Focus at the Shot

[wapitibowman]

So you have that 340 class bull making his way to you. You have a visual and are watching him the entire way. All is playing out just like you planned. You stop him with nervous grunt . . . he freezes in his tracks . . . you pick your spot and let it fly . . . arrow connects right where you were aiming . . . the bull bolts . . . you are able to see him go down within 50 yards.

It would be nice to always have ice in the veins. I have heard from Elknut that his son Paul (Jr.) is this way. Any tips or pratice strategies to maintain focus and follow through on the shot. Would love to hear any ideas on this. I would love to develop ice in my veins!

Thanks.

Wapitibowman

[Trophyhill]

Don't look at the antlers! Don't try to look around your bow for the shot after you release. Shoot some 3d's, they add pressure. Practice a lot from all positions. Kill a few critters regardless of size or sex. Just my .02

[Backcountry]

One of my favorite things to do is blind bailing. This allows me to make my entire shooting process purely muscle memory.

When in shooting position all I have to rely on is the pin. This seems to help me. If I get real worked up I often times find myself saying "pick a spot, breathe" in my head.

All that being said, I am usually very calm before and during the shot. It's after the shot that all hell breaks loose.

[cnelk]

You need to shoot many things to develop 'ice in the veins'. See lots of animals die at your shot.
This brings confidence.

Gophers are a great way to practice.
They offer shots at any distance, move around, they are a small target and you need to be stealthy.

And they dont have antlers...

[ElkNut1]

For most folks it doesn't have to be a 340" bull, any bull can cause a melt down of ones mental faculties. (grin) Tyler, is right, I have hunted with over 200 different hunters over the years & Paul Jr is the only person I've come across that was born with this inner calmness at crunch time. Yes, as cnelk states with enough bow kills under the belt this can be developed. My son has had it even at 12-13yrs when he took his 1st bull a 6 point at 15yds. That's a story in itself, a good one too! (grin)

ElkNut1

[>>>---WW---->]

If it doesn't come natural, I suppose it may be a hard thing to develope. When ever this subject comes up, I always think of my old hunting buddy. God rest his departed soul! His nickname was Ole Blue!

Blue looked at me one day and said, "Damn Flash, don't anything ever shake you up? You're just a premeditated SOB"!

For some strange reason that has always stuck with me!

[elkmtngear]

As David suggested, I never look at the antlers once I know the bull is a shooter. I look "through" the hide trying to visualize the anatomy and vitals, and wait for the opportunity to stop the bull where I know I can get an arrow in the boiler room.

Then the only thing that exists is that little patch of hair where I want that arrow to go in. Focus on the process...not the Trophy!

[Z Barebow]

Tough one. I am no master at this. I still get nervous shooting any animal.

I have cut my teeth shooting WT's. Shot plenty and screwed up a few along the way. Here are a few things that I do.

As was mentioned, once you identify it as an animal you want to shoot/legal to shoot, don't look at the head. Looking toward there eyes can give you away or make the animal nervous. When tracking deer, my buddy has asked me "How many points"? I will tell him "Don't know, I'll count them when we find him on the ground dead. It is much easier to count at that time." Once you decide you are going to shoot, start looking immediately for that spot on his broadside that you want to focus on.

If you shoot a compound draw earlier than you think, especially if they are walking. (Obviously draw when their head passes behind something). This gives you time to start your shot routine/sequence. For me, it involves settling in on anchor point (hand in jawbone pocket, anchor finger in corner of my mouth [I shoot fingers,,,, you know those things you use to type!], check my bow orientation [vertical] and cross check the string to my nose. I now start focusing on the spot. As I settle, tension builds in my shoulder and focus on spot, the arrow is on it's way. I also focus on my follow through, with my bow hand staying steady until arrow impacts. If you draw when the animal is in your shooting lane, I know I tend to rush and not follow my shot sequence.

It doesn't work all of the time for me, but I am still trying after 30+ years.

Traditional guys, ignore above!

