# Clearing your head after a bad shot?



## GATOR-EYE (Jun 30, 2006)

How do you clear your head after sending one to the blueberry patch?

After a bad shot I have a hard time letting go of that arrow and more than not send another right behind it. I ve tried changing the subject in my head, standing on the line for a minute watchin time go by  but it still takes the last arrow of the end to forget about it.

Tell me your trick.......:cocktail:


----------



## Man-n-Pink (Nov 7, 2006)

Once the arrow leaves your bow there is nothing that you can do. 

If something isn't quite right let it down.
If I can't focus on one shot is something else pops in my head I let down. 
When I do miss, I call myslef a @#&(@*&#*@. 
On the next shot I make sure of what my intentions are before I shoot. 
That way I know that my focus is where it needs to be.
There are times where I miss back to back. Eveyone does it from time to time.
Plus you have to realize that its just fling'in arrows.
Hope this helps, others to follow will have great advice as well


----------



## dluce79 (Jul 23, 2007)

*bump*

I'd like to hear more about this as well I have missed twice this year, 1 at 12 yds hit low have no idea why and one at 30 yds jumped the string, that one I can understand . But I'm getting extremely frustrated.


----------



## south-paaw (Jul 3, 2006)

for me, i am at a point once the release happens, i know if its a bad shot; i quickly realize why.... flinch/punch/premie-too much load on the trigger/ trying to "will" the arrow into the floating x , instead of letting down and starting over....etc. once the arrow is gone, its gone... thats what i tell myself; i dont dwell on it or over analyze.... i move on.
also, i tell myself i can't win unless i hit the x , but i dont stress this point, i calmly remind myself of this....
something like that


----------



## Brown Hornet (Aug 8, 2002)

Twirl my release around my finger......take a deep breathe.....move on to the next arrow.

By then the last shot is gone from my thoughts....it has to be or the next one is going in the blue also....

If the next one goes out also....grab an arrow from the guys quiver in front of you and snap it in two.  That surely will make you forget about putting an arrow in the blue


----------



## mdbowhunter (Oct 22, 2002)

GATOR-EYE said:


> How do you clear your head after sending one to the blueberry patch?
> 
> After a bad shot I have a hard time letting go of that arrow and more than not send another right behind it. I ve tried changing the subject in my head, standing on the line for a minute watchin time go by  but it still takes the last arrow of the end to forget about it.
> 
> Tell me your trick.......:cocktail:


I don't have a trick. You just have to put it behind you and learn from it. Don't dwell. Once the arrow is gone there is nothing you can do. Tell yourself "I'm gonna make up for it on the next target!". :wink: No sense in allowing a bad shot or sequence of shots dictate an entire round. Move on.


----------



## JAVI (Jun 19, 2003)

I relax my muscles and lower my head going to my “BLUE PLACE” where I take 7-10 slow deep breaths and mentally rehearse what I know a good shot feels like. Then run my mental program for the next shot. Because I know that shot was not like me.


----------



## JAVI (Jun 19, 2003)

Brown Hornet said:


> Twirl my release around my finger......take a deep breathe.....move on to the next arrow.
> 
> By then the last shot is gone from my thoughts....it has to be or the next one is going in the blue also....
> 
> If the next one goes out also....grab an arrow from the guys quiver in front of you and snap it in two.  That surely you make you forget about putting an arrow in the blue


Better watch out you don't hyperventilate breathing deeply that many times in a row... :wink:


----------



## Brown Hornet (Aug 8, 2002)

JAVI said:


> Better watch out you don't hyperventilate breathing deeply that many times in a row... :wink:


Ouch....I have atleast 2 good arrows that I don't have to take breathe after so I am ok.


----------



## Man-n-Pink (Nov 7, 2006)

Brown Hornet said:


> Twirl my release around my finger......take a deep breathe.....move on to the next arrow.
> 
> By then the last shot is gone from my thoughts....it has to be or the next one is going in the blue also....
> 
> If the next one goes out also....grab an arrow from the guys quiver in front of you and snap it in two.  That surely you make you forget about putting an arrow in the blue


Hope it not mine.


----------



## Hutnicks (Feb 9, 2006)

Brown Hornet said:


> Twirl my release around my finger......take a deep breathe.....move on to the next arrow.
> 
> By then the last shot is gone from my thoughts....it has to be or the next one is going in the blue also....
> 
> If the next one goes out also....grab an arrow from the guys quiver in front of you and snap it in two.  That surely you make you forget about putting an arrow in the blue


If I ever shoot in front of you remind me to pack a few fibreglass wonder arrows

I go through the set up and shot routine immediately, I want to replace the memory of the shot with something I know by rote asap.


