This is gonna be long winded so I apologize for that. Archery has been super frustrating to me the past few months and I cant figure out the problem. Let me start by saying I’ve been shooting a bow all my life and really got into it and hunting hard for the past 10 years and have been decently successful harvesting 3-5 animals a year during that time. I’m no professional but shoot well enough that I’m disappointed when my groups exceed a softball at 50 on a normal day. I’ve shot a hinge exclusively for the past 7 years and will admit before it I had terrible target panic. Thank god that’s gone. This year I did switch to a new bow about 6 months ago but it’s still a Bowtech just a year newer so very familiar with that platform so I won’t even start to blame the bow. I have been trying out multiple different hinges after using the same one for the past 4 seasons, this may be where my struggles have stemmed from. Probably bought and sold 6 different hinges this year and I’m currently torn between two of them. Here’s the problem is I just can’t get consistent on my shot over these past few months to save my life. One round everything is touching and next round can’t get your hands around them. Nothing feels bad with my shot or different it’s just been very inconsistent. Don’t know if it’s from cycling through new releases this year to find which one I feel my shot is the most consistent with or the fact that I’m just shooting to much and my confidence just isn’t there anymore. What do y’all do when your going through a time where things feel okay but the results just aren’t what your used to seeing? Probably shooting anywhere from 250-500 arrows a week for the past 6 months for reference. Help me guys work through this slump.

Tape your camera phone to a ladder at arrow height.
Get target off the ground, so middle of target is at YOUR shoulder height.
LEVEL bow arm, LEVEL arrow at full draw.

Take off the cap. No hat. No long sleeves. Wear short sleeves.
SLIDE ladder with your camera phone at arrow height, far away enough that the camera phone
can see your shoes, can see the ground,
can see ALL of you and ALL of the bow.

Record five minutes of video, of you shooting with just ONE arrow in your quiver.
Target can be 2 yards away.
FIRE that one arrow, set down the bow, go get the ONE arrow
and pull out the arrow. RETURN to your 2 yd shooting line and fire that one arrow again.

BACK and forth. FIRING that one arrow for 5 minutes of video.
POST video to YouTube.
Post a public link to your video.

 

Mind game and also just because the bow is from the same company doesn't mean you will shoot it well. Not all bows are created equal. You've convinced yourself you can't shoot it. Start with attitude first.
Softball size groups at 50 yards your the exception not the rule.

 

I'm the type of guy who keeps pushing when there is a problem, I just have to fix it. That's fine if the problem is physical, but not if it's mental and it sounds like your situation is 100% mental. IMO, time off would be the best course of action. You can evaluate form when you pick the bow back up.

 

It sounds like you are good enough to know when you make a good shot or not. If you feel like you are making a good shot and it's not hitting behind the pin, then I'd consider it's something with your setup. Like Dale said, no 2 bows are the same. Hell, I have 3 Reckonings and none shoot best with the same setup/arrow combination.

 

Stop shooting all together for at least 2 weeks until you really want to shoot. I find if I get sloppy I give it a rest and seems to help.

 

This won't be popular, but...

"I’ve shot a hinge exclusively for the past 7 years and will admit before it I had terrible target panic. Thank god that’s gone..."

If you can't pick up any release and shoot it without whatever you describe as "target panic," it's not gone; you've simply found a mechanical work around for a mental issue, and while seven years of success is a long time, mechanical solutions for mental issues are temporary fixes.

You shoot good groups and bad groups; the good ones mean it's probably not the bow//arrows; unless you get a bunch of good groups and it falls apart at the end of your session it's probably not physical/fatigue... The last place to look is mental... Mental doesn't mean target panic, could be as simple on your bad ends of thinking about pizza on your first shot, then every subsequent shot was "wow, that last one sucked..." Mental could be neglecting attention to part of your shot routine, something that generally requires little thought and now you simply forget to think about it; could be you are finally learning the timing/feel of your release method and starting to see your TP coming out of remission...

These aren't your answers, these are just other avenues to consider on your journey to the solution...

 

You really know the answer to this situation......you've made a bunch of changes by trying different releases.....and also have a new bow. Every change you make has a subtle effect on the mental and physical aspects of the shot.....whether you want to admit it or not. Shooting the same bow over time creates consistency and repetition....an expectation of accuracy when you do your part. So you change your bow and that is somewhat disrupted. Then on top of it you are fussing with your release, which I personally feel is the most delicate aspect of compound archery. Frankly, what did you expect???

Most certainly there will be guys who chime in and claim they can shoot different bows and releases and sights all the same.....maybe they are just superior archers.....or maybe they don't have the same level of expectation you have developed for your shooting. I am similar to you in that changes effect my concentration, which typically result in a dip in performance during the adjustment. I often start the change process by simply blank baling so execution trumps accuracy until it becomes more engrained.

 

Any health issues? Attention tremor, hypertension, abnormal heart beats ( ectopy) anxiety etc? Are you on any medications? Have you ever shot after a couple of beers?

 

This is spot on. You've changed bows. You've changed releases. PICK A RELEASE. If it's down to 2, just choose. Go back to the drawing board to make sure your bow is tuned. Every screw is tight. Then start without targets. Blank bale, as the term goes. Make sure everything with your form and process truly is consistent. Once you have that down, then get back to shooting and realize this was due to your major changes, and then it migrated to your head. Plenty of brand fanboys buy the new hotness from their brand, only to find out they don't shoot it as well or they shoot it better. Nothing wrong with that, just understand, not every bow from bowtech is going to be the best bow for you. Maybe this one isn't. But you need to get the gremlin out of your head, and confirming you are doing everything right for a couple to a few weeks while only focusing on your process and execution will help that.

