Big ol' pile of nope. :(

[Junkers88]

Very happy to announce that I've found a place to go hunting and although there are no monster buck out there there are plenty of doe. To be honest I'd rather take a doe, if anything with horns stepped out I'd probably be so focused on the rack that I'd miss completely or worse make a bad shot. So with that in mind I stepped out tonight to focus on slow, clean, accurate shooting as I do most evenings.

Big pile of nope there. Two dozen shots in and I'm lucky to hit the target. Put a 6" paper plate on the target to get back to SwampRabbits coaching and I hit it once out of 6 shots at less than ten yards. Back in the house for some coffee and no more shooting tonight. I can't honestly have "buck fever" here at the house... it's just not possible. Is it?


Richard.

[Dusty Britches]

Congrats on the hunting place.

Now... just focus on the little tiny spot

[CRM_95]

You'll get it back together!! Congrats on the new place though. Anytime you wanna come shoot some swine after deer season for practice, PM me. I'll do my best to put you on some since we have plenty and it's free, so the price is right lol.

[SwampRabbit]

My shooting tonight was well... crappy. I was 50/50 hitting balloons. It was not a good session. I shrugged it off though... I don't get worried as quickly as I used to.

And yes, I can say to a simple target... "you are a deer and I am going to kill you" and totally whiff it.

You now know how serious it is now that you have a place to hunt so the mental game just went up by a factor of 100...

Congrats on the place... good luck.

[CRM_95]

My shooting tonight was well... crappy. I was 50/50 hitting balloons. It was not a good session. I shrugged it off though... I don't get worried as quickly as I used to.

And yes, I can say to a simple target... "you are a deer and I am going to kill you" and totally whiff it.

You now know how serious it is now that you have a place to hunt so the mental game just went up by a factor of 100...

Congrats on the place... good luck.

I believe you're right about the mental game changing when it's time to hunt. My shooting fell off bad at the beginning of bow season, and I'm just now starting to get it back together. I'd been lights out with my shooting for a long time, then the Sunday morning of opening weekend I missed my 3d target at the lease over the top of it's back. It was dark, and I was using my headlight to get a few shots in before I went to the blind. I thought about it all morning while hunting, and then that afternoon when I tried to shoot again it's like it just fell apart.

[Greyman]

Just stay with it, I went and shot this evening and started off by missing the target and tearing some fletching off an arrow, but I kept shooting and got settled in. Then I managed to cut some more fletching off another arrow but with a broadhead.

[DRT]

Hadn't shot since Friday as I was camping with the scouts. First couple groups were rough. Focused on form and follow through and it came together. Not perfect but after a couple 4" groups at 15 I hung it up for the afternoon.

[slayer]

Yep, I went out to shoot today after my hunting debacle and shot horrible. Totally missed the target on one shot, we'll I did hit the fence. I know it's mental, so I put the bow up and had a drink. . ..try again tomorrow.

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[DRT]

It frustrates me a little that I can stand up and punch the bull but zit down and struggle. Or the other way around on any given session. Usually though I know what I'm doing wrong. Just being able to correct it is where I struggle sometimes.

[spidermonkey]

Do just what ya did, step back, rest a bit, and refocus. Maybe just draw your bow with no arrow, eyes closed, feeling what it feels like to be at proper anchor, proper back tension, etc. Ease it down, repeat... Sometimes the best thing you can do to recover from a crappy day of shootin, is not shoot for a bit. Rest assured though, "IT" will come back, just hang in there brother, and resist the urge to get right back out and "force accuracy" that just may not be there at the time. Above all DON'T OVER-THINK IT! Good Huntin, and God Bless, Rusty

[gatorgar]

You were aiming at the plate. To get really focused, I shoot at "nothing" in my block target. Turn it backwards, the side with no dots, and pick a spot in the middle. No aim point, no speck, no nothing to concentrate on. Shooting into the center helps ME concentrate more on my form. Helps me pick a spot when there is non. Only shoot 1 arrow at a time. Once I get to where I want, I turn the target and start stacking them in the dots. Almost like blind bale shooting

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[popup_menace]

No advice to give since I'm so new to this, but I do feel your pain.

[jerp]

As you know by now, some slumps cure themselves overnight for unknown reasons. Other slumps - like the one I posted about a few weeks ago - are persistent. The entire time I was shooting poorly my form felt good so I did not think it was a form problem. After almost two frustrating weeks, my "A-Ha!" moment finally came when I videoed myself shooting. I shoot with a slightly open stance and from the video I discovered I was also opening up my shoulders so they weren't perpendicular to the target. This can cause several problems including not getting full expansion and short-drawing - it also makes you more prone to collapsing. This form flaw apparently had developed slowly over time to the point where it "felt" normal. When that light switch went on and I became cognizant of the position of my shoulders, my shooting improved immediately and the squirrely arrow flight went away.

[splitfinger]

Take a Black sharpie and draw a 1/4" dot in the middle of the paper plate and focus on the dot. You will be surprised that focusing on a much smaller target will increase your accuracy, provided that your form is not compromised (aim small...miss small has tremendous merit here). When shooting at a deer (or any animal for that matter), find a very small spot to focus on within the kill zone and shoot for that spot. Don't just shoot at the paper plate or kill zone. Pick a very small spot.

Best of luck.

Doug