snap shooting,rushing the shot

[bob]

Every time I have a deer come in, I rush the shot, I am always afraid that they will pick my scent by the tree. I try to set up for that 15 -18 yard shot, but 9 out of 10 times they are on top of the tree. I get the bow drawn, just about get the pin on the vitals, and shoot, dropping the bow arm and always shoot under the deer, looking to see were I hit the deer. I am forever in the tree talking to myself pick a spot hold on target till you see the arrow hit. I have been doing this since I started bow hunting, 35 years ago, always did a lot of pheasant and shotgun hunting, its like I'm shooting the bow like a shotgun. practice, group arrows great I do use a normal target will a deer target help? I don't get buck fever I have seen enough deer, but its like you better shoot before you don't have a shot, and its like your lucky to even get a shot nowadays. any body having the same problems. bob

[bubba]

you can not practice for nerves.  When I have one coming in and I ma getting ready I talk to myself internally.  I say wait for the good shot, then think my whole routine and follow it.  The shot is as much mental as it is physical.  You have to get the mental part in check and control it

[bob]

I am talking to myself maybe at the wrong time, like you say get into a routine even when practicing good sound advice never tried that when coming in. only nerves about getting the shot of

[ants]

Sounds like you have to get your head on straight. You always have more time to shoot, than you think ,because if you don't have enough time ...then you don't have a good shot. Think of it that way. Good luck.

[growalot]

No...but that particular problem is interesting...habits in one sport spilling over to the other...My bad habit is due to having shot a much  louder slower bow for 15 yrs....I tend t o aiim lower on live deer...for they would always drop.....my new bow is so fast ...quiet and flat shooting....deer drop isn't a problem.......my shooting low is.... Good Luck

[bob]

Some of it does stem from only shooting at only the big ones, years ago I shot at doe small bucks, and tended to connect on the deer  some time through out the season after missing one or two. now when your looking for certain deer you might only get a shot every 3 or 4 years.

[Five Seasons]

My father inlaw showed up one day when I was shooting. It was the closest to pressure I could simulate. Invite a pretty girl over to watch. That should help you work on your nerves

[growalot]

shooting target and a live deer...no comparison...sometimes I find that drawing down on a deer you don't plan on actually taking...finger no where near release trigger...and then letting down helps mentally...sometimes....

(sp)

Edited November 10, 2013 by growalot

[Meat Manager]

3d target + a rangefinder + a 3 axis bow sight + thousands of varying shots all off season to the point of wearing out the strings.

Also shoot does early and often if you have tags, nothing beats live practice for when the big boy gets there.

Finally set up in a tree where it is unlikely they will pass under your stand.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited November 10, 2013 by Meat Manager

[noodle one]

I know it is hard to break old habits. The thing you want to do is to let the deer get pass you out to 15 0r 20 yards. It is a low percentage shot when the deer is close to the base of the tree because if you don't hit the spine and break it's back you are going to catch one lung and then it will be a long day finding it, if you don't give enough time to die. The thing you have to tell yourself is the deer has not picked up your scent or it wouldn't be there. When the deer goes pass your stand ,you want to pick out a spot that the deer is going to out from the tree 15 to 20 yards and hold your bow there for the shot. When the deer passes your stand you know that he can not see you pull your bow back . Now you want to pick out a spot were you want the arrow to come out after going through the deer and shoot for the spot on the deer so that it come out where you want it and keep telling yourself that the deer would not be there if it knew you are in the stand and keep telling yourself that you want to see the arrow hit the spot. Another thing you can do that will help is when a deer comes by your stand out of range or one that is in range but you don't want  to take pick up your bow and draw and hold as long as you can before letting down. This will help you to learn when to draw and when not to.  Be safe and good hunting. 

[Lawdwaz]

Every time I have a deer come in, I rush the shot, I am always afraid that they will pick my scent by the tree. I try to set up for that 15 -18 yard shot, but 9 out of 10 times they are on top of the tree. I get the bow drawn, just about get the pin on the vitals, and shoot, dropping the bow arm and always shoot under the deer, looking to see were I hit the deer. I am forever in the tree talking to myself pick a spot hold on target till you see the arrow hit. I have been doing this since I started bow hunting, 35 years ago,

 

Is that me you're talking about??

 

I do the same type of thing quite often.  I kill plenty but also rush the shot, always have.  Last night I Googled "target panic" and came up with a Ted Nugent answer to the problem. 

 

I consider it target panic, do you??