----------



## GATOR-EYE (Jun 30, 2006)

Brown Hornet said:


> Twirl my release around my finger......take a deep breathe.....move on to the next arrow.
> 
> By then the last shot is gone from my thoughts....it has to be or the next one is going in the blue also....
> 
> If the next one goes out also....grab an arrow from the guys quiver in front of you and snap it in two.  That surely will make you forget about putting an arrow in the blue



SO YOUR THE GUY!!!! YOU OWN ME A HALF DOZEN ARROWS

Another thing to work on....Blue place?????


----------



## JAVI (Jun 19, 2003)

GATOR-EYE said:


> Another thing to work on....Blue place?????



Blue place, quite place, happy place, Caribbean beach, it doesn't matter just as long as you wash all tension from your body and mind... then reload with the image and feel of a good shot. Actually visualize yourself shooting a shot and see the arrow hit the center of the X.


----------



## field14 (May 21, 2002)

i try to take that with a grain of salt and get it out of my mind. one should only concentrate on the current arrow at hand and put everything else out of your mind. rehearse the shot coming up in your mind, rehearse the shot sequence, and make sure to keep negatives out of the 'picture'...such as, "don't do that again.", or, " don't let your bow hand do that." if you say things like "don't" to yourself....then that is likely to be the first thing that you end up doing and repeating again....sorta like the kids, you tell them not to do something...and that is exactly what they will do!

instead put in positive thoughts like, 'bowhand placement, checked.'

one last, real important subliminal sort of thing...always pull your best arrow out of the target last, regardless of the order. i always make this a point to do every single time. most people pull the 'bad one' last cuz they want to 'check out that arrow'....if you think about it, this might not be the positive thing to do...

here's the rationale....if you pull the bad shot last, then the last thing you see before you go back to the shooting line is....a bad shot! doesn't it make better sense to pull the bad shot first, and then start pulling the good shots in sequence better, better, better, better, best for last? that way, you leave the bale with a good feeing about yourself, and have reinforced it with saving the best for last!

think about little things like this that can clear your head quite easily. it takes only a little effort and reaps such huge gains.

oh, that bad shot? absolutely check out the arrow, and if that sucker has gone in the same direction twice....change arrows and put that bad one in the 'penalty box'...but do it first, not as the last thing you do when you leave the bale!

i don't let others pull my arrows, indoors or out...for the reasons listed above and...with today's nocks not being glued in place...it is too easy for a nock to get 'rotated' slightly (either by accident or on purpose, haha)...or if an aluminum with thin wall...bent by pulling it wrong; so i like to be in charge of my own arrows.

field14:tongue::wink:


----------



## target1 (Jan 16, 2007)

i take a sip of :darkbeer: Diet Coke and on I go. I remember it's only a game...I'm supposed to be having fun.


----------



## Bobmuley (Jan 14, 2004)

When I was younger I'd have a fit. Cuss, stomp...and maybe break something. But once the fit was done it was done.

Now that I'm a little older I can just go straight to "its done".


----------



## field14 (May 21, 2002)

how's about "clearing your head before a good shot in order to allow you to make a great shot.'

field14


----------



## JohnR (Apr 5, 2007)

*Missed*



target1 said:


> i take a sip of :darkbeer: Diet Coke and on I go. I remember it's only a game...I'm supposed to be having fun.


DITTO!


----------



## field14 (May 21, 2002)

JohnR said:


> DITTO!



if you miss more after that diet coke....it might contain "dummy soup" instead, hahahaha. seems like i have huge bowls of dummy soup before i shoot, and during too...what other reason could it be for shooting so many dumb shots?:wink::tongue:

field14:wink:


----------



## jing1117 (Jun 17, 2006)

divot250 said:


> Once the arrow leaves your bow there is nothing that you can do.
> 
> If something isn't quite right let it down.
> If I can't focus on one shot is something else pops in my head I let down.
> ...



very good advice. 

once you miss, forget about it. the more you dwell in it the more you will have doubs about your next shots and you don't want to have that. 

in my case i have trouble shooting 50 yards, for some odd reason i just cant keep them all in. so by the time i come to a 50 yard stake i'm already shaking my head even before something happens. all the guys are also shaking their heads since i got 16 at 50 yards and 20 at 80 yards. still working on this problem. 

focus on your existing shot -
focus on the spot - the X

someone always says to me, its all mental.


----------



## AK-AZ (May 22, 2006)

It comes to a point of moving to the next target/shot. You can't do anything to change what just happened, but you can improve on it can't you?? I call it positive reinforcement. Learned it the hard way when I was rodeo'in, mistakes hurt there!!:wink:


----------



## blondstar (Aug 15, 2006)

Yell at my husband and tell him it is his fault. But really after moaning and looking where that arrow is, I try to refocus calm down and just go on.


----------



## Full metal jack (Oct 29, 2006)

I had to come to the realiztion once the arrow is released from the bow and hits the target that shot sequance is over(you cannot take it back and you have to forget about it). Once you understand this it becomes easier to focus on you next shot sequance.

