BowmanMike

I am definitely not a good shot. I do fairly well on targets but horrible on deer. Not sure what to do about that. My first couple of bow kills were great,but lately it is the opposite.

That sucks Otto but happens to most of us sooner or later. Sounds like you waited for a good shot opportunity and did everything right after the shot too. Chit happens sometimes,i should know.

I went for still hunt. The rain turned to snow around 2 p.m and started to stick around 2.30. I got a ways into the woods and thought i kept smelling rutty something,i was trying to pinpoint it when three young deer tore past me,zig zagging and absolutely blistering through there. I think they got chased..No buck followed,so i kept going in the direction they came from cautiously. 10 mins later i catch movement,it is a big lone doe. I stay still,not hidden well but what can one do. It looked like she was going to walk past at about 50 yds. She stopped for a bit and i almost lost track of her,then she turned around and circled towards me. I drew back when she passed behind some trees and got ready. She was quartering towards me getting closer and closer,like under 15 yds now. She stopped head on and heard me breathing i think. So she turned back and now was quartering away slightly. I shot her at 20 yds and hit her to far back!!! I apparently suck at shooting live targets. I watched her run off,but only to 50 yds. I kept watching her and crept slowly to my arrow. Looked like all guts,what the hell,i cant get much closer than that. So i backed out,marked the spot and will go back in the a.m. I am pretty sure i will find her,she was in a good size bowl with water at the bottom,so i doubt she will leave there. I hope the coyotes don't get her before me. And I am pissed that another deer will go through a slow painful death because i suck at shooting them where it counts.

Keep sipping...haha

I am hunting the same property for 6 or seven years now,but i can not for the life of me figure out where the deer are at what time of day. Most of it is mixed fairly mature hardwoods,some open some denser. I can't even identify bedding areas,because the deer seem to bed wherever they feel like it. It makes me feel kinda stupid that i dont feel any more confident now than when i started hunting it. There is a hay field that attracts deer early season,now they are only coming there at night. Theres one swamp that is pretty open and another pond and its drainage,but the wind always swirls in that. A couple of good ridges,both east west and north south. The property is 300 acres,and i got some more to hunt,but identifying bedding areas is a mystery to me.

Your luck will change soon..Funny how things go in streaks like that...

I love still hunting,but it isn't easy. Luck helps a lot,and the thrill is unmatched. I have not spooked deer yet this year still hunting,at least that i know of. Haven't seen many either. Oh,there was a nice doe early in the season but one branch was in the way,i had drawn back and was waiting for her to move when the wind swirled,that was that.

I think he won't be bothered by that episode too much.

I hit a doe with a fixed head in just the liver,she was dead in a few hours..i backed out and came back for her.

I think the math is off a tad. If you're 20' up,lets call it 6 yds. Now you shoot 24 yds,that is a 1:4 pitch or drop.The exit should be 2"-3" lower,no? Also,check out the ranch fairy you tube clips about mechanical impact. The big blades opening can redirect the arrow quite a bit. Maybe your bow is not perfectly tuned either and arrow is not hitting straight? Either way,still a nice shot.

no buck for me...yet!! I saw a few,no shots on any of them. My one chance on a doe i took,almost blew that with a liver hit but recovered her late at night. I have high hopes for this Friday and the weekend,deer will be moving. The season is not over yet,and even if i dont get one with the bow i will be ok with that. Then on to gun which seems like cheating after bow season,but it is nice to fill the freezer.

Well,I did get the matthews wet,only a little,the rain stopped. I went for a stillhunt and didn't even spook a deer. I found more scrapes and rubs,but who knows where the creators of those are hiding,or the does for that matter. I have been in the right spot at rhe wrong time many times now. Putting my time in,i hope it pays off. I also hope my cold weather gear is gonna keep me warm on Friday. I will be out in the snow tracking me a deer. It is going to be an awesome weekend,you guys think last weekend was good,but wait for this one!!!

I was just about to head out but it looks like the rain just started here in 4F and will keep going until dark. I can't decide f i should get my matthews wet....

That's the spirit..The deer are always around,just not right where we set up. I tried to catch up to a buck and doe yesterday that my neighbor saw just down the road from my house,but i never did..Matter of fact,never saw a deer on the whole still hunt. I found plenty of sign,fresh scrapes and rubs and some giant historic rubs,oh my they got me excited. The size of the trees that were rubbed and the height of the rubs was impressive. It is always a matter of the right place,the right time. I am having some problems with that as well,but it can change in a second.

Good topic and good responses. It is very different to shoot a target or a deer. I agree with the above statements of 1" group size every ten yards and what nomad said,someone who consistently kills deer quickly.

@Fletch said it best. I also think a new bowhunter should show restraint and make sure to recover the first deer before flinging more arrows at whatever walks past after. It does take a while to learn what a good hit and a so so hit looks like. Making a mistake should not disqualify a hunter either,that's how a lot of things are learned. So it seems a little reckless for a newbie too be shooting away.

Congrats moog and grampy and AT. Good job guys,i will have to try to catch up this week as well. Got a DMP a buck tag left,looking to punch both.

wow,the mass on that thing is incredible! Congrats chris

x2..and lets see if we can't add to the harvests!!!

crossbow bolt i assume.

Had a two does come in around 8.40. They approached from the side i have the least cover and the lead doe busted me. I think that stand needs moving,three deer,busted 2.5 times. I thought the cover was good,but not from that direction. Good morning though,congrats to all the people who got one.

Had a forkhorn at 8 yds,he got a pass. Couldnt pick the bow up anyway,haha.

Just having a bowl of cereal and then headed into a bowl behind a pond. This stand has not produced for me yet,and i have not been in it this season. But the slow south wind should be perfect with three gullies dumping thermals in the bowl. A buck can sniff a lot of area down there,i hope the bucks are aware of that as well. Mikey prediction...The harvest thread will add a whole page,maybe two today.

Someone patterned him,haha.

I think the time is now if you can do it. I wont be able to tomorrow,but i think Sunday will be an all day affair in the woods. I might move from one spot to another to take advantage of the thermals,but thats it. Move up or down in the hill country i hunt.