During my two-year struggle with target panic, I tried every possible cure available. One method that I read about involved activating the back muscles prior to release. The idea is to come to a full draw, squeeze your Rhomboids muscle--which is located between your shoulder blades, and wait for a surprise release. As the muscle is slowly contracting, the bowstring is being pulled along with it. Evidently, it gets to the point where your fingers begin to lose their hold and the release happens subconsciously.

This method seems to be quite popular amongst compound archers and some Olympic style shooters as well.The fact that the release was a "surprise" and happened subconsciously didn't appeal to me. I am sure that the method works very well for some, but I wanted to have more control of my shooting. It seems to me that with this method of release you are ceding control. I wanted to make a conscious decision when to release.

There was already a subconscious voice screaming, "release!" as soon as I would come near full draw and I didn't want to hand over any more control to it.Feeling already defeated before even trying the method, I drove over to my local range. I ran through the steps in my head and then gave it a shot. The urge to shoot early immediately interfered with this method's success as I drew my bow to full draw. Trying to fight these urges while at the same time attempting to squeeze my back muscles was difficult to say the least.

I can see the benefit of focusing on something other than the target, but I couldn't really tell if I was really contracting my back muscles or not. With the muscles tense already, it was hard to get a feel for it. The overwhelming urge to release never left me as I continued to go back to the range for the next two weeks trying the back muscle release. I am skeptical whether this method would work for anyone using a traditional bow considering the heavier pull weight that is commonly used.After two weeks was up and not having experienced any relief of my target panic symptoms, I decided to give it up. It just wasn't working and it seemed counterintuitive to me.

I needed to somehow rid the urge to release early and gain control of the shooting process. With the back release, it appears to me you are giving up control. I wanted complete control. I eventually found it using a technique called the Push Release.

By: Michael Linsin