How does Bill Thompson stay calm when shooting a bow at a big buck?

Bill Thompson says he silently recites STAB, a military acronym for steady position, trigger squeeze, aiming and breathing, every time he is at full draw. He breathes all the way out and then squeezes slowly, which he says makes panic fall away. Joe Rogan said this matches Joel Turner's method of talking yourself through the whole shot so it stays a closed loop that can be stopped at any moment, unlike an open loop such as swinging a bat.

• Thompson used it on a public-land buck in north central Pennsylvania that local hunters called the monarch, shot at about 35 yards after three years of chasing it.
• Thompson says he still had an adrenaline crash for about 25 minutes afterwards.
• Rogan argues the real fix for target panic is having more big, pressured moments in life.

▸In their words

“steady position, slow trigger squeeze, aim, breathe.” Bill Thompson · at 29:48 — open in the transcript →

“you should talk to yourself through the entire shot” Joe Rogan · at 30:31 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on The Joe Rogan Experience (2026-10-21). Read the whole episode summary →

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