Missssssssssssssssssssssssss

[Candor]

Missed my first shot of the year... just too damn close. While I have practiced close shots with the 'curve...I am not proficient enough to make the adjustments quickly while hunting. I had a doe walk straight in on Saturday morning and then turn broadside at 5 yards. To say I missed would be an understatement. I shot over her back by like 6 inches. I first drew on her at about 12 yards when I thought she was going to turn, held on draw until she closed the distance and turned broadside. The geometry of the longer limbs (60” bow) makes it tough for me (lack of recurve experience) to adjust my back to make the shot.

It was a beautiful muggy morning in the woods. Only saw one deer and that was at 7:30 a.m.

[2thDoc]

glad you can step up and admit your faults, baldy.


i passed on a perfect shot saturday evening. it was getting late and had a mom and a fawn come in. i just wasn't 100% sure she wasn't a he. i drew on her and let it fly in my mind. i made a good shot. [img]smile.gif[/img] granted, this was with the compound...i ain't brave enough to carry the recurve, yet.

[MC]

Well at least you two numbnuts had shots. It was right before dark Saturday as I was enjoying the sweat rolling down my neck when I heard footsteps coming through the puddle of standing water behind me. Then a few extra footsteps and I was convinced it was actually two "deer" coming to me. A few tense moments as I can see the ripples in the puddle getting closer and then out steps a black lab and a bluetick. They proceed to walk up under the stand and keep going down the trail in front of me offering some really nice quartering away shots. But I didn't.

[2thDoc]

any mosquitoes out there? been horrible at my place.

i hear a bluetick is good eatin'!

[tradorion]

Candor- I would love to claim angles, long limbs and all that- but after a number of hogs and very few chances at deer with a trad bow (and ALL of those few chances were little bucks on a managed property) I FINALLY had a doe come in last season... she blew my mind coming in from back right of me (great angle for a lefty shooter) where the wind had been blowing TO HER all evening... first thing i hear is her chewing acorns at 3-4 yards (walked in on soft sand of a washout)- so i ease up and get ready to shoot (great stand cover) and she feeds on forward... base of stand is 9 feet off the ground, she is 6-8 feet from the base of tree... I draw, pick a spot (the whole damn deer was my spot) and shaved 6 hairs off her back... cussed myself all evening watching her feed at 25yds (yup- she only ran about 20yds- quiet bow )

AIM SMALL MISS SMALL... this might have been your issue too- mind on overload forgets to do it!

R

[Stripa Swipa]

Candor,

If you practice on the ground, then try to shoot from a stand, I've found you'll almost always instinctively shoot high with the curve. Was this the case?

[Candor]

Stripa...I did miss high. Startled me by how much. I usually don't cuss at myself but it surprised me by how much I missed.

I do predominantly practice from the ground but I have shot elevated enough to where I shouldn’t be able to use that as an excuse. I obviously need a bit more up close, steep angle practice.

Trad…For some reason I have never been a pick a “spot” person. I usually pick a “line” through the deer and focus on my line rather than the a pin head bulls. I made need to change this but it has always been good to me.

[LabLuvR]

Focus boy, focus! Pick a spot on the deer, pick out a patch of hair and then finally a single hair. Aim for that one hair. Hard to miss then.

[Catdaddy]

Shoot an imaginary horsefly...........and one on the bottom third of his chest............and even lower if he's alert when you draw.

[tradorion]

Candor- I was never a big "spot" person either... til that little event! I had always gone with a feel of the shot, but it did show me i needed to focus a whole lot more than i was used to... Good luck on the next one- at least you got to put one in the air!!!

R

[Stripa Swipa]

Did you mean that you held your draw at anchor for an extended period of time while the deer was moving into position? This sounds tough with the curve and prolly much different than practice as well? Sometimes I'll take a couple of extra arrows and shoot at pine cones on the ground when I first get to the stand to get right mentally. Us quiet bow shooters can get away with this.

[tradorion]

OK Trad God- Bloooooooow me!!!! My wheelie bow is damned quiet too if i shoot the right stuff! The carbons are a little louder even though they run close to 500grains... but the aluminums (2117, 2216, 2315, or 2219) with 160gr heads are a whisper... AND hit like a log truck...

had to throw that jab back in there [img]graemlins/fu.gif[/img]

ps when we meeting again Skinny?

T

[Stripa Swipa]

Hey there arse monkey.....I'm just glad I ain't the only one who's ignernt enough to take one of those silly things up a tree now and then.
Ignernce luvs cumpny!

[tradorion]

Ass monkey is me- Arse monkey is my British cousin... so which are we both stoopid enuff to ocasianally carry up a tree- sticks or wheels??

As if i didn't know... but i do promise longbow or new Jeffreys recurve for the Gun Club visit!

R

[WoodieSC]

I sure am glad to hear that you 'pros' miss a few. Now I won't feel too bad when I miss my first one.

[tradorion]

No no no young Jedi- you are not allowed to miss the first deer- if you think you might come to the Trad School of Beginning Bowhunters- I have a double digit record of students bagging their first deer... they may suck after #1 but they at least get that one right.

Now after the first- we all misss sometimes.

T

[WoodieSC]

Sorry, oh Jedi Master... I didn't mean I even considered thinking about missing my first bow kill, only that some day I might after I got too cocky.

On that thought, I'm thinking about treating myself to a little trip for my birthday on Friday to visit Owen. I'm afraid I might end up having to sell something out of the gun safe to cover one of his recurves I'm sure I'll get tickled by though, so keep an eye on the Trading Post.

[longbow]

Now thats what I'm talking about!!! When you start selling stuff to support your traditional archery habit.... your on the right path. I seem to miss atleast one deer every year just to make sure I still know how. I always miss a chip shot, and I always miss high. I have never been able to pick a spot on a deer. I go into auto-pilot and the shot is gone before I give a lot of thought to it. But on shots that are only 5 to 8 yds. from the tree I am going to miss if I don't pick a spot. I find a stick or leaf that I can just barley see under the deer's chest( yes, that low ) and try to hit it, double lung shot every time. But if I don't....misssssssssssss

[tradorion]

Ahhhhhhh- the young student is strong in the force- yes he is...

He understands that only after he has taken his first deer with his first shot shall his head expand and his ego grow thus allowing the dark forces to enter into his mind... [img]graemlins/thumb2.gif[/img]

and yes- selling a gun is DEFINITELY the way to fall headlong into this dark dark world from which there is NO ESCAPE!!! Got any Commander size .45ACP with ambi safety and night sights???

T

[WoodieSC]

He understands that only after he has taken his first deer with his first shot shall his head expand and his ego grow thus allowing the dark forces to enter into his mind...

LMFAO...

I've always been intrigued by archery, but lack of time to scout has what's kept me from it. It wasn't really until my friend asked me to join him that my interest got peaked.

I find a stick or leaf that I can just barley see under the deer's chest( yes, that low ) and try to hit it, double lung shot every time. But if I don't....misssssssssssss

Picking a spot makes a lot of sense, but would it also be this low from a ground blind? I won't be hunting from a tree stand any time soon that I can see, although I guess that could change too.

trad, nope, no .45's at this point, although there will be one in the future somewhere. If I hadn't gotten interested in bow hunting I'm sure it would've been here soon though. I do have a nice Browning Hi-Power Standard .40 that I'm going to sell. I don't want to, but the trigger just doesn't fit my fingers so there's no sense in keeping it around if I won't shoot it.