Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: BEN on November 19, 2010, 03:21:00 PM
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Can't believe I'm saying this: I'm actually glad to have to work 12 hr. shifts the next 3 days! Get out of the woods and do something different.
Reason? :confused:
Early this season, I nicked a doe with an arrow. shot went high; 1 bleeder blade caught her hide as it creased her back. Can't get much closer of a shave than that.......
Spent 2 weeks of vacation out camping/hunting = saw lots of deer but never could geta shot.....
This morning, I missed not 1, but 2 turkeys in a half hour!! :mad: :mad: The first miss was at least close---popped some feathers (high again). But the 2nd was off to the right by at least a foot! I was so pissed at myself,I left, growling at myself all the way out of the woods and home.
I may be done for this year with the bow.....happened my first yr. with trad. Couldn't geta shot no matter what, and if I did--I missed. Confidence is at an all time low!! :( I practice all yr., go to shoots, practice some more. This year has just about taken the fun out of this........... :banghead: :banghead:
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Next year will be here before you know it. Relax, enjoy the holidays and get ready all over again!
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The answer may just be that you need a break from it.
Years ago I lost confidence in myself after putting an arrow almost straight-down into a nice buck. He collapsed in a heap - good so far - but as I was headed down he got to his feet in a flurry of kicking and bounded off . . . as my bow was hanging by the parachute cord I used to lower it down. I spent the last days of a camp/canoe hunt trying to find him with no success. I was shattered.
I gave up hunting from tree stands (for about 12 years!), changed bow and broadheads. I'd "second guess" myself on shots and hold off because I just wasn't sure. One thing an instinctive archer needs is confidence. I got mine back bunny hunting. Even then, it is amazing I can miss a sitting bunny at 10 yards but pop one running at the same distance. Why? No time to think!
I don't ever snap shoot (or at least I try not to) but I found if I made the decision to shoot and then did the draw and realease in one continuous motion with just a heartbeat at anchor I did better than sneaking the bow up and slowly inching the arrow back. Just take the shot. Finally, I once again found an obliging deer (a little button) and after a good shot and quick kill felt better about the world in general. It's OK to miss. It's not OK to think "I'll probably miss" before the shot. THAT is fatal to success.
Good luck. Relax and kill something. ;-
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Ben, sorry to hear about your hunting season. Not that it's any consolation but, I haven't even had a shot at anything. Still gonna keep trying though. I practiced as much as Uncle Sam would allow me this summer too but, I am still holding out hope for the late season that starts tomorrow.
Good luck in whatever you decide. Maybe you just need to come back out to Oregon and get some high mountain air! :D
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We all miss from time to time. I know I do! It's part of the deal when you hunt with a bow. It just makes the successes all the sweeter when you score. Just last week I had a benevolent and possibly suicidal doe give me a second chance. I missed a turkey earlier in the fall, but ended up with two on the ground. Keep on keeping on, things will get better.
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I missed a coyote and a medium sized 10 point last weekend!! :(
For just a short while, I was bummed, but then I thought: That sure was fun! :)
I try not to take it too seriously, if all I wanted was success, I would be using a different weapon.
usually after a few days at work, I'm chomping at the bit to get back out there.
I bet you will be too.
Chris
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Sucks doesn't it. Happens to everybody though. Don't get to discouraged.
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It can all change in an instant.. Take a break and get back out there .. You'll not shoot anything in your front room
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If you saw your success differently and enjoyed the hunt itself and the kill as an added bonus it would help. I bet in the long run you will remember those times you miss as much or more than the times you killed. I know I do. I believe that there was thread about that not too long ago. God Bless you and have a wonderful day, Steve
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Hey, I switched to the trad side about 15 years ago. 12 years ago I made the personal commitment that I wasn't going to Muzzle hunt again until I got an elk with my longbow. This year I burned 12 pref. points and hunted 14 days and still didn't get my shot.......maybe if they could put up the weather forcast when aps. are due, hmmm no I hope they can never do that. Anyway, it all has it's ups and downs and I've had some great experiences in the woods, soooo close yet....! I could fill a book with stories on the ones that got away. Have I been down, you bet, way down at times. But, to kinda steel a line. If it was easy, everybody would do it, being hard is what makes it great! I sometimes think it is part of my penance or that it is just part of the personal tests that get thrown at us from time to time. Bottom line is, I'm still kickin' and I'm planning on being in the woods with longbow in hand and elk tag in pocket next year. If I never get anything else but another chapter in my "book" of almosts and I have a camp with fire, friends, food and festivities........well, I'd still go even if I knew that was the limit for me. Hang in there, I'll bet there are many who would trade places with anyone of us in a heartbeat.
