Bowhunting/Bow Question

[HawkinsHollow]

Thank you gentlemen!! I will definitely get this one restrung for sure, I just ran out of time before this trip. This will be the biggest hunting trip of my life so far. I have only been hunting for about 4 years. I am extremely excited about this opportunity. I hope to bring back a great story and some photos of a nice buck.

 

[bfriendly]

Thank you gentlemen!! I will definitely get this one restrung for sure, I just ran out of time before this trip. This will be the biggest hunting trip of my life so far. I have only been hunting for about 4 years. I am extremely excited about this opportunity. I hope to bring back a great story and some photos of a nice buck.

Best of luck! Don’t forget your release! I keep a backup in my pack in case I drop it too…..just throwing that out there

 

[krizia829]

If you really enjoy your old bow, get a new string and cable put on there and get to shooting. As long as nothing is wrong with it, then there's no issue. It will do the same thing all these new bows can do. Maybe louder, but it will work just as well.

I still use my old Bear Siren I bought like 11 or 12 years ago. Take it to an honest, reputable shop and have them thoroughly inspect it to make sure the limbs don't have any cracks, get a new string and cable and get to shooting. You buy a new package and you'd have to do the same anyways, except spend an extra $600 or so that you didn't intent on spending (you can use it on a nice shoulder mount instead ).

That's just me though. My dad still uses his original Mathews Switchback. The first one that came out. It's as deadly as ever. Don't let the hype of these new bows stress you out.

Choose what you think is the best option for YOU. Again, if it was me, I'd just get a new string and cable and get to shooting. You owe it to the animal to ensure you have good functioning equipment

 

[HawkinsHollow]

@krizia829 Thank you for that information. I get it, these bows shoot close to as well as the newer bows and I do not NEED a new bow. But, I hope I get the bug bad after this trip. If I do I am excited about buying a new to me bow RTH and taking the off season to dial it in. I have a couple friends who are as knowledgeable as most bowtechs so I won't have to spend any money on that part of it. And it will be a good excuse to hang out with like minded people and gain some knowledge. I have learned SO MUCH over the last month or so about bows and bow hunting, the rabbit hole is DEEP!

My focus right now is on getting up to Illinois and killing a nice buck with the bow I have now. Leaving tomorrow early afternoon, can't wait!

Here is a little teaser of just one of the bruisers my buddy has cruising by his cams at the moment. Hopefully more pics and stories coming soon!

 

[krizia829]

@krizia829 Thank you for that information. I get it, these bows shoot close to as well as the newer bows and I do not NEED a new bow. But, I hope I get the bug bad after this trip. If I do I am excited about buying a new to me bow RTH and taking the off season to dial it in. I have a couple friends who are as knowledgeable as most bowtechs so I won't have to spend any money on that part of it. And it will be a good excuse to hang out with like minded people and gain some knowledge. I have learned SO MUCH over the last month or so about bows and bow hunting, the rabbit hole is DEEP!

My focus right now is on getting up to Illinois and killing a nice buck with the bow I have now. Leaving tomorrow early afternoon, can't wait!

Here is a little teaser of just one of the bruisers my buddy has cruising by his cams at the moment. View attachment 1266112 Hopefully more pics and stories coming soon!

What a great buck!! I hope you can get him or one of his friends! Once this trip passes, if you want a new bow go for it! It's fun and at least you can still have your current bow as a backup.

Also, have your buddies teach you how to work on your bow and how to tune it up. I watch a lot of videos at home and try to always educate myself on how to do certain things so that I don't have to rely on others.

Chris Bee on YouTube has a ton of awesome how to videos, as well as Josh Bowmar, Travis "T-Bone" Turner from Realtree, etc. You'd be surprised at the amount of tips and tricks you can find. My favorite is how to loosen the string on a bow without using a vice! Chris Bee shows it and it's awesome!

Good luck!

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Well, quite the humbling experience this weekend was. But before I get to that, overall it was a great learning experience on so many different levels. Saw lots of deer, got comfortable in a tree stand, learned a lot about deer movement and behavior, habitat creation, etc.

If I was a better bowhunter I would have filled my tag. I shot 4 arrows at 3 different deer, missed them all! Sucks, but as I told my friends I realized this is much more common that you would think.

