What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

BEST

I believe I have a good eye for "hunting on the run".........(picking a spot with little or no knowledge of the area).......I stay focused on why a DEER would travel through an area and really couldn't care less what the place looks like to ME. This I believe is a skill I developed through years of bouncing around in the big woods of public state lands. I have killed deer from trees guys could barely figure out how I climbed. I also believe I have excellent focus when the moment of truth comes. When I see a deer coming I am as excited (or more) then anyone but I am eerily focused on the vitals and trying to predict the deers next steps. I'm a pretty reliable closer.


WORST

I am too bullheaded to give up or lay low on a spot when I get a taste of what's there............especially when I know that sneaking in and out will be next to impossible. I try to force that square peg into the round hole and I end up educating the deer and getting mad at myself because I KNOW I shouldn't try it but I still do because the lure of the possibilities if I do are so tempting.

I over hunt...........plain and simple. I don't have the luxury of enough spots to only hunt a stand once or twice a year or have special rut stands or special wind stands. That is reality and I accept it...........but I also know that some days I would be better off staying home then parading through the same woods AGAIN...........but I do.........because I can't get one from the couch right??...........I can justify anything if I try hard enough ;)

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Not sure I have a "Best" atlas......but my worst mirrors yours. It's a hard thing.......to NOT go hunting.....when you have the time off and the place to go.....although we both know it would be the best thing to not go in there.

On second thought......my "best" is my eagerness to learn about these animals. I read/watch/talk/write a letter/etc...every day about whitetail deer. My herd will be better because of what I've learned an am learning.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

One of my best would be judging distance to the deer without a range finder. I wouldn't say that I am an expert but that is what I do best.

Worst: Probably not putting enough thought into where I am going to hunt with the current conditions. Like looking at the wind forecast. It has completely changed directions and the forecast said it would. If I would have looked at it I could have been in the right spot.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

I am not sure what my best skill is but my worst skill or lack there of is patience. I tend to rush my shots and not take my time. 3 out of the last 10 deer I have shot I feel that I rushed the shot and could have made a better shot. All came out good but I was still disappointed in myself.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

I think one of my worst "skills" is over analyzing my setups or gameplanssometimes.... I never just go by the seat of my pants. I try to make all my moves well thought out and calculated.

Now I am not saying I want to fly by the seat of my pants but perhaps not over analyze as much at times.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

last year was my first year bowhunting.

things i was good at, seemed to be stand placement. i seen deer and all were within 40yds. cant say i would shot at ALL of them...but most were withing my bow range...i thought that was good for a rookie. normally, gunhunting i could care less where the deer came through so long as i could see them.

things i need to work on this year would be like you, not overhunting. my one stand was PERFECT. i saw a good bit of deer. shot a buck from it. but the first day of rifle i was back in there...thats 2 weeks after bow season ends..i dont think i hunted it for 3 weeks. opening day i listend to 2 bucks walk around ALL morning till it broke light. 10am here they come back through. a MONSTER and another buck. didnt get a shot(even with a rifle...coulda shoulda woulda deal..just didnt like the shot so even being a monster i didnt take it) that just proves i overhunted it. i never once seen either of them. only buck i saw in there i shot at.

also need to work on patience still. getting in there EARLY...like its opening day every day. staying late. like its opening day EVERY day. pulling 4am till 8pm hunts. most days, i wont lie..im bored and out of the tree by 10am at the latest. didnt get in there till MAYBE a half hour before dark...i need to get my @$$ in gear and get in the woods and stay there. i just get deathly bored...

i got alot of work to do...but im on my way to becoming a bowhunter. the key to success, i believe, is always learning. figuring out what you did wrong and learning from it and changing to fix it. plain and simple i need more areas and need to hunt MORE..dont go home for lunch..starve or dont eat my lunch at 8am lol. i can feel it. this season is the season im taking my first bowkill. this is my time. im doing everything to ensure that it goes that way. even thinking of taking a doe during an early doe hunt to pop my cherry. figure my orchard spot will be best during that early hunt...i doubt i will ever see a legal buck in there in the daylight...why not take a doe out of there early and pop the cherry

though when i shot at that buck i was like a machine. counted points(legal) called the lane, drew and bent at the waist, stopped him, sent it home...till he ducked. but upto that point i did everything perfect. no shakes..no thoughts. my 1000s of arrows fired paid off. i went into mental overdrive. i was pleased with that. no thinking about it...i just DID what i do.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

I feel my best is making a shot when I need to.

