Friend that just can't shoot???
08-15-2009, 10:18 AM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: S. NH
Posts: 3,045
Friend that just can't shoot???
Do any of you have a friend that just can't hit the broad side of a barn with an arrow? 
I have a dilemma AGAIN this year, as my friend is an older guy, @ 67 years old, that has hunted his whole life and is in rougher shape than most, with bad hips. In the past few years I have helped him set some stands, cleared shooting lanes for him and even placed him in my stands when he had nothing going on in his spots.
This year he is worse off than last and I feel I want to help him more, as he indeed is a good friend. We tend to hunt a bit differently, as I am a very methodical when it comes to scent and wind. Also paying attention to my entry/exit routes, so on and so fourth. I say this because I'm damned to put him in one of my good spots and have him mess up my area for the season.
Here's this mornings story...
I bring my 3 year old boy to his house so we can start practicing on the old targets. He shoots 9 arrows total - 3 arrows never touch the target and are lost, 2 hit the dirt in front of the target and the 4 that hit the target, well let's say 2 would have been "close" to the kill zone (6"). He proceeds to tell me he has target panic, but never when a deer is in front of him (ya sure).
He says he has been practicing all year long in his basement and doing great! He starts off by blaming his glasses, then he said it was a "single" flinch, then that he held too long before shooting. I was a bit furious with the whole ordeal, knowing I spent better part of a day last season looking for a wounded Doe. He tried to tell me it was a good hit maybe a little high, but no explanation when I find a batch of white hair (I asked him if it was an albino)??? Not to mention 4 years ago, he whacked a big buck and it had the same results.
Anyone have any suggestions on how to get my point across and not tick him off too much, as I do have respect for my elders?
I have a dilemma AGAIN this year, as my friend is an older guy, @ 67 years old, that has hunted his whole life and is in rougher shape than most, with bad hips. In the past few years I have helped him set some stands, cleared shooting lanes for him and even placed him in my stands when he had nothing going on in his spots.
This year he is worse off than last and I feel I want to help him more, as he indeed is a good friend. We tend to hunt a bit differently, as I am a very methodical when it comes to scent and wind. Also paying attention to my entry/exit routes, so on and so fourth. I say this because I'm damned to put him in one of my good spots and have him mess up my area for the season.
Here's this mornings story...
I bring my 3 year old boy to his house so we can start practicing on the old targets. He shoots 9 arrows total - 3 arrows never touch the target and are lost, 2 hit the dirt in front of the target and the 4 that hit the target, well let's say 2 would have been "close" to the kill zone (6"). He proceeds to tell me he has target panic, but never when a deer is in front of him (ya sure).
He says he has been practicing all year long in his basement and doing great! He starts off by blaming his glasses, then he said it was a "single" flinch, then that he held too long before shooting. I was a bit furious with the whole ordeal, knowing I spent better part of a day last season looking for a wounded Doe. He tried to tell me it was a good hit maybe a little high, but no explanation when I find a batch of white hair (I asked him if it was an albino)??? Not to mention 4 years ago, he whacked a big buck and it had the same results.
Anyone have any suggestions on how to get my point across and not tick him off too much, as I do have respect for my elders?
08-15-2009, 10:31 AM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location:
Posts: 2,139
Take me instead! LOL
If his shooting bothers you then tell him if he can put 5 in the target in a row you will take him. If it were my call to make I would base my decision on how hard he's trying not how good he is. If he is really making the effort and doing the best he can I would take him as long as there are no safety issues. Maybe you could watch him shoot and give him some pointers. Another idea would be to set his stands where he could only get real close shots.
If his shooting bothers you then tell him if he can put 5 in the target in a row you will take him. If it were my call to make I would base my decision on how hard he's trying not how good he is. If he is really making the effort and doing the best he can I would take him as long as there are no safety issues. Maybe you could watch him shoot and give him some pointers. Another idea would be to set his stands where he could only get real close shots.
08-15-2009, 10:40 AM
#3
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: SW Iowa
Posts: 479
Does your state have a handicap tag where he could use a crossbow for archery season? I would look in to this if you do. If not you are just going to have to get him to only take short yardage shots. Try hunting out of a blind and only use one pin on his bow.
