I have and still do this way too often.. NOT bending at the waste when shooting from the stand. For years I have killed lots of deer and 90% of them were hit very high but the exit was low. I used to get up to around 25 ft and never bent at the waist. This past season when I was using the recurve, if i did not bend, I would 99% of the time shoot right over the target. Out of curiosity, how many of you ALWAYS bend at the waste, like it's just second nature? If you are not doing it, are you missing? hitting high?
This was my first year shooting at a deer with my bow. I think this is what I did wrong. Setting up a stand in the back yard to start practicing this spring.
Well I have been at this for 25 years and I am still not doing it like I should. If that makes ya feel better...
I don't find it as much of an issue today with the solid backwalls of the bows today. With my old bow it was a much bigger issue. As long as I make sure I am holding draw tight to the backwall and am at my anchor points I don't worry about anything else. I will practice from my ladder stand though just to make sure all is well.
I think sometimes that comes from pointing your bow at the deer and then drawing. I try to draw on the horizontal and then bend at waist bringing the pin down on the target....if that makes sense.
I guess I never paid attention to what I do. to busy paying attention to everything in the heat of the moment.
I can't say it won't happen but in general I start bending as I prepare for the shot. When I anchor I always touch the very tip of my nose to the string which helps remind me to maintain the correct anchor. Years ago I shot a buck that I ended up hitting in the spine and I swore up and down that I aimed low. I've replayed it in my mind over and over and I am sure the stand height had most to do with it in that I was seeing more of the other side of the deer in the process. Don't forget that deer often start ducking at the sound of your bow, even if you don't realize it.
Actually a solution to target panic also helped me be more accurate from the stand. I put the pin on the target then concentrate on lining up the peep hole and the site ring. If you are not bending at the waist the peep and the site ring will not be lined up.
I think my issue has been getting too high, string jump, and not bending all in one. I only get about 20 ft now, and I try to remember to bend ever so slightly. But it's been almost a year since I last shot a live deer with the bow, so we'll see what the rest of the season holds.
well they line up because I have no issue there, maybe I do bend and don't realize it, it may just be the stand height and string jump. On a target im dead nuts.
I aim for string jump on every shot. No matter how calm I think things are. I feel that not doing this was the biggest mistake I was making in my early bowhunting.
I try to draw the same way every time, that helps keep my bow arm in the right position, then I bend down to the target. Every now and again I get in the habit of dropping my bow arm on release and that really affects my accuracy so I have to fight that.
Most of the deer I've killed from a treestand I actually shot while sitting (which I practice) but of the 3 or 4 that I have killed while standing I did bend at the waist. It makes a world of difference. It's amazing how high of an angle your arrow takes if you don't bend or aim lower and because of this, in tandem with deer typically dropping, I find it's way easier to mistakenly shoot high than it is to shoot low from a treestand.
I'm actually opposite of others. Found it to be uncomfortable bending at the waist while at full draw. This year I started bending before I draw the bow which felt better to me.
Of the 70 or so whitetails I have shot with a bow, at least 60-70% of them were shot while sitting down, either in a treestand or a ground blind. Bending at the waist is not an issue in those cases.
I practice drawing as if the deer were straight out in front of me, then I bend at the waist until I'm on my deer (or target) I hit the target with no problem. But the last 2 deer I've shot were high hits. I'm thinking I'm doing something different in the field, the only difference is my hunting stand is about 4-5 feet higher than my practice stand. Could 4-5 feet make that much of a difference?
you bet 4-5ft will make a difference. I didn't think so until I shot with a recurve. it makes a difference..
