13 Years and still a rookie?

[oOVEGGIEOo]

Been bow hunting for deer since I was at 18, off and on. I am 32 now, and I am yet to take a deer with my bow. I am a good target shooter, form wise and all. But when out in the field...no luck. The deer are always either too far, I miss, torque...mis judge distance from a tree stand. It's just not happening. Honestly this season has gotten me beyond frustrated. Haven't even seen a buck in the daylight on the lease I am paying for. (180 acres no cows, 70 acres with cows and more suited for gun) Sign everywhere, but even during rut...didn't see a buck one, let alone have them under me.

I am looking for tips, tricks...PRAYERS...ANYTHING!!! Unless it involves sacrifice to the dark lord himself.

I see deer nearly everytime I am out, have had buttons in front of me all season for hours. Does come through but are spooky ALL the time, and like I said, no bucks.

HELP.

 

[CCShooter]

Start off small....shoot a doe. Get that kill under your belt with a bow. Killing any deer with a bow is an accomplishment and should make you happy. Plus, if you are seeing that many does and no bucks, you need to thin the doe population a little anyway.

 

[WFT]

Remember, most of the postings you see on here are the successes. You don't hear from the countless bow hunters that spend hundreds of hours in the tree with the same luck as you. Your not alone in your frustration. Just don't quit, I promise you the worm will turn, just keep doing the things you need to do to be successful and it will happen. If you could do a poll of all the bow hunters, your success rate would probably be somewhere in the middle of the pack. Like CCShooter said shoot the next deer that comes buy, and get that first one under your belt. Good Luck

 

[doctorjj]

When you are walking away from you stand, step off your distances and make a mental note of whatever is at that distance that you'll be able to see from your tree. Or lay down a mark with your boot heel or even stick a stick in the ground. Mark off 20, 30, and 40 yards. Even having those marks in only one direction will let you gauge the distance better in all directions once you're up in your stand.

 

[oOVEGGIEOo]

Guess I am on the right track. I have done such with the distances from my main stand. does, is all I have shot at this season. I learn every time I take a shot. Last time I learned, being right handed, I cannot sit straight forward, shooting to the right. My shoulders were far from squared up. My left arm swung left as I shot, and that poor doe lost her tail. Even kept it to remind me...I have to stand when shooting to my right.

 

[r00s7a]

To me, it kind of takes away from "hunting", but if you are just looking for success and an easy shot, hunt over a feeder. Due to the drought this year, we didn't plant food plots so most of my hunting was done over a feeder. I have two stands that are pretty much 100% chance of at least shooting a doe. One stand I had this year produced all 4 bucks, all over 130", taken by my buddy and I, and all the does we could shoot. It was easy, but almost too easy. I enjoy hunting in the woods, pattern the deer and set up on a trail between food and bedding, or something of that sort. All you have to do in this stand is get in it, the deer come to you. We both agreed not to do it that way next year, but it is good for experience and practice shootin swamp donkeys.

As far as distances go, I take a can of orange spray paint and paint markers around my stands and whatever distances my pins are set at. So I put a 15 yrd marker straight out in front, one to the right, one to the left, and continue outward. When in the stand it looks like you're hunting the local football field, but sure makes it handy when you don't have a range finder!

 

[30BulletHoles]

Control your scent, hang more than one stand so that you can options for wind direction, get a rangefinder. Take your practice block out where you hunt and shoot it from your stand at various distance in the off season if you are shooting accurately at home but not in the field.

 

[Lurker66]

Dang, shootin a tail off makes a better story than killin a scrub buck. I killed my first deer (doe) with a recurve this year, ive been hunting since 82. I gave up compounds last year. Just keep hunting. Good luck.

 

[RidgeHunter]

It's much easier to shoot standing than it is to shoot sitting, so make sure you stand and get your feet in a decent position when you see deer approaching. If you don't practice sitting down, don't shoot at deer sitting down.

Remember not to drop your bow arm when taking a close shot from a treestand. Bend at the waist to compensate for your elevation or you will miss.

Keep it simple and don't take long shots. You will overthink them. I assume you're using a multi-pin sight. If so, go out to your target and stand really close to it. Shoot it with your top pin. Did you hit a pie plate? Good, now back up a couple yards at a time, still using your top pin, and repeat until you are hitting low on the pie plate. Measure that distance. Now when your in stand, look around at your yardage markers and imagine a circle. Once that deer gets in that circle you know you can put that first pin on it and hit vitals. You won't be worrying about yardage; you'll just concentrate on making the shot. This is pretty much how I hunt. I find it easier to fudge the distance a bit with one pin than using multiple pins. I'm a simple dude and if I think too much about a shot or yardage I will blow it. YMMV, but it helps me to hunt this way. Stay calm and pick a spot. Don't look at the deer; look at the spot you want to hit. The rest of the deer doesn't matter. Stare at the vitals.

Don't be afraid to shoot any dinky deer in front of you. Your confidence will go up a gazillion % after your first kill, so don't be ashamed to shoot a little one. Heck, take one of those buttons. You should be proud of any deer taken with a bow.

Good luck. I put in a ridiculous amount of hours on stand every year and more days than not I walk out having not had a deer in bowrange.

 

[fishfurlife]

Good advice above.

I can vouch for the hours on stand. I put a lot of time on stand. Archery hunting can be very frustrating. Then add in the public factor that a good number of guys deal with and it can be too much.

It sounds like you get buck fever pretty good. I have a great friend that has shot plenty of deer with his bow and the guy nearly looses it every time a deer comes by. I would recommend a range finder if you can fit it in your budget.

I agree with just putting kills under your belt. I am a firm believer that killing a good number of does(or any deer that walks by) early on helped me to keep it all together later on.