Target Panic / Excitment

I have hunted a lot , been blessed to have taken some nice Alabama deer 120’s - 130’s , the last couple of years I have developed target panic / over excitement . I really LOVE to hunt . Out of the 6 or so nice deer I’ve taken I didn’t experience this . Happened to me on a big doe this morning . Happened earlier this year on a nice doe . I don’t understand why . Took a small buck earlier this year and it didn’t happen . Cut belly hair on the doe this morning and that was it . When and shot my rifle at a little over 100 yards . Half $ size group 1.5 “ high perfectly centered like it should be . It’s between my ears . I love venison and my whole family does . I feel like I’m putting too much pressure on myself . I am pretty ok at the strategy part of hunting . I see as many or more deer than most of the ppl I hunt with . Is this something that nobody has happen or nobody talks about . I told myself I was going this afternoon and just enjoy the outdoors .

I get more nervous with a rifle than I do a bow. If I can’t get steady I just don’t shoot. Happened to me Saturday. First time my daughter had gone hunting with me and had a doe at 175 yards. Never felt comfortable so I just didn’t shoot.

Yes ! I am way calmer with a bow . Makes no sense , lot closer too .

No issues with a gun. My picture is posted on the Wikipedia page for “bow hunting target panic.”

I don’t know how to fix it but I appreciate that I’m not alone .

Happens to me...ive killed a lot of deer too

I get it with a gun every once in a while but never do with a bow for some reason. I get pumped up with a bow but dont get target panic at all. Dosent even make sense to me.

Most of you probably practice with your bow a lot more than you do with your rifle.

You are correct in my case . I used to shoot a lot , still shoot a good bit but other things . Maybe 60 rounds a year thru 3 different deer rifles .

My wife must think I have the same problem...

I’m not crazy about real long shots. I could see long shots giving a feller anxiety.

I have done it several times, I try to take deep breath and just not look at the horns.

I'm not as experienced as most and get worked up anytime I take a shot. At recommendation of a family member after missing 3 in 1 yr, I sent all my guns to a local guy and now have 2lb triggers instead of 6-7lb... not an issue/miss in 4 yrs now. Guess that extra 5lbs of force felt my nerves more or something! Ha

I always have to keep telling myself “no reason to get excited until After I make a good shot.” Focus take some Deep breaths And I repeat it over and over. No reason to get excited until after I make a good shot.

I sit there telling myself to take my time before the shot opportunity comes, but somehow I feel like I rush in the moment of truth.
May be to excitement but I don’t feel like it’s panic.. my best shots come when I don’t have time to think about it

Exactly Ridge , usually on the good bucks there is no time , they are walking or skirting something and I have no time to think about it .

NE bama good point , I have a 3lb , 2 is a little light for hunting for my taste . I do not like a heavy trigger either .

If I ever don't get excited, I'll quit and do something else.

It’s kind of strange what I experience. I get stone cold silly tore up over shooting a doe with my bow. I mean it tears me up bad. Shaky, anxious, wabbling knees, heart goes nuts, short of breath, etc.

However with a buck I plan on shooting, I don’t get the least bit excited. I literally go into a trance and all that’s on my mind is making him dead. I’m talking 100% focus on the mission. Shakes come after the shot.

I went about the first 20 years and never missed with my rifle - extremely confident - had several running shots

I got in a phase as I got older - out of the blue - I started jerking the crap out of the trigger and it took me while to figure out what the heck was going on - some things I did below
Started target practicing lot more in off season - started practicing gently squeezing trigger. One other thing I noticed was with my gun - it felt like I had to pull the trigger 2 miles to get the gun to go off. Took it to gunsmith and it took about 5 1/2 pounds to get it to go off - not good - I had him set it at about 2 pounds

Practicing shooting more would probably help - the above worked well for me

A mild recoiling rifle is your friend too.

My biggest problem is I talk myself out of killing a lot of deer that I should have killed. There 2 or 3 that I have regrets on now, but debated and debated on pulling the trigger until it was to late. Part of hunting thick mountains I guess, wanna be 100 sure it’s a deer I want to kill.

I have that issue too. I only want to kill deer that are made of meat,

I had a friend ask me in Texas this year - "do you really want to shoot that doe? You just shot a trophy buck this morning!" My answer - BANG! "Yup, she's made out of meat!"

And she was DELICIOUS!! Already had a backstrap chunk on the grill and a pot of chili!

I shoot my bow about 12 arrows a year n kill deer, only lost 2 in 21 years...I shoot rifles all year long and still miss good deer

Jbatey - I hav missed out on 4-5 really good deer over the years from studying in low light conditions and you don’t hav lot of time

Each time I figured it out - it was too late - I wish I would hav been more aggressive in those instances - but I was just wanting to be sure

Jbatey - I also got a better scope to help me see better so I could determine quicker in low lite conditions And time is usually critical w a mature buck cause they generally don’t stick around long a lot of times - use to hav a sucky scope which was not any better than my eye which sucks at last lite

All good points , pretty sure I rushed the shot / jerked the trigger . Had the thought that dry fire practice might even help . As far as scope the vx3 I have is not the best but I feel like it’s plenty good for me .

Take someone with you to the range. Let them load your gun and get them to leave it empty sometimes without telling you. See if you jerk when you pull the trigger on an empty chamber. It will be obvious.

What doe killer is saying is good stuff

After shooting great for long time - I got into a case of the jerks that lasted years - missed deer broad side at 30 yards

Had no clue I was jerking trigger - and would hav told you I was not at the time - you may not b jerking - but doekiller giving some good advice

I have been a firearms instructor for 20 years and have seen just about everything you can see folks do with a gun in their hand. Most issues are relatively simple to correct but a few are more complicated, like recoil anticipation as doekiller was referring to. Dummy rounds are a great way to practice trigger control and malfunction drills with a handgun. The real key to accurate shooting boils down to sight alignment and trigger control. Sight alignment sounds simple but most people don’t focus on the sight like they should. Your eyes can only focus clearly on one thing at a time and therefore you have to focus on the front sight or in the case of a rifle the crosshairs. I tell people all the time to stop looking down range and they think I’m crazy because they feel like they have to be looking at the target. If you are focusing on the front sight the rear sight (on a handgun) and the target should be a little blurry and the front sight should be clear and in focus. With a rifle the crosshairs should be clear and in focus. With a bow the pin should be clearly focused and the peep and target should be a little blurry. I can teach most people to shoot a steel torso at 100 yards with a .40 once they start focusing on the front sight. Trigger control is something you can practice with an empty weapon and takes practice. Anticipating the recoil is the number one thing I see people struggling with and the only cure is practice and dummy rounds as doekiller said. A good trigger pull is like a train on a train track, it goes forward and backward without jerking or ratcheting. I see ratcheting a lot with people who are trying to time their shot when the front sight gets where they want it in the wobble area. You can’t worry about wobble just press all the way thru it until the shot breaks. Wobble shouldn’t be as much of an issue with a rifle but it’s still there. Having said all of that, you can be an expert shot but shooting at a live animal is exciting and nerve racking all at the same time and that why practice is important.

I can’t for the life of me shoot with both eyes open.. which is the correct option both or one? May be some of my problems but i don’t think so

Thank you all so much , tdog , doekiller and general super good advice , I have had several rounds of what I feel is quality firearms instruction from Tiger at Shootrite , I have dummy rounds , As stated when I checked my gun I put 3 inside 1.5 in at 125 yds or so . This is a mental problem , I get an anxiety that is 2 fold 1: I’m exited about the deer ( any deer I plan to shoot most times ) I have taken some nice ones as stated in my OP that I don’t get shook up ) 2; I have become anxious I’m going to screw it up . Think QB who just threw a pick 6 going back out on the field . I have the skill to do it just fine , I believe it’s the anxiety of failure / messing up again .

Thanks for the info General and I will let him answer you Ridge - I close my left eye though

I practice 3-5 different times shooting at targets several weeks r so befor season - I had to focus on trigger pull big time and practice to get out of my massive jerking

And tdog I’m sure I jerked the trigger yesterday. Rushed the shot

I think focusing on the front sight will force you to stop thinking about what you are doing and alleviate some of the anxiety. Most people who miss a deer are in a hurry to get it over with and get the deer dead NOW.

I know your correct , thinking back I was still looking at the whole deer , I need to crosshair on the crease and squeeze

Tupi - keep practicing and try to get your self where you psych your self out on hitting instead of missing - I still get shook up

Heck - when I play golf - if all I see is the trouble - guess where I am going to hit it - right at the dang trouble

Heck - the first deer I ever mounted I did not even think I was gone be able to shoot it - My cross hairs were all over the place - I felt like a freakin spas- I was in a shooting house and shaking like crazy - I was like - screw this and just moved the gun over to side of window and pinched it so hard it would not move - dead deer

The general can prob help u lot more than me - but keep practicing And try to get where u believe u can do it

I purchased a bog tog death grip gun rest which helps lot - my son struggles so massively with shooting I thought it would help him - it has helped me b more steady to

Pay attention to the general a lot more than me

I keep both eyes open with a handgun or my M4 but thats relatively close shooting with fast target acquisition. The main benefit is situational awareness in a tactical CQB situation. It is not natural for most people and takes practice. I close my right eye when I’m behind a scope.

I need to go back to shooting my deer rifle all the time like I used to for muscle memory and confidence - used to shoot year round and didn’t have this problem - I’ll check out the rest .

Gonna have to disagree with you on the bow shooting, General. It’s impossible for anyone to hold a pin on a bow sight perfectly still. Once you get to full draw and line everything up, you start letting the pin float around or back and forth on the spot you want to hit. Once you have your float under control, you should focus clearly on the spot you want to hit. If you’re focus is on the pin when the bow goes off, that where you’ll hit. Since you can’t hold the pin perfectly still, the majority of the time the pin is not on the exact spot you’re intending to hit. Target panic with a bow comes from people with ocd tendencies thinking the pin has to be perfectly on the intended spot when the bow goes off. This leads to them hammering the trigger as soon the pin crosses the spot.

Dang,

Why didn't you just go on ahead and call me out by name...

Tupi - I know what you are talking about with target panic. Every so often with a doe I’ll just amped up so badly I don’t feel like I can make a controlled shot. It normally happens when I’ve been watching one for a while before finally getting the shot opportunity. Then sometimes it completely goes away. Doesn’t seem to happen with bucks, especially if there’s not much time to think. All I can say is it seems to happen more toward the beginning of the season when you haven’t seen a deer in the crosshairs for a while. I would take the advice from these guys here and then try to shoot your way out of it by killing a couple deer.

Thanks scout , I’m trying to do that as we speak , still in the stand . I have a “ I will redeem myself “ mentality . It’s nice to know so many others have experienced it .

Something that I think helps out is you’re overall mentality going into the situation…..My high school football coach used to make us sit before a game and sorta meditate I guess you could say…..We were suppose to envision what winning looked like…..see ourselves doing our job…….focus on accomplishing what we came to do….etc......I take a similar mentality into the woods with me….I don’t spend my time thinking about “Oh I hope I don’t mess up!”…….I spend my time thinking about getting the job done…..thinking positive......you came to kill something.......get yer game face on!!......Mental focus

......I spend most of my time thinking about the little debbie cakes in my bag these days.......

Haha! I think we are all at that place some point in life

Update ! So I hate this and it’s terrible but the the buzzards found my deer from yesterday about 75 yards in some thick stuff from the field , we looked a while for blood and come up with none . I don’t know how I feel about this I had rather missed than the deer waste but it’s helped my confidence that I hit the deer . Weird

2nd deer I killed this year - I did not find until next day - it had ruined - Hated it - no blood - ran into briar thicket - once I saw him - probably took me 25 minutes to cut my way to him - he was sitting up on his knees w head up - briars so thick he did not make it all the way down

It happens - congrats on your deer
Did u get any pics?

Thanks , it was a doe , I was going to top off the freezer . As a spiritual person it was really bothering me the waste and then it it kind of hit me that it was meant to be and was ok that I really tried to find it yesterday with help and I had done what I could reasonably do .

I use to let it tear me up worse - but if u put up good effort to look and put in good time Looking - Go home and sleep good

If no blood - it makes it hard

😆😆😆

I know a few more people that have had it, not just you.

I never get it bow or gun hunting. Calm as a stone cold killer. Now turkeys are a different thing altogether....

X2.

I dont shoot does anymore-havent in over 20 years but I do know the bucks do not bother me until I get down to track. I guess it is my minds way of making me think he may get away if I dont see him fall. I always try for lungs just behind the shoulder. Daddy would make an awful fuss about shooting one in the shoulder and making a mess of the meat. Most deer for me dont drop in their tracks when shot through the lungs, so I get excited every time they run away. At my age now, this is about all that will give me the shakes!

B

I don't because Deer don't shoot back..... there is nothing to worry about.

I used to miss, wound and mame alot of deer when I started hunting. It all came down to how fast I pull the the trigger. Id get too excited and rush the shot. now I try to pull the trigger as slow as I can. but I did skim the bottom of ones belly one time, !/2" from the bottom of the belly and killed it. you wouldn't believe it till you saw it.

I used to struggle with this bad many years ago. Then I started shooting a lot more. When I say shooting, I'm not talking about off rests from a solid bench. I'm talking about shooting in a way that's similar to the ways I actually hunt. I do a lot of front rest only shooting since plenty of my hunting is from ladders and shooting houses. This time of the year, my 12 year old son and I will go through 200-400 22's a week. None of which are off of a bench. Practice builds the muscle memory necessary to naturally settle the reticle where it needs to be. Do I still get nervous, of course, that's part of hunting. Been a lot of damn years since I lost one and he's killed 20+ animals without a loss.

That’s just part of it. It’s why we hunt. Seems the first deer or two I see at the beginning of a new season I get the shakes and shook up bad. As season goes on, I feel like I can control it a lot better.

Same here rack hunter

I agree that its all just a part of it....If we were all stone cold killers then there wouldnt be anybody's shirttail to cut off and poke fun of around the campfire.

Create a firing sequence and do it the same way ever time.
Then you don’t think about it.
When you flip the switch in your head to kill, it just happens. Get excited after the shot.

I often experience similar issues with does and seem calm before the shot with bucks. Last time I recall getting anxious before a shot on a buck was 8 years ago in Kansas. I saw a nice buck a little over 300 yards away with my binos but he was facing directly away from me. Got set up with my gun to shoot but he just stood there for what seemed like forever. Started shaking and backed off the scope and took deep slow breaths. Got back on the gun and he finally turned broadside. He's on the wall now. 👍

I've been shooting scoped rifles with both eyes open for most of my life. When I close my left eye it feels odd.