[Taylormike]

I personally think Meat Manager is right on with shoot does early or even small bucks in my opinion.  This will get imbedded like second nature.  Live Action is the best practice.  Don't rush, take a deep breath, and calm down.  Just as important as a good shot is a good tracking job.  Far, far, too many hunters push their deer regardless of if they know where they hit them or not.  This is another way to help calm nerves, hit a nice buck and go back to camp for 3-4-5 hours.  It will allow you to enjoy what  had just happened, regroup, recharge your engine and do a thorough recovery.  This is what I've done the last 5 years and I'm starting to consider myself a all around decent hunter.  Good Luck!!!

[pawle76]

No...but that particular problem is interesting...habits in one sport spilling over to the other...My bad habit is due to having shot a much  louder slower bow for 15 yrs....I tend t o aiim lower on live deer...for they would always drop.....my new bow is so fast ...quiet and flat shooting....deer drop isn't a problem.......my shooting low is.... Good Luck

actually aiming for the heart no matter what bow you shoot is the correct thing. Just because even with a fast bow the deer can and will drop especially if you're shooting at a keyed up alert deer. Aiming at the lower third of the deer will still give you good shot placement if the deer drops still hitting the lungs and if the deer doesn't drop you'll hit the heart. I just watched a show about this last night on outdoor channel.

 

As for the OP I think calming yourself and talking yourself through the shot like many have stated is a good habit to get into. I would just add one thing to that. Breathe ! Take some steadying breaths it helps.

[Geno C]

just curious... the "rush shot" your talking about, do you feel like when the pin cross through or pass over where your aiming do you get this urgency to release right away??

without taking your time and settling in on the target i mean. when the pin hovers over your bulls eye or area where you want to hit the deer does you mind instantly tell you to pull the trigger?

does the bow feel heavy and not comfortable? when the pins passes low on the target does it take alot to bring the bow back up?

 

ive struggles with similar problems like i mentioned, however it has nothing to do with another sport and everything to do with me. if you fall into what i mentioned its called TARGET PANIC or TP. let me know if what i said is what you feel and go through.

[Geno C]

BTW alot of guys have target panic and dont even know they suffer from it. i have/had it since early 2000 before i even knew i had it 2 seasons ago. its very uncomfortable to shoot like that and you always think its your equipment rather then you. its a mental thing guys develop from pushing to shoot tighter groups and long distances and so on. when i had it the bow felt heavy very fast, my bow arm would get heavy and drop below the target and it would be extremely hard for me to bring the bow back up. i would always miss low.

[bob]

yea its like oh I am on target better shoot before they don't offer another shot, but the thing is I don't hold on target long enough, not nearly as long as when your practicing. then the dropping the bow arm, part some of that comes from that's a huge animal you cant miss it. No right now the bow does not feel heavy at draw, and still hold on target. ill do that once in awhile up in the tree hold on a squirrel or the base of a tree. what I should be doing is hold on a deer when they come through get used to it, your practicing the shot, letting the animal walk through for the better shot its like a mock hunt, now the trick is to see enough to do this. all have had great input picked up some great pointers   thanks

[bob]

yea a lot of it is target panic, its like the time does not come very often at all, and you don't want to blow it. that's why  the routine is important, I remember Ted Nugent saying his routine is a prayer he says when the animal is coming in. you get cocky and know it all, and I cant miss that  150 lb. animal. I can hit a pop can at 20 yards away from the tree but miss football size target the deer.   

[Meat Manager]

yea a lot of it is target panic, its like the time does not come very often at all, and you don't want to blow it. that's why  the routine is important, I remember Ted Nugent saying his routine is a prayer he says when the animal is coming in. you get cocky and know it all, and I cant miss that  150 lb. animal. I can hit a pop can at 20 yards away from the tree but miss football size target the deer.   

 

Like a lot of folks said its all mental, personally I try not to think too much, thats why I practice so much, it all feels pretty much like instinct, and when anchored properly with a 3 axis sight it is hard to miss at any range.

 

I used to say lots of stuff to myself, now my inner-voice only says a few import things:

 

When I see deer movement I freeze, get my release on my loop, and immediately my inner voice says "wait."  As they approach my lanes and when the deer(s) give me a chance to draw it says "now."  When the deer is in my lane the inner voice tells me orientation of the shot and laterally where to aim, "Broad - Behind Heart," "Slightly Away- A little Back."

