so... how long did it take you?

i just got back into bowhunting after 10+ years.... have never killed one with a bow, but several with rifle. i love it, but after missing 3 times this year (nerves, branches, and stupidity) i wanted to ask... how long did it take you befoe you got your first bow deer? did you miss any before you connected? let me know. when I fist started hunting the rumor was it will take a bowhunter something like 7-10 years to kill a deer with a bow, but having had countless deer in bow range (something always goes wrong) I am thinking that number may be way wrong.

lemme know please, thanks.


oh and sorry if this was already asked.

 

Year 2.25 and still deerless. But I have only been out once this year.

 

Hunted last year (first season) didnt get a deer. came in this year ready and took my first deer on opening day on public land.

Sent from my HTC Hero S

 

This is my third year bowhunting and still no deer. Although I am hunting much harder this year then I have in the past.

 

Got a buck on my third sit after I missed him once then he walked closer and nailed him. Probably didn't have a total of 6 hours in the tree that season. It got me hooked quickly

 

Shot a doe a turkey and a raccoon on my opening day sit the first year I bowhunted. I gun hunted for years and I shot 3D for two years before I ever got in a tree.

 

after a few rookie mistakes with 5-6 close encounters, I finally nailed an 8-pointer...took me 2 months...from opener season to the rut phase...

 

this will be my 4th year bow hunting finally got my first bow kill. first season missed 3 times last year i hit a doe but never found her and this year i finally got a buck. just stick with it man as soon as you dont think your gonna get anything you will have everyhting fall right for ya lol just enjoy being in the woods, i love to sit in a tree and not have to listen to anyone very relaxing!

 

in 8 years Got at least one every year but one. I've mentioned in other thread about the buck I shot in the hip on a deflection. I couldn't hunt anymore that year. Just couldn't go back out after that. Took me about a year to put it behind me.

 

I shot my first buck 3 days after buying my bow. I had shot a bow a lot before, then took a break before buying an actual hunting bow. It was my second sit, just looking for a doe in my self imposed 20 yard limit. An 86" buck came by at 15 yards, and I shot him in the heart.

 

First year 1/2 hour on opening morn, 10 yard heart shot on lil basket 8 , hooked from there.

 

I was lucky I got one my first year of bowhunting. A doe at 7 yards. Up to that point of that season though I missed 2 does and 2 very nice bucks. All due to just not knowing what the hell I was doing and getting way to excited. I remember the one I killed I started to get to excited and remember thinking "Just calm down. Do everything like practice." I did and it payed off. She ran 30 yards and fell over dead.

On the opposite end of the spectrum my good friend just recovered his first deer. 6 years in the making. He has shot at least 1 deer every year with no luck on the recovery. He was about to give up I think. I think it took my dad about the same amount of time and failures before he finally got his first one. He actually told me that was his last year of bow hunting if he didn't close the deal. Then I think he went on a tear of like 16 straight seasons with a kill.

 

Nice I think it happens that way for first timers so it hooks us in good

 

It was a button buck and it was the second time I sat out. I was able to take the first deer that was within range (35 yards) Ended up with 5 deer that year, 3 with my bow and 2 with a rifle. Never looked back after that. Still waiting for that big buck tho.

 

It took me 9 years to get a deer with a bow. It was a spike at about 20ish yards. This year is my 10th season and I got my first "real" buck and was fortunate enough to follow up with another buck about a week later. I also shot my first doe this year the same day as the first buck. In the years prior I had only taken two shots but missed both. I had never seen a buck while hunting until this year.

I really think its all about scouting and finding the places the deer want to be. Chances are they are there, you just have to find where the are and when they're there. This was my case, anyways.

 

year and a half here

 

Hunted for 5 years in the 60's before I got my first. Back then there weren't many deer in this area. It took 8 years to get #2. Since 1990 I have taken over 30. Two this year so far. I can attribute my success to deer population and from shooting 3D. After shooting in 2 clubs my stats went up.

 

First time I went I used a borrowed bow that was too heavy and when I tried to pull back on a doe the arrow fell and hit about half the steps on the ladder stand before it hit the ground.
The next year I had my own bow with an appropriate draw weight for a kid and I stuck a big nanny my first day out. I used a Pro Force bow, an Easton XX75, “aluminum tree-trunk,” and Muzzy 3 blade.

 

first year doe on a 30 yard stalk down a fenceline when i was 13. my dad couldnt believe i had done it till i came back to the house with the deer haha

 

Last year / my first season hunting i shot a nice buck but never recovered it though not sure what went wrong. 2 months later i shot at a doe but missed becuse i was dumb. This year i have had many close encounters just i'm waiting for a good shot.