# Target Panic Help



## slicer

You are trying to aim first, get a solid hold going, and then shooting your bow...correct? If this is correct you need to reverse the order.

You need to put an emphasis on shooting your bow first and aiming second...just shooting your bow takes care of the aim though, so...

You need an execution method that takes 3-5 seconds to get the shot to break rather than chopping a trigger, if that's what you have done to get to this point.

At anchor immediately start pulling through on a stiff trigger smooth and steady until the shot breaks...never ever ever stop. If you do stop, let down and start over.

You are going to do this while looking at the spot you want to hit. Where your arrow goes and what your pin is doing is no longer your problem, so ignore both. You will be anxiety free now that your only task is to shoot your bow with an increase in pressure the second you hit anchor, building and never ending...ever.

Start out at 5 yards looking at the center of a paper plate. If at any time your pin's position causes a change in your pulling through, let down and start over.

Relax and be aggressive by building that pressure on your trigger the nano second you hit anchor.....the draw never stops.

The shot makes the aim....never let the aim make the shot.

I overcame my panic several years ago by doing this at 50 yards....I gave up...was willing to sacrifice all of my arrows and do what I new in my heart was right. It felt like I was jumping off a cliff, electrical impulses flashing through my head, visions of cars colliding, mass chaos, horns honking, sweating, seeing white, etc. A funny thing happened....my arrows all hit the target and they were all in a decent group. Then I settled down and kept at it and things really started to happen. To this day when I struggle with my shooting it is always from becoming to concerned with the target, the sight, or results. Just shoot your bow with a building of pressure from draw never stopping and look at the target as you do this. If you shoot multiple pins, take em out so you only have one pin....then at a later date you can put them back in and "acknowledge" the correct pin as you look through the peep.


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## da white shoe

Does any of this apply to how you shoot a bow?

Draw length is too long.
Draw weight is hard to hold at full draw.
Focus on the sight pins when aiming.
Pins are doing a lot of dancing when trying to aim.
Time the shot to when the pin crossing the target.
Punching the trigger to make sure the shot goes off in time, before the pin gets off the spot.

A long time ago, I was doing all of these... at the same time!
There are a lot of things that could be causing your problem... but I only know of one way to fix it.

The natural inclination for everyone that first picks up a bow is to use every muscle they have to draw and hold it back. 
Then, they will invariably try to watch the sight pin and the target at the same time... in order to time the shot. It feels athletic to try to control the bow and the sight pin, but that is the wrong approach.

I know that when I first started shooting, I felt that I needed to "shoot the bow." After a lot of huge problems.... *(starting with not being able to hold on target, just like you are doing now,) *I came to the conclusion that I needed to let the bow shoot itself! I had found a new philosophy in archery. To be static. Just the platform from which the bow launches the arrow. Like a bow shooting machine. To just stay out of the way, do the exact same thing on every shot and allow the arrow to leave the bow with no outside influences working against it... namely me and my brain! After all, if my bow was being shot out of a shooting machine the arrows would all be going in the same hole! 

Your muscles have to be relaxed at full draw... and remain relaxed... in order for your sight pins to be steady. At full draw, your release hand as well as your bow hand, should be completely relaxed. You don't want to be grasping or squeezing the barrel of the release or the grip of your bow handle. Also, do not force either of your hands open. Your fingers should be hanging limp and relaxed. I lightly touch my first finger and my thumb together around the bow handle, but some like to use a wrist sling. Use the bones in your arms and the muscles in your back to draw the bow. Use the same bones and back-muscles to hold as much of the weight of the bow at full draw as you can and I would recommend drawing the string straight back to your anchor point. Hold the bow out, pointed at the target, draw it straight back using your back muscles and without lifting it any higher. Once at full draw, relax every muscle in your arms that you don't need to use to stay at full draw. That goes for the muscles in your shoulders, torso and legs, too. Always remember; it's the tension in your muscles that causes your sights to wobble and jump around. If you can learn to relax everything that isn't needed to hold at full draw, your sight pins will barely even move. Almost like a bench rested rifle! It is very important that your bow is set at the correct draw length. If it is too long... or even too short, you will have a very hard time relaxing fully.

There is a lot more to shooting a bow than relaxing muscles however. There is a reason that someone shooting a bench rested rifle at 300 yards won't pull the trigger... he will just keep putting more and more pressure on that trigger until the rifle goes off. Strange as it sounds, there is a way to shoot a bow using that same concept. It is highly accurate and, really, it's the best way to shoot a compound bow with sights... whether for targets or hunting. If you want to learn it, I've outlined the process below. 

.............................. .........THE GRIP.......................... ........................
Before drawing the bow, position your hand on the grip and start pulling with your release hand to put pressure on the string. You are trying to find the exact position for your bow hand to be in. You want to feel all of the pressure from the bow handle on one point of your palm... right from the start of your draw. I have always remembered Randy Ulmer’s description of it. He said to pretend that there is a steel rod running parallel and exactly between the two bones inside your forearm. Where that rod would exit your palm is where this point is. If you find this spot, it will help keep you from torqueing the bow handle. 
Also, if you will rotate the bottom of your bow hand away from the bow a few degrees for your grip, you will clear a path for the bowstring and negate torque at the same time. Learn to find your grip before you draw the bow on every shot, but once you start your draw, do not move your bow hand AT ALL.


