Bow Life Boot Camp – Part 1 of 4: How to Beat Target Panic with Levi Morgan

Do you want to become a better archer, and a better bowhunter? Then you need to follow along with Levi Morgan’s “Bow Life Boot Camp” on YouTube.

This four-part series dives into the mysteries and struggles of target panic you might deal with yourself as a bowhunter, and then teaches you how to correct it. As Levi states right off the bat in this first video, there are tons of causes and cures for target panic, and it can suck the fun right out of archery if you don’t know how to fix it.

Which leads into lesson #1 of this video series:

Accept The Movement

The first thing to keep in mind when dealing with target panic, is it will never completely go away. It’s something even accomplished archers like Levi face up to this day. Below, Levi will cover three basic tips he’s learned over time to help “fight off the demons,” as he calls it, when at full draw.

A couple takeaways; I liked when Levi mentioned how he had just received advice from a friend of his, Joel Turner, on going back to the basics and learning to accept the movement. The second thing that was comforting to hear from someone who’s shot at a much higher level than most people ever have, is that everybody gets nervous and shakes.

Now, here’s a couple drills you can work on:

Shoot a huge dot – The main objective here is to just focus on the very middle of the dot, and you’ll likely start to find your groups improving right away. Ultimately, it’s going to take away your anxiety from your pin leaving that dot.

Shooting at a large target like this also aids in building confidence, so don’t be afraid to visit back to this drill often!

Shoot on one foot – On the other side of the spectrum, the tip Levi apparently received from Joel on dealing with target panic was to stand on one foot and shoot at your target. The sight picture is going to be catastrophic, but that’s the point. It will teach you to just keep pulling and keep executing no matter what your pin is doing, and you might surprise yourself with how well you can shoot with your pin flying all over the place.

Keep checking back, because I will be covering all four parts of this video series as they are released.

For now, get out in the backyard and get those reps in!

OutdoorHub Editor: Keenan Crow

Keenan Crow is an outdoor writer who graduated from Central Michigan University with a degree in journalism and creative writing. He has been writing for OutdoorHub for nearly five years, but anybody he is close with will tell you he has been telling hunting stories for far longer. He uses his experiences outdoors to write about things he loves - bow hunting, fishing, upland hunting, shed hunting, turkey hunting, waterfowl hunting, dog training, shotguns, ATVs and the outdoor lifestyle he lives in his home state of Michigan. Outside of hunting/fishing, he also loves to cook - especially with wild game - play golf and go on hikes with his yellow lab, Stella.