[PHELPS GAME CALLS]

I'm a complete mess after the shot but during the call in and shot I'm fortunate that I become collected. I look at it as a job, what do I need to do to call this bull in and get a shot. When it comes time to aim having shot thousands of shots leading up to season pays off. I like to focus on the tip of a single hair. With the vitals being so big this forces me to really concentrate and pick a point.

[RockChucker30]

Experience is the only thing that truly helps.

I don't get excited before taking a shot with a rifle anymore, only afterward. Why? I guess it was the hundreds (maybe thousands) of squirrels, rabbits, birds, frogs, snakes, deer, turkeys, etc that I killed growing up on a farm. I had a rifle in hand literally every single day when I was a kid.

I still get excited shooting my compound, and I've killed several deer and an elk with the same bow now. I haven't killed anything with my recurve yet and get more excited still.

What this tells me is I need to go squirrel and rabbit hunting with my bows....the reason I don't get excited shooting a firearm is I'm so familiar and confident with it that it's second nature, like pointing a finger.

[RockChucker30]

I'd like to add that while I think a lot of experience is the only thing that can keep your nerves calm in crunch time, I firmly believe that you can practice to operate effectively even with a bad case of bull fever.

We had an unconventional archery shooting challenge here on the forum last year that was great.

Set up 50 yards from target, set bow down, sprint to target sprint back to bow, shoot as quickly as possible.

Turn completely away from target, draw, then turn all the way around keeping feet planted and shoot.

Stay at full draw for 1 minute before shooting.

Practicing like that will help you deal with the pressure, because it makes the pressure a normal part of shooting.

[Swede]

I have never had a serious problem with "buck fever", so what has worked for me may not be right for the next person. Like someone wrote above, I don't focus on the antlers. In fact, after I have determined an animal is a shooter, I don't focus on it until I have drawn me bow and settle the sight pin. I just pay attention to what I need to do. The critter will do what critters do. I just make sure not to disturb him. I do not want him to hear, see, or smell me. He does his job, and I do mine. Whack!

[wapitibowman]

It doesn't have to be a 340 class bull for me. Heck, it has even been a cow before. First spike bull I shot . . . it was like I expected it - I was Iceman. I like the idea of the more animals you have been successful in shooting the more comfortable you become. My problem is peeking . . . I have to remember to pick a spot and FOLLOW-THROUGH.

Wapitibowman

[westaner]

I seem to get bull fever if I don't breath deep when bulls come in slow. Looking at antlers always makes it worse !

[JGH]

The first thing is to believe it is possible.

Being calm in ANY situation is a choice. If you don't believe it is possible to be calm at the shot, you won't even think there IS a choice.

[easeup]

Tough one. I am no master at this. I still get nervous shooting any animal.

I have cut my teeth shooting WT's. Shot plenty and screwed up a few along the way. Here are a few things that I do.

As was mentioned, once you identify it as an animal you want to shoot/legal to shoot, don't look at the head. Looking toward there eyes can give you away or make the animal nervous. When tracking deer, my buddy has asked me "How many points"? I will tell him "Don't know, I'll count them when we find him on the ground dead. It is much easier to count at that time." Once you decide you are going to shoot, start looking immediately for that spot on his broadside that you want to focus on.

If you shoot a compound draw earlier than you think, especially if they are walking. (Obviously draw when their head passes behind something). This gives you time to start your shot routine/sequence. For me, it involves settling in on anchor point (hand in jawbone pocket, anchor finger in corner of my mouth [I shoot fingers,,,, you know those things you use to type!], check my bow orientation [vertical] and cross check the string to my nose. I now start focusing on the spot. As I settle, tension builds in my shoulder and focus on spot, the arrow is on it's way. I also focus on my follow through, with my bow hand staying steady until arrow impacts. If you draw when the animal is in your shooting lane, I know I tend to rush and not follow my shot sequence.

It doesn't work all of the time for me, but I am still trying after 30+ years.

