Beating target panic

[Lee Dogman]

From 1994-2014, I shot right handed...and was a bit of a snap shooter, but I made anchor and did well shooting about 6" groups or so out to about 20 yards or so, and could shoot further but was not consistent at further distances...that is UNTIL I wanted to be more deliberate and improve my grouping for consistent performance. Well, after shooting 10,000's if not 100,000's arrows over all those years, I had so much muscle memory that it was very difficult to change my style...and I got "target panic" as I approached full draw battling the last few inches of draw thinking, "don't let go at anchor." And while some days could do okay, other days I really struggled, and before too long it seemed like things really went south as I battled it and I could not over come it.

Since I am slightly left eye dominant (when I draw a bow, I can see the arrow under whichever eye I am drawing over and eye dominance is not a sight picture issue for me like it is for some), I decided to switch to shooting left handed, and have never had an issue. I can shoot fast or slow and have complete control. I have been shooting this way since 2014.

I have some old archery equipment that is right handed (back quiver, an armguard that has a compass on the top visible side of the forearm, that when used on the opposite arm is useless as it is on the bottom side)...and well, I wanted to try to shoot right handed again and figured with all the time off, I would be able to. Well...nope, those old neurons still remember "autofire." LOL.

I could always just say screw it and just shoot left handed, and in fact I do plan on shooting left handed 90% of the time, but I would like to overcome the issue even if just for personal reasons.

For those of you that beat the target panic battle, what helped you do so? Thanks.

NOTE: Photo of me and Bob Wesley back in 1998.

[McDave]

I've fought target panic for years.  I've learned how to override it so I can keep shooting at about 80%, but the icewater veins and lack of fine muscle control is always just under the surface.  I've had many theories about how I should be able to lick it, but none of them have panned out in practice.  I haven't given up, because I've successfully overcome far more stressful situations in life with a fraction of the effort that I've put into fighting target panic, so it's become a personal challenge, like you mentioned.

Interestingly, I've run across a number of people who state that they have completely defeated target panic by switching from right to left handed shooting, and I've never run across anyone who said they tried it and it worked for a while but then stopped working.  I shoot left handed as well as right handed, and can't say that I've ever gotten target panic shooting left handed, but then I've never taken left handed shooting very seriously either.  I'm kind of hard headed, I guess.

[Lee Dogman]

I have no problems left handed and I am sure my reason why is because by the time I tried shooting left handed, I knew proper shooting mechanics...and never had to battle overcoming muscle memory on that side.

[Rob DiStefano]

Consciously or subconsciously making "thinking" a priority during the shooting process is a strong reason for TP, perhaps even the only reason.  The ability to overcome TP requires a strong will/desire to block first person forefront thinking and allow an *uncompromised* subconscious do its learned *instinctive* process of drawing, aiming without using any manner of aiming sight: arrow or bow, concentrating solely on the target, and releasing.  It's all as simple and as most difficult as that, because we're all "experiments of one".