One of those Seasons...

[<DK>]

I am having a rough go this season... all due to my own stupidity and judgments. How do you fix stupid? Every encounter happens differently and hardly how you expect it to go. I put a bad hit on a buck 2 weeks ago, missed a gobbler last weekend, and missed another shooter last night... Iv had a good run of luck w this being the first animal iv lost after shooting it. Both bucks would have been easy chip shots if I hadn't drawn too early and couldn't hold it back any longer. Im obviously upset w myself but iv also lost confidence I my new bow also. I practice a lot and for many situations, the one thing that is hard to practice is when to draw on an animal. Iv had to hold the bow at full draw too long for both buck encounters and both went badly. I sure haven't had the patience this season I guess and sure haven't had the correct instincts to not let it fly when it doesn't feel good. Im down to 2 arrows in my quiver until i buy more broad heads and repair a few arrows. Phase 2 of the season is about to kick up so I am going to take a break for awhile before I wound every animal in the woods. Its amazing what you learn and think about from letting 1 arrow fly, they cant be taken back.

I just had to get that out and im interested to hear how everyone else is doing? There are some beautiful whitetails in the buck lineup this season! Congrats to everyone! Wanted to give shout out and congrats to justdirtyfun, Bowhunter4life, bobbo1886, MOBigBucks, RidgeReaper & wvirge1 for some seriously awesome looking bucks. I hope every beast hunters arrow fly truer than mine, good luck

[briar]

I am right there with you........last year 3/3 no issue at all, this year, not so much. As I laid awake thinking about my latest miss, last night, I thought a lot about what did I do different last year. My conclusion is, I spend about 10 solid months shooting a recurve to get ready to try to hunt with it this year......That process is much faster than shooting a compound and I feel like I started to try to blend those styles just because its what naturally happened.....not good.

I know where you are coming from and I understand. Next time will be better....just follow though!!

[HippiHuntr]

Sorry to hear man, thats rough. I hit one last year and I couldnt find him. I was sick. I would have called off work to look for him but I had just started a new job. Just curious, what bow are you shooting and when did you buy it? I shoot a 2012 Mathews Helim and that summer when I started practicing with it, I lost 6 or 7 arrows. It was almost like the bow had to be broke in. Now its always dead on and I havent lost an arrow since.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Stanley]

You know something I think your hunting is pretty darn good. You are getting on some bucks. All that's left is to close the deal. I like the fact your seeing the bucks long before they get on you. It means your hunting not just sitting there. I think one mistake guys make is to draw when the buck is stationary. I like to let the buck get in close and draw when he is on the move. Moving bucks seldom (almost never) bust you drawing.

There are two types of hunters; those that have lost a buck and those that will loose a buck. The only guys that I know of that have not lost a buck are guys that don't hunt much and those that lie about it. Keep your head up and the next one will go down.

[PK_]

You know something I think your hunting is pretty darn good. You are getting on some bucks

Lots of good stuff in your post but this was my initial reaction as well. Getting onto shooters that consistently, you are doing better than many and probably even some guys on here who know what the heck they are doing.

It stinks missing opportunities but you have take that in stride. It is confirmation that you are doing things right.

Good luck.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[MOBIGBUCKS]

You will be good man. I know it's tough but we all have those type seasons over the years; I know I have.

Best thing to do is get back out there and arrow something. A nice big doe will put your confidence back in place.

[<DK>]

Thanks for the words guys, I guess i was too mad to think about the fact I am getting opportunities. In most aspects of hunting the more we fail the harder we go, but when it comes to lost deer or missed shots it makes me want to take step back. I was able to climb down and find my arrow wo spooking him after that last miss, so maybe ill get another chance.

HippiHuntr - this spring I bought an Alpine Verdict, it hasn't been the most comfortable of transitions to a new bow. I have practiced since Feb, iv had ups and downs w it but it definitely shoots ok. It has a rough draw cycle and is a little on the heavier side, both can be a issue... but when I replay the shots they all revert back to choosing the proper time to draw. IDK why im having issues but its something is hard to prep for.