.............................. .............................. ............BACK TENSION....................... .....................
Using a conscious movement of a finger to trigger the shot is what we’re trying to get away from here. Your finger is loaded with nerve endings. It is much too sensitive and closely tied to your brain. Your mind recognizes a certain sight picture and screams, “NOW!” Your brain is always faster than your reflexes and this method of shooting can be inconsistent... and it can go south in a hurry!

Flexing a large muscle group to trigger the shot is the answer. In order to use back tension to achieve a surprise release, you must trust the bow, your form and the arrow. In order to become that trusting, your form, concentration and execution have to be very consistent. That takes a lot of work... and enough time and repetition to make it stick! You have to be able to completely focus on the spot you want to hit and let go of control... control of the bow, the sight pin and the moment of release. You’re brain isn’t going to be able to do that without a lot of re-programming! You have to do it in steps and you can’t take any shortcuts.

Learning to give up control is far easier using a back tension release aid. I'm not saying you can't use a trigger release to get a surprise release, but it is a lot easier to cheat with a finger-triggered release. After you have mastered this technique, it will be fairly easy to learn to do the same thing with your hunting release. 

With an index-finger triggered release, you will contact the trigger with the pad between the first and second knuckle. Hooking the finger deep over the trigger will keep the sensitive fingertip from taking over.

With a thumb release, you can anchor with the thumb against the side of your face and as you pull through the shot it will naturally increase pressure on it until it goes off. 
To shoot using back tension, you flex or squeeze the release-side muscles of your back... sort of like you are trying to make one shoulder blade touch the other one. To find these muscles, have someone stand facing you while you pretend to hold a bow at full draw. Have them grasp your elbows and try to gently force you to give them a hug while you resist, all the while keeping your arms relaxed. The back muscles you feel resisting are the ones you need to flex to trigger the shot.

............................ ..............THE FOLLOW THROUGH....................... ...............
When you "follow through" after the bow goes off, people say you should try to keep the pin on the target or keep aiming until the arrow hits. I've always felt that that was a bad way to describe it. You can't keep aiming or even see the pin once you shoot. 

What I would say is... keep your T form until you hear the arrow hit, do not drop your bow arm or move your head, stay relaxed and let the bow go where it wants to go without grabbing for it. Good follow through takes practice.


.............................. ..............THE FIRST STEP.......................... ...................
It's tempting to just go right out and try all of this on a target at 20 yards, but DON'T DO IT! When you start trying all of this for the first time, it is very important, and it will speed up the learning process... if you completely eliminate the aiming part of shooting the bow. Work on relaxation and a surprise release before you ever have to worry about aiming. You need to ingrain the feel of the shot process so that it becomes automatic... as in the term, "muscle memory." You do this with your eyes closed at first. 

To get a feel for this, your target needs to be at the same height as your arrow at first. I hang my target from a rafter and stand close, so that the tip of my arrow is about 3 1/2 feet away from the target at full draw. After you reach full draw and have lined everything up, close your eyes, relax and think through every step of the shot. 

.............................. ...............THE FOUNDATION.................... .....................
When that feels VERY comfortable, move to a blank target that is 3 yards away and start shooting with your eyes open, but use no spot and try not to aim for a spot on the target... in fact, it would be better to just take the sight off your bow for this step. When you are so tired of doing this drill every day that you are ready to die of boredom, (something like 3 weeks later... at least 1000 arrows), only then is it time to learn to do it while aiming.

.............................. ..............AIMING.......... .............................. ..............
To aim, reach full draw with a perfect T form, line up your bubble level, pick the right pin and center it all in the peep. Next, move your whole upper body to get on target. You don't want to just move your arm up and down or side to side. That introduces torque. Your upper body and arms should at all times form a perfect T shape at full draw.
When everything is lined up, start consciously relaxing muscles. Hold the bow back with your back muscles. Start with relaxing your hands and work your way up your arms and through the shoulders. When you've shot this way long enough, you won't have to even think about this step. 
Then go into aiming mode. Your full concentration switches to the spot and only the spot. The pin is blurry and it will still seem to float around the spot, but you need to forget about the pin. You will naturally try to keep it on the spot without even thinking about it. You should be focusing on the spot and nothing else. Keep your concentration while slowly squeezing through the shot, making sure to follow through after the release. 
The first few times the bow goes off, it will scare the heck out of you. Keep at it! You will get used to it... and at the point that you start breaking arrows because they're hitting each other at 30 yards... you'll begin to crave that feeling! Just remember that it's important to never be able to anticipate exactly when the shot will break. You need the surprise... just like a benched down rifle shooter does. No cheating! Focus... concentrate on the spot you want to hit and just squeeze through until the shot breaks.
It defies logic, really, but at some point in all of this learning process you will definitely know you are doing it right. How? Because arrow after arrow will keep going dead center of the bull's-eye... even when you know the pin was not on the spot at the time your release triggered. 


