Yup, I'm very passionate about this sport and the animal. If I was a meat hunter, oh god... the deer I could have killed the last few years LOL. I'd need a quiver that held 20 arrows HAHA
Dude I didn't shoot a deer like the first 4 years I bow hunted. Sometimes I wouldn't even see deer for several sits in a row and you're ready to give up after a few weeks? Welcome to bow hunting.
Nobody likes a quitter, suck it up Nancy and get back out there. Sorry, high school football flashback LOL .
First off, it takes more than a week to "pattern" deer. They are constantly shifting their movements this time of the year, as food sources change. You are checking your cameras, moving to and from your stand, spreading attractants, inevitably you are leaving some scent behind, no matter how many precautions you're taking. Its hard to access a stand in the mornings over food. Entry and exit are key elements to a morning hunt. Chances are, as @sota mentioned, you're bumping them out of there on your way in. Its important to not loose faith, NEVER give up. I've had several animals over the years that I've "patterned" and failed to harvest. That's why we bowhunt is it not? The unknown and the challenge of this lifestyle is what drives many of us. I suppose as we get older, we appreciate the journey, rather than the destination. Keep at it. You'll reap the rewards of persistence.
Deer are not patterns of on and on not deviating always repeating....tendencies yes. Look at all the factors that were present that made them be there? Ask more why's instead of oh mans. It is hunting, if it were as simple as just going out there would be zero deer left in this world after a few gun seasons....lol Seriously though, Sota also brought up the concept of bumping the deer...entrance and exit routes almost need to play the largest role in picking a spot, a dynamite spot does you no good if you are alerting deer to your presence. Good luck, stay at it!
I don't post much, but this is bringing me off the bench. When I was 12, I wanted to hunt. No one in the family hunted with the exception of my oldest brother who was on Active Duty with the US Army. I took hunters' safety and got my license (to gun hunt), but because of living in Wisconsin, I was required to go with an adult until I was 14 when I could hunt on my own. We had a guy that was boarding horses at our farm that offered to take me out opening weekend. He didn't take the time to teach me any woodsmanship, only told me to sit still and be quiet. Didn't see anything and wasn't able to find anyone to take me out after opening weekend. My birthday is the worst for hunting in our state, because it falls the week after the gun deer season. The next year I still wanted to give hunting a go, but couldn't find anyone to go with me. I would stay with my grandmother on weekends, and she was right across the road from a piece of my uncle's land (~300 acres of really good land). Grandma said, that I can go by myself because "I can see you over there with the orange on". I didn't know anything about woodsmanship, other than what I what I saw on all of the hunting shows that can get on early 90's over the air TV. This went on for a number of years, with little to no deer sightings. Even when my brother came back from Active Duty, he would take me with, but he was also lacking in the woodsmanship. I hunted every year for Gun Deer season for 12 years before I actually shot my first deer. During those years I saw maybe 2-3 shootable deer. Fast forward to 2010. One of my really good friends convinced me that I should give bow hunting a try. I decided that more time in the woods couldn't be a bad thing, so I bought a bow and began to shoot it. I didn't actually go bow hunting until 2011, when I went with his family. His family couldn't believe that I didn't know anything about deer hunting other than what I had read or saw on TV, so they took the time to help a 30 something guy learn something about the woods. I am now 38 years old, and have hunted deer for 26 years. In those 26 years I have shot a total of 9 deer (mostly little ones). Of those 9 deer, I have only shot 2 with a bow and those were both my first year. BUT...I see deer much more regularly now (1st day on the stand I saw 11 on a little crappy property of my mother's). You have to learn about the woods from being in the woods and listening to those that are willing to teach. There are a lot of really good guys on here that are giving plenty of free advice that is good, but nothing beats a mentor that you can actually hunt with and learn from.
I've been bowhunting for 11 years and yet to shoot a buck (by choice), you cannot give up after a week!
You may be spooking them when you walk in the morning. I hunt this land that I can only access in the afternoon because I'll bust the herd out there beds in the morning.
I just realized it took me 9 years to kill my first deer with a bow. Mind you, I gun and muzzleloader hunted for more than 10 years before that. Each year was the same old story, either couldn't get on the deer, they were too far, or I got too excited and botched the shot. 9 years haha I can believe that. You can't get much worse than that. If you love hunting for all the right reasons, you won't give up. Keep at it! It'll get frustrating, just remember to remind yourself you're blessed to be able to hunt, some country's have completely banned it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes, it takes time, many sits in the tree and nothing.....and THEN..........SWHACK.....You never know when it's going to happen...Stay Positive, and I guarantee you when you least expect it......There he is! Creeks