Worst isthat I fidget on stand too much. Being up a tree I don't know how often it impacts my hunts, but I know I move around more than I should up there.

I'll toss in a most improved area is not over hunting stands anymore.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

I think my best hunting skill is my ability to block everything out at the time of the shot. I have an ability to focus only on the exact target spot and not get distracted by anything else, not antlers, nerves, wind, rain, etc...
In fact I shoot much better at live animals than I do when practicing. For me at least, when I KNOW it has to count Iperform well.

My worst bow hunting skill is I don'tstand long enough. All the years of football have taken a tollon my knees and backand I spend most of my time sitting. I like to shoot standing andusually I spot deerwith enough time to get up and into ashooting position, but I must admit if I do get busted, most of the time it's when I'm getting up. I always stand the last hour of hunting light as this is the most active time in the woods I hunt. Not being able to shift my weight and move about is shear hell.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Best
Patients

Worst
Patients

Being patient as yielding me some nice deer, and my lack of patients has cost me some deer;)

I really believe you can be the best shot, treestand setup, location, camo, etc etc, but unless you have the patients it is all for nothing:)

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Best.

For some reason I dont get buck fever. I tend to make the shot, then get extremely nervous.

Worst.

For the life of me, I cannot get up predawn to hunt mornings. Its not too bad when I'm hunting with someone, where if I dont wake up, I'll stand them up, but thsi year that will change.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

My best??? I'm not sure

My worst? I can't let anything walk. If I have a shot and its legal,I shoot. I hope to change that this year:D

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

This is the EXACT same as mine!
especially the good!

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

I would have to say one of my best is also judging distance. I feel like I don't need a rangefinder but it would be a nice accessory to own. It would just be one more thing to keep track of but I probably should get one; especially after typing this. Jinks.[:o][:@]

Worst

When my feet get cold I am ready to go. It sucks. I also wish I could stay on stand all day long without leaving. I really hope to overcome that this year. I also overhunt my stand but I really don't think its a big deal.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

My best would be, making the shot. For some reason I may get the shakes when i first see a deer. But when it comes time to shoot I guess I just put everything on autopilot and the shot comes naturally. Draw back pick a spot and shoot.

My worst might be sneaking into a stand sight quitely. It seems like if there is a twig on the ground I will step on it. Or my climber will clank off of every branch in the woods.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Best?

Patience. I can sit all day, every day. There's not much on this earth I enjoy more than sitting on stand. I'll sit forever, if need be.

Worst?

Knowledge of the animals I'm after. At this point, I am incapable of putting the puzzle together and making it happen. I've got the does "figured out" but not the bucks.....

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

GREAT question Atlasman!

Best: Patience. No doubt my best quality. Being in my 4thyear of bowhunting (26th year muzzleloader) I can sit all day in my stand without seeing a deer and still love watching the squirrels and snakes etc... crawl about the woods. I know I'm not the only one who can understand that. I can also let the 4,5 and 6pointers pass without even reaching for my bow however, an 8 pointer or larger is getting an arrow thrown it's way if a good shot opportunity comes along.

Worst: Over hunting my areas. As much as I love the outdoors, I just can't pass up an opportunity to get into my stand. I have one spot that I can be in my stand and ready to shoot25 minutes after walking out my front door. It is an excellent deer funnel and the deer come by no matter how much I hunt it. The large ones catch on but the small ones and does just don't seem to care. I love it! I just don't see how anyone can pass up an opportunity to watch deer of any age or sex walk under your stand... I want to go now just thinking about it.:)

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

RESPECT MY MAN!:D


My best would have to belettingdeer walk. Spending so much time (and money) out there and passing younger bucks. Hunting all my life with guysthat shoot everything that moves, when I show family and friends pics of deer walking by me they think I'm nuts.

Worst would have to be still getting deer fever after all these years. Somehow I pull it together and get it done, but I'm a freakin wreck!!!!
(This year I'm gonna switch to Decaf)

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Best?

I have none. They're all bad. [8D]

I think my worst is "not" spending enought time hunting a particular location. Stand hopping!