First shot was on a BEAUTY of a buck. We had been sitting this tree stand and had only seen 1 spike all morning. About 10 minutes before we were going to leave I told my buddy to do a quick rattle. In comes this 4 or 5 year old 10 pointer. We was coming right in like he was supposed to. I draw, right as he is about to step into my shooting lane he turns and goes back the other way. I tried to stop him with a bleat, he kept going, I followed him a rushed a shot as I was all twisted up and against the tree. Missed low and behind him. He bounded just out of my range stopped for a minute and just kind of sauntered off. I am not sure he knew he was shot at. He just heard a noise and didn't like it.



The other 3 were pure user error. We were in a blind and I just completely forgot about everything and made 3 awful shots on 2 different does. No one to blame but myself on those 2. It was a bit of an awkward shot out of a blind seated, but still no excuse I just rushed it, forgot my shot sequence, etc.

I plan on going back after gun season during a nice extended cold front. My buddy says his food plots get hammered and are full of deer during that time. In the meantime I plan on shooting more, in different scenerios, gaining that muscle memory. What did I learn? Shooting an arrow at a stationary target 50 times a night is WAY differnt than shooting a live target. All my buddies say it just takes 1 kill to knock the ice off.

 

[Gadestroyer74]

It it was more luck than skill…. Keep practicing. One thing that will help you is shooting at animals not a target. Hogs,squirrels rabbits coyotes etc. you develop your killing instincts and shot perfection by killing things not target practicing. keep trying it will come..

 

[HavocLover]

While target shooting, jog around the house a few times, come back grab the bow and shoot. It’ll give you somewhat of a more realistic experience with your heart rate up and trying to control it under pressure.

One thing I’ve done since I started bow hunting and I’ve carried it over to my gun hunting… once I realize it’s a shooter, I stop looking at the rack. I don’t want to get worked up. Recognizing he’s made my cut and I’ll shoot him, that’s all I need. Study long, ya study wrong… you actually start looking at him hard and realize he’ll be your biggest, he’s a county record, whatever… you’ve just worked it up in your own mind and made it harder to control your own nerves. You put pressure on yourself. But that’s just me, different strokes for different folks.

 

[ddd-shooter]

Well, quite the humbling experience this weekend was. But before I get to that, overall it was a great learning experience on so many different levels. Saw lots of deer, got comfortable in a tree stand, learned a lot about deer movement and behavior, habitat creation, etc.

If I was a better bowhunter I would have filled my tag. I shot 4 arrows at 3 different deer, missed them all! Sucks, but as I told my friends I realized this is much more common that you would think.

First shot was on a BEAUTY of a buck. We had been sitting this tree stand and had only seen 1 spike all morning. About 10 minutes before we were going to leave I told my buddy to do a quick rattle. In comes this 4 or 5 year old 10 pointer. We was coming right in like he was supposed to. I draw, right as he is about to step into my shooting lane he turns and goes back the other way. I tried to stop him with a bleat, he kept going, I followed him a rushed a shot as I was all twisted up and against the tree. Missed low and behind him. He bounded just out of my range stopped for a minute and just kind of sauntered off. I am not sure he knew he was shot at. He just heard a noise and didn't like it.

View attachment 1267249

The other 3 were pure user error. We were in a blind and I just completely forgot about everything and made 3 awful shots on 2 different does. No one to blame but myself on those 2. It was a bit of an awkward shot out of a blind seated, but still no excuse I just rushed it, forgot my shot sequence, etc.

I plan on going back after gun season during a nice extended cold front. My buddy says his food plots get hammered and are full of deer during that time. In the meantime I plan on shooting more, in different scenerios, gaining that muscle memory. What did I learn? Shooting an arrow at a stationary target 50 times a night is WAY differnt than shooting a live target. All my buddies say it just takes 1 kill to knock the ice off.

If you’re a new bow hunter, how do you know “it’s much more common than you think?”
I’m not trying to hold you to an impossibly high standard, but statements like that help no one. Sure, there are a few people who miss from time to time (we’ve all done it). Not many have missed three deer with four arrows. lol
You’ve said you need to practice more, and so you should.
Update your equipment to where you have confidence in it (new string, whatever) and shoot it all year long.
Shoot unknown yardages and many different scenarios. Shot in front of others in some sort of competition.
And shoot one arrow at a time when season approaches.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

If you’re a new bow hunter, how do you know “it’s much more common than you think?”
I’m not trying to hold you to an impossibly high standard, but statements like that help no one. Sure, there are a few people who miss from time to time (we’ve all done it). Not many have missed three deer with four arrows. lol
You’ve said you need to practice more, and so you should.
Update your equipment to where you have confidence in it (new string, whatever) and shoot it all year long.
Shoot unknown yardages and many different scenarios. Shot in front of others in some sort of competition.
And shoot one arrow at a time when season approaches.