 

See Post #8 by Alaska at heart.

 

BTW, nuts and bolts can help, but he has zero reference to compare to for YOUR shooting. He doesn't have a video of before your issues began to see the differences. So while he can definitely help you adjust what's going on right now to how he feels you should do it (which ought to help immensely) that's not the same thing as figuring out what you are doing now vs what you were doing when everything was right. Just something to keep in mind.

 

I would pick one setup and tune, tune, tune. Any minor issues can get magnified by a setup that's not optimal. Once you know for sure everything is right, your confidence will increase and those groups will shrink.

 

Follow nuts and bolts advice and seek the professional assistance of a quality archery coach. Ibeleive you will find it’s money well slent.

 

I appreciate all the responses boys! Just to clarify or answer a few of the questions no I’m on zero meds and have no health issues so nothing there has changed. I agree on the bow being different, I went from a 33 inch revolt x down to a 30 in solution SS and I have a 30 inch draw so string angle isn’t as great. I switched due to 90% of my hunts are now out of a saddle so trying to get a little more compact in the tree. I fully understood I probably wouldn’t group near as well past 50 with this new bow but felt especially 50 and under wouldn’t change all that much. Maybe I was crazy to thing that. I also went back to a button for a while just to see if I could do it again and there was zero trigger punching, so I probably do have a little shot anticipation when the shot isn’t breaking perfect but not once in over a month of shooting a button did I punch. After watching a ton of Joel turner stuff I’m trying everyday to talk myself through my shot more and not let my pin float effect the timing but it does 50 yards and further when that float expands. I just don’t get as consistent of a pull through which I guess could be considered a form of target panic but I have no issues watching my pin float around in the middle I just find my shot gets a little stagnant and once the shot breaks it’s normal way where I need it.

 

Assuming you've checked draw length on a draw board and timed the cams correctly have you done any tuning of any kind with the new bow? Bareshaft, walkback, French, line etc?

 

Paper tuned and kinda been waiting to shoot better to broadhead tune.

 

Oddly enough, I have days I can shoot way over my head. I do not take those days and make them the baseline for my " normal ability ". Or even believe I should be able to do that all the time. I have both the Revolt X and the Solution SS . Some days I can shoot the one better than the other. BUT....I can't shoot like a lot of you do, because I do not have the physical or visual capability. I have a lot of experience, and always am shooting multiple bows and setups, and know how to build super accurate rigs. But the way some of you say you shoot , I am like pfft, how am I going to help them. I would say work on trying to make the setup more forgiving. You can find arrow and tune spots sometimes that just let you get away with more. The Revolt X is a 33" bow that was intentionally built to be and is included in the target lineup. The Solution SS is a short axle hunting bow. I was actually surprised, I am able to shoot it about as well as the Revolt X. The Solution SS tunes differently then the Revolt X. My arrow is running to the left coming out of the bow to be in tune. Every other bow I have the arrow is running pretty much straight down the middle. The Revolt X had more cam movement in both directions, and I could take a bareshaft and make it go from nock left to nock right and back to straight. The Solution SS not so much. Has a more narrow spot to tune within. I love the bow though.

I know some of you guys have only one specific arrow or broadhead or both. And I too sometimes try to make the bow shoot what I want it too . But I also have a lot of different arrows and broadheads. And I can tell you sometimes they like one over another. Sometimes one arrow broadhead combo is more forgiving then another.

 

I would also say watch Levi Morgans four part series on target panic on you tube. It just never hurts to go through it all once in a while, and gives you some things to focus on. A clean release and follow through can be accomplished with different types of releases.

 

I have TP and am in remission, sometimes we push it, but really I feel the best thing to do when going thru the slumps is just shoot an hour or so taking time to enjoy it, then skip a few days and come back to it. Too much shooting is like overload at times. My situation with TP is changing the way I approach the sighting sequence as I am focusing mainly on the spot I am aiming at and really don't focus on the pin only to break the shot after a quick confirmation the pin is on spot then the the shot can be taken with no rush. Don't be hard on yourself, you are shooting fine, there will be a day when you wish you could still shoot at all possibly, so enjoy the ride.

 

Im happy with that out to forty yards. Im a Bowhunter so my shots are 30 or less. Forty yard practice shots make those shots easy.

 

About the only simple fix I know of might be follow through. I have discovered it with myself and other shooters. Mainly kids. It is also amazing that an 8” group at 50 can drop to a baseball size group with this one thing.
FOLLOW THROUGH AFTER THE SHOT.
Keep aiming don’t try to watch arrow.

If bow is super tuned. Shooting bareshafts great at 30 and 40, then it is something you have to fix with you.

Only other thing I have seen make someone instantly better(within a day or two) is try a resistance release.

 

Another reason I mentioned follow through is that I have helped a lot of guys tune new bows or after they got new strings. Many of them start watching arrow flight to see if they think it is flying true. They have a group open up and they start watching arrow. Focus on shot process and timing.

Nuts and bolts can help. He is a wealth of good advice.

 

Go back to the hinge that you were shooting well. It's what was working well for you and nothing else has done as well. Also, if you have your old bow, go back to that too. You changed gear and the new stuff isn't shooting as well, so that's probably what it is. You may have also picked up some bad habits trying to make the new release and bow work for you. Take a week or 2 off and then try your old equipment again.