.............................. ....................THE BRIDGE........................ .............................. ..........
At this point, you’ve learned how to trigger the shot with back tension and a surprise release.

Only now, with this last step... will you tie your new shooting process in with the aiming process. Move to 5 yards with a target that has several big spots to aim at... one arrow for each spot, no sense ruining arrows shooting at the same spot. Six inch squares of duct tape will work nicely on any target you have. 

Begin shooting. Let the shooting process you've instilled run on auto-pilot... all you should have in your head is that spot. Nothing else matters. Trust the bow to do it’s job. Keep in mind that at this stage, where the arrow ends up in the target isn't important. What you are trying to do is capture the feeling of the perfect execution of the shot... while aiming at the same time. 


At some point, all of your arrows will start to find the center of the spots. When that happens... and you also feel like you are consistent in your form, aiming, release and follow through... move back to 10 yards and do it all again. When it all comes together at 10 yards, use a smaller spot to aim at. 

Repeat the process out to a good distance, but don't be in a hurry to get there! Take your time and make sure it is all working before you move back. If it isn't, move closer again. It is a good idea to begin each practice session at the hanging target with your eyes closed. As always, it is very important to quit shooting when you start to loose your focus... that's when bad things happen. 

At this point, you may be able to recognize a good arrow from a bad one, but to learn this technique all by yourself, you have to be a thinking archer... meaning, you have to be able to analyze and trouble-shoot your shot sequence from the inside... you have to feel what you're doing. This can be very tough to do. Finding a good coach is a true gold mine and it could save you a lot of headaches. Sometimes though, for whatever reason, coaching isn’t possible. A video camera can help, but only if you know what you're looking at. If you’re doing it by yourself and you ever hit a snag that you can’t figure out, all you can do is go back to a blank target, get close and work on the basics. This helps me every time.

In any case, this method of shooting a bow is well worth whatever effort it takes to learn it. 

Good luck and I hope this helps you in some way.
Zane


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## aread

slicer said:


> .... If at any time your pin's position causes a change in your pulling through, let down and start over....


 :thumbs_up :thumbs_up

This should be the rule for every archer on every shot. 

I've heard some great archers say to "never let yourself shoot a bad shot". This is how they do it.

Good post slicer!

Zane, as always, great post!

Wisbuck, listen to these two guys. Their posts are solid gold.

Allen


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## AJ the TP Guru

Don't despair - it happens to virtually all archers sooner or later. Most have an opinion as to what will work, and those are as different as snowflakes. All I know is that I had it twice (in different decades), and my _Solution _cured me the second time. It became known to a number of other archers who asked for my help, and I gave it to them for free. Eventually, (due to time and effort limitations on my part), I opted to make a business out of it. Since then, hundreds have been cured - a 97% cure rate.

I don't claim it to be the only way, just one which works and lots of guys will tell you so (link below).


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## [email protected]

Im sorry Tp Guru and mean no disrespect but this is archers helping archers in this forum.It isnt meant as a springboard for your program.Their are many devoted coaches here who help archers for free and i feel your post would be better in the classifieds.


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## AJ the TP Guru

Guy asked for help; I told him about something that has worked for many, including myself. If a moderator wants to remove it, so be it.


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## Wisbuck

Thanks Slicer and da white shoe for the replies.

Slicer I was a little confused on your post until I read da white shoe's post and I think you're both saying the same thing. I have been shooting for 30 years and all of a sudden I get this. I printed the above posts to use as a referal. My shot process gets into trouble when my pin is a couple inches below the target as if someone is pushing down on my stabilizer. I know it's between the ears where the problem is.


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## subconsciously

Understanding how the brain works and the neurological paths we build between the muscle and brain can give you an idea of what it takes to beat TP. Sometimes we do the wrong thing long enough that our brains accept that as the right thing to do. When you finally realize you are doing it wrong you have to retrain these pathways in the proper way to do it.

You have to break the shot down and learn it over the right way, one step at a time. This is why beating TP you are to blind bale/blank bale. You have to retrain your mind on how the "shot" should feel. This takes time. You train to fast and our minds loose the fine details required to execute things precisely.

Pick your plan. Take it slow and dont deviate. You will not regret it.


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## aread

Wisbuck said:


> Thanks Slicer and da white shoe for the replies.
> 
> Slicer I was a little confused on your post until I read da white shoe's post and I think you're both saying the same thing. I have been shooting for 30 years and all of a sudden I get this. I printed the above posts to use as a referal. My shot process gets into trouble when my pin is a couple inches below the target as if someone is pushing down on my stabilizer. I know it's between the ears where the problem is.


You are right, almost always it's mental. However, it can be something else. Have you made any changes to your equipment or form recently? Maybe a new bow?


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## da white shoe

aread said:


> You are right, almost always it's mental. However, it can be something else. Have you made any changes to your equipment or form recently? Maybe a new bow?


Very true... just having the draw length set correctly or the peep in the correct location can make a very big difference. 

One thing that I did not touch on before is... when you get to the 3 and 5 yard steps, you do not want to have your target at ground level. 
Shooting down at a steep angle is good practice for hunting, but it is a bad idea when re-training your shooting style. Get the target up at arrow level.