Because I have many friends who are bow hunters and many of those friends have told me stories very similar to my poor performance.

 

[Dbender]

Here's the hard truth.
You need a lot more practice before you are ready to shoot at any more deer.
Your buddies are idiots, especially the one who wouldn't let you use a crossbow.

 

[Gadestroyer74]

Here's the hard truth.
You need a lot more practice before you are ready to shoot at any more deer.
Your buddies are idiots, especially the one who wouldn't let you use a crossbow.

Alittle harsh don’t you think ? I’m sure you could have found a better way of saying that vs coming off attackful.. I don’t disagree with some of what you said I certainly would have said it a different way ..

 

[bany]

I was just on a bow hunt. My Xbow limbs on the right splintered and folded. There were two other xbows on site and both guys offered them to me. I spent as much time practicing as I did hunting after that.
So I’m saying it was good to have a back up.

On the side notes; I missed a pig with a different xbow.
another seasoned bow guy missed, wounded, missed, wounded, only found one dead animal (pig) the last morning searching for a doe.
he couldn’t draw the first night so he backed his weight off and I don’t think he shot much too be sure it was on if he did at all.

 

[trailnamedvanilla]

You took the first step to being a bowhunter, use it as motivation and not a means to quit. Frankly no one gave you advice on your arrow set up..that could be a giant factor. What ever you do, don't give up and use a crossbow. I'm with your friends on this one because it is quite literally illegal to use one in my state unless you're handicapped.

 

[F.A.R.R.]

Just like in the rest of life , in hunting hard knocks stick with you and help you learn and grow.

If you decide to hunt with a crossbow where its legal than by all means do so.

If the vertical bow is what you want to use then put the time , money , and practice into having your gear in top performing shape and confidence in your shooting ability out to ethical bow ranges. Bow ( and all) hunters owe that respect to the animals we chase. Most (vertical) bow hunters really love it, including practice shooting and spend a lot of time practicing just because it’s fun and a personal challenge to continually get better.

If you do all that and get another invite to IL with your buddies next season, you’ll be ready.

 

[basshappy]

Because I have many friends who are bow hunters and many of those friends have told me stories very similar to my poor performance.

We only know what you have shared in this thread ...

When people say consider a lot more practice it is based on what you stated here.

I don't understand how you miss one deer, let alone 2, 3 and 4! Maybe practice a lot more in real world scenarios, not at a set target set distance all the time. I spent a few years honing my revolver skills before I hunted my first deer. Because I wanted the muscle memory like my wheelie was my hand.

The other item to consider is maybe spend more time in woods with deer. See them more regularly and maybe the excitement that you experienced decreases and you are more poised for the shot.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Here's the hard truth.
You need a lot more practice before you are ready to shoot at any more deer.
Your buddies are idiots, especially the one who wouldn't let you use a crossbow.

No you don't say!! You mean I should practice more before I try again? Thank you Captain Obvious. I was wondering why you were being such a ***** and then I got it. You are a crossbow hunter and you got your little feelings hurt about my buddies comment about hunting with a crossbow.

 

[Ajohnson0587]

I don’t agree with your buddies, missing 4 deer in a matter of days is pretty irresponsible on your part as a hunter. After 2 you should have grabbed the crossbow or went home. Your buddies were probably not wanting to knock you down, but the one should have allowed you to use the cross bow after the 2nd miss. I don’t want to disparage you from archery but, you need to sort out your equipment, bow, arrow/broadhead setup, etc… Bow hunting is an art form and you need to look at it that way, not everything can be painted in a broad stroke, once you begin to look at it as an art it will help you become a better hunter. But, before you can become a better hunter, you need to become a better Archer. Shooting regularly and having proper form is key, but knowing your equipment is going to make you successful. The biggest & most overlooked example of knowing your equipment and a lot of archery hunters do it, is knowing if your broadheads will impact where your field point impact, and you need to know that info out to the furthest distance you’re comfortable shooting out to. Also, how much will that change if you add a lighted nock? Because, it will change! Small details can make a huge difference when it come to archery, stop bow hunting for now and take this time to figure out your bow and all its equipment, then come back to it. You won’t regret it once you harvest that first deer, the hard work & time will have paid off. Again, I’m not being disparaging I just want to give you the tough facts, but if you have any questions feel free to PM me, if I don’t know the answer, I’ll ask a few friends & mentors that will.