I debated on whether or not to post this. I almost didn't because it's kind of embarrassing, but then I figured why not? Two years ago I had really nice full velvet buck broadside at 10 yards at 6:30 am. I stopped him, aimed, released and watched the arrow sail right over his back. I've read a few posts where this happened to other folks on here. There's a deer in front of them at a distance where you think there's no way they can miss and when they shoot the arrow sails above or below the deer. The reason for this post is that I think I might have figured out what I did wrong. I'm not implying that anyone else has pulled this stupid stunt, but it certainly could explain how I could totally miss on a shot that I just knew I had lined up at 10 yards. When I get to a tree that I've hunted in before and I know how high I'm going, I shut my light off as soon as I get my climber and I climb and get set up in the dark. I do it all by feel, especially if it's a new moon morning, including nocking my arrow. I just don't like having my light on going up the tree or in my stand 25 feet up. On Friday, October 6th I had done this and I watched a deer coming my way right at first light. I couldn't tell what it was and it never came close enough for me to even consider a shot, which turned out to be a good thing. A few minutes later when it was light enough to see I noticed that I had nocked my arrow below the string loop, a stupid and careless mistake. Had I gotten a shot and not noticed this I would have had a repeat and the arrow would have sailed high. I don't know if anyone else sets up totally in the dark, but this is one little detail I will pay very close attention to in the future.
No reason to be embarrassed. Good lesson learned for everyone. IMO Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I had a new peep sight put on, trusted that the "bow shop" tied it in but didn't. Missed the biggest buck I've ever had a chance after the peep moved. Can't blame it all on the shop I should have checked my gear. One of those perfect broadside 20-yard chip shots. Still kick myself for that one.
The main reasons for shooting over them I think are rangefinders and shooting form. If your rangefinder doesn't compensate for angle, a 30 yard shot in a tree may only be 20 yards from the base of the tree. The arrow may travel 30 yards, but going downward with gravity it only drops the same as a 20 yard shot. So you use your 30 yard pin and miss the deer... The other big issue I think is form. I've seen a video demonstrating shooting by lowering your arm vs bending at the waist. Lowering your arm instead of leaning forward screws up your form and for some reason the arrow usually hits a little high. I often shoot sitting down in the stand, and for shots 15 and under, I aim for the brisket. When sitting down on the ground my POI isn't affected. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
A few years ago I had a 20 yard, slightly quartering away chip shot in the wide open at a 140" 8 point. To this day I don't know what the hell I did, but my arrow was about a foot low. Left and right was perfect, I was just low. Nicked the back of both front legs about 4" below his chest. I almost threw my bow out of the tree that morning.
Form (bending at the waist) definitely comes into play and is extremely important, but when you're talking a distance of 20 yards and you're only 25 feet high, the difference in distance is negligible - maybe 1 to 1 1/2 yards. Inside 20 yards and 25 feet up the difference in distance is irrelevant.
Hmmm. I'm starting to wonder if most of these extreme high/low misses on short yardage shots occur in the morning. Surely there aren't other folks nocking their arrows above or below their string loops in the dark, but it sure would explain some of these errant shots.
Yep, missed a giant about 10 years ago. Not because of a D-loop issue but he was so close my angle must have sucked. My arrow went right under him and into a fence post. I imagine it was nerves but for the life of me I can't figure out how I missed him when he was so close. It wasn't too embarrassing since the other person hunting with me on that property was greener at hunting than I was but still...pissed!
Believe me - I HOPED that was the case. Went back and watched all of my interview footage from that morning with bow hanging in the background behind me. Nock was in the correct location, I just pulled the shot. Most likely dropped my arm when I shot as my mind was already turning toward the camera and making sure I followed the deer post-shot. That's my best guess anyways.
Well, if nothing else, maybe others besides me will be double-checking and triple checking their nock placement when they set up in the dark.
Hah, I only miss when they are close. Not sure how it works that way but literally every deer I've missed with a bow was well under 20 yards. First time I took my wife hunting with me was probably 2006. Sat in a ground blind. Had a huge nanny show up at about 12 yards completely unaware of us. Managed to hit the inside of the blind and completely air ball her. She ran about 50 yards and proceeded to snort at us about a million times. My wife busted my chops about that for years.........lol.
It becomes increasingly harder to force your arm to not dip at all and your hip to pop out more and more as they get close....especially in some of my higher stands.
Last year was the first time I connected with a deer with my bow. I always used to (clean) miss them - and I never took a shot unless it was 10 yards or closer. First time I ever missed - two shots later and a deer still staring at me - I realized my nerves made me completely forget to look through my peep. I let him walk after that. The following year, missed another 8 point. Not sure what I even did - but he too stood there and stared. Two shots later he moved directly in front of me - broadside - ten yards away.....and my husband walked in and he ran off. Mine was always composure. I just couldn't hold it together. Last year I was drawn back for what felt like forever, talking myself through it "breathe, peep site, steady, breathe"...and it worked. But, anyways, another thing to keep in mind in the dark - is that you have your odd fletching the right direction. A lot of the time I catch myself putting it on wrong until I can see the color difference with daybreak.
It's bad enough to pull a miss like that, but to do it with a witness,... especially your wife! Yeah, I'm glad my wife hasn't witnessed some of my screw ups. She can be merciless...
Yes sir, and if I had remembered to focus more on that aspect on the morning of the 7th I'd have had a buck at the taxidermist instead of telling stories about how my cam nicked my stand.
This is a good post. An honest one is always best. As for me, for many years I was a buck killer. If it got within 20 yards or less from my tree, it was dead. The more pressure the more I performed. Well that changed a couple of years ago and I believe it has to do with the amount of pressure I put on myself. I put so much work into scouting and hunting that it started to effect my shot performance. In 2015 I missed two shots under 20 yards on two mature bucks on the public land. One was in the morning and at a sharp angle. I was about 20 feet above the buck and he was at 10 yds. Shot right below him. The other was only about 15 yds from me and I was 15 feet high. Shot right over his back. Both instances I remember not holding on target after the shot and dropping my bow arm to see wether or not I hit the deer. I was not relaxed mentally and punched the trigger and drooped my bow arm. Well in 2016 I missed a doe the same way. I started to replay the shots and listening to some guys on here. I decided getting a thumb release that forced me to apply steady pressure to the trigger would benefit me and cause me to hold on target through my release. Thousands of shots layer starting in the spring and two dead does later this season I'm glad I switched. It may just be mental, but in reality most errors start in the mind before the body takes over. Bring on my 2017 buck bc I'm gonna hammer him. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
