I am entering my second season of bowhunting. I went out west to hunt elk last year and put the first arrow I ever shot into a cow at 30 yards. It was an intense feeling! I was so pumped up that I could not wait to get back to MN to do some more bowhunting for whitetail. I was able to shoot at a deer the first time out, it was hit in the shoulder and lived, I saw him later in the season. It was most likely a poor decision to shoot, but I did and can't do anything about it. I have been out about 15 times this year and had one shooting opportunity that I passed on. It was a small doe and the weather was really warm, I figured I would wait. I have not been able to see any deer since then, getting the blues and starting to doubt myself.

I wonder if it was beginners luck! I am looking forward to the rut, and hopefully things will start moving and I will get an opportunity. It makes a guy wonder if he is doing something wrong when you hear about so many people talking about all the deer they see and pass on. What kind of success rate do most of you accept?

I would say that arrowing a cow elk on your first trip was probably as much beginners luck as anything else. I think most of the hunters on here will tell you that they hunted a long time before arowing their first deer. Just remember the reward you take out is commensurate with the effort you put in.

I'm on my second season too and even after years of experience gun hunting I'm still trying to figure out how to predict their movements in order to get them in bow range. I've drawn twice and have not scored yet. Last year I took a shot at a decent 8 pointer from an impromptu ground blind but the arrow was deflected by a small branch and landed three feet short. This fall I drew on a doe 15 yards away but got busted by a second doe and never got a shot opportunity. I feel like this is going to be my year and with the rut still ahead (and a weeks vacation<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>) I think I'm going to get that first deer soon. You will too, just be patient.

I'm in the same boat. Started Deer hunting last year and started with a bow. Shot a Button ( thought it was a doe-rookie mistake) and 2 weeks later shot a six point. I knew all along I was lucky, but this year I've hardly had a shot??? I keep going back, time after time, but it's hard to keep in the stand as my faith that I'll see anything is diminishing. the good news is that the rut is starting to kick off here. Sometime somewhere that big one will make a mistake...and I'll never know if I'm not there! So keep the faith and it makes sucess so much sweeter!

Trushot }}------>

I started bowhunting about 11 years ago while in high school....decided I wanted to try it and bought an old Browning out of the newspaper classifieds. Had no direction (no one else in my family hunted) and no idea what I was doing...couldn't even hardly find a book or magazine on the subject. My first time out with my bow I had a big 8 pt. (probably the biggest deer I have seen on the hoof in those 11 yrs.) and of course missed it....seeing that big of a buck on my first time kinda made me think that it would be easy to bag one......was I ever WRONG!

It took 6 years of mistakes and learning from those mistakes to finally connect on one...and man was it ever sweet! I have enjoyed success each season since it &quot;clicked&quot; and now have some friends asking about what they should do. I always say, &quot;patience&quot;...and acceptance of the fact that each day in the woods is a learning experience...no matter how good you are.

Hang in there, put your time in and the rewards will present themselves.....good luck!

If you're hunting in the same stands over and over, move them. Its easy to get into a rut and the deer can and will take advantage of it. Go and scout an area you normally never hunt. Find some sign and try that area.

If you are always hunting in the morning, try the evening. You have to break out of your slump. If I'm not seeing deer on average 1 out of 2 trips and getting a shot opportunity 1 out of 3 times out I'm moving. These are averages.

Good Luck!

PRACTICE....PRACTICE....PRACTICE......SUCCESS!

This is my 1st year with a bow and I have taken time off work and been in the field lots, haven't taken a shot yet but am still loving it! I've had a doe under my stand(no tag), a hawk land on a branch right above my head, lots of entertaining birds and squirrels, and enough promising noises to get my blood pumping every hunt.
Most of my friends don't hunt but when they ask if I was successful after a hunt I always say yes, even if I didn't see a deer.
Don't put so much emphasis on the harvest, enjoy the entire experiance, if it was all about the kill I would have quit a long time ago because there aren't many deer around where I hunt, but there are lots of good people and great times.

&quot;guns aren't for killing people, guns are for killing dangerous and delicious animals&quot;
- Homer Simpson

I agree with tschaef. We have very few deer here due to the harsh winters so I see an average of one deer per 25 hrs of stand time. So we have to amuse ourselves with snowshoe hares, grouse, chickadees etc. My friend arrowed a buck last week that weighed in at over 350lbs though. When one of these monsters finally shows up its a little bit exciting...

Schlich,
I had to laugh when I read the last couple of sentences in your post. Yes, you hear about people passing up shots. Almost nobody posts &quot;I didn't see any today.&quot; If they did, 80% of the threads would read, &quot;Neither did I.&quot;

My friends at work are gun hunters and they say &quot;get one this time?&quot; and my response is usually &quot;I'd be one skinny Indian!&quot;

Keep at it. Learn about the game, spend time scouting, try different strategies .... that's what it's all about. My first two years out I didn't have a shot opportunity AND YOU GOT AN ELK at 30 yards! Big Congrats!

I'm almost 44 years old and I have days that I say I'm hangin' up the camo. But that same frustration is what makes me wake up at 3 AM the next morning with my broadheads sharp.

I smake about 50 scouting trips a year, then hunt about 50 -60 times. All this for TWO shots, if all goes well.

Its not all about the kill, its about the hunt!!

i have passed on approx 40 deer this year. lots of does with fawn, button bucks and 4 pointers. i try to do my part to manage the herd on the farm. 6 points or more. thats my motto. well it takes time. i have a deer cam picture of a 12 point and a 8 point. hopefully i will get them before gun season starts and all the rookies come out.

hunt on hunt hard eat well