A few days ago I was at a 3-D shoot with some friends and I was asked a question that would have me thinking for days. At first I thought that the answer should be simple and need no explanation. Man was I wrong! What was this mystifying question that had me rolling over in my sleep? I’m sure each one of you has been ask it yourself. "What is the most important part of your shot?"

After giving this question some thought I realized Sigmon Freud himself couldn’t have come up with a better question to ask an archer. You see most people will automatically answer with the weakest part of their shot. If a person has poor follow through I’d bet he would say, "well follow through of course". What if you had a bad habit of punching the trigger? A smooth release would be the most important part of a shot to you. Everyone could have a different answer and everyone would be right. EXCEPT, I think I have come up with the most important part of a shot. Of course every part of your shot is important. Your grip for starters, how about your anchor point? Every part is important because each is relying on the other, one really bad flaw in form or execution will ruin any shot. So after giving this question the proper thought, I think I’ve came up with the answer.

CONCENTRATION. Yes concentration, but can we leave it there with no explanation? No, let me explain. You may be thinking I do concentrate and I still punch the trigger. Yes, but what are you concentrating on? Probably not punching the trigger, right? By concentrating on NOT PUNCHING THE TRIGGER aren’t you really concentrating on punching the trigger? Whether your telling yourself to do something or not to do something the something is what you are focused on. A better thing to concentrate on would simply be, smooth release, let the bow do the work. At no time does punching the trigger enter into the equation. Ideally you wouldn’t concentrate on the release at all, you would concentrate on doing nothing, just letting the bow do it’s job. Knowing what NOT to concentrate on is just as important as knowing what to concentrate on. Don’t put pressure on yourself to score a perfect bullseye, just relax, and hit the target.

Have you ever been to the practice range and started off shooting so well then a while later you felt like you had lost it? I’ve felt this way before, but never knew what the "it" was that I had lost. When it did hit me, it hit me like a ton of bricks. What I had lost was my concentration. Sometimes when we are shooting our best we seem to loose our concentration easier. The reason for this is that we feel we can do no wrong and therefore we do not need to work as hard to make good shots. When someone says they are in the zone, what they really mean is my mind is so focused on what I’m doing right now that everything else is blocked out but the task at hand. Concentration is something I work on constantly. A preshot routine is so important for bringing your mind to full concentration before a shot. When your hunting you can still have a routine that will trigger a response of full concentration. It may be your breathing, a sequence you go through in your mind before the shot or something as simple as a repeating a saying that stirs a good mental picture. Myself, I think about letting my bow do it’s job and not interfering with it. "Let the bow do the work". This is usually what’s going through my mind as I prepare to shoot, whether hunting or shooting 3-D.

Having a mental picture of what you are trying to accomplish before you attempt it is very important. Every homebuilder starts out with a plan and builds the house to so it looks like the plan. Some of us try to build our house then come up with a plan to fit the house we’ve already built. If I’m not physically shooting my bow I can still practice. I concentrate on making great shots just like I was shooting my bow. I make it as real as possible with sounds and surroundings just like I was out on the course or in the field. I actually see the arrow hitting exactly where I’m aiming, not close but exactly. I imagine myself in pressure filled situations; not just on the 3-D course but what I would do if that 400 class bull stepped out in front of me, or that giant 6x6 muley of a lifetime. By imagining these experiences before they happen I can concentrate on what I need to do at the moment and not on what is happening around me.

John Samsill