Traditional guys, ignore above!

this is good advice.

I missed my first archery bull at 15 yds. that's right. to this day....I still don't know where the arrow went. I guess that means my eyes were closed?

Lessons learned are bitter some times.
another item mentioned above that really has value is to start killing something......it sounds weird but there is a lot of experienced gained from doing the act. We don't have gophers here but I see what has been suggested is right. small target, quick and elusive, focus, stealth, patience.

[Z Barebow]

Tough one. I am no master at this. I still get nervous shooting any animal.

I have cut my teeth shooting WT's. Shot plenty and screwed up a few along the way. Here are a few things that I do.

As was mentioned, once you identify it as an animal you want to shoot/legal to shoot, don't look at the head. Looking toward there eyes can give you away or make the animal nervous. When tracking deer, my buddy has asked me "How many points"? I will tell him "Don't know, I'll count them when we find him on the ground dead. It is much easier to count at that time." Once you decide you are going to shoot, start looking immediately for that spot on his broadside that you want to focus on.

If you shoot a compound draw earlier than you think, especially if they are walking. (Obviously draw when their head passes behind something). This gives you time to start your shot routine/sequence. For me, it involves settling in on anchor point (hand in jawbone pocket, anchor finger in corner of my mouth [I shoot fingers,,,, you know those things you use to type!], check my bow orientation [vertical] and cross check the string to my nose. I now start focusing on the spot. As I settle, tension builds in my shoulder and focus on spot, the arrow is on it's way. I also focus on my follow through, with my bow hand staying steady until arrow impacts. If you draw when the animal is in your shooting lane, I know I tend to rush and not follow my shot sequence.

It doesn't work all of the time for me, but I am still trying after 30+ years.

Traditional guys, ignore above!

this is good advice.

I missed my first archery bull at 15 yds. that's right. to this day....I still don't know where the arrow went. I guess that means my eyes were closed?

Lessons learned are bitter some times.
another item mentioned above that really has value is to start killing something......it sounds weird but there is a lot of experienced gained from doing the act. We don't have gophers here but I see what has been suggested is right. small target, quick and elusive, focus, stealth, patience.

I have printed the key steps of my shot sequence with a label maker and have them stuck on the backside of my bow. As I wait, I can glance down at the label and remind myself. It helps my brain stay on task rather than fart at the time of truth.

[Jaquomo]

I'm so focused on planning every aspect of the shot - possible shooting windows, lanes, watching the angle of approach, anticipating when I'll draw, if/when I'll stop him (sometimes it's better to swing and release if he's really close), watching his head and eyes, that when it happens I just draw back and let fly. It's almost automatic, and sometimes I don't remember anything except starting to draw and then watching the elk run off after the arrow hits.

Having killed a bunch of elk with recurves, longbows, and compounds, the whole process is definitely much easier for me, personally, with a stickbow because I don't have to think about organizing sights, planning which pin if he comes closer, hangs up, how far is he now, etc.

[welka]

Agree with experience, but sometimes that doesn't even help. I am fortunate to be able to kill 5-10 deer per year with my bow and also a couple of bulls. I can be on the 7th deer of the year after 6 double lung shots and in the heat of the moment you can forget one little detail and miss. I firmly believe that multiple opportunities and harvest helps develop ice in your veins. However, I also agree with Rockchucker as you can simulate encounters. A couple to add to his list:
- Hold for 1 minute, let down, redraw and shoot within 2-3 seconds
- Draw, follow a make believe bull walking, stop him with a call in your mouth and shoot within 2 seconds after the call. Not easy if you don't practice.
- Draw, hold, and don't shoot until your buddy who is standing behind you says "shoot". This one really mocks a bull getting ready to bolt and you better shoot quick. Try this several times and you will be surprised at how much it helps you refocus all your effort to get a good shot off. Its very easy to miss a 6" circle at 40 yards the first few times you practice this one. If you don't have a buddy to help. use an alarm clock.

Hope this helps and all have the needed "ice" this fall.