]

I am fighting the "low hold" target panic that has creeped in over the last 2-3 years. Watched a lot of Youtube on it. Currently shooting at very close distances and making every shot good, or start over at 3 yards. I shortened my D loop 1/4" and if I am "stuck" low, I now just pull against the back wall with my draw hand and that pulls the entire bow/bow arm up due to the geometry of the shoulders/anchor/bow hand. So that addressed the whole "can't raise the bow up cuz it weighs 500#" feeling. I may have to ultimately use Joel Turner, but this seems to be working for now...............

I fought this for a long time and didn’t even realize it was target panic until I started researching. Joel Turner helped a lot but blind bail shooting with my eyes closed and changing target types helped a lot. Instead of shooting dot targets or traditional bullseyes I would just pin up a drink koozie or some kind of sticker or decal. Something in my brain did not want me to cover up the X with my pin but shooting at non traditional targets helped me get over holding low

 

[Patriot2]

I was shooting cheap index releases that had zero travel and if you touched them we would go off. It was physically impossible to squeeze or "pull through" the trigger. So I bought Stan Solex Index releases so I could get some actual trigger weight to rest my finger against. I set it up very short so my finger drapes over the trigger at the first second knuckle. Shot it last year and was able to get over any trigger punching. I was still left with the low hold issue at the end of the year. So far I am overcoming the low hold by raising the bow with the draw hand pulling on the back wall vs thinking I had to lift with the bow shoulder. Gonna stick with it for a bit and see how I am doing in another month of two. Good luck to everyone !!

 

[fatlander]

Buy a hinge.

Use a piece of paracord to make a shot trainer.

Learn how to shoot the hinge with back tension on the trainer. There are thousands of videos on YouTube.

Take the sight off your bow and blank bale with the hinge for a week.

Put your sight on and work your way back 5 yards at a time for about 1 week per 5 yards.

It’s a long journey but one worth taking. I’ve killed north of 50 animals with a hinge since making the switch following the same struggle you had. I almost quit hunting.


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[sandhillhunter]

Take the sight off your bow and blank bale with the hinge for a week.

Put your sight on and work your way back 5 yards at a time for about 1 week per 5 yards.
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Glad you mentioned this- I was wondering if shooting without a sight was recommended as a way to help with TP.


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[samhelmer]

Find a resistance release and blank bale at 3 yards for a few months. Nothing else. Only blank bale. Take the sight off. When your sight goes back on, keep in mind your pin is going to float. No way around it. I can finally shoot a release with a trigger on it and be patient, but it took years to get past it.

Lots of good info online on how to shoot a resistance release properly.

 

[TaylerW]

I feel your pain. I to this day cannot shoot traditional dot targets to save my life. Strangely enough if it's just a piece of high vis tape, I can shoot it very well. I am not a target archer whatsoever, so with that I am not overly concerned with my inability to shoot dots. Silhouette targets, 3d targets etc I feel dialed. Being that I shoot purely to prepare for hunting, I am ok with this. Try just shooting a piece of tape on a blank target. It seems like it helps me for dialing a sight or bow in.

Good luck!!

TW

 

[ddowning]

Nearly everyone gets tp at some point. I tried to start my kids on silverbacks. They figured out to jerk the release when the pin was in the middle. Same with a hinge. We listened to a couple podcasts with Joel and the oldest one got it and switched to a thumb button. She is shooting amazing using "back tension" to pull through the button. The youngest one doesn't quite understand the mental approach of shot iq entirely. She went back to the silverback and had me set it super heavy, so she can't jerk hard enough to set it off.

You are going to have to reprogram your brain. For awhile it will be a lot easier to get a tension release and use it. Every time you see the pin on the target for awhile you're going to see a pre-ignition movement. If you try to overcome it with your current release, your brain already has the motor program to fire the release as soon as it sees the sight picture it wants. You want to consciously fire the release, not subconsciously. You will want something different enough that you don't fire it subconsciously.

I had it BAD about 25 years ago. I tried all the blank bale etc. In the end, the anxiety comes from the sight picture. You need to control the release while subconsciously watching the sight picture. If you shoot with your eyes closed or take your sight off you are going to have trouble fighting it once you try to aim and execute a shot. Shoot at a BIG bullseye up close while aiming and executing with a tension release or a slow hinge. Slowly work towards smaller aiming points and more distance. The pin movement is what freaks most people out. A lot of people will say they have beat it with aiming and letting down and blank bailing. It is like going all the way around the world to the west to move 20 feet to the east. Get a release that is totally different (no trigger). Program your brain to do it the shot iq way from the start. Work from big targets up close to smaller targets at distance. Once you get several thousand shots in this way, you can start move to a release with a trigger and have control over it. You simply have to switch from a subconscious release to a conscious release while letting the pin float. Once you have it, don't ever start punching again. To emphasize, I said it is SIMPLE. It is far from easy.