 

I only have one fixed pin set to 25, so the last thing my inner voice is either saying is "Aim low" if its inside 20; "Right on" for 21-29; "Shoulder-blade High" 30-35...I do micro adjustments again without really thinking about it because I have practiced every distance at every angle literally hundreds of times each.

 

You said it yourself, when you aim at a can you hit it, when you just shoot towards a football you miss...pick a small spot then release.  Once I've got elevation placement held still I release without thinking about it, my mind does not say "NOW!"  

 

As for follow-through again I attribute muscle memory from tons of practice.  So I am not screaming "NOW' at myself and I am not screaming "STAY ON TARGET" at myself when I shoot, I think those two things are the worst for TP.

 

Finally, this is mental, so don't obsess over it, hunt and have fun...You are gonna score on the next one.

Edited November 10, 2013 by Meat Manager

[wdswtr]

I use to years ago take the first shot opportunity that was presented.  Then I learned shortly after that when I stopped doing that and let the scenario play out a bit and waiting for the better shot opportunity, I started  consistently harvesting deer every year there after.  It wasnt the snap shot your speaking of but similar in the patience category.  Just beat it on your head to slow down.   You mentioned bird hunting and carrying over the habit from that to bow.  Same scenario I took thos quick snapshots bird hunting.  Once I slowed down followed the tail,body head, shoot strategy an ol timer taught me things became much more clear in bird hunting as well.  Take your time, follow through with the shot and in my opinion if you have to rush it in a panic to harvest an animal chances are things are gonna go wrong just as quick.  I had a sticker on my riser in bright orange that said count to 10.  Sounds dumb but it reminded me to slow down and by counting to ten before I released an arrow.  It help program me into taking my time which instilled confidence through success.

Edited November 10, 2013 by wdswtr

[Geno C]

yea a lot of it is target panic, its like the time does not come very often at all, and you don't want to blow it. that's why  the routine is important, I remember Ted Nugent saying his routine is a prayer he says when the animal is coming in. you get cocky and know it all, and I cant miss that  150 lb. animal. I can hit a pop can at 20 yards away from the tree but miss football size target the deer.   

 

 

sometimes the best routine is the basics.

 

talk yourself though the draw, make it as smooth as possible, talk to yourself and remind to find the anchor. finger off the release until you have your pin settled, slowly start to squeeze it off. 

 

draw...anchor....aim....put finger on trigger and begin to squeeze (dont punch the trigger)

 

i used to punch it bad. i find myself shooting very bad when i go on 3d shoots but when i practice by myself and when im one on one with the deer it all comes together text book. i also do alot of drawing back, anchoring getting the feel and then breaking down. i do that a few times though out the week.

 

if your rushing the shot your shots would not be consistently LOW. thats my opinion. the fact that your shots always miss low tells me you have a level of target panic. you should google it for craps and giggles and see if what others say about target panic and see if you can relate. guys often come up with every excuse in the book, in your case its bird hunting i think you said. you also said you have been shooting like this for 35 years, 35 years thats way to long for it to be some sort of twitch or stem from another sport or hunting. hell, i bought a whole new bow 2 seasons ago because i thought it was my bow was wrong for me (i spent 1700$ to find out it was me the whole time). if those pins dont float over your target natural and you struggle to keep it on target, your rush the shot big time and you always shoot low...sorry to say, great signs of TP.... look it up, it will only make you better. im not an expert but i was troubled by very similar symptoms and now that i know what it is, it made me that much better. just smoked a nice 8 point at 30 yards just a week ago, talked myself through it every step of the way...

[NYbuck50]

 i grew up a gun hunter only. and usually would still hunt or track deer with the gun. Lead to alot of jump shooting deer, and i got pretty good at it. I had big problems when i picked up the bow because i always wanted to snap shoot in the shoulder(where id aim with the gun). Its almost like it wasnt a thought out process but reflex. I've worked really hard to count to three after i draw and keep whispering to myself, low and away, low and away.( because i had a tendency to aim high shoulder). It takes some time, but you can break your old habits. Shooting alot of doe has helped me immensely, because theres no better practice like live target.

[landtracdeerhunter]

It took me a good deal longer to mentally prepare for shooting deer with a bow, say 5 years. At that time period and I lets some dandies walk by too. IDK, a bullet just seemed more ethical then an arrow to me. Maybe it was because I was just more comfortable with a gun then a bow. I like a good clean kill. Theirs just so much more room for error with a bow and arrow.

