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shooting at deer,,,video added
bradsmith2010:
good point Morgan
1 practice as much as you can within reason,,
2 limit your shots to your first shot effecient range,,, if your first shot is good at 10 yards every day, sitting ,, standing and then from a stand, then only shoot that far,,
3. keep in mind some of the deer you saw,, might have been recoverable if the tracking was diligent,, and the only way to learn to find deer is to track them and help others track,,
4, get a dog that can help you track,,that will increase your odds dramaticly,,
5,make your best shot,, track as hard as you can,, and thats all you can do,, you can always shoot your bow for fun if thats what you like,,you dont have to shoot a deer to enjoy archery,,
that being said,, I have shot deer that I did not recover, even with a dog,, and I did feel badly for days maybe more,, but my love of hunting with a bow and the fulfilling success I had had on other occasions out weighs the times I was not successful,,
I made a bad shot one afternoon and came back to camp and told everyone I was quitting,,well that lasted till the next day,several weeks later the deer was seen totally recovered from my bad shot,,, that was 20 something years ago and I am still bow hunting,, I am more conservative with the range I shoot at deer,,, and how high I put my stand,,, I can hit a target way past 40 yards,, but on deer prefer to shoot around 10 yards,,, I will shoot a bit further if need be but am always holding out for a good close shot,,,and feel like I will get it,, i like to take shots that give me the best chance of recovery,, sometimes the 15 yard shot feels the same as 10 and I will shoot,,,,I am not intending to just hit the deer,, I am intending to shoot through the vitals,,,and that makes me more careful and shoot closer,,
I suggest you kill a deer with the bow you made make that a goal,,, and then decide if you want to proceed with your bow hunting,,
Morgan:
Thank you for the tips Brad. You’ve been very helpful to me.
bjrogg:
Thanks for starting this thread Brad. I agree with everything you've said. I really like to practice my one shot routine. If I working in my shop I can just string my bow and take a shot. I sometimes do this several times a day.
I'm certainly not a expert. I've only successfully taken one deer with my bow. I have learned a lot but still have a lot to learn.
Like you said I'm shooting at the vitals and waiting for my comfort zone shot. I'm also looking for the opportunity that the deer is concentrating on something else. Maybe slowly walking by or stopped and looking at something else. I'm not going to shoot at a deer that's looking my way, or at high alert. It seems like when you watch all the outdoor shows. The wheelie bow guy's always grunt to stop the deer. I might be wrong but it just seems like that wouldn't be a good way for me. I think I'd rather shoot a deer that's slowly walking past me at ten yards than to grunt and have one stop and look at me. I usually don't hold at full draw more than a second or two at most. Actually the only deer I have shot was slowly walking past me. He was totally calm and preoccupied. He didn't have a clue I was shooting at him. If I don't feel like it's a sure thing I don't shoot. I'd rather watch one walk away than watch one run away with a bad shot. Having said that, the spike horn I just shot over top of I really thought was a sure thing. He was in my comfort zone. He was standing quartering away at about six yards. When I practice this is just automatic can't miss. I do really like hunting from a tree but I do still need to work at it.
I might be wrong about this to, but I really think that deer have a much better chance of surviving and healing up from a poor shot with a selfbow than a wheelie bow. Not saying they all survive and heal, just that they have a better chance.
I really do enjoy the hunt. I love trying to get super close and just watching the animals. I don't mind not shooting if I'm still getting close and enjoying the hunt.
Thanks again for the tips
Bjrogg
chamookman:
Fred Bear always said "It's not about how far You can kill a Deer, it's how close!" :OK. Bob
BowEd:
Morgan...I used to have the same thoughts about archery before making bows myself too finding many dead deer while coon hunting.Got a shed full of small and large racks never found by the shooter.Being patient and selective will be rewarded most times.Last night I had 2 does under 10 yards from me.Could of shot 1 of them easily,but there was a nice 8 point buck standing 70 to 80 yards off watching these does.I waited and waited.He never did come.In fact 1 of the does went out to meet him and the other went the other way eventually as it just plain got too dark to shoot....lol.Does never had any idea I was there.So nothing is spoiled and it was interesting and fun watching it all go down.There will be a next time.It's when action is like that that I wish there was more daylight.
Gotta agree though it's that first shot that counts.That's why practicing with only 1 arrow can help me.Different positions and stances with the arrow or arrows I'm going to use to hunt with.
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