Target panic has me wanting to switch

[Tim0712]

So I’ve never harvested a deer with a bow yet every deer I’ve shot with a gun it was a no brainer just second nature grab point pull. No nerves no getting giddy no shaking just straight to the point and done. So I’ve been reading and reading and reading more about guys switching to trad for the reason of target panic. I feel that knowing I need the precise shot will calm my nerves greatly rather than looking for the first shot and the speed of shooting a recurve is from what I understand to be a fast tempo like drawing a gun. Any guys here switch off compound to trad for these reasons? I’m not big on social media. In fact this forum is about my only form of communication with people I don’t know lol so figured this would be my best shot at getting straight forward answers

 

[Tim0712]

I should add that it’s not a matter of my shooting skill I can shoot very tight groups from 20 all the way to 50 yards from all angles on the ground and in the tree. I’ve shot at probably 5-6 deer with a bow and hit one poorly and never found it

 

[C.J.M.]

What kind of release do you use? I don't have target panic, but I found switching from a wrist release to thumb release really helped me focus more on form, thus low down my draw and aiming process. I shoot better and more consistent.

 

[GCTerpfan]

shooting trad isn’t a cure for target panic and a few will probably disagree but, I’m fairly confident in saying that shooting quickly is more likely to cause target panic then fix it. You need to be in control of your shot, regardless of what type of bow you are shooting. You can shoot a gun because you focus on the act of squeezing the trigger under control and it is a surprise when it goes off.

You need to listen to everything you can by Joel Turner. Here is a podcast that he did with Trad Geeks. https://tradgeeks.com/podcast/podcast41/
This is more Trad focused but Joel has a ton of information out there about shooting compounds also. Joel does an amazing job explaining the causes of target panic and how to fix it.

 

[deerfly]

There are lots of trad guys fighting target panic all the time, you can find plenty of evidence of this by browsing popular trad archery forums and YT as well. So I wouldn't look to switching to trad as my first solution, esp if you're a competent compound shooter already.

Obviously, we can't see you shoot at deer, but I would guess your problem is more about buck fever sort of focus, like ignoring your sights and looking at the whole animal and releasing without actually aiming for a spot.

 

[Shed84]

More info? Is it target panic or "buck fever"? Are u taking good shots/angles for bow apposed to gun?Does your pin freeze up and not get on target or do u just punch your release when your anywhere on the deer? Personally I beat my target panic a few years ago. My pin would freeze low then it would take everything in me to move it up and then I would end up doing a drive by trigger punch. I beat it by going to a tension release,the "Silverback" which I believe one is for sale in the classifieds. After I spent a few months with the Silverback I then went to a hinge release with a safety "Sweet spot pro" then ultimately settled on a scott ascent hinge. Their is a ton of good info on line to beat target panic. I mess around with a recurve from time to time but I'm not at all confident in it enough to hunt with it. I applaud and respect everyone who kills year after year with a traditional bow it's just not for me.

 

[Shed84]

To follow up my target panic story. From what I've learned the hard way I started my son with a recurve since he was old enough to pull a string back. He had a blast with it but now at 10 years old I have him shooting the Silverback on a compound. I want to imprint the point to keep your pin in the middle and slowly pull. He shoots it great. Very different then how I was taught to just punch a trigger.

 

[neonomad]

If you just like getting out there and pursuing game, if it’s legal in your state, maybe consider crossbow… get a few clean kills under your belt and start mixing the compound back in?

 

[Tim0712]

What kind of release do you use? I don't have target panic, but I found switching from a wrist release to thumb release really helped me focus more on form, thus low down my draw and aiming process. I shoot better and more consistent.

I switched to thumb release last year and that fixed everything in terms of target shooting. I’m not sure if classifying this as target panic is even right lol

 

[Tim0712]

shooting trad isn’t a cure for target panic and a few will probably disagree but, I’m fairly confident in saying that shooting quickly is more likely to cause target panic then fix it. You need to be in control of your shot, regardless of what type of bow you are shooting. You can shoot a gun because you focus on the act of squeezing the trigger under control and it is a surprise when it goes off.

You need to listen to everything you can by Joel Turner. Here is a podcast that he did with Trad Geeks. https://tradgeeks.com/podcast/podcast41/
This is more Trad focused but Joel has a ton of information out there about shooting compounds also. Joel does an amazing job explaining the causes of target panic and how to fix it.

Thanks for the info! I’ll Deffinately be tuning into that podcast tomorrow!!!

 

[Tim0712]

There are lots of trad guys fighting target panic all the time, you can find plenty of evidence of this by browsing popular trad archery forums and YT as well. So I wouldn't look to switching to trad as my first solution, esp if you're a competent compound shooter already.

Obviously, we can't see you shoot at deer, but I would guess your problem is more about buck fever sort of focus, like ignoring your sights and looking at the whole animal and releasing without actually aiming for a spot.

I would say it’s more so “buck fever” as well i like everything up I make sure my form is as good as I can get it and then last minute it’s like my body looses all muscle memory and I’m holding a bow at full draw for the first time

 

[Tim0712]

More info? Is it target panic or "buck fever"? Are u taking good shots/angles for bow apposed to gun?Does your pin freeze up and not get on target or do u just punch your release when your anywhere on the deer? Personally I beat my target panic a few years ago. My pin would freeze low then it would take everything in me to move it up and then I would end up doing a drive by trigger punch. I beat it by going to a tension release,the "Silverback" which I believe one is for sale in the classifieds. After I spent a few months with the Silverback I then went to a hinge release with a safety "Sweet spot pro" then ultimately settled on a scott ascent hinge. Their is a ton of good info on line to beat target panic. I mess around with a recurve from time to time but I'm not at all confident in it enough to hunt with it. I applaud and respect everyone who kills year after year with a traditional bow it's just not for me.

