I have a huge problem with shooting infront of other people. for some reason, I get hung up when people are whatching me shoot. I usually end up short drawing or snap shooting, pretty similar to target panic. Put me in a hunting situation, or shooting alone, and I'm just fine...full draw....anchor...hold...release.
I was just wondering if anyone else is a head case like me??
I hate it too, especially if they are all quiet and expectant - but often when people are talking to me while I do it I'm not really concentrating on the shot and the body takes over again.
Course, everyone does and has to learn that it's a matter of being able to focus the distractions out or learning and conditioning yourself to just enjoy shooting and not caring what others think. Some people's personalities make it easier for them to do that than others but you are far from alone. :archer2:
I had that problem years back. I was the worse shot in our group and I always put so much pressure on myself, I fell into bad habits. Everyone telling you what to do.
Finally found someone to cure my habits and developed the mentality I don't care how I shoot in front of others and learned how to block out everything around me and just focus on the target.
Like every sport, archery is mental. Bad thoughts mean bad shots, positive thoughts equal good shots. The more you shoot with people, the more comfortable you should become.
Shoot for a beer often enough and you'll learn to block them out. It's either that or pay all the time.
It's the same with many, ever talk to a group of friends, no problem right, now step in front of a group at work or business and the pressure rises. It's all about acknowledging it and doing it enough to make it more familiar. It's the need to look good, to impress, that takes away from the focus required. Most pro's acknowledge the crowd is there but they don't focus on them, they keep the focus on the game.
Welcome to my world........You have to block it all out. When alone, talk yourself thru each portion of the shot and make it a habit. When in a group or crowd....do the same thing, it will help a lot! The other thing that helps ....when at a 3-D don't keep score, just mark "K" for a kill shot "W" for wound and a miss is a miss. Takes a lot of pressure off....lol! Most important .... have fun!!
I tried qualifying for a local clubs Eagle Eye competition for the first time a couple years ago. For $1 you got two chances to hit an orange sticker on a deer target. I had never tried this before in all the years they have done it.
It was just my buddy, myself, and the guy I gave the dollar to. First shot hit the sticker. I made a joke and said I paid for two shots and I was taking them. Second shot was also in the sticker!
The next day was the shoot off to decide the winner. After waiting for my turn for 1/2 hour I finally stepped up to the stake in front of several dozen spectators. Holy crap I could barely pull the bow back! Needless to say, the sticker was safe with my poor attempt. I did manage to hit the deer though. It was then I realized I should probably start breathing again. :)
Absolutely! Clients are always asking me to try out this or that bow, and I really want to, but hate shooting in front of other people.I want to say "sure, go for a walk and I'll try it out",lol!
I can shoot in front of a few close friends but that's it. Good thing bowhunting is a solitary sport(for me).
Me too.
The more you do it the better it'll get, then you will actually start to enjoy shooting in front of people. I used to suffer from this years back but now I just enjoy shooting and knowing I can make the shot. Remember don't get stuck thinking, don't miss, think I'm going to put it right there.
Not as much of a problem as it once was. Sometimes, though I just plain choke. Oh well, if I had to depend solely on hunting for all my food, I would shoot a .30-06, not a bow. Once I realized it is a game, it was easier to become a kid again and play without caring what others think of my shooting.
By the way Sean, you shot good in front of Irv, me and Shooter.
I am a total headcase and it doesn't matter what the weapon is...
I never had this problem playing hockey though, so I guess I would suggest wearing a helmet =)
Don't get me started or talk with my buddies "Possum Head" or "Pascagoula Archer" on here unless you want to wind up with the worst case of TP youve ever had! It is a form of TP and I have suffered for years with the exact thing you described. But mine has progressed to now where even by myself it is a nearly impossible task at times to get to full draw and at times the sudden uncontrollable release of the arrow yikes!
I can't shoot if my dang dog is watching me !!! Lol. I shoot pretty well when it's just me, put me around some folks and my form goes out the window and i can't hit crap ....