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## milsy

Tagging. Some great advice here

Thanks


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## mike 66

aread said:


> You are right, almost always it's mental. However, it can be something else. Have you made any changes to your equipment or form recently? Maybe a new bow?


wisbuck you answered your own question, the issue is between your ears. like allen said its like 90 % mental..... so dont waste your time on anything else, get on a bale and get the mind right get your shot seq perfect.... if you know its mental ....spend 90% of your time on this. most archers i see spend 90% on form or aiming etc. etc. when they should be on a mental game plan....


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## Wisbuck

aread said:


> You are right, almost always it's mental. However, it can be something else. Have you made any changes to your equipment or form recently? Maybe a new bow?


I did purchase a new bow last Feb., however this panic started well after I started shooting the new bow. 

Let me ask another question.....When you are shooting do you shoot as soon as your pin crosses the target or do you steady yourself and get the pin settled on the target before shooting? I think I get so wrapped up in steading the shot it's messing with my shot process.


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## bowman29092

milsy said:


> Tagging. Some great advice here
> 
> Thanks


Amen great thread


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## aread

Wisbuck said:


> I did purchase a new bow last Feb., however this panic started well after I started shooting the new bow.
> 
> Let me ask another question.....When you are shooting do you shoot as soon as your pin crosses the target or do you steady yourself and get the pin settled on the target before shooting? I think I get so wrapped up in steading the shot it's messing with my shot process.


Pin on target should never be the reason to release the arrow. In fact, you should never release the arrow. The idea is to go from full draw to follow throught with no step in your shot sequence for "release". 

One of the ways to shoot better is to break the connection between aiming and execution. The eye puts the pin on target, but only the mind can keep it there. This sounds confusing and it's pretty hard to take it to the line or the field. To do this you have to develop subconscious execution. Execution should be consciously ignited, but from that point on, you should focus your mind on building a mental path to the target. The only way to do this is the blank bale & bridge that da white shoe described above.

I would guess that your new bow doesn't fit quite as well as your old one. It's probably very close, but likely the ATA is shorter or the DL is a tiny bit long. These differences require a little extra effort to put the arrow where you want it. That little bit of effort took you away from your good shot that you built up over the years and finally resulted in TP. Do you have to tilt your head forward a little more than with your old bow? This is how I was having problems at one time that were similar to the symptoms that you describe. Short ATA bows are sometimes difficult to shoot without tilting your head forward, setting the DL so long as to cause problems with your alignment, or finding a new higher anchor. I've learned to shoot my short hunting bows very little, just enough to become familiar with them again every fall. 99% of my shooting is with my longer target bows. While I still have to fight TP, the longer bows, at least, don't contribute to the problem.

Hope this helps,
Allen


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## aread

One other thing, Don't raise & lower your bow with your arms. Do it with your hips.

Find an optimum "T" position at full draw, This will usually not be a perfectly square "T", but close to it. Draw to that position and raise & lower your pin by leaning from the waist. Very few compound archers do this, but all of the good recurve archers do it. 

When it feels like there is an anchor on your stabilizer, just move your hips forward a bit and it's a lot easier to get it up.

Allen


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## Wisbuck

Allen that last tip may be the kicker. I was in my basement last night and just for grins I got my bow out, nocked an arrow, drew and used a dot on the wall as focal point. I concentrated on form (the T) and when I got to the point of not being able to put the pin on the dot, which was only a matter of inches, I bent at the hip and whalla. We'll see what happens on the next shooting session. Thanks


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## archeryshooter

Nice job explaining it!


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## ron w

TP is surely a mental glitch and it has nothing to do with aiming. it is your release process refusing to let your aiming give it a reason to run, because it doesn't have the confidence it should. basically, it (your mental release program) needs to learn that there is a reward for running when it does, and an equal reward for refusing to run when it shouldn't. 
the most common method is to do a long series of blind bailing, to with no target to reinforce the release program,.... that it knows how to run your release,..... followed by a series of 10 yard shooting, to teach it the reward for running. 
the 10 yard shooting is done because at that close distance, it is easy to stay on the x-ring and your release program learns to run, triggered by the good sight picture you can hold, being so close to the target. just where the arrow lands is absolutely un-important to this drill, so you don't have to change you sight settings to do it. the second part of this confidence it needs to acquire, is to learn to refuse to run on a bad sight picture. done during the same 10 yard shooting, any time you don't settle in perfectly and smoothly on the x-ring, or take an inordinate amount of time to acquire the target, or drop down below the x-ring,..... let down immediately at the very first impulse to do it, with out trying to drift over or back up to the x-ring by steering your aim or waiting to see that good sight picture arrive. this teaches your release program the "equal reward" for refusing to run on a bad sight picture. 
this training is very tedious and can take some time to develop, but if you can work at it with a good attitude and in the correct order (very important), it will develope a strong release program that will allow you to range around on a target at full draw and pick a spot to shoot at, or move from spot to spot on a 5-spot target, with no hesitation and the decision to letdown, will become a simple "yes or no,- black and white" part of your normal shot process, made almost automatically.
the result will be a strong release process triggered only by a strong shot set up and an automatic, "no fight" refusal of anything other than that good sight picture. 
it is really the only thing we have to achieve good shooting, because the bow does exactly the same thing shot after shot, and it is controlled only by what happens before it fires.