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Think positive: you are missing and not wounding, that is a big plus. Missing has been with archery for thousands of years-that is part of the magic. Take a break for a week and you will come back refreshed.
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I'm probably wrong about how I think about this, but here goes. I had a possible chance at one of the biggest bucks I've seen on the property I hunt on. I chose not to take the shot as it was a tough one, and he just walked off from about 10-12 yds. away, never knew I was there !
I then took two shots at the same buck, one at 15 yds. and right after that another at 8 yds. Missed both, he came back because he never knew I was there !
I had a shot at a real nice fox last evening at about 8 yds. missed, but the only reason he knew I was there is because he busted me when I drew back.
So what am I getting at, I'm a reconvert from a wheeler and treestands, now hunting from the ground Trad. This is the first full year to hunt with Trad. and from the ground, and LOOK HOW CLOSE I AM GETTING, and they don't even know I'm there !
I'm feeling positive brother, and having a blast doing it.
Feel better and don't give up because, YOU CAN DO IT !
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Don't get discouraged. Take a break and get right back to it. Traditional bowhunting is never easy but it is rewarding. Good luck!! :thumbsup:
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Not a good deal but it does happen. Look at it this way, its the second best shot you could possibly make. I want either a clean quick kill or a complete miss in that order. Last years buck was a bad shot to put it bluntly and I spent the first afternoon and that night and the next morning looking for that buck. All the while I was just sick and loathing myself. In contrast I have let fly with more arrows this year (5) than any year Ive ever hunted with archery gear of any sort. Ive hit a tree, ruined a broadhead hitting a pile of rocks and punched lots of holes in the air. Ive been high, Ive been low and Ive been left, figure one more miss to the right and I should have them out of my system. :knothead:
Truth is Ive been having a ball this season even though my lease got logged over the summer and Ive literally moved all my stands more than once. Ive whacked my stands with the lower limb and actually ruined one of my bows... still having a ball. My reality is Ive been seeing enough good bucks (135" and above) to allow me to take those 5 shots and to make those 5 misses. I could hang it up for the season but every miss has prompted me to fix some detail that hadnt been addressed prior to the miss and Im still confident I can bring it all together.
Dont take this wrong either, Im a good shot. I practice out to 30+ yards at targets no larger than a soup can and hit consistently. I limit hunting shots to 20 and under and never shoot at alert deer or moving deer. I guess I just suck at this whole trad hunting thing this year and have a bad case of buck fever... Oh and my thumb hurt one day and on another day it was cold. I think that covers all the misses. :D
Just take a break and come on back and have some fun with it. Look at it this way bud so far no animals have been injured in the making of this season for either of us!
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Ben, stick it out it will come back together. I know mine seems to come in cycles (shooting that is) up and down but I can't quit too addictive!
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Hang in there, it's only temporary.
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Relax, go stump shooting or small game hunting for an afternoon and just have fun. Get your confidence back, stay at it, and we'll be reading about it in the Highlights forum soon!
I wish I could go hunting today and have the chance to miss a deer. :dunno:
"Life's greatest accomplishments are those that at first seem impossible."
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This week... 4 deer busted me(1 nice buck) missed 1 turkey, a groundhog and a couple squirrels. But I was hitting stumps dead center inbetween getting busted and missing game!.... Phil
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Been there done that.
Looking back at the times I felt as you do, it was when other things in my life were too out of control and my focus was way off. I may have even felt irresponsible by being out hunting when there were so many other things I should have been doing. Kind of like I was punishing myself for even being out hunting.
I do that to some extent every year. Life is busy, and there are alot of people who depend on me. I sometimes feel guilty about being out hunting with my two boys, when I know my daughter would love to go for a walk or ride bikes together. Oil changes, clean out the gutters, cutting firewood...the list sometimes seems endless.
I just try to do my best with everything, and enjoy the time I get. Some things are simply left undone when hunting season comes.
Hunting can go your way to the point that is it almost magic, and the pendulum can swing the other way until you feel as if you carry a curse. I have found that when I seem cursed, I slow down, and do some investigating of new territories. I no longer allow myself to sit and stew about it in a treestand. Try to find an overlooked location, or ask permission at one of the places you`ve been meaning to do so. I do SOMETHING different.
As far as shooting goes, if you have been at it for any length of time, you already KNOW what lack of focus does for you there. :scared:
You are far from alone in this. In fact, I bet this is a topic that many of us would like to discuss here much more often, but we simply do not. Who wants to talk about problems...right!?
Be brave...build a campfire and count your blessings. :wavey:
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As it's often said, thats why they call it hunting, not killing.
Misses and frustration are part of the game, if it was easy everyone would be shooting trad equipment!
Stick with us, it'll come around.
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You just need a new bow.
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Bowhunting isn't for the convenience crowd. Wounding deer is agonizing...my sympathies for that...but consider your hunting blessings. You RECOGNIZE that it's significant, a sign of respect for the animal. I wish we all had that quality. You are able to get out and enjoy the woods. Some folks would LOVE to be able to do that, but can't. You are SEEING deer. Up this way seeing a deer, any deer, is considered notable since we only have about 5 of them, lol. You are getting SHOTS at deer. Hereabouts a MAJOR accomplishment for ANY deer let alone for that 'big one' picked from the 17 to pass by the stand that morning. And finally, you are learning that careful prep and planning doesn't always pay off. The perfect magazine bowhunt is a 5% tip of the iceberg. The other 95% is called normal and it's occupied by the rest of us, lol.
For most regular folk in regular hunting areas an up-close deer ENCOUNTER, let alone harvest, is a privilege earned and enjoyed. Missing or infrequent wounding of a deer is part of the long-term hunting experience and hopefully brings with it a lessons learned and remembered. Nothing wrong with feeling bad or venting when things don't work just right, simply enjoy the good parts of the ride and adjust for the potholes. A kill is satisfying, but developing an appreciation for the entire 'theater' of the hunt and learning from mistakes and misfortunes makes us better hunters in the end. Perfect magazine endings, though infrequent, will be all that much sweeter.
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Ben, I am right there with you. Funny our stories are almost identical. All I can say is stick at it; I took a few days off to get my mind back in it.
And now I am ready to get back at it.
Good luck :thumbsup:
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That is what makes hunting with a traditional bow so much of a challenge, if it was easy everyone would do it! Last year I saw very few deer and nothing even close to getting a shot at! This year I have seen plenty of deer, I saw one buck 3 times, he winded me once and was out of shooting range the other times! I commented that if I had a rifle he would have been dead 3 times, but I got no shot with my longbow! My nephew sat there in a gun blind and kills that deer a half hour after day light on opening day of firearm season, the 15th! I could have gun hunted there too if I wanted to kill that deer it would not have been difficult, but I had no urge to do it! I have had 2 shots at does so far this season, did everything right to get myself into a position to take the shots, however both shots were right before dark, on one I sheared a branch on dead fall and the arrow landed underneath the deer just startled her, off she went and the other I stuck a small sapling that I couldn't see that was between me and the deer dejected yes, but I didn't wound either of them! Even though I missed it was way more satisfying to me get myself in an actual situation with my longbow, on the ground, with cedar arrows I built to make those shots even though I missed, than to shoot that 8pt from an enclosed blind in an open field with a scoped rifle a half hour into the firearm season 100 yards away! Relatives think I am nuts to hunt this way, I always tell them for me its not about the killing but the whole traditional archery expierance that they will never understand! :archer:
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This is my first year back to traditional (recurves) since 1974. I've had a good season so far. However, I've missed more this year (2 for 5) than in 20 years with a compound. I was fortunate to kill the first one I shot at this season (21 yard pass-through). Then came the 3 shots I didn't like. Then I bookcased these poor results with another quick kill on November 12.
Not making the shot really bums me because like you, I've put a lot of time in this return. However, the one thing I insist upon is to learn something from these "failed" shots. Acutally, every mistake I've made is a repeat of mistakes I had to learn from in the early 1970's. You would have thought I could have remembered!
1. Make sure you see those little twigs in your trajectory!
2. Make sure you pick a spot instead of looking at the entire deer.
3. 25 yards isn't the same as 20.
Hang in there, learn from your less than perfect results, and let success come to you. Commit to the shot. Oh, be sure to enjoy all the other wonderful things about traditional hunting and the environment your in.
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Wow!! Talk about a "got your back" thread!
Thanks guys. :campfire:
I try to enjoy the whold experience.....I'm proud of the fact that I've only been busted 1x this year---and that was being winded; not once by sight! Even the flocks of turkeys failed to pick me out--even AFTER I shot......
BUT, I guess I am very hooked on success as bringing home meat for the freezer. I switched to trad. because I enjoy the shooting time much more than compound bows and crossbows--which is where I came from. But my family as a whole has gotten used to eating venison the past several yrs.to the point that they actually make comments about beef tasting "funny"! I usually have no problem getting deer down w/ a muzzleloader, but I guess with all the time invested in shooting trad---I just want it to"pay off"........A lot of you guys hit the nail on the head though, when you said to be committed to the shot--not think I might miss; also in reagards to other things being on my mind---this yr. has had it's challenges....
But on a lighter note: the other day, I had a small wren land on my shoulder and sing for about 30 seconds before flitting off----really very awesome. I had a sparrow land on my bow as it lay across my lap......I can't tell you how many times I have deer and squirrells THIS CLOSE and just watched them...or how many times I've cussed out the noisy, trouble-making chipmunks while still quietly laughing at their antics!!
The time in the woods is great---I just got to get back into actually enjoying the whole trip again! And who knows, after 3 long 12 hr days at work------I'm thinking the woods are gonna sound good again!
Thanks guys----for reminding me of why we do this and that I'm not the only one with a bad day or 2 in the woods!
:archer:
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By golly it is amazing how the smaller the beast the more noise it makes! Those chipmunks sound like a herd of something in the leaves and because they are under the leaves so much they seem invisible! Sometimes I just can't help myself-- I know the noise is a chipmunk but I just have to look.
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When you practice, do you hang a target on the bales? When stump shooting, do you hang the same target? When it is a deer or turkey, what then?
Most of my practice is without a target, pick a spot and shoot. Pick the smallest spot you can see clearly.
When I shot target/field for years, I shot the same way when hunting, without much success; then I discovered, the two styles of shooting required to be proficient at both were not the same, IMO. :thumbsup:
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It happens to everyone stick with it and you will get your mojo back. Sometimes a great comeback starts with a layoff. It happens with my bow and pistols, and my golf. I was burned out by so much practice in my golf game took a break and came back with a 2 over round and a 1 under round.
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Since killing a little 8 pt on 11/2 I have shot over, under and over the last three deer. Still shooting good on targets....just having a mental breakdown on fur. :banghead: Just got to stick it out and concentrate.
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Everybody misses sometimes. Just relax, pick a spot and it will happen. Enjoy the hunt and ease the pressure off yourself.
"When the going gets tough the tough get going". That "going" does not mean leaving! :)
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I can only wish I had the opportunities you did. When your "hunting" it's all part of the game. I'm happy for you that you that you had the time in the woods and that you were able to test your skills. I've spent more than one year sitting in tree stands for many, many hours and never had an opportunity to pull the string back.
Have fun, it's all part of the game and your stories will be fresh for years.
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Ben, sorry to hear that. Not much can be said. I and many of my friends have experienced the same.
First to call in 2 turkeys or even if they walked in, just to get drawed and release, great job.
Its just we know we can make it happen, and sometimes a short break may be all thats needed. Some of us a couple days others however long.
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Archery is hard, traditional archery is even harder. Missing is part of archery. If you practice, you will get consistent groups. When you get consistent groups you are a good shooter. It takes experience to become a good archery hunter. It took me a long time to become a good archery hunter and I still miss from time to time.
Keep hunting and you will get the experience that breeds success.
Don't give up!
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I follow Teddy Roosevelt's axiom when asked about all the game he had taken if he was a good shot , his reply ' No I just shoot alot "
Never let the fear of missing affect your shooting , now if I could practice that a little more .
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hang in there ben,it will get better.i havent killed in a while but i just look at scoring a kill as the icing on the cake. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: