piney

I practice so much that shooting is on repetition. When a deer is in sight i have a thing where i repeat in my mind, stay calm, pick a spot. I aim for a small spot on the deer without looking at the whole animal. I also started out shooting a lot of does. They all built my confidence. It wound up that I now get all unglued after the shot. I still miss too sometimes. I just cant quit this addiction. Good luck.

Mikey30067

i always say aim small miss small seems to work well, most of the time if i miss i feel its just from a lack of focus so by telling myself this it keeps me focused on the shot

natimage

Yeah, it was the first time I've had a deer come close enough for a shot and I just wasn't focused AT ALL! I try to breath out of my nose to slow my breathing but my heart is pounding so much I feel like I'm suffocating haha...Even when I hear a deer crashing through the brush I can't breathe through my nose because I get too excited...I guess I just need to force myself to stay calm and pretend like it's no big deal

kateraxl2381

the biggest thing in my opinion is that when you release an arrow, people tend to pull there head and wanna see the arrow hit the animal....however, keep on it and follow threw with your shot and you will most definitely see a difference..just try and remember when you get the deer in range..just calm down and remember to stay down on your bow

Jackson Marsh

I tell myself to pick a spot right behind the shoulder. Do mental exercises while you are sitting on stand thinking about how you would execute a shot depending on what direction a deer could come in from. Don't look at the antlers, but concentrate on the sweet spot. Try not thinking about the deer "getting away". It also helps at night in bed to mentally replay encounters or possible future encounters with deer and how you will execute flawlessly. The mind can be trained. As was previously stated time in the woods will help.

Good Luck.

shooter1966

I could not have said it any better then that! The more deer you shoot the more it becomes routine.

I will add one other piece....if its a buck do not look at his rack...watch his shoulders. And while he is moving look out in front of him and find your shooting lanes. Get ready early so your not rushed and play it out in your head. If you think you can make the shot you will!

daveyrock

There is a lot of good advice on here, I'm not sure I'll be able to add any more but I will share this thought, If you are worried about the deer spooking or jumping the string, don't you have done everything right up to the point where that deer has come under your tree has not busted you up to that point. You have been successful to be that close to a whitetail deer and that is what bowhunting is all about; at least to me it is. The thing is though, you can not control that animal, as much as you will it along; to stay broadside, turn its head away, move that front leg a little forward you can try all you want to make those things happen but when it comes down to it; you can't. What you can control though is everything else that has already been posted here; you're breathing, if you are already at full draw the hard part is over; if the deer has not seen you yet you're golden, so deep breaths, bend at the waste, aim a little low, blur out the vision of the deers head or tail, all you should be seeing is a bright pin through a peep sight centered on the deers chest.

If and only if, after all these things have happened, the deer is in your shooting lane, you have drawn and the deer is still there, you have controlled your breathing and picked your spot, if after all that at the release the deer spooks and performs some matrix move on your arrow, it just proves that $hit does happen and the only thing you can do is try again. No need to get discouraged because it happens to all of us.

LKNCHOPPERS

Try to slow down a bit and focus on the spot where you want the arrow to hit. Also as the years go by you will learn patience from your prior experience.

ksfowler

One thing that I like to do is when I am target shooting I will go for a little run before I start. It will get your heart going and you will have to control your breathing as well. I know it is nothing like having a deer standing in front of you but it is good practice on focusing on the shot.

The Rev

That is what makes bow hunting so cool.. When I lose that feeling, I'll quit bow hunting, and I've been doing it since 1966.