Actually, I should have said 7 and change my #'s to 12/21, butI cheated, it was a crossbow and my dad would pull it back for me because I was too scrawnyI never killed a deer with it though. Missed a little 6 point one time but that was it for the first4 years of my hunting "career"Probably a total of 10 or a 12 sits in all those years.

First deer was with a compound at age 11. Social life was my main priority until I finally realized that I didn't have one at age 20 My success rate has been quite a bit higher since then

LOL

100%

No wait.....that's not true.

67% I only took one shot....at a doe....my first year.

I stand corrected.

I don't know if 67% is more successful than most......but it could have been 100%. I waited and waited for the deer I wanted to be my first. I was happy to take him.

I have a knack for wading through the cookie-cutter bull****.....to get that one piece of information that will help me in my situation. That's what's helped me.

I expected to see "success rates" that were above the norm - and that's precisely what we're seeing. This board only seems to attract people who are abnormally enthusiastic (my wife would say "obsessed") with archery hunting. That's definitely reflected in the poll results, so far.



One piece of advice I can give to anyone who isn't getting the "success" that they aspire to:

Lower your expectations and increase your stand time. If you can't increase your stand time- spend the offseason making sure that what precious little time you DO have - is spent in the best possible stand sites at the best possible times.

Bowhunting only. 6/14.
I am self taught when it comes to finding stand locations, and in my first 4 or 5 years I wasn't very good at it.
I hardly ever was close enough to a deer to shoot. The hunting locations were public land, and in PA , that made it tougher when you aren't sure what you're doing. And I missed a few too.
The last 6-7 years I have joined a lease and also have been able to hunt in my home community(private) that was closed to hunting for 30+ years. So my success rate has improvedin the last 5 years.
I hope my success rate will increase dramatically in the next 2-3 years due to the "location" factor.

Hey Fran....

I also don't think a low %-age is anything to be ashamed of (and I know you didn't imply that). Holding out for a buck (if that's truly the case).......and not settling for anything less......is a noble endeavor......and in no way reflects on a hunter's abilities.

just my .02

Oh, I agree 100% Jeff. There are definitely people who pass buck after buck, waiting... That's definitely not conducive to a high percentage.

I just wanna see where the average falls.

But honestly - there are also people who wish they could see a scrubrack just to shoot at it. And a lot of these guys feel the need to b.s. the world andconjure up whale's tales about all the bucks they passed up that werejust "too small" LOL

Another favorite of mine is the "growth factor" of all the bucks they "let walk" (I hate that term - let walk). My hunting buddy has never "let a buck walk" that wasn't over 110 inches. Even the spikes sprout new antlers and turn into PY monsters "that just weren't what [he] was looking for." LOL

I always add "AT" when people tell me they decided "Not to shoot" a deer.

14 seasons, in which I went buckless in 2... 87% Went buckless during my 1st year and this past year.

Ks......in between I suppose you shot a bunch of dinks, too, huh......like the one in your avatar?

Very impressive. Hat's off to ya.

24 seasons 2 buckless and both in this decade, LOL I expect it will get higher being my standards have changed on what I will shoot. I will say my fun success rate is 100%

92%