The mental game.

[mastermind]

Agreed!What separates the greats from the not so greats is their unwavering belief that they will succeed. It's all mental as they say, the arrow can only goes where your mind tells it to go. What you think so shall you become, if you think you will miss it make a bad shot you've increased the likely hood of said thought. When I'm competing in 3D tournaments my only thoughts are related not to the outcome but in the process to attain the out come. You need to be process minded not outcome minded.

If there is anything at all that I have absolute confidence in, it is my ability to hit a dime, or at least the X ring at 20 yards with my bow. Oddly, although my sight pin can be floating in and out of the bullseye, my arrow hits the X ring 90-95% of the time. I attribute this to believing it will. Would add that my 3 best bucks on my wall could be attributed to confidence and visualization. I KNEW and BELIEVED they were going to come....everything was almost on autopilot. It usually doesn't come together that way but when it does it's awesome.

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[JoeRE]

Great thread. I completely agree with most of what has been said already, too many good points have been made to call out each one.

The way I think of it physical action covers just the basics of the hunt and the kill. Perfecting the mental game definitely is what can get you to a higher level. High performing athletes spend a lot of time on that aspect - mental training not just physical. I am not one of those but it seems that is what it takes to become great at any activity, on top of just physical ability. The mental game.

When Magic mentioned about needing a moving target to hit it, I know what he was talking about. I shoot very well on difficult shots. I won't take a difficult shot unless I know I will make it, and when I take it I do make it, its not arrogance its just that simple. The shots I usually mess up are the chip shots, whether with a gun or bow, and that is a result of not focusing like I should. "This is going to be easy" is my worst enemy when I am at full draw on a buck. I have gotten better with that but still have to watch for getting sloppy when things seem "easy" particularly while gun hunting. I try not to even let myself think that word when I am hunting.

The challenge is getting in that mind set, and being able to count on getting in that mindset. I for one think that the harder a person consciously tries to act that out, the less likely they will be to get there. The hunter-killer state of mind is something that happens as a result of focusing on your goal, not as a primary goal itself if that makes any sense.

[Lockdown]

"He who says he can, and he who says he can't... Are both usually right."

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[mainebowhunter]

Great thread. I completely agree with most of what has been said already, too many good points have been made to call out each one.

The way I think of it physical action covers just the basics of the hunt and the kill. Perfecting the mental game definitely is what can get you to a higher level. High performing athletes spend a lot of time on that aspect - mental training not just physical. I am not one of those but it seems that is what it takes to become great at any activity, on top of just physical ability. The mental game.

When Magic mentioned about needing a moving target to hit it, I know what he was talking about. I shoot very well on difficult shots. I won't take a difficult shot unless I know I will make it, and when I take it I do make it, its not arrogance its just that simple. The shots I usually mess up are the chip shots, whether with a gun or bow, and that is a result of not focusing like I should. "This is going to be easy" is my worst enemy when I am at full draw on a buck. I have gotten better with that but still have to watch for getting sloppy when things seem "easy" particularly while gun hunting. I try not to even let myself think that word when I am hunting.

The challenge is getting in that mind set, and being able to count on getting in that mindset. I for one think that the harder a person consciously tries to act that out, the less likely they will be to get there. The hunter-killer state of mind is something that happens as a result of focusing on your goal, not as a primary goal itself if that makes any sense.

Funny you mention that Joe...because thats exactly what I think when I have a deer at 15yds broadside, calm and I am at full draw..."wow that is a big target" but my brain does well in that situation. The post target brain ...thats what happens to me. The mind is a funny thing I know that.