Will you be ready to take the shot?

[wis_bow_huntr]

TEmbry's post got me thinking along with my reply. Will you be ready to take the shot during the moment of truth? Have you practiced shooting from you stand at different angels and different positions? Sitting, crowching, on one knee (if stand is big enough) or a combination move? How many of you practice this way. I know I do every year. I may not be the smallest guy in a tree but I can bend, twist, lean, and crowch if needed and get a good shot.

[txjourneyman]

I do. I practice from a tree regularly and from different angles and directions. I do the same on the ground. That doesn't really mean I'll be ready though. If a buck is big enough I'll probably turn to jelly. Or I could be asleep when he comes by. There are a ton of ways I could screw things up!

[peakrut]

Yep tones and even with my hunting cloths on as we get closer to the season.
Especially since I wear a mask and sometimes when I first start its a challange.

T

[racewayking]

I practice from a tree, shoot out of the second story windows of my house and play out as many shot scenarios as possible. IMHO you can shoot until the cows come home, but if you aren't mentally prepared you will screw up. When I go to bed at night I imagine myself in my stands and play shots in my head. I see the deer walking along specific paths by my stands and play the scenario out in my head and imagine.
In the last four years I have only missed one shot. That shot was due to a deer jumping the bow and me shooting too high because I misjudged the yardage due to the height of the stand I was hunting and not being prepared. One thing that makes me more successful at bowhunting versus my father is my ability to control my nerves before the shot. My father wil outshoot me any day of the week with a rifle or bow, but for some reason I outshoot him every time there is a deer standing 10-30 yards out.

[Born 2 Bow Hunt]

I am working on it. I had triceps surgery last Dec. After archery season. Did all the therapy back in Feb. and currently I have been shooting my wife's bow which will go to a lower poundage than mine. I am currently shooting 50 times a day at 47 lbs. At this time I am just working on form and not worrying about shot placement nor shooting from my back yard elevated stand, but look forward to shooting from various positions and my new blind.

I will be ready before archery season. I do miss going to all those 3 D shoots...maybe by August with my bow??

Now I am spend most of my free time scouting.....

[BobCo19-65]

Don't forget shooting from the ground. Sometimes people practice so often from an elevation, that they have trouble shooting from the ground.

[rybohunter]

I practice from a stand with my hunting jacket & face covering on before the season comes in. I don"™t get too crazy with positions cause I just don"™t put myself in too many situations where I"™d encounter that type of shooting. Especially with my compound.

I do practice a lot more crouched & kneeling shots with my trad bow though.

[Schultzy]

I practice from every angle, position, tree stand, on the ground, etc! If there's an awkword position I'll try it. Its nice to know what your comfortable doing.

[early in]

I have to be honest (as I always am, sometimes to fault) about this. I never practice from a tree standbecause I don't have that option available to me because of where I live. I do sometimes practice shooting from a sitting position though. I have taken deer from both standing and sitting positions. I can shoot either way.I've only missed one deer shooting from my tree stand while hunting. I don't take questionable shots.
It's just a matter of remembering the rule of thumb, bend at the waist when shooting from a tree stand.

[Hurricanespg]

I dont hunt from trees so I don't practice from tree stands, but I take all sorts of different shots on the ground. I try to shoot 30 arrows a day.