Anyone experience this? over come it? For me it comes and goes... some days I never have it, other days its horrible. Trying to figure out the cause and cure. IMO I think I holding too strong of a bow might cause alot of it...?


-DallanC

I'm not sure what causes it. I get it from time to time when I get it I always want to release low of my target so one thing I do is instead of raising my bow to the target I start High and lower to the target and just realy make my sellf think about each shot and will pass.
Joe

There are several things that can cause target panic.
There are several types of target panic .
Freezing-this is where people cant bring the sight into the middle of the target and stay there while executing the shot.Some freeze off center, usually below or to one side,and cant bring the sight to the center. Others can get the sight to the center but cant execute the shot while its there.
Snap shooting is where your bow goes off before you are settled on the target or vitals. Sometimes the bow goes off as soon as the sight pins start to touch the target. The worst part of this one is the shooter cant explain whats happening.
Flinching is the most common. It is where as soon as your sight hits the intended target your "punching" the trigger.
There are a few ways to cure target panic. None of which are really done overnight.
Blind Bale shooting is the only sure fire way to cure TP. It makes you work on your form and helps to make your shot execution a subconscious act.
Until you start executing your shot subconsciously and aiming consciously your going to have TP ,scoring and consistancy issues.
I hope this helps point you in the right direction.
This information Im passing on to you is from Bernie Pellerite. He has a great program to improve your form and relax you as a shooter .

And of course there is target blindness...a fixation on the target so total that nothing else registers. A friend of mine was so fixated on the perfect shot on a buck at less than 10 yards that he couldn't see the 4" tree that covered the buck's vitals. Of course, being a compassionate type, I later cut off that section of tree (complete with embedded broadhead and shaft), mounted it and presented it to my friend for Christmas. Sure learned some new words that day!

I was hunting with a guy that stepped out of my pickup to shoot at a nice buck that was standing about 50 yards away. He proceeded to jack 4 rounds out of his 243 bolt action rifle. All of the rounds dropped in the dirt, unfired. He looked over at me and said, "Darn, I missed him!" He had no idea that he hadn't pulled the trigger, even once. I couldn't believe what I had just seen. That is the worst case of buck fever that I've ever seen.

I know that this comment doesn't follow the bow hunting theme, but I think it's worth mentioning.

Cary

DallanC wrote:

Anyone experience this? over come it? For me it comes and goes... some days I never have it, other days its horrible. Trying to figure out the cause and cure. IMO I think I holding too strong of a bow might cause alot of it...? -DallanC

Gidday Dallan. I had absolutely no idea what you meant by "Target Panic" so I decided to read up a little on it...and came across the following article.

Target Panic

Its quite an interesting article and it certainly opened my eyes to a problem that can most likely be applied to any sort of shooting...archery, rifle or pistol.

Good luck solving your intermittent but annoying problem mate.

Cheers, Vince

Man Dallan,
If you have it, I feel REAL sorry for you.
Target panic hit me around thirty years ago, and sometimes I will still get the urge.

To beat the dang think, I went to a mechanical release.
I'm fine with the release, but if I try to shot fingertip stile, the panic comes back big time!!!!

I don't know if a guy can ever get over it, but for me, if using a mechanical release, I can shoot an apple to bits at forty yards.
With the fingertip method, it's lucky if the arrow travels forty yards.

Good Luck, and God Bless if you have it Partner. It really sucks!!!

Eric

I'm convinced that "target panic" is similar to some forms of flinching with a firearm. In my experience, it can be caused by trying to be too precise. I've greatly reduced it in my archery shooting by going to a lighter pull weight on my release, but it is still there occasionally. I've eliminated flinching in my competitive shotgun shooting by going to release triggers, but am not aware of any "release activated" mechanical releases available for archery. I'm aware of "back tension" releases, but don't think they would be suitable for hunting and so haven't tried them. A mechanical release that shoots when the pressure on the trigger is relaxed (similar to the way release triggers on shotguns work) might be a solution, but I've not heard of any being available. If anyone knows of such a release, please let me know of it.

I had a case of Target Panic a few weeks ago. I was hunting hogs on the mountain a little ways from the house. I was testing out a Red Oak Longbow that I had just made. I heard a hog and tracked a 400+ pound female for about and hour before I could get a decent shot. When I finally let an arrow fly at around 20 yards, I misjudged the power of the new bow, and my shot just clipped the top of her shoulder. She charged, I climbed a tree and she kept me there for over 20 minutes.

That, my friends, is true Target Panic!!!!!

And on top of all that, I lost a new, just-made Port Oxford cedar arrow, with a new steel broadhead point. That's around $10.00 lost in the woods!! I keep going back and looking for it, but so far, no dice.