RE: *&$%#@~
Kwaldeier, don’t get too discouraged. It sounds like you have a very short season where you are. Here in VA the archery season starts in early October, goes to Nov 17 (the lastweek of which is also muzzleloader season, so the deer really start to get paranoid from all the noise and their buddies dying), then rifle season is in (where you bowhunt, if you’re crazy enough with all the yahoos in the field with their guns (and too often beer)), then late archery comes in Dec 4 through Jan 6.
I’m not telling you this to make you jealous, I’m telling you this because, even with all that time, the success rate for bowhunters is around 30% in VA, which means an average bowhunter (combining novices and people with 20 years’ experience) gets one deer bowhunting every three years. So, don’t feel bad or inferior at all. Bowhunting is a VERY difficult sport in which to be successful!
Also, to echo what other have said, it would probably help you to get better at judging distances. One of the first things I do when it’s light enough is to carefully estimate 10 yards and 20 yards from my stand (I don’t shoot much beyond 20 yards, partly because I’m hunting in the woods, and after 20 yards, there are usually branches in the way), then mentally draw a circle at those distances and note where those circles cross my shooting lanes, so I can make more educated guesses when I actually see deer.
Good luck!