[<DK>]

This is a thread bump / update. Last season was my best ever w harvesting 2 bucks. Big hunts HB ep8 gave me inspiration to go after 2. I have officially had the worst season ever and have decided to call it. It might even be a record or something...My best attribute this season has been resilience and effort, yet cant finish it for some reason. I have decided that the new bow has to go, its a mental thing at this point whether its the bow or not. I have been money on harvesting animals until this season. Everyone has to go thru it but this is un real. I harvested a turkey a week ago so that was a confidence booster, then things got bad. I have had 3 more chances at bucks since this post was started.
All together I have missed a gobbler, messed up 5 chances at bucks, 2 of which I lost... I believe 3 of the 5 were P&Y, 2 for sure. Last night I shot my biggest buck to date and thought I buried it in his heart, I guess not. It was slightly lower than I wanted but looked good, he grunted really loud and tore out fast, tail down. The arrow had some white hair which had to be from the exit hole. We lost track of trail last night, the blood slowly got better then worse. My dad went out this morning and last spot he found had a piece of fat the size of a pinky. I am going back in a hour and hope to find him. I just don't understand, I prep and practice too much for this type of year.


So has anyone had a worse archery season? Id like to think it can only get better, but I dont want to wound another animal... All i can do is be thankful i found this site 4 seasons ago. Thanks to beast for giving me the knowledge to have these opportunities though! I have had a heck of a year as far getting onto some good animals.

[Dewey]

Your getting on good animals so your are doing something right. All you can do is analyze all of your failures, try to understand what went wrong, learn from them then do whatever it takes to make sure it doesn't happen again. Hunting is all about very small details that takes years to work out. Unfortunately we have some heartbreak along the way sometimes but it's all part of the learning experience. Good luck.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[creepingdeth]

agree w/ stan and others...you put yourself in good positions and you will get it done. Personally new to archery and im trying to get in the right position and its hard, only experience and hard work will do that. im ok w/ that...keep at it

[oldrank]

That arrow looks like a solid hit to me. Maybe low lung.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Jonny]

The fact that you are on deer, getting shots at deer and most importantly not giving up, shows what kind of a hunter you are. It takes a special kind of person to face that kind of adversity and to keep pushing to beat it. In my opinion, putting a tag on a deer doesn't mean you have had a successful season. Learning something new and becoming a better hunter is my definition of a successful season. You are on deer, all it takes is one sit and one deer to change everything. Keep at it. Good luck! you never know what the next sit has in store for you

[<DK>]

The black spot next to shoulder is exactly where i watched the arrow bury. My dad didnt have luck except finding a piece of bloody fat, I couldnt find much before dark going back in the morning. I hate to stomp around the day before rifle opener, but over and over i re play that arrow. My grandpa thinks it was brisket shot w the angle and white hair. Im almost out of property to look for him.

[<DK>]

Thanks again i appreciate the feedback

[stash59]

Man that seems like alot of blood for just a brisket hit. I suppose it's possible though. I believe there is also a chance you actually entered the ribcage. Maybe only just nicking the heart. Hence the bloodier looking arrow. If that's the case it may not bleed enough for a quick kill. Keep looking.

What broadhead were you using. On another thread we've been talking about certain broadheads changing angles at first impact.

Usually I say just get back on the horse. But you've done plenty of that already. I now think your dealing with some kind of mental block.

Do you still have your old bow? I usually kept the one I had been using for a backup. Since the switch would be simpler because of the familiarity with it. Always in case of mechanical issues. But getting a mind block from a new bow would be a good reason also.

If your sure it's the bow and haven't kept your old one. I'd go right now and replace it. There's still time. Just choose one that you just absolutely love the feel of. Even if you lose a little in performance.

I feel your pain. The same time I got serious about holding out for a mature buck. I decided to go trad. The added pressure of pursuing these larger bucks gave me extreme buck fever when one was in range. Changing to trad didn't help. I totally forgot how I was supposed to shoot the trad bow. With a real stud in front of me. In 2 years I missed 3 bruisers and had an arrow hit an unseen twig on a forth. Flipping the arrow so I hit the buck dead center with the knock end.

It was devastating at the time. I moved to Montana so I could pursue elk. Missed 1 season of hunting because of residency issues. I was still using a trad bow. Not far into the season I called in my first bull. I hit him twice but never got a broadhead into the ribcage. I actually threw my bow at him when I ran out of arrows after total misses.

I switched back to a compound and killed a cow, my first elk ever. A couple weeks later.

So Darknight your not alone. Alot of us have been there. Now I look back and just have to laugh about it. But I still wonder what if. Now I've got chronic Lyme disease and can't shoot a heavy bow or get back in the tough to get to good spots. So at least be glad you can still turn this around and use all the great intel you have to get on another one.

Hope this all helps and wasn't to long winded for you.

Good luck

Chuck