ED- spell

Edited November 11, 2013 by landtracdeerhunter

[phade]

Shooting volumes of arrows to me is not great advice cart blanche. Shooting volume can introduce bad form issues (that stick) once the shooter has reached mental or physical fatigue. It also can reduce confidence when fatigue or form issues crop up resulting in less than stellar shot locations.

 

Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

 

Shooting groups is worthless once past tuning and to "double-check" any equipment or form issues (one group will suffice). You need to make that first arrow count. Instead of running three, four, or five arrows an end...use one arrow. Shoot arrow, retrieve, repeat. Incorporate a 3-d target rather than bag or block styles. Shoot from the treestand in your backyard.

 

If your range of shooting at deer will be say, for example 40 yards max, practice all the way out to 60.

 

It will take me a half hour to shoot 8-10 arrows sometimes, depending on whether I'm shooting from a stand, moving the target, etc. But, I find that the shots are much better than shooting 3 arrows an end.

 

This all translates into the real-world application. The "system" or "process" will become second nature. I seem to go into auto-pilot now; I wish I could explain it more, but it's just that. I'm not sure why some people never get there - I don't know if it is innate, if it's shooting numbers of deer (does), if its practice regimen, or if it's just plain mental/physical fortitude. I can say I wasn't always this way, so that leads me to believe that there are things people can do to overcome any real-world shooting issues.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

[Meat Manager]

Shooting volumes of arrows to me is not great advice cart blanche. Shooting volume can introduce bad form issues (that stick) once the shooter has reached mental or physical fatigue. It also can reduce confidence when fatigue or form issues crop up resulting in less than stellar shot locations.

Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

Shooting groups is worthless once past tuning and to "double-check" any equipment or form issues (one group will suffice). You need to make that first arrow count. Instead of running three, four, or five arrows an end...use one arrow. Shoot arrow, retrieve, repeat. Incorporate a 3-d target rather than bag or block styles. Shoot from the treestand in your backyard.

If your range of shooting at deer will be say, for example 40 yards max, practice all the way out to 60.

It will take me a half hour to shoot 8-10 arrows sometimes, depending on whether I'm shooting from a stand, moving the target, etc. But, I find that the shots are much better than shooting 3 arrows an end.

This all translates into the real-world application. The "system" or "process" will become second nature. I seem to go into auto-pilot now; I wish I could explain it more, but it's just that. I'm not sure why some people never get there - I don't know if it is innate, if it's shooting numbers of deer (does), if its practice regimen, or if it's just plain mental/physical fortitude. I can say I wasn't always this way, so that leads me to believe that there are things people can do to overcome any real-world shooting issues.

Good luck!

Agreed perfect practice makes perfect and agree with only one arrow after the bow is group tuned.

[Five Seasons]

Shooting volumes of arrows to me is not great advice cart blanche. Shooting volume can introduce bad form issues (that stick) once the shooter has reached mental or physical fatigue. It also can reduce confidence when fatigue or form issues crop up resulting in less than stellar shot locations.

 

Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

 

Shooting groups is worthless once past tuning and to "double-check" any equipment or form issues (one group will suffice). You need to make that first arrow count. Instead of running three, four, or five arrows an end...use one arrow. Shoot arrow, retrieve, repeat. Incorporate a 3-d target rather than bag or block styles. Shoot from the treestand in your backyard.

 

If your range of shooting at deer will be say, for example 40 yards max, practice all the way out to 60.

 

It will take me a half hour to shoot 8-10 arrows sometimes, depending on whether I'm shooting from a stand, moving the target, etc. But, I find that the shots are much better than shooting 3 arrows an end.

 

This all translates into the real-world application. The "system" or "process" will become second nature. I seem to go into auto-pilot now; I wish I could explain it more, but it's just that. I'm not sure why some people never get there - I don't know if it is innate, if it's shooting numbers of deer (does), if its practice regimen, or if it's just plain mental/physical fortitude. I can say I wasn't always this way, so that leads me to believe that there are things people can do to overcome any real-world shooting issues.

 

Good luck!

 

agree 100%. I never shoot more than 2 dozen arrows in one session. I also like to move my targets around and also try different "speeds". A quick draw and release and also holding it for a while before release. I've had to do both in the woods.

 

at the end of the day you need to shoot some deer. Every new bowhunter should be looking to shoot the first deer they see, and if you're against shooting small bucks, than shoot those doe. Build up your confidence. I have killed nowhere near as many deer with my bow as some of you guys, but I've shot enough. And my knees still shake like I'm about to touch my first set of boobs.