Blew a shot at a P&Y giant last night. how do i get over it?
- jaymur53
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Blew a shot at a P&Y giant last night. how do i get over it?
hey guys,
ive been hunting for 12 years. always been the average, sit in the same stand kind of hunter. this year everything changed. its like i woke up. i eat sleep and breath deer. i have more trail cam photos then family photos on my phone. its all i can think about. my knowledge has grown exponentially this season. but then i discovered a deer i call Money Maker. he's a 160+ inch monster. double drop tines and easily 7 years or older which is unheard of here in New Endland (im from MA but hunting CT) ive been getting daylight videos of him for weeks. so i patterned him, figured out his love for the West wind. so i crept into the edge of the field last week and placed a stand...
Last night he came out where i thought he would. he scraped every 20 yards down the edge for 200 yards. he then crossed in front of me at 37 yards broadside. i tried to stay calm but every step he took my heart would beat harder. i could hear my heartbeat in my ears. i put my 30 yard pin on him, a little high to compensate the 7 yards, and i released with his head down...my arrow crossed an inch over his back. he hardly took one bound, looked around, and then went back ot the field edge and started scraping, only to disappear into the edge as darkness set.
needless to say, im crushed, it was like getting all the lottery numbers except the last one. i consistently shoot 40 yards no problem. but last night i just couldnt make it happen. how do i get over such a mistake? where do i go from here...
ive been hunting for 12 years. always been the average, sit in the same stand kind of hunter. this year everything changed. its like i woke up. i eat sleep and breath deer. i have more trail cam photos then family photos on my phone. its all i can think about. my knowledge has grown exponentially this season. but then i discovered a deer i call Money Maker. he's a 160+ inch monster. double drop tines and easily 7 years or older which is unheard of here in New Endland (im from MA but hunting CT) ive been getting daylight videos of him for weeks. so i patterned him, figured out his love for the West wind. so i crept into the edge of the field last week and placed a stand...
Last night he came out where i thought he would. he scraped every 20 yards down the edge for 200 yards. he then crossed in front of me at 37 yards broadside. i tried to stay calm but every step he took my heart would beat harder. i could hear my heartbeat in my ears. i put my 30 yard pin on him, a little high to compensate the 7 yards, and i released with his head down...my arrow crossed an inch over his back. he hardly took one bound, looked around, and then went back ot the field edge and started scraping, only to disappear into the edge as darkness set.
needless to say, im crushed, it was like getting all the lottery numbers except the last one. i consistently shoot 40 yards no problem. but last night i just couldnt make it happen. how do i get over such a mistake? where do i go from here...
New England Bow hunter, Air Assault.
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Re: Blew a shot at a P&Y giant last night. how do i get over
In all honesty, the only way to get better at killing deer is to kill more deer. Big or small antlered or not just shoot as many as you can and it will get easier at the moment of truth.
I was fortunate to be a part of an urban hunt in my earlier years. killing 10-15 deer a year was normal. All that "practice" helped. You will learn to keep emotions in check til after the shot. I really know of no other way to simulate this other than the real thing.
On the bright side it wa a clean miss and he is alive to be hunted another day. Get in there!
I was fortunate to be a part of an urban hunt in my earlier years. killing 10-15 deer a year was normal. All that "practice" helped. You will learn to keep emotions in check til after the shot. I really know of no other way to simulate this other than the real thing.
On the bright side it wa a clean miss and he is alive to be hunted another day. Get in there!
- seazofcheeze
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Re: Blew a shot at a P&Y giant last night. how do i get over
As soon as I see a deer I plan on shooting, doe, buck, whatever, I start visualizing the whole process. I focus on controling my breathing, consciously think about hitting my anchor, looking through my peep, squeezing the release. Literally the while process. I find focusing on that reduces my anxiety level. As far as a 37yd shot...Deer react, targets dont. The farther the shot the greater chance for things to go wrong...I know from personal experience. I like to aim a little lower (4-5" in.) on shots over 30yds for that reason. If it's a clean miss and he didn't spook, get out there and try to get on him again.
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- jaymur53
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Re: Blew a shot at a P&Y giant last night. how do i get over
is that stand cooked? or shoot i try and sit it again?
New England Bow hunter, Air Assault.
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Re: Blew a shot at a P&Y giant last night. how do i get over
Its rut, stranger things happen. I know if I had a buck like that located I wouldn't give up on him. Now is the time to get aggressive in my opinion.
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Re: Blew a shot at a P&Y giant last night. how do i get over
The truth of the matter is you probably wont ever get over it. It haunts you some nights and when your driving it'll often times pass through mind. Use the agony of that haunting memory as motivation to make good on the next shot opt.
- jaymur53
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Re: Blew a shot at a P&Y giant last night. how do i get over
i have no problem rebounding by getting aggressive, i just feel that with a mature deer like that, aggresive and over pressured is a fine line that may send him nocturnal. any advice on staying aggressive and not over hunting him at the same time? i'll take all the knowledge i can get.
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- headgear
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Re: Blew a shot at a P&Y giant last night. how do i get over
Put the miss out of your mind, no reason to dwell on it. Shoot some arrows to build up your confidence again, then get back out there. The buck didn't seem too spooked and as stated before the its the rut and anything can happen.
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Re: Blew a shot at a P&Y giant last night. how do i get over
that's why we call it hunting and not killing. get back on that horse
I BELIEVE IN PEACE.........THROUGH SUPERIOR FIREPOWER!
- Jackson Marsh
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Re: Blew a shot at a P&Y giant last night. how do i get over
Listen to my 7 year old daughter's new favorite song a dozen times.....if that doesn't make you want to kill something nothing will
Taylor Swift - Shake It Off: http://youtu.be/nfWlot6h_JM
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- headgear
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Re: Blew a shot at a P&Y giant last night. how do i get over
You wont but the next one will make it better. One thing Id add is I never aim high at a deer. In this scenario putting your 40 on his belly line under his heart couldve killed him. Deer duck. They dont elevate up...ever when shot at so I always aim low on the "in between yardages"
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- Kraftd
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Re: Blew a shot at a P&Y giant last night. how do i get over
I would imagine everyone here could tell a couple of woeful tales of missing big deer. Use it to refocus and keep at it! Doesn't sound too spooked if he made a scrape afterwards. Get back on him!
- Beartown18
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Re: Blew a shot at a P&Y giant last night. how do i get over
jaymur53 wrote:i have no problem rebounding by getting aggressive, i just feel that with a mature deer like that, aggresive and over pressured is a fine line that may send him nocturnal. any advice on staying aggressive and not over hunting him at the same time? i'll take all the knowledge i can get.
It is a fine line, but I don't think you will have another shot at him without being aggressive so I wouldn't worry to much about over pressuring just play the wind and get after him again.
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Re: Blew a shot at a P&Y giant last night. how do i get over
jaymur53 wrote:i have no problem rebounding by getting aggressive, [glow=red]i just feel that with a mature deer like that, aggresive and over pressured is a fine line that may send him nocturnal[/glow]. any advice on staying aggressive and not over hunting him at the same time? i'll take all the knowledge i can get.
If he is ever going to be NOT nocturnal, its right NOW! Get in there and get after him again, he might be busy chasing the girls around, but he might just be right where was before too.... Good Luck!!
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