Cures for compound target panic without changing release?

[sambow]

I have been shoting compound for around twelve months now and up until three weeks ago I was slowly inching my scores up week on week until I reached a portsmouth score of 565.

Three weeks ago the wheels came well and truly off the wagon. I was shooting a portsmouth and at the half way stage all was going excellent and I was heading for a 575-580 which would have smashed my PB. Then it all went horribly wrong, I started missing the tens completely and in came three sevens, I ended up with a 550.

The following day I went into the back garden to get it out of my system and did just as bad. Things have now deteriorated further and am now shooting around 530 portsmouths and I am beginning to despair.

I have always found it difficult to hold the bow steady on the gold and the problem initially was that as soon as the dot centred on the hold I would rush to release (using carter insatiable 3). The shot "felt" snatchy as if the release wasn't cleanly letting go of the string. Since then the problem has got worse. Around one in three shots are ending up at 2 o'clock between the 8 and 6 despite the other two being in or near the outer ten ring (I am left handed). As soon as I release it feels wrong before the arrow has even hit the target and I sense I flicking the arrow to the right.

I am not gripping the bow handle tightly, in fact my hand is almost open with the back of the bow resting against the thumb pad of my hand. Although I have never been comfortable letting the bow dangle from my hand so I tend to hold the handle once the arrow has been released.

Can anyone offer advice?

Most advice I see on target panic (if this is target panic) recommends changing releases to BT, which I am not keen on doing. To my mind I never used to do this so it must be a manifestation of my brain, therefore I would rather solve the problem rather than mask it with technology.

[FlourPower]

Don't add up your scores til the end and refrain from thinking about how you are going to hit a score. You never know it may help!

[archery_mum]

I would recommend the Carter Evolution, however as you say you don't want to move to B/T could I suggest:

• Make sure there is no travel in your trigger.
  
• Make sure the trigger is set heavy enough not to go off as soon as you touch it. A hair trigger = target panic IMHO
  
• Come to anchor and try and 'float' on the gold. Don't try and hold still, just let your dot float around the middle. If you can't see the dot within the gold then you may need a smaller dot.
  
• Your thumb should be wrapped around your trigger and use your back muscles to move your arm backwards in a psuedo-backtension method so you pull the trigger this way rather than snatching the trigger.

I hope this helps

[geoffretired]

Sambow, If I have read you correctly, there was a problem with your aim before you actually hit a sudden drop in performance. You were starting to release before you had fully settled on the centre, yes?
This brings back memories. On my own, I could shoot 300 Worcester rounds using that snap shooting technique. However, I knew it was not the right way to shoot and yet was unable to get out of the habit.
I was lucky enough to be shown how to resolve the problem. I had suffered for many years by that time, so I think you stand a much better chance of resolving this than I did. I managed quite quickly so do not despair. I will Pm you.

[GeoffT]

You have my deepest symphathy. I have suffered this on several occasions. Unless you have had it yourself, you can't understand what it is like.

My cure, this time around, was an Evolution, but if you don't want to change releases then try the following:

- everything that Archery-Mum said
- Shoot a round without letting go of the arrow. Just come to full draw as normal, prepare the shot and settle in the same, then after 5-8 seconds come down and start all over again. I shot three Portsmouths last year without loosing an arrow.
- In my humble opinion, blank boss shooting, as recommended by some, does not help. It just prepares you to shoot at a blank boss.

You will come out of this a better archer. Keep smiling and don't let it put you off.

Geoff

[niceguy]

If you are an ex recurve archer like a lot of us compounders are you will probably have been shooting with a clicker and have will not experienced target panic before. When your brain aquires the gold through the sight it want to "get it quick" before it dissapears and this leads to the shot punching that compound shooters know so well. It usually gets worse untill ultimately you wont be able able to settle on the gold at all, your brain won't allow it because then you have to shoot it, it's a sort of self defence mechanism. Freezing below the gold is one outcome and no matter how hard you try you can't raise the sight on to the gold. A recurve with a clicker doesn't have this problem because you shoot when the clicker tells you to not when you have aquired the gold, sometimes the sight isn't on the gold when the clicker sounds but you will still shoot. The clicker separates the shot triggering mechanism from the "seeing the gold"bit. A good way of dealing with compound target panic is to mimic the recurve clicker style of shooting. This what back tension and pull through releases do, the shot goes when you have pulled, twisted, rotated the appropiate amout not when you see the gold. These releases separate the two functions, seeing and shooting. Firstly you need to accept you have TP and not get too worked up about it, it's like having a cold, not pleaseant, the symptoms can be treated and it will eventually go (and sometimes comes back). Secondly STOP SCORING it just makes it worse.

