# Can't bring my bow arm down? Target Panic?



## zackpayne26 (Oct 22, 2012)

I have a major problem. A few years ago I think I was suddenly affected by target panic. I was shooting great and very confident in my shooting and form. Now I can't bring my bow down to settle my pin where I want to. It's like I hang up too high of where I want to aim. Can anyone help me?


----------



## SSbowhunter (Jun 27, 2012)

im the opposite, once i get comfortable and settled my pins are always low on target and i struggle to bring my bow arm up on target


----------



## da white shoe (Mar 10, 2009)

I might be wrong, with the limited info at hand, but my guess is that you are timing the release of the arrow to the pin crossing the spot.
You are probably also focused on the pin while aiming.
I've been there.
There is a better way.
It takes commitment, but it is worth it.


********** HOW TO SHOOT WITH BACK TENSION AND A SURPRISE RELEASE *********


.......................................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 spot for your bow hand to be in on the grip. You want to feel all of the pressure from the bow at one point on your bow hand when you're at full draw. Pretend there is a steel rod running parallel and exactly between the two bones in 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 torquing 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.

...........................................RELAXATION............................................
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 people use a wrist sling. Use the bones in your arms and the muscles in your back to hold as much of the weight of the bow at full draw as you can. 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. Remember; tension in your muscles is what 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. It is very important that your bow is set at the correct draw length. If it is too long, you will have a very hard time relaxing fully.

..........................................BACK TENSION............................................
Next thing to work on is getting a surprise release. Learning this correctly, right from the start, is far easier with a back tension release, (BTR). To make a BTR fire, you flex or squeeze the muscles of your back so that your release-side shoulder blade is flexing toward your spine. 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 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 make the BTR fire. 

............................................AIMING......................................................
To aim, reach full draw with 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. At full draw, your upper body and arms should at all times form a perfect T shape. 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 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 it's important to never be able to anticipate the shot. No cheating! Focus... concentrate on the spot you want to hit and just squeeze through until the shot breaks.

............................................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 with out grabbing 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. Your target needs to be at the same height as your arrow. 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 sick of doing this every day that you are ready to hang yourself, (something like 3 weeks later... at least 1000 arrows), move to 5 yards with a big spot and try it all while aiming. Over the next few weeks, use a smaller and smaller spot to aim at. Then work your way out to longer and longer distances, starting every session at the hanging target with your eyes closed. If you ever feel like your backsliding... anticipating the shot or doing something else wrong, don't be afraid to get close again. Don't cheat here! You are building a new foundation and you have to start from the bottom up. You don't want to re-cycle any of the weak, faulty bricks you used in your old foundation. Take your time and do this right! Any shortcuts you take right now will come back to haunt you! Guaranteed!


.....................................THE SWITCH TO AN INDEX FINGER RELEASE..................
You can learn to do the same thing with a trigger release... it's much easier to do once you've learned how with a back tension release, but it is harder to keep from cheating with a trigger. Adjust your release so that the 2nd pad back from the tip of your finger is curled over the trigger. Don't use the tip of your finger. It is too sensitive and easy to move. The aiming process and shot sequence are exactly the same with an index finger release as it is with a back tension release. Put as much pressure on the trigger as you can without making it fire and then squeeze just your back muscles until it goes off. 

.....................................................THE MIND SET..................................................
When I was faced with target panic, I realized that I was going to have to change my thinking. I had always felt that I needed to "shoot the bow." Instead, 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. A bow shooting machine. To just stay out of the way and allow the arrow to leave the bow with no outside influences working against it... namely me! After all, if my bow was being shot out of a shooting machine... the arrows would all be going in the same hole! Just that little bit of attitude adjustment, that little change in my approach to shooting, was all that it took to get my mind right. Shooting a bow in this way is truly amazing! It defies logic, really, and at some point in all of this process, you will know you are doing it right because your arrows 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 bow went off. Kind of like some kind of Zen-master ninja-jedi... no kidding!

Learn this and I promise you, you won't be sorry. It will absolutely cure target panic if done properly and it really is the best way to shoot a compound bow with sights.


----------



## AJ the TP Guru (Jul 29, 2011)

Lots of guys (many here at AT) have told me they had the same symtoms. Most had already tried multiple surprise (BT) releases. They cured the problem with my _Solution _(link below).


----------



## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

Do it like da white shoe posted. The post above is golden. Gimmicks don't work long term. Lots of things work short term. But if you want lasting results, you will have to put in the effort to change the way you are shooting. Zane has outlined the way to do it. You'll be a much better archer for it.

Good luck & let us know how you are doing.
Allen


----------



## Missul8r (Oct 1, 2012)

Tag


Sent from my iPhone using morse code.


----------



## mike 66 (Jan 21, 2010)

Yes... You have...... T.p go see a coach and get it over with asap


----------