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## Rick!

Wisbuck said:


> Allen that last tip may be the kicker. I was in my basement last night and just for grins I got my bow out, nocked an arrow, drew and used a dot on the wall as focal point. I concentrated on form (the T) and when I got to the point of not being able to put the pin on the dot, which was only a matter of inches, I bent at the hip and whalla. We'll see what happens on the next shooting session. Thanks


I politely disagree with leaning back or adjusting one's hips to raise the bow at a 20yd spot. I tried this and bow hand heel pressure and even a few layers of tape on the grip. Each had only a temporary positive effect. My root issue was that my mind wouldn't let me cover the X with pin and allow shot to break. If you can't hold on a spot knowing you aren't going to shoot, you have some serIous stuff going on. The guys trying to help u should be asking for form pix or videos to solve fundamental flaws and get you working on a shot process that doesn't allow panic to set in.


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## archeryshooter

ron w said:


> TP is surely a mental glitch and it has nothing to do with aiming. it is your release process refusing to let your aiming give it a reason to run, because it doesn't have the confidence it should. basically, it (your mental release program) needs to learn that there is a reward for running when it does, and an equal reward for refusing to run when it shouldn't.
> the most common method is to do a long series of blind bailing, to with no target to reinforce the release program,.... that it knows how to run your release,..... followed by a series of 10 yard shooting, to teach it the reward for running.
> the 10 yard shooting is done because at that close distance, it is easy to stay on the x-ring and your release program learns to run, triggered by the good sight picture you can hold, being so close to the target. just where the arrow lands is absolutely un-important to this drill, so you don't have to change you sight settings to do it. the second part of this confidence it needs to acquire, is to learn to refuse to run on a bad sight picture. done during the same 10 yard shooting, any time you don't settle in perfectly and smoothly on the x-ring, or take an inordinate amount of time to acquire the target, or drop down below the x-ring,..... let down immediately at the very first impulse to do it, with out trying to drift over or back up to the x-ring by steering your aim or waiting to see that good sight picture arrive. this teaches your release program the "equal reward" for refusing to run on a bad sight picture.
> this training is very tedious and can take some time to develop, but if you can work at it with a good attitude and in the correct order (very important), it will develope a strong release program that will allow you to range around on a target at full draw and pick a spot to shoot at, or move from spot to spot on a 5-spot target, with no hesitation and the decision to letdown, will become a simple "yes or no,- black and white" part of your normal shot process, made almost automatically.
> the result will be a strong release process triggered only by a strong shot set up and an automatic, "no fight" refusal of anything other than that good sight picture.
> it is really the only thing we have to achieve good shooting, because the bow does exactly the same thing shot after shot, and it is controlled only by what happens before it fires.


I am totally with you on this Ron, been working on this and it is coming around nicely


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## eskimoohunt

aread said:


> Pin on target should never be the reason to release the arrow. In fact, you should never release the arrow. The idea is to go from full draw to follow throught with no step in your shot sequence for "release".
> 
> One of the ways to shoot better is to break the connection between aiming and execution. The eye puts the pin on target, but only the mind can keep it there. This sounds confusing and it's pretty hard to take it to the line or the field. To do this you have to develop subconscious execution. Execution should be consciously ignited, but from that point on, you should focus your mind on building a mental path to the target. The only way to do this is the blank bale & bridge that da white shoe described above.
> 
> I would guess that your new bow doesn't fit quite as well as your old one. It's probably very close, but likely the ATA is shorter or the DL is a tiny bit long. These differences require a little extra effort to put the arrow where you want it. That little bit of effort took you away from your good shot that you built up over the years and finally resulted in TP. Do you have to tilt your head forward a little more than with your old bow? This is how I was having problems at one time that were similar to the symptoms that you describe. Short ATA bows are sometimes difficult to shoot without tilting your head forward, setting the DL so long as to cause problems with your alignment, or finding a new higher anchor. I've learned to shoot my short hunting bows very little, just enough to become familiar with them again every fall. 99% of my shooting is with my longer target bows. While I still have to fight TP, the longer bows, at least, don't contribute to the problem.
> 
> Hope this helps,
> Allen


Ok. Well if you are shooting a finger trigger or. Thumb trigger how to you pull the triggers if youre not thinking of it?


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## da white shoe

eskimoohunt said:


> Ok. Well if you are shooting a finger trigger or. Thumb trigger how to you pull the triggers if youre not thinking of it?


With an index-finger triggered release, you will contact the trigger with the pad between the first and second knuckle. Hooking the finger deep over the trigger will keep the sensitive fingertip from taking over. The finger is just a dead hook... it's pulling through with the back muscles that gives the finger it's travel. You do not know when the shot is going to happen.