I’d more so say buck fever. I went through the loops with releases and settled with a thumb release. It feels most natural to me. I’m not getting pin freeze up I acquire target properly but it’s almost as if I completely forget everything I know at the moment before releasing the arrow. My wife seems to think it’s because I’m trying to hard to prove to myself that I can do it lol

 

[Tim0712]

If you just like getting out there and pursuing game, if it’s legal in your state, maybe consider crossbow… get a few clean kills under your belt and start mixing the compound back in?

Crossbows are permit only here but other states I hunt they’re legal. I just refuse to use one I don’t seem it to be fair in the sport of archery personally unless you’re handicapped and have no other choice

 

[Tim0712]

I’ve also drawn back on deer that I didn’t intend to shoot just to follow them with the pin and try to see if I could figure myself out and all I learned in doing that is that if I don’t plan to shoot it I have no problem holding the pin on the shoulder for as long as I can stay drawn. It’s almost as if I’m doing something at the moment I go from being idle to pulling the trigger. All these misses for the record weren’t mere inches they were a mile high or fell 10 feet short. The one I did happen to hit (unfortunately) I believe she may have jumped the string more so than me completely messing something up. If she didn’t jump I still think it would have ended in a successful harvest. I’ve even considered bow hunting the rest of gun season now that I have meat in the freezer

 

[brydan]

Crossbows are permit only here but other states I hunt they’re legal. I just refuse to use one I don’t seem it to be fair in the sport of archery personally unless you’re handicapped and have no other choice

I hear what your saying and definitely don't want this to sound argumentative, just food for thought....What's fair to the animal is a quick humane kill. It's not the arrow launching apparatus that makes things fair, getting the arrow on target accurately is what's fair to the animal.

 

[Tim0712]

I hear what your saying and definitely don't want this to sound argumentative, just food for thought....What's fair to the animal is a quick humane kill. It's not the arrow launching apparatus that makes things fair, getting the arrow on target accurately is what's fair to the animal.

I 100% agree with you. The last 2 deer I drew back on this year I never even let the arrow go. I had 20 yard broad side shots on both of them and I decided I didn’t trust myself enough to let go so I backed down. Kinda the whole reasoning to making this post

 

[John 35]

For whatever reason I have a lot easier time shooting deer with the ezv sight than using a conventional pin sight. Getting the pin in the exact right spot on a deer could be panic inducing for me.
Some people I’ve heard don’t like the ezv but I love it.

 

[woodsdog2]

I don’t think going trad will cure your specific issue but I would never not recommend pursuing trad archery and bowhunting. However, from my experiences and from reading through where you’re having issues and where you’re not, it sounds like you may have what I call shot timing issues. It is a form of target panic but not related to the pin and release as much as your point of focus in relation to what the animal is doing at the time of release. There is a subtle nuance of when and when not to release on an animal. Some people have great difficulty in meshing aiming and distance judging with the appropriate time to “loose” the arrow in relation to the animal and what it’s doing and the position of its vitals at the time of release. My suggestion is to go to a DART range with your current and most familiar setup you’re shooting good groups with now and practice all the whitetail video scenarios you can. Do this for a month or so. Another method is making a draw string or purchasing something like the Archery Shot Trainer or shot saver from a company called MD50 Gear.com and then putting whitail videos on your tv screen or whatever and practice shot timing with your actual release with that. If you can find the time, I suggest doing both the DART range AND the draw string release practice. Good Luck!!

 

[kyler1945]

How many deer have you killed?

How long have you been bow hunting?

You won’t use a crossbow, because you think it’s not fair. But you are willing to switch to a trad bow, which will have a shorter effective range, be a slower projectile, with a worse trajectory, that relies more on your skill and focus on to be accurate and precise, because you can’t hit deer with a compound.

I don’t really know what my third question is. I’m just confused on what you think fair is.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

Since you don't seem to have pin freeze and can get on target it seems like you are just falling apart at the last second due to some shot anxiety. Try this. Get on target and put your finger on the release and then just pause. Take a two count and focus your attention on the spot on the target only. Pick a tiny spot. Feel your fingertip on the trigger and just slowly tense your back very slowly and the shot will surprise you.

I have this weird thing when does come in. I get really shook up and the longer they are there the worse it gets. I will literally shake involuntarily after about 5 minutes. It's crazy. With a buck I want to shoot I have ice water in my veins until after the shot. Like I say, it is weird. I can pinwheel a buck, but I have missed does by a mile. What I found that helped me is when any deer comes in, regardless of what it is, I say to myself "I'm not going to shoot that deer", and that really helps me. I dawned on me that when a doe came in that I wanted to arrow I was getting nervous about the shot. That was what was messing me up. Now when one comes in and I want to arrow it I think to myself I'm not going to shoot it but all the while my body is preparing for the shot. This has helped me out.

I would highly recommend traditional archery but as its own reward, not as a cure for issues shooting a compound. To me they seem to be apples and oranges.