08-15-2009, 11:08 AM
#4
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Michigan
Posts: 275
Take me instead! LOL
If his shooting bothers you then tell him if he can put 5 in the target in a row you will take him. If it were my call to make I would base my decision on how hard he's trying not how good he is. If he is really making the effort and doing the best he can I would take him as long as there are no safety issues. Maybe you could watch him shoot and give him some pointers. Another idea would be to set his stands where he could only get real close shots.
If his shooting bothers you then tell him if he can put 5 in the target in a row you will take him. If it were my call to make I would base my decision on how hard he's trying not how good he is. If he is really making the effort and doing the best he can I would take him as long as there are no safety issues. Maybe you could watch him shoot and give him some pointers. Another idea would be to set his stands where he could only get real close shots.
08-15-2009, 04:50 PM
#5
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA
Posts: 8,167
Heck a rage two blade will bleed out a booner with a well placed hoof shot.
Heck Ed you and I both know people that wounded more than two deer last year alone.
If hes a good friend help out the best you can, if you need, I will send you a single pin site to limit his range and maybe help his consistency.
Is he drawing more weight than he can handle? Wrong arrows or just a **** poor shot like Teddy Roosevelt was notorious for?
Heck Ed you and I both know people that wounded more than two deer last year alone.
If hes a good friend help out the best you can, if you need, I will send you a single pin site to limit his range and maybe help his consistency.
Is he drawing more weight than he can handle? Wrong arrows or just a **** poor shot like Teddy Roosevelt was notorious for?
08-15-2009, 04:56 PM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Hughesville, PA
Posts: 2,590
Ed, I am not envious of your position. When I first read your post, I thought we had the same problem. My friends that can't shoot are guys that will put 10 arrows in a 12 inch diameter group at 20 and say they are ready to go. It's a tough deal, but honesty at this point might prevent a later, bigger problem. Like I said, I don't envy you.
08-15-2009, 05:56 PM
#9
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Burleson Texas
Posts: 12,560
I would make sure I set up behind him...
I'm sixty and the oldest among my hunting buddies, but I can hit a barn. Not all of us old buzzards are blind..
I'm sixty and the oldest among my hunting buddies, but I can hit a barn. Not all of us old buzzards are blind..
Last edited by The Rev; 08-15-2009 at 06:01 PM.
08-16-2009, 06:43 AM
#10
Fork Horn
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Freeland, Michigan
Posts: 291
Zip tie his string and cable together before hunts?
Bad situation for sure, other than talking kill zone with him and letting him know it's not fair to the deer I don't know what you can do without cutting him off. It sounds like he knows he isn't a very good shot with all the excuses he is making after target misses. He is probably to proud/stubborn to ask for help in his shooting, anyway you can work a crash course in shooting with him before season?
Do yo really think he "practiced" all winter? Is he struggling pulling the bow, does he have a high let-off, how's his form? Just some questions that came to mind, I would immagine if he were an older gentleman and didn't practice keeping his muscles up that it would be a problem shooting at 67yrs old. I know your not his babysitter, but hopefully he isn't just blowing smoke about practicing.
I know bad hits happen to everyone if you hunt long enough (I've had my share), but I get sick when I think about them. After any bad hit that I've ever had I have always drove myself nuts checking equipment and flinging arrows at the target. I have friends that chalk it up as "no big deal" and get on with it. I guess it just doesn't bother some people as much as others.
Sorry I couldn't offer any useful solution to your problem, but it is a great thing your doing letting him enjoy the woods while he still can. I am sure it means a lot to him.
Bad situation for sure, other than talking kill zone with him and letting him know it's not fair to the deer I don't know what you can do without cutting him off. It sounds like he knows he isn't a very good shot with all the excuses he is making after target misses. He is probably to proud/stubborn to ask for help in his shooting, anyway you can work a crash course in shooting with him before season?
Do yo really think he "practiced" all winter? Is he struggling pulling the bow, does he have a high let-off, how's his form? Just some questions that came to mind, I would immagine if he were an older gentleman and didn't practice keeping his muscles up that it would be a problem shooting at 67yrs old. I know your not his babysitter, but hopefully he isn't just blowing smoke about practicing.
I know bad hits happen to everyone if you hunt long enough (I've had my share), but I get sick when I think about them. After any bad hit that I've ever had I have always drove myself nuts checking equipment and flinging arrows at the target. I have friends that chalk it up as "no big deal" and get on with it. I guess it just doesn't bother some people as much as others.
Sorry I couldn't offer any useful solution to your problem, but it is a great thing your doing letting him enjoy the woods while he still can. I am sure it means a lot to him.