With a thumb release, the rotation of the hand causes the pressure on the trigger to increase... or you can anchor with the thumb against the side of your face and as you pull through the shot it will naturally increase pressure on it until it goes off. It's possible to do the same thing with an index finger release.
To shoot using back tension, you flex or squeeze the release-side muscles of your back... sort of like you are trying to make one shoulder blade touch the other one. To find these muscles, have someone stand facing you while you pretend to hold a bow at full draw. Have them grasp your elbows and try to gently force you to give them a hug while you resist, all the while keeping your arms relaxed. The back muscles you feel resisting are the ones you need to flex to trigger the shot.

My post above explains how to learn to shoot this way.


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## eskimoohunt

da white shoe said:


> With an index-finger triggered release, you will contact the trigger with the pad between the first and second knuckle. Hooking the finger deep over the trigger will keep the sensitive fingertip from taking over. The finger is just a dead hook... it's pulling through with the back muscles that gives the finger it's travel. You do not know when the shot is going to happen.
> 
> With a thumb release, the rotation of the hand causes the pressure on the trigger to increase... or you can anchor with the thumb
> 
> against the side of your face and as you pull through the shot it will naturally increase pressure on it until it goes off. It's possible to do the same thing with an index finger release.
> To shoot using back tension, you flex or squeeze the release-side muscles of your back... sort of like you are trying to make one shoulder blade touch the other one. To find these muscles, have someone stand facing you while you pretend to hold a bow at full draw. Have them grasp your elbows and try to gently force you to give them a hug while you resist, all the while keeping your arms relaxed. The back muscles you feel resisting are the ones you need to flex to trigger the shot.
> 
> My post above explains how to learn to shoot this way.



I've tried both today and the wrist release seems easier I thought the thumb release would be easier, Iyo. What is better in the long run, thumb or trigger?????


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## Mjr53086

Worst you can do is over think it. Draw your bow, deep breath close your eyes count to 3. Open aim and let it fly. I like to leave my index finger in the top of the release to avoid jumping the shot. slide your finger to the trigger as slow as you can only paying attention to your pin. I was taught your bow going off should be somewhat of a surprise because you will not notice your trigger pressure if your focused on target. Ask 100 ppl and you will most certainly get 100 different answers.


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## da white shoe

eskimoohunt said:


> I've tried both today and the wrist release seems easier I thought the thumb release would be easier, Iyo. What is better in the long run, thumb or trigger?????


Whatever works for you the best. One isn't better than the other, except that having your release strapped to your wrist might be better for hunting.


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## archeryshooter

I have taken 9 deer with my BT gold one was a 191 BC walking at  30yrds just kept pulling till the shot broke and it was a pin wheel it took a few years to get comfortable to hunt with it.:wink:


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## eskimoohunt

Mjr53086 said:


> Worst you can do is over think it. Draw your bow, deep breath close your eyes count to 3. Open aim and let it fly. I like to leave my index finger in the top of the release to avoid jumping the shot. slide your finger to the trigger as slow as you can only paying attention to your pin. I was taught your bow going off should be somewhat of a surprise because you will not notice your trigger pressure if your focused on target. Ask 100 ppl and you will most certainly get 100 different answers.


Thanks for the advice. Simple but good


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## eskimoohunt

da white shoe said:


