I’ve been shooting a bow for 50 years—started out with a recurve and traded up to a compound like most people do–so I’ve got the physical technique of drawing, aiming and shooting an arrow down pat. Now it’s all in my head. No doubt in my mind, if you hunt with a bow that is well-tuned you can will an arrow in and through a deer’s vitals if you train your brain to do it.

The trouble is, most hunters are too busy worrying about their shooting form or fiddling with a fancy new rest, sight or other piece of gear. They forget about the mental part, and that is a mistake. You can have the best-tuned $1,200 bow, arrows and broadheads in the woods, but if you don’t train you brain to shoot right you’ll miss some deer and maybe the big buck of your dreams.

To me shooting a bow is like throwing a baseball. Gerrit Cole Clemens stands 60 feet from home blate, blocks out the crowd noise in Yankee Stadium, focuses on the mitt and delivers a 90-plus mph fast ball on the black of the plate. He’s thrown a million baseballs so he doesn’t worry about his mechanics. He concentrates, focuses on the glove and then rather than throwing to the mitt, he throws through it.

Do the same thing in a few weeks when your bow season opens.  When you see a buck and your heart jumps, take a couple of deep breaths and block out the sights and sounds of the woods. Draw your bow, focus on a small piece of hair on the deer’s lungs and release the arrow not at the lungs but through them. Follow through–don’t drop that bow arm or raise your head–and envision the blood-covered shaft whistling out the offside of the deer.

Believe me it works, but it takes mental training. You’ve got a few weeks left before the opener, train your brain!