I was happy to see the shooters' form board open again, and thought I would break the ice with a question that has been on my mind for some time.  That is, are instinctive shooters immune from getting target panic?  Has anyone in TradGang who is an instinctive shooter ever had target panic?

I've been plagued by target panic for a number of years, but over the last few years I seem to be working my way out of it.  My crowning achievement was recently hunting javelina near Laredo Texas when I managed to stalk and kill a javelina while maintaining complete control of the shot.  This one pushed all my buttons:  a long stalk, giving me plenty of time to anticipate the shot, all the while being watched by Scott Sanders through his binoculars.  Both anticipation and being watched make a good prescription to trigger my target panic.  I wanted to get close enough for a quick kill, because last thing I wanted was to have to track a wounded javelina through the thick thorn filled bushes on each side of the sendero. I managed to stalk within 12 yards while the javelina was facing away from me, eating corn on the road. I knew I was in the best position possible for a shot.  I just had to wait until the javelina quartered slightly toward me, but I couldn't wait for a broadside shot because he would see me for sure and take off.  Finally he started turning in my direction, and I drew my bow and got off a perfect shot, entering just behind the ribs and lodging in the offside shoulder socket.  He died by the side of the sendero not more than 10' from where I shot him.

But back to the subject, the reasoning as to why instinctive shooters should not be subject to target panic seems sound to me: they are not aiming by using an outside reference, such as the arrow point or a bow sight.  Instead, they let the subconscious mind take care of the aiming without consciously thinking about it.  Even the name "target panic" is based on aiming at a target.  But like everything else, theories are only good until they are disproved by reality, so that's why I'd like to hear from instinctive shooters on this.

Target panic happens when you shoot with your head instead of your feelings.