> Does any of this apply to how you shoot a bow?
> 
> Draw length is too long.
> Draw weight is hard to hold at full draw.
> Focus on the sight pins when aiming.
> Pins are doing a lot of dancing when trying to aim.
> Time the shot to when the pin crossing the target.
> Punching the trigger to make sure the shot goes off in time, before the pin gets off the spot.
> 
> A long time ago, I was doing all of these... at the same time!
> There are a lot of things that could be causing your problem... but I only know of one way to fix it.
> 
> The natural inclination for everyone that first picks up a bow is to use every muscle they have to draw and hold it back.
> Then, they will invariably try to watch the sight pin and the target at the same time... in order to time the shot. It feels athletic to try to control the bow and the sight pin, but that is the wrong approach.
> 
> Great stuff here
> 
> I know that when I first started shooting, I felt that I needed to "shoot the bow." After a lot of huge problems.... *(starting with not being able to hold on target, just like you are doing now,) *I came to the conclusion that I needed to let the bow shoot itself! I had found a new philosophy in archery. To be static. Just the platform from which the bow launches the arrow. Like a bow shooting machine. To just stay out of the way, do the exact same thing on every shot and allow the arrow to leave the bow with no outside influences working against it... namely me and my brain! After all, if my bow was being shot out of a shooting machine the arrows would all be going in the same hole!
> 
> Your muscles have to be relaxed at full draw... and remain relaxed... in order for your sight pins to be steady. At full draw, your release hand as well as your bow hand, should be completely relaxed. You don't want to be grasping or squeezing the barrel of the release or the grip of your bow handle. Also, do not force either of your hands open. Your fingers should be hanging limp and relaxed. I lightly touch my first finger and my thumb together around the bow handle, but some like to use a wrist sling. Use the bones in your arms and the muscles in your back to draw the bow. Use the same bones and back-muscles to hold as much of the weight of the bow at full draw as you can and I would recommend drawing the string straight back to your anchor point. Hold the bow out, pointed at the target, draw it straight back using your back muscles and without lifting it any higher. Once at full draw, relax every muscle in your arms that you don't need to use to stay at full draw. That goes for the muscles in your shoulders, torso and legs, too. Always remember; it's the tension in your muscles that causes your sights to wobble and jump around. If you can learn to relax everything that isn't needed to hold at full draw, your sight pins will barely even move. Almost like a bench rested rifle! It is very important that your bow is set at the correct draw length. If it is too long... or even too short, you will have a very hard time relaxing fully.
> 
> There is a lot more to shooting a bow than relaxing muscles however. There is a reason that someone shooting a bench rested rifle at 300 yards won't pull the trigger... he will just keep putting more and more pressure on that trigger until the rifle goes off. Strange as it sounds, there is a way to shoot a bow using that same concept. It is highly accurate and, really, it's the best way to shoot a compound bow with sights... whether for targets or hunting. If you want to learn it, I've outlined the process below.
> 
> .............................. .........THE GRIP.......................... ........................
> Before drawing the bow, position your hand on the grip and start pulling with your release hand to put pressure on the string. You are trying to find the exact position for your bow hand to be in. You want to feel all of the pressure from the bow handle on one point of your palm... right from the start of your draw. I have always remembered Randy Ulmer’s description of it. He said to pretend that there is a steel rod running parallel and exactly between the two bones inside your forearm. Where that rod would exit your palm is where this point is. If you find this spot, it will help keep you from torqueing the bow handle.
> Also, if you will rotate the bottom of your bow hand away from the bow a few degrees for your grip, you will clear a path for the bowstring and negate torque at the same time. Learn to find your grip before you draw the bow on every shot, but once you start your draw, do not move your bow hand AT ALL.
> 
> 
> .............................. .............................. ............BACK TENSION....................... .....................
> Using a conscious movement of a finger to trigger the shot is what we’re trying to get away from here. Your finger is loaded with nerve endings. It is much too sensitive and closely tied to your brain. Your mind recognizes a certain sight picture and screams, “NOW!” Your brain is always faster than your reflexes and this method of shooting can be inconsistent... and it can go south in a hurry!
> 
> Flexing a large muscle group to trigger the shot is the answer. In order to use back tension to achieve a surprise release, you must trust the bow, your form and the arrow. In order to become that trusting, your form, concentration and execution have to be very consistent. That takes a lot of work... and enough time and repetition to make it stick! You have to be able to completely focus on the spot you want to hit and let go of control... control of the bow, the sight pin and the moment of release. You’re brain isn’t going to be able to do that without a lot of re-programming! You have to do it in steps and you can’t take any shortcuts.
> 
> Learning to give up control is far easier using a back tension release aid. I'm not saying you can't use a trigger release to get a surprise release, but it is a lot easier to cheat with a finger-triggered release. After you have mastered this technique, it will be fairly easy to learn to do the same thing with your hunting release.
> 
> With an index-finger triggered release, you will contact the trigger with the pad between the first and second knuckle. Hooking the finger deep over the trigger will keep the sensitive fingertip from taking over.
> 
> With a thumb release, you can anchor with the thumb against the side of your face and as you pull through the shot it will naturally increase pressure on it until it goes off.
> To shoot using back tension, you flex or squeeze the release-side muscles of your back... sort of like you are trying to make one shoulder blade touch the other one. To find these muscles, have someone stand facing you while you pretend to hold a bow at full draw. Have them grasp your elbows and try to gently force you to give them a hug while you resist, all the while keeping your arms relaxed. The back muscles you feel resisting are the ones you need to flex to trigger the shot.
> 
> ............................ ..............THE FOLLOW THROUGH....................... ...............
> When you "follow through" after the bow goes off, people say you should try to keep the pin on the target or keep aiming until the arrow hits. I've always felt that that was a bad way to describe it. You can't keep aiming or even see the pin once you shoot.
> 
> What I would say is... keep your T form until you hear the arrow hit, do not drop your bow arm or move your head, stay relaxed and let the bow go where it wants to go without grabbing for it. Good follow through takes practice.
> 
> 
> .............................. ..............THE FIRST STEP.......................... ...................
> It's tempting to just go right out and try all of this on a target at 20 yards, but DON'T DO IT! When you start trying all of this for the first time, it is very important, and it will speed up the learning process... if you completely eliminate the aiming part of shooting the bow. Work on relaxation and a surprise release before you ever have to worry about aiming. You need to ingrain the feel of the shot process so that it becomes automatic... as in the term, "muscle memory." You do this with your eyes closed at first.
> 
> To get a feel for this, your target needs to be at the same height as your arrow at first. I hang my target from a rafter and stand close, so that the tip of my arrow is about 3 1/2 feet away from the target at full draw. After you reach full draw and have lined everything up, close your eyes, relax and think through every step of the shot.
> 
> .............................. ...............THE FOUNDATION.................... .....................
> When that feels VERY comfortable, move to a blank target that is 3 yards away and start shooting with your eyes open, but use no spot and try not to aim for a spot on the target... in fact, it would be better to just take the sight off your bow for this step. When you are so tired of doing this drill every day that you are ready to die of boredom, (something like 3 weeks later... at least 1000 arrows), only then is it time to learn to do it while aiming.
> 
> .............................. ..............AIMING.......... .............................. ..............
> To aim, reach full draw with a perfect T form, line up your bubble level, pick the right pin and center it all in the peep. Next, move your whole upper body to get on target. You don't want to just move your arm up and down or side to side. That introduces torque. Your upper body and arms should at all times form a perfect T shape at full draw.
> When everything is lined up, start consciously relaxing muscles. Hold the bow back with your back muscles. Start with relaxing your hands and work your way up your arms and through the shoulders. When you've shot this way long enough, you won't have to even think about this step.
> Then go into aiming mode. Your full concentration switches to the spot and only the spot. The pin is blurry and it will still seem to float around the spot, but you need to forget about the pin. You will naturally try to keep it on the spot without even thinking about it. You should be focusing on the spot and nothing else. Keep your concentration while slowly squeezing through the shot, making sure to follow through after the release.
> The first few times the bow goes off, it will scare the heck out of you. Keep at it! You will get used to it... and at the point that you start breaking arrows because they're hitting each other at 30 yards... you'll begin to crave that feeling! Just remember that it's important to never be able to anticipate exactly when the shot will break. You need the surprise... just like a benched down rifle shooter does. No cheating! Focus... concentrate on the spot you want to hit and just squeeze through until the shot breaks.
> It defies logic, really, but at some point in all of this learning process you will definitely know you are doing it right. How? Because arrow after arrow will keep going dead center of the bull's-eye... even when you know the pin was not on the spot at the time your release triggered.
> 
> 
> .............................. ....................THE BRIDGE........................ .............................. ..........
> At this point, you’ve learned how to trigger the shot with back tension and a surprise release.
> 
> Only now, with this last step... will you tie your new shooting process in with the aiming process. Move to 5 yards with a target that has several big spots to aim at... one arrow for each spot, no sense ruining arrows shooting at the same spot. Six inch squares of duct tape will work nicely on any target you have.
> 
> Begin shooting. Let the shooting process you've instilled run on auto-pilot... all you should have in your head is that spot. Nothing else matters. Trust the bow to do it’s job. Keep in mind that at this stage, where the arrow ends up in the target isn't important. What you are trying to do is capture the feeling of the perfect execution of the shot... while aiming at the same time.
> 
> 
> At some point, all of your arrows will start to find the center of the spots. When that happens... and you also feel like you are consistent in your form, aiming, release and follow through... move back to 10 yards and do it all again. When it all comes together at 10 yards, use a smaller spot to aim at.
> 
> Repeat the process out to a good distance, but don't be in a hurry to get there! Take your time and make sure it is all working before you move back. If it isn't, move closer again. It is a good idea to begin each practice session at the hanging target with your eyes closed. As always, it is very important to quit shooting when you start to loose your focus... that's when bad things happen.
> 
> At this point, you may be able to recognize a good arrow from a bad one, but to learn this technique all by yourself, you have to be a thinking archer... meaning, you have to be able to analyze and trouble-shoot your shot sequence from the inside... you have to feel what you're doing. This can be very tough to do. Finding a good coach is a true gold mine and it could save you a lot of headaches. Sometimes though, for whatever reason, coaching isn’t possible. A video camera can help, but only if you know what you're looking at. If you’re doing it by yourself and you ever hit a snag that you can’t figure out, all you can do is go back to a blank target, get close and work on the basics. This helps me every time.
> 
> In any case, this method of shooting a bow is well worth whatever effort it takes to learn it.
> 
> Good luck and I hope this helps you in some way.
> Zane