I to try to pull my own arrows shooting with friends or not. You just never know what can happen or the things other archeres do to beat people out.

And always just remember archery is supposed to be fun and relaxing not a sress inducer.:wink:


----------



## ZarkSniper (Aug 12, 2003)

What's this "blueberry patch" you speak of....I don't go there...:wink:

Truthfully. I put my head down and laugh. What else can I do? Thank god it doesn't happen very often...:wink:


----------



## rock monkey (Dec 28, 2002)

take it from a guy who's slid more than enuff arrows down the range at louisville, you just have to let it go and not dwell on it.

you cant fix the last arrow and you cant shoot the next arrow. what only matters is the present arrow. the faster you stop thinkin about where it went, the sooner you can concentrate on where you're putting the present arrow.

im to the point that i know when i have a bad shot, and i know what i did wrong. all i do is throw my head back, groan to myself, sometimes call myself a tard and then come back to the present and focus my conscious thoughts to THIS arrow.

it usually takes me the walkback to clear myself totally. i'll stare at my target and where the arrow is and think about it. make my plans for the next end and clear my head. whats done is done. i cant fix the past, and i cant do the future...only the present exists......and thats what am concerned with.


----------



## Kstigall (Feb 24, 2004)

Don't be puckered up so tight when you start shooting and dropping a shot won't bother you so much. In practice rounds you aren't just practicing shot execution you are also practicing mental composure. There is no way to shoot 60 arrows at once.................so you might as well learn to deal with it. 

If you're average over the last couple of weeks is say, 298 with 42 X's then don't fret when you drop an arrow. You still have one more "blue bird" to play with. If you drop a second, well big deal, you still have the X's to count. If you're averaging 289 with 32 X's it's the same thing. It's not over until it's over.

Don't focus on misses. If you have to look at every shot through bino's then you need to leave the bino's in the chair! Bino's are nice when you're getting dialed in or shoot real high X counts and are shooting FS. Because wherever that last arrow hit I guarantee you it will still be there when go to pull them. 

After you finish shooting find positives. Are one of the targets shot better than the others? Did you really burn a hole in one? That is how good you CAN shoot. How many X's? How many inside/out? Don't dwell on the "bad"..........

Starting to hit 300's consistently? Time to work on the X count and the 300's become a gimme.


----------



## MOPARLVR4406 (Apr 5, 2006)

think of my ex-wife
get a good picture in my mind
_and drill Xs the rest of the round_:mg:


----------



## sharkred7 (Jul 19, 2005)

I chastise myself for lack of focus for only a brief moment, then it is over and I can guarantee the next arrow will have my complete focus and drill the X, Just wish I could keep the occasional brain farts from showing up first:embara:
John


----------



## Dave T (Mar 24, 2004)

When I make a bad shot, if I think about score (the points I dropped) or the mistake I just made, things often continue to go down hill. If instead I can go back to my shot sequence and execution, I can recover.

Clever sayings are often annoying and sometimes not helpful. One that has helped me is: Think about process, not product.

Dave


----------



## swerve (Jun 5, 2005)

Replaying my shot sequence in my mind tends to get me back on track. Mainly because as i visualize my sequence its at home on my practice bale where it always goes in the X.


----------



## C Doyle 88 (Sep 1, 2007)

*clear head*

I usually spot my shots with a glass as much as anything to force myself to take time between shots. But when I do one of those, I know it when it leaves the bow. There is no point in even looking, so I'll go right to my next shot, because I know how to do it properly, I just didnt. The next shot will go better, the last one got your focus back, so use it before you loose it again. You'll see it when you get to the target, after you've gotten back on tract.

good luck, see you at the pine -doyle-


----------



## 442fps (Dec 23, 2003)

I laugh , tell myself : hey , you can do it much better , close my eyes and shoot an arrow in my mind , these are always perfectly performed , then i gonna shoot the next real one .

Methods that i see sometimes from other shooters are : ground tuning the bow , tree tuning the bow , same is possible with the releases , they are only a bit harder to find  , and if nothing helps , break one of you arrows , normally the bad one , above your knee , it doesn't helps really , but seems that some shooters feel better after that :wink:


----------



## archerycharlie (Nov 4, 2002)

JAVI said:


> Sum beach, it doesn't matter just as long as you wash all tension from your body and mind.



If I did that I would fall down and wonder why I did that.:wink: AC


----------



## tabarch (Sep 20, 2006)

target1 said:


> i take a sip of :darkbeer: Diet Coke and on I go. I remember it's only a game...I'm supposed to be having fun.


I wonder what is mixed in that diet COKE:cocktail::cocktail::cocktail::cocktail::cocktail:


----------



## njshadowwalker (Aug 14, 2004)

I laugh and say ok no pressure....Then tell myself how easy it is to find white.

Once i started just making the shot rather then fighting it i started popping 300's with ease.


----------

