Two days ago I had a dandy 6pt. pick up the scent trail I laid down when I came in to my stand. He was on a string. I was up and ready and already had him in the freezer. Then I did it. I committed the cardinal sin of instinctive shooting. I started to focus on his eyes to see if he sensed me. You guessed it. Rather than staring at the ribcage I never took my gaze off his eyes. Yep. Arrow right over his antlers!!! Did I mention he was probably 8yds. in front of me. I'm still kicking myself. Ugh!

That's the fun and frustration of trad gear. Keep at.

That must be why the old timers say " don't look at the rack " .

more folks do that than not.....

Your arrow is going were ur looking.  Once I decide I'm going to shoot,I follow the crease behind their legs. That helps me focus

Thats a bummer. Well on the bright side you learned not to look'em in the eyes like the hot girl sitting at the other table    

It is a bummer but a lesson well learned. This buck is unscathed for which I am grateful. If I'm going to miss I want it to be a clean miss.

Ben there and done that more than once.

Often, what looks like failure is just a step on the journey.

My own journey has gratefully been a long one and have learned to take my falls more gracefully and attempt to find humor in them. Many more falls lay ahead as long as I continue to recieve the gift of the hunt.

They are never in the  freezer ,until they are in the freezer. There are never"slam dunks". 8 yds " should " be  a slam dunk, but if your mind is not properly focused on the killing shot.....you will miss or worse. Whenever my mind strays to : should I...I have work tomorrow; this is easy....; what about the other deer... BAD results. Clear mind in the predator mode.....nothing but " I'm going to shoot a clean kill shot and pick a small spot on the animal"....usually goes well.

Easier said then done.

Been there, done that! It sucks! Its the heat of the moment that gets you over thinking and you think of everything but what you need to do. I have Pick a spot and anchor on the belly of my upper limb just to remind me!

Sadly I say, I have been there and done that on the biggest buck I have ever seen on the hoof. It wasthe Saturday before Thanksgiving several years ago, heard him coming, seen him coming, and at about 8 yards i shot over his back. It took a long time to get over that. I was not looking at where i was shooting. I broke the golden rule of shooting, PICK A SPOT. After all these years i still get upset when i think about it. But one has to learn and not make the same mistake twice.

Oh yeah. I've made a clean miss at distances closer than that, sad to say. These kinds of experiences are what make trad archery so addictive. We never stop learning.

Not quite the same, but I missed a doe on an almost straight down shot because I concentrated too hard.  I practiced straight down shots and found that I was always about 2 inches high.  This doe came in stopped below me, I concentrated on a spot about an inch off of her shoulder, knowing the arrow would be 2" high and I'd have my deer.  The arrow went right where I was looking-nothing but dirt.

lol       yes I have!!!!the first deer I ever got I done the exact same thing only Imy arrow struck him just below and a little behind his ear!really short tracking job lol

During police firearms training while going through the shooting house I often would find most of my shots were near the bad guys weapon as that's what my eyes were looking for.  Same principal.

Yes I have....but I got a second shot and connected!  Lol. 26 years ago. A real brute