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Best:
goodjudge of distance, bullheaded(combination of patience and willing to hunt in ANY weather that mother nature wants to throw at me), good at making really tough shots, and have a good knowledge of the deer I'm hunting
Worst:
I said good knowledge, not great knowledge( you can never know enough), probably too much of a risk taker for most peoples taste(if I seea big buck dogging a doe, I'm going after him instead of staying put, it does pay off sometimes though), I am really good at being at the right set-up on the wrong day-you know, big buck under the tree you hid behind yesterday, I might be a little too bull-headed--I really like to try to prove people wrong--that's why I mostly hunt off of the ground without a blind and use many other unorthodox tactics--it's hard to say if that's a bad thing because it has been working for me but who know's if I hunted the same way that most do I could have even better deer on the wall.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Best: Is waiting for the deer to give me the best shot possible. Last year I shot one doe, Passed up four other deer waiting for the "perfest shot". Passing on the smaller deer and just watching them mill around. Knowing yardage has been pretty close also.

Worst:Need to do more early morning hunts. Knowing the "exact" way to use "every"sound on mydeer call, getting better though!(still have the can:))

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

My BEST bowhunting skill would probably be that i can hold my bow and aim as if my arms was frozen solid. I dont jump around much at all, but rather im lucky to be able to hold a pin on a dot for a lenthy period.

My WORSE bowhunting skill is probably thinking i will be warm enough but 1 hour later im freezing and have to pull up stakes earlier than i expected to. 2nd would probably be i forget to bring stuff....binoculars, scent..etc.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

BEST- determination...im not howard hill...i am not the best at locating good spots... but im out there a lot...and i really want to shoot and or see big deer

WORST- scouting...i just dont seem to have the time...i guess i have to make my own and thats agoal for the next few weeks

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Best

I tend to make the shot, then the rush of adrenalin comes. I focus on the shot with out getting all out of wack.

Worst

Knowing when to draw my bow. I've held my bow for a pretty long time before releasing an arrow.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Best: judging distance and seemingly knowing where deer will usually travel when hunting a new area when I've not scouted it.

Worst: patience on morning hunts. Though I like hunting mornings better than evenings, I find it harder and harder with each season to sit as long as I probably should. Even in peak rut I cannot sit all day(makes my wife happy).

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Best: dedication on hunting a specific deer I want that I know is in an area. Practicing for the shot is a close second.

Worst: I tend to figit on the stand, which has compromised my hunting opportunties on more than one occassion.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Best: Hunting aggressive but smart. That is the one thing I love about ground hunting. I can take the hunt to them instead of waiting for them to bring it to me.

Worst:figit too much when waiting.

Tim

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Ditto. I over analyze too much I think. Makes my head hurt sometimes [8D].

I hunt some of my "honey holes" too much and too early in the season. Some magnetic force just steers my boots to walk that way. Maybe this year I won't overhunt this one particular stand. (I've been saying that for the last 19 years though)[8D]

Best?

Dedication. I'll go above and beyond what most people that I know will do to be successfull. (as mosteveryone on this forum does by the sounds of things)

Also the moment of truth for some reason I am as cool and calm as can be. My heart rate doesn't go up. My thought process is good. Never rush the shot. My demeanor remains the same. Even if there is a 140" buck coming into bowrange. Never make a mistake shooting at an animal.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

This is a hard one for me because I know I can be so much better than I am!
Worst: Would be not putting more time in to scouting new area's.
Best: Would be my absolute fascination with learning every possible thing I can about whitetail deer.
The biggest sense of discouragement I ever have at the end of a season is if I knew I could have done more to be either successful or more successful.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Best: Skipping work to hunt

Worst:Making sure the wife understands ahead of time and not having to beg forgiveness later on.

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Best.
Patience and the ability to pass up Bucks that just don't fit my minds eye. This goes hand in hand with passing up shots, be it doe or buck, that aren't perfect.


Worst.
In Bowhunting forums, I can't easily cut and paste multiple quotes in a single reply without getting extremely frustrated. [:o]

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

I would say my pluses are I have complete confidence in my shooting ability. And I don't fall apart when I see a deer. I am pretty calm until after I shoot the deer.

My downs are that I have a hard time staying still for a long time, I am not very happy with heights, and I lack motivation. I will be completely honest, hunting is a hobby for me, not a passion. Like I have said before, I would much rather be shooting my bow instead of sitting in a tree watching it just hang there.

Paul

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Best=Tracking

worst=Patients

RE: What is your best and worst bowhunting skill?
 

Best: Patients


Worst: Don't have one. :D:D