Some of you know it, some of you don't. That is the beauty of this forum, we are a collection of some highly refined bowhunters and others that are brand spanken new or still wet behind their "bowhunting" ears. For those that haven't yet I urge ya to find the response post by wibowbros in the thread http://forums.bowhunting.com/bowhunting-talk/65942-hit-buck-tonight.html that he posted yesterday. He touches on something I always stress to any new/young/seasoned deer hunter looking to hunt with a bow: Honestly, a ton of hit but not found or wounded deer stories/threads could be avoided if this was one of the primary things hammered home to all bowhunters, especially newer ones. Arrows are extremely deadly when put in the right place...however they cannot overcome poor shot choices like a bullet can at times. It truly is a different ball game when compared to gun hunting in that just having the deer in range doesn't mean a shot can be taken...it's truly either good shot or no shot. Service announcement done Good luck out there fellas.
I'm with ya Ty. As a bowhunter that didn't grow up bowhunting I had to learn all these lessons myself. As a beginner bow hunter I blew several shots, hit a couple deer poorly and rushed a couple shots. I didn't grow up with the benefit of being told and showed how to bowhunt, and your right it's completely different than gun hunting. Honestly I didn't become a better bowhunter until I started coming to this site and others. It took me making mistakes and seeking out information as to how to improve before I figured things out. I give a lot of credit for my success over the last few years to this site.
I was in this same type scenario last fall. A nice 2.5 year old 8 point stepped out into my shooting lane and was feeding on apples. This was my first time in the stand and I thought he was about 40 yards away. I could have taken the shot but wasn't quite sure about it and I figured he would continue down the trail right past me anyhow. Well, he didn't....he turned around and went back the way he came. Sometimes its just better to wait for a good shot rather than take a chance. BTW....after he left I took out my rangefinder and he was only 32 yards away, so if I had taken that shot it probably would have been a clean miss!
Well said Ty. My little blurb: I've been bowhunting for 15 years, and I've taken 3 quartering too shots in my life, all of which ended up as liver kills and I retrieved all 3 deer. The bad thing is, those successful hunts made me even more confident in taking that shot. After being here on the forums for a while, it's not a shot I am willing to take anymore. After asking myself deep down, is it worth it? Doesn't the deer deserve better? I found my answer, no more low probability shots. I won't say I'm old, but as a seasoned hunter who grew up in the woods, an old dog can learn new tricks.
I'm currently doing the same thing - I am in my 2nd year as a bowhunter and have been learning slowly but steadily on my own. Something happened to me on Sunday that I feel I need to share and how it relates to this thread. I practice all summer long in my yard during the day... Sunday I had a nice 8 point come out to 13 yards (ranged it earlier) at last light. I drew my bow, looked through my peep and to my horror I couldn't see a single pin. I could easily see the deer, but couldn't see the pin. Me, being a dumb noob hunter who's never been in a position like that aimed down the arrow and let it fly. Thankfully the arrow sailed over his back and he had no idea what had happened and went on his way. What a learning experience... And to hit the point home of "good shot or no shot". Great PSA Ty!!
The well received nature of threads like this is awesome...and I think may be the inspiration for my first article submitted to a magazine I'm sure many of you know (not gonna say to avoid jinxing it) that has asked me to start submitting articles for review and possible publication. This is a VERY important topic with the evolution of a bowhunter.
Don't mean a thing...I have many a knowledgeable friend that submitted articles for years without one getting picked...but still cool in the same breath though.
I just don't feel compelled to take iffy shots anymore. I get deer close enough to kill with a spear (The literal kind, not our valued forum member, lol). If one doesn't present a clean shot then another one will sooner or later...patience and diligence are their own reward.
Well still happy for you . To make light of it, I've had my picture with a kill on one of the Drury shows (can't remember which one) and Heartland Bowhunter favorited a few of my Tweets, so I'm basically famous too.
To quote the great Emelio Estevez 's Billy the Kid character...."I'll make you famous"...I'll throw you out a a treestand and kill a deer with a spear. That's cool to be published guys! Congrats. I was featured in...oh wait that wasn't me...never mind.
Probably not entirely to blame for this kind of thing. Unless, of course, u mean the fact he was hunting in front of a camera and was thinking about video glory more than being smart about the shot. The thing with TV nowadays is this....IF a tv hunter takes a poor shot in front of a camera, the public rips him/her a new azz! TV hunters , IMO, as whole , are much better at waiting for the right shot. This even leads to many behind the scenes situations that animals get away due to improper angles, poor lighting...etc. Yes, I think poor light is a bad time to take a shot, even on a close broadside animal. It is so hard to see sight pins at that time comparatively. Each hunter should always know their limitations in low light. With a camera in the tree, TV hunters had somewhat of an advantage in this aspect. If its too dark for the camera, simply no shot can be taken. Im not talking about your average joe self film hunter either. Im referring to actual footage the will go to air if captured properly. In this case, no good light = no good footage = no exceptions. Just my opinions on the matter tho.
I have a lighted sight but I believe those are illegal so I don't use it Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I just hope they don't see your signature on here and decide they can do better than someone who loses to a couple of Kansas boys LOL :D Just teasin ya Ty
Great thread Ty. I always feel I'm hunting till I've got the perfect shot presents itself. I really don't mind going back to camp with a good story of the one that got away because I really hate blooding. Especially when you come up empty handed. Enjoy the hunt.