I am just the opposite, I shoot worst in front of people because I tend to relax too much and loose my concentration. I will close my eyes when we are in turkey blind together if that will help! :bigsmyl: Shawn
I always choke in front of people. I've gotten now so I try to practice with people watching and try to shoot in groups.
Is still a work in progress but getting better very slowly
If it's people that I don't know, I usually shoot better, we have a walking path next to our archery range and when I know people have stopped to watch me shoot, I think I concentrate harder and aim better because I usually shoot great. When it's friends, I just step up and shoot too fast cause I'm comfortable I think, lol.
Im alot better at it then I use to be. I treat the pressure like a hunting situation and just try to do my best. I try to focus on my pulling and not releasing or anchoring that will all happen on its own when the time is right. It sounds like your dealing with a diffirent form of TP.
Yep! :rolleyes:
Nope, I shoot just as bad in front of people as I do when I'm by myself... ;)
It is my shot, no one else's, doesn't matter who is watching... I try my best to execute the shot. Focus is the key... Only problem is, the guys I shoot with on these hunts are good! The center of the target gets full of arrows pretty quick and feathers, nocks, and arrows take a beating. It isn't out of the realm for me to pic another spot to save my arrows while shooting with friends or at a 3D. A perfectly placed arrow in the guts at a 3D is still scored as a Kill for me if the vitals are full of arrows and I'm trying to hit square in the guts.
The best thing that helped me in archery is learning to not give a crap about who is around or not. Not caring what my 3d score is or if someone else is shooting better than I am. Once I got it through my head that the others people standing there doesn't have any effect on my shot then I started shooting a lot better. Its all about fun and having the best time you can. If you miss just laught about it and get another arrow and shoot again...Shooting with friends will help too. Let them shoot first and then try to hit their arrows..lolol. Hit one of their arrows and cost them twelve dollars and I promise they wont try to tell you how to shoot again...lol I'm just kidding that would be a real butthole thing to do...hehehe.
I guess for me, that's just another one of the things that 3D and Archery has taught me about bowhunting.
I love the BSing, trash talking, and hillbilly camaraderie that comes with a good shoot. But just like in bowhunting, once my foot touches that stake, I own that piece of dirt. The only way the attention from your friends can interfere with your focus is if YOU let it. It's just one more thing you have to overcome along your path to enlightenment.
Be a machine when you shoot....
My suggestion is to join an archery league where you shoot on the line with archers on each side of you once a week for a couple hours.
Personally.... i hate shooting dots indoors on the line.... but... it will teach you to concentrate on running your shot and to tune out everything else...... and it will make you a better archer.
Practice with your kids watching you or your wife or girlfriend, it'll get your best up and out.
What KirkII said about the league's helped me overcome the pressure/anxiety. The only thing I still struggle with in group shooting is when archers are bunched so close together that we are in each others shooting space. rat'
Yep, I hate shooting with people watching me. The neighbor lady was watching me the other day and I completely missed the target and had to dig through the bush to find my arrow. Very Humbling.
Step-up and challenge yourself before the anxiety sets in. Tell yourself you are shooting to make a good shot. It is all mental and usually talking my self through the shot helps.
Welcome to my world.
I second Kirks suggestion. Quite a few years ago, when I lost my sanity and shot with a compound for hunting and league, I got used to shooting with people around. One night just for a change we had a traditional night. I brought my old recurve and was amazed when my first two arrows landed in the kill zone.
That was a revelation to me, that I could pick up a recurve after at least ten years and have reasonable accuracy almost immediately. So I borrowed my dads 66" 38 lb recurve and shot with that along side compound shooters for a couple of years.
I still don't like shooting in front of a bunch of people, and shooting instinctive requires a lot more concentration for me, but you just have to take the plunge. I personally don't shoot league anymore. I am more of a one arrow at a time shooter.