Great stuff here on just focusing on the spot not the pin


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## robert rea

Great info, should I spend 30 to 60 days on the bale and not go to and shoots during this time?


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## da white shoe

robert rea said:


> Great info, should I spend 30 to 60 days on the bale and not go to and shoots during this time?


No shoots, no target practice, no 3D, no sighting in... until you're done.
Don't rush through it.


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## bowtechnow

Marking this for my tp


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## aread

robert rea said:


> Great info, should I spend 30 to 60 days on the bale and not go to and shoots during this time?


After 30 to 60 days on the bale, re-read the part of da white shoe's post that talks about the bridge. The bridge is where the real work occurs. If you are serious about getting better, the bale is something that you shoot every time you practice. Not the whole practice session, but start off on the bale to warm up and be sure your shot is operating as it should. 

The bale is where you develop & maintain your shot. The bridge is where you ingrain it at the various distances that you will be shooting while hunting or competing. It takes a lot of discipline to shoot the bridge, but you CAN do it. 

It's not easy, but it is worth it.

JMHO,
Allen


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## Foxtrot92000

Just started to get tp yesterday when I began broadhead tuning my bow. I don't know how if its actually tp or just a horrible flinch, but about half the time I try to release my arrow (I use a thumb release, tru fire 3d hunter also new) my entire blow arm "spasms" or shakes and the release wont go off. It's pretty violent. Sent one arrow (thankfully a practice head) into my basements concrete wall, and several more into a field (I had the presence of mind to move outside after that.)

I have gotten very frustrated because of it. Thank you all for posting these tips and advice. I am definitely going to try these to make my shot process better, more accurate, and more relaxed.




--Alex


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## shootwithkids

Tagged for good advice


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