Went out in Lorain County Ohio for the opener Sat eve. This was my first day out with trad gear. Made a promise to myself to shoot a deer off the ground with the recurve nefore shooting from a stand. Made a corn blind on a field corner about 5 rows in. shot 2 inches over a doe @ 12 yards. OUCH! I'm bummed and shooting bad ever since. Gotta shake it and get back on the horse. Tuff day.

happens to every one of us now and then!  congrats on the chance !! sounds like nerves, close doe, new with trad gear etc. be easy to get a little shook and not pick a spot.

Hang in there!  You'll get her next time.  Sounds like you have a nice set up in the corn.

Bernie Bjorklund

NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin

Sorry but .... I have to laugh !!!reminds be of my beginings in bowhunting (43 years ago).. Wait ... I still do it !! lol !

Anyway ....we all get'm when the time is right ! The proud way !!!

Much better than a miss on the last day!! Get out there & enjoy the challenge because any trade animal is a true trophy.

hang in there you will get one

"STICK" with it, you will get one.  

miss on the first day means you were into deer to start the season!  sounds like youre ready for a good fall!

We're in the same boat CAT.

Good luck though man. I have been shooting my bow for the last month when I can and I worry about shooting high.

I just recently moved to shoot in my 3d target and some of them are high and hit around the spine.

Just have to stick with it     At least you didn't get a bad shot on the deer. Look at the bright side. I think a missed shot is better than a bad one.

"I think a missed shot is better than a bad one." quote LeeBishop.

I have to side with this one.

Keep after'em, that's where the fun is, the work starts with a good hit.

God bless,Mudd

Hey CATT22, I've been doing this Trad Stuff for a very long time.I missed a week ago on a Saturday Morning. I was in a Ladder stand sitting down. At 6:45 a Doe ran down my ridge. Didn't have time to stand up. I drew anchored and shot. Well I shot right under the crease. I practice that heart shot all the time. She actually broke my wood arrow between her front legs. I was counting my backstraps before they were made. I figured I could have been out of the woods at 7 A.M. Clean miss. It happens. You probably made the error of shooting at the whole deer instead of picking a spot. Stare at that spot; draw,  anchor,clean release and stare at the spot until that arrow hits it. Very important. Believe me it works. Good Luck and Good Hunting!

Keep at it.  A chance on your first sit is great!  You were probably just too close.

OH DON'T WORRY!!! I'll keep at it. I sold my compound this summer so I couldn't go back. I'll stay on the ground till I get'er done. It's funny thinking back, I was talking to myself "anchor and follow thru, anchor and follow thru" I took my time and the flight was great. The flight was so good I watched it for much further than intended...... a good 30 yards, over her back into the ravine. I thought I picked a spot, but I guess not. This just hurts a little. I cannot recall the last time I whipped on a deer. Years. Oh well, next time. I shot today to get some kinks out and lost a broadhead tipped arrow in the woods. Talk about fuming mad and cherry on the cake. Be a duck, Cat, be a duck. Water off the back.

I've thought about getting rid of my compound, but I don't think I will. I've had it since I was about 14 years old. That means I've had it for 14 years  :p  It was my birthday present after I showed that I liked archery from using a much cheaper Robin Hood compound bow.

i think I can use it for rabbit hunting or bow fishing or something.  The arrows for it are MUCH cheaper than traditional and I'm not going to risk breaking my wooden trad arrows on a rabbit. I'm not that good.

Look at it this way a clean miss is a whole lot funner than a wounded deer. Don't think of it as a miss but a learning experience. Pick a spot,burn a hole and make it happen!!

For ME only, a missed shot is a bad one and impacts me nearly as strongly as a bad hit because that's what it nearly was (yes, Iv'e done both). I'm grateful only for the fact it wasn't a wound and never for just having the opportunity.

I've had missed shots that were my fault, missed shots because animals have amazing defensive skills, and missed shots because some days Mother Nature likes to get in the way of things.

I take each shot for what it is. I prefer to realize I do not have control over everything when I'm hunting. I want the woods to remain wild.

To me, a miss is not nearly a bad hit.  It's just a miss.  Sometimes it's something you learn from and sometimes it's a great memory of what almost was.

When I started hunting with a long bow I had 5 shots at bucks in one morning within 20 yards.  One I missed 3 times!!  Double lunged on the 5 shot and so began a lifetime obsession.  

Never enjoy misses when they happen but if I ever quit having buck fever I will quit hunting.  Sometimes I am dead calm and steady with a trophy coming in and other times I cannot stop my "Elvis Leg" with a fawn under me.  No explanation but it sure is exciting.

Bow hunting is so much fun - COME ON SATURDAY!!!