QuoteOriginally posted by ron w:
The other thing that helps ....when at a 3-D don't keep score, just mark "K" for a kill shot "W" for wound and a miss is a miss. Takes a lot of pressure off....
That's a great idea Ron, I'm totally doing this next time!
Hey Sean! Welcome to my world.....
Don't waist your mind power trying to "tune-out" the people around you... That means you are not thinking about the shot... Before you shoot, take a practice shot in your mind... Watch your self from outside your body... Anchor and follow thru in your minds eye...
I like to see and hear a fly buzzing on the ten ring before I shoot... Kinda like Jay Kidwell states in MMB...
Good Luck and hope to see ya soon!
... mike ... :archer2: ...
Same here,when I,m out stumping by myself or shooting in the yard I do great most of the time.when I do shoot bad by myself I stop and try another day.
I once shot in a 450 league with all compound guys. Every time I would shoot, the second line would stand behind me to see how the trad guy was doing.
After a ten week season of that, you kind of learn to block others out.
Yeah, I don't like shooting in front of other people either, and I hardly ever have to.
I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem
Yeah, misery does love company, huh? :banghead:
Some good advise!! When I do shoot in a group, it does play on my head for a little while after, but I get it back after a few shots alone. I guess I just have to try to put it out of my head.
Shawn, I've seen you shoot, and that doesn't help my confidence any!!! I think I can forget about you in the blind once that gobblers right there!!!!!
I have the same problem.
I am the same way! I shoot way better when shooting alone or hunting, but with my buddies I get all sorts of worked up. I swear I have worse "buck fever" at 3d shoots than when a biggun comes close enough.
It helped me when I quit keeping score even when the other 3-4 guys were.. I consentrate on a kill shot and don't fret the score rings.
Sean,
I remember punchin a lot of paper with my compound, that never bothered me much with all those other guys on the line watching.
After I got to be a consistently better shot, maybe a couple years later, I entered a simple little local 300 tournament...I mean, I knew mow
st of the entrants, some were kids and all.
Holy Cow... my hands started to sweat and I was having breathing difficulties. Needless to say my score was way below my average.
I got to thinking about it and decided I was just trying too hard!
Nowdays, with the trad gear, I just try to have fun. Sure I care about the shot...but it just bothers me way less...and I shoot better. I don't really care to impress anyone, I just shoot for me. I'm not the word's best shot...I'm not the worst.
BTW, like Jim said, I thought you shot plenty good when we were in Florida.
I found one of your arrows with SG head. Probably bounced off a squirrel. Looks like the horse stepped on it and ruined your nice spliced feathers. I'll save it for ya.
Irv Eichorst
www.truesouthadventures.com (http://www.truesouthadventures.com)
Hey Irv, That was the one Kent shot at a clump of grass. we looked pretty hard for it!! I guess maybe my shooting is not as bad as I think it is!!
I used to when I started shooting. Then I set up a target bag in my garage and shot so many arrows that I now feel relaxed when I shoot, even around other people. But that doesn't mean that I always hit the target! LOL
Before I gave my wheels away, I was a very consistent and confident 3D shooter. Probably averaged 460-470/500 those last few years. Shooting in front of people thrilled me because I knew I could perform.
I've been shooting Trad only for three years now and shooting in front of people definitely lessens my accuracy. I'm improving, little by little, and am looking forward to my first trad only shoot this Sunday.
I should add, I have way more fun shooting now than I was when I was finishing at or near the top.
Read Jay Kidwell. Its called Target Panic. If you have it when people are watching you most likely will have it when shooting at live game. Same issue as shooting free throws or kicking a field goal. All the same.
ya, me too.
I watch those hunting shows and the archer is in front of 6 people and a camera and I wonder how they can pull off a good shot. I also wonder "how did they get to take a shot with 6 people and a camera?" the big game animals I hunt would not stick around!
yup been there done that :biglaugh: