A few weeks ago I was watching a television program called Celebrity Hobbies. This is not something I would normally be interested in, but one of the guests was a well-known entertainment personality who also happens to be a bowhunter. The program highlighted his love of the outdoors and his passion for archery. He commented about his penchant for things that are natural and the importance of living off the land. He liked the idea of doing as our human ancestors did in harvesting animal protein with a bow and arrow.

As I was watching this it struck me as funny when he sheepishly pulled out his compound bow. Although I shoot a longbow myself, I have no personal problem with those who choose to shoot a compound. However, this guy was clearly embarrassed about shooting one. Especially considering his comments about how we should all live as our Native American brothers. He did mention that he likes to shoot a recurve, but preferred the compound because of its superior accuracy. This is all well and good, but I got the feeling that there was something more.

They showed video of our man shooting his compound for a time and then showed him with his recurve. As he drew his recurve back I could see some hesitancy as he neared a full draw position. Next there was a slight shaking, and then he stopped his draw about an inch or two short of full draw. Mercilessly, the camera cut away at this point and showed the arrow hitting its mark. Now it became clear to me. He had target panic.

Target panic is a very common problem that strikes many