I'm 36 years old and this is my 2nd year hunting. I took my first doe earlier this year. I've practiced to be comfortable at 30yds on a target. BUT I'm embarrassed and frustrated to say I've missed one shot completely and wounded 3 deer that I wasn't able to recover all at less than 20yds. I get real nervous and the adrenaline goes that I yank the shots low and right so I'm wounding them in the guts and toward back hind quarters. I want to keep hunting but cannot stand the idea of continuing to do this to deer. What can I do? Like I said on targets I'm solid but once a real live animal stands in front of me im terrible! Please, please help!
Yes I shoot at the 3d target hoping it would help. I'm hoping someone that has experienced what I am will have some ideas of how they beat this to be a successful hunter. Do I just keep going out and hope not to injur the next one? I really hate the idea of continuing to miss
First, figure out WHAT makes you nervous? Is it the fear of missing it? Is it fear of making a movement that will scare the deer? Are you afraid of the animal itself? Find out exactly why you're nervous and work on controlling that. Second, if you shoot targets standing on the ground, but hunt sitting down from an elevated blind, that might explain your misses... Practice like you hunt and hunt like you practice. Third, how much effort did you put in trying to recover the wounded deers? Where was the shot? (High, low, far back, shoulder?) Do you have access to blood hounds in your area? Last thing, at this point, just take the ''PERFECT'' broad side shot... be ready to let them pass if it's not perfect. Better off letting them pass then taking a bad shot where you'll just wound the animal and never see it again. Be patient! Spend a couple of days in your blind with just a camera, that way you'll live the stress of a deer walking in front of you, but will not be worried about taking the shot.... One thing that helps me is that when I practice, I try to visualize the dream buck has just walked where the target is... Nobody gets nervous at a round paper target.... but if you can picture live animals, you'll slowly get ''desensitized''... Good luck
Unfortunately I've been in your shoes. What I've started doing is picking a spot I know it sounds simple, but when I first started archery I would see brown and hit the trigger. Also, I will use my tag per deer if I wound one and i feel certain its dead and can't recover it my tag is filled. I have also trained my bird dog to blood trail. If I hit to far back it's a mandatory 6 hour wait. This is just me, but it helps me feel like I've done everything possible.
I think many of us have been in your shoes. I started bowhunting when I was 14, and I could shoot well. My problem was, as mentioned above I`d get the pin in the mid-section and fire the bow. "Buck fever" makes it difficult to control yourself, the heart pounding , uncontrollable shaking that we all love, unfotunatly is what leads to many mistakes. Even with a bad shot, many deer are lost due to bad tracking practices.
Get your heart rate up during target practice. Run, jump swim, whatever you got to do to get it up and pumping. Practice bringing it down . I take air in for 3sec, hold for 3, exhale over 3sec then hold. Repeat as necessary.
This will sound crazy but, all of the above plus see if you can find a Technohunt near you. this will help with shot placement
Everything Chopper said is spot on. Everyone who has bowhunted long enough has wounded a deer. It's all about building that confidence back up again. Do exactly as Chopper has said and you'll be right back on the horse!
Justaround, no need to be embarrassed...at least you're looking for help from your peers. I don't care if it is a doe or a 14 point bruiser at 20 yards, I still get the shakes. Firstly- just keep practicing, the more you shoot the better you know your bow and how it shoots, with that you will eliminate some of the "mechanical nervousness." 3D targets are great, and we have a video league here at the shop that guys shoot all winter to stay on target and keep sharp in finding the vitals. Maybe there is one close by you? Secondly- shoot from an elevated position when you practice. Try to replicate the hunt scenario as much as possible. Tree stand shooting is different the on the ground target shooting. Again, the more you do this the more you'll know how the bow reacts in certain situations. Both of the above should help with shot placement. I cant help but wonder, since you mentioned "yanking" the shot, if your draw length is set properly, or if you're shooting a draw weight your comfortable with. An archery shop can help you better understand that. As far as the nervousness goes, there is tons of good advice out there on curing "buck fever," but having confidence in your shot is half the battle. One of the guys here at the shop nicked a 6 pointer because he misjudged the distance. Even though he tracked it and visually determined the buck was Okay, it ate him up until he could get back in the stand a week later...so you definitely need to get back in that tree! Keep shooting, we're here for ya!
absolutely fantastic responses! Thank you for your help, tips, and encouragement. Hope to get back out there this Thanksgiving weekend and will try some of these ideas. Hopefully I can get focused on the good shots I've taken instead of dwelling so much on the misses. Thanks again and look forward to learning more from you guys and this site.
I'm a noob at bowhunting myself, but I'll share the best pieces of advice that I received from the friend that got me interested in it. 1. When aiming, instead of moving the pin across the deer to the vitals, start at the ground and follow the back side of the front leg up. 2. Think of your target in 3 dimensions. Aim for a path through and not just the entry point. If you are thinking about the arrow's full path, it will help to calm the nerves a little (results vary) when you realize that your true target is a spot on the ground behind the deer. 3. Practice without firing. Draw your bow and practice holding the pin on a target, tree squirrel, cat etc. See the arrow hitting said target in your mind but don't actually fire. Then let off and pick another target. I usually do it as a warm up both mental and physical before getting settled in to my hunting spot. Just be sure to aim safely just in case you bump the release trigger on accident.
I am 43 and started bowhunting in 2007 so I was about the same age as you when you started, almost anyway. Everyone here has given alot of good info. When I started hunting I wanted to take my first deer with a bow. It was tough to say the least. It took me a season and a half before I accoplished my goal and I did wound 3 or 4 deer. I was sick over all of them and wanted to give up many times. One of the biggest things I learned after the first season was to keep practicing after the season starts. I climbed in the stand in September and didn't shoot my bow again until it was at a deer in October or November. Not a good plan for success. I try to practice 3 days a week at least and last year double lunged 3 deer. They didn't make it out of my sight. One other thing that helped me with the target panic was to start shooting with both eyes open. I was able to see more of an open sight picture as opposed to just the brown of a deer walking quickly into my shooting lane. Now I sometimes shoot with one eye open or both. Just depends on how I feel. At first I never thought I could shoot with both eyes open. I tried and it was really hard, almost impossible. But with practice it worked. Nothing I have written has come from me but things I have read or researched or someone has given me the tip. I hope it gets better for you. I know bowhunting for me is my biggest passion in life. Good luck.
Just a thought, If you have time to go out hunting and have a lot of deer in the area, go out and draw back looking at the deer and don't shoot. Just draw back and be looking at the deer as many times as you can till you feel more calm and not as nervous. It sounds like ur confident in ur shooting just need to train ur brain to get used to holding ur bow back staring down a deer at 20 yards. Hope this helps.