Regards

[chryd]

Originally Posted by sambow

Most advice I see on target panic (if this is target panic) recommends changing releases to BT, which I am not keen on doing. To my mind I never used to do this so it must be a manifestation of my brain, therefore I would rather solve the problem rather than mask it with technology.

Sympathies on the target panic - been there and not nice One thing I'd say about BT is that it is not about "masking it with technology", though I understand why you think that. Using BT to "cure" target panic is (in my opinion) about re-teaching your brain how to properly execute a shot. It's quite possible, and many have done so, to shoot BT to get over the target panic and then go back to shooting a trigger release with no target panic (I did this, I believe Marcus did too). I have even heard stories of people like Dave Cousins switching to a BT release for a couple of shots if they feel they are getting twitchy with a trigger release.

Either way, it is possible to beat target panic, so don't get despondent

[sambow]

Originally Posted by archery_mum

• Make sure there is no travel in your trigger.
  
• Make sure the trigger is set heavy enough not to go off as soon as you touch it. A hair trigger = target panic IMHO
  

I hope this helps

The trigger thing is interesting. A long while ago I was shooting alongside an eminent archer (hate namedropping) who tried my old BK and said it was too soft and had too much travel.

Pretty soon after I bought an insatiable 3+. I had been shooting this with the spings supplied. But co-incidental with my problems starting, around 3-4 weeks ago I was reading some posts making the same suggestion as you. I had got myself up to 565 but had a target of 575 before the end of the season. So I had this great idea to swap for a stronger spring (not the strongest). It may be a co-incidence but thats when my problems started.

At the weekend at our club indoor champs I was having a mare of a shoot, 5s, 6s and even a miss. I was thoroughly hacked off and in desperation at 2.5 doz I put my insatiable away and got out my old BK (much softer). All of sudden I managed to get the arrows in the yellow (not great shots, but they felt it after the first 2.5 doz).

This made me think softer was better as my technique was to squeeze my thumb onto the trigger and a hard trigger meant sometimes I was having to squeeze quite a lot (or maybe even jerk it).

The eminent archer uses the technique you suggest, also uses a trigger release, but his thumb never moves (actually nothing moves, an arrow just flies into the X). But I find this technique quite hard, not helped by my bow having wheels and no hard stop to pull against (it feels very woolly and undefined at full draw).

I am not sure any of this explanation above helps and I am grateful for comments already received and any to come.

[Marcus26]

The above advises are really good (I would say overall the best collective advise I have read on TP on a forum)

Some opinions of mine
• Increase the spring weight. I'm now using 2 springs heavier and considering the next one.
• Remove any travel in the release
• Drop your scope power to 2x or 4x. This will slow your dot movement down.
• Do NOT shoot blank target. Move closer and train your brain to aim at the middle of the target.
• ALWAYS count your scores. Otherwise you are hiding from the problem. However say "I squeeze the release always because I am patient and relaxed" as you are at full draw.
• Do not have a scoring goal. This is a false ceiling. Aim to execute good calm relaxed shots while holding the dot still. That is it. You now have 60 chances per round to do it right.

[Reg]

Good thread - really useful info.
Anyone got any tips how to do all the above while avoiding using back tension at all? !!!
I took up compound as due to an (unrelated to archery) injury I've ended up with a incurable trapped nerve in my neck. Shooting recurve properly is impossible and I thought compound with a 'dead' release, while not ideal, would a least keep me on the shooting line.
Like Sambow I was doing OK but now couldn't hit a barn (from the inside!) and I'm on the verge of giving up completely. Coach wants me to shoot 'properly' which I'm afraid is just not on.
Any advise would be useful and most appreciated.