Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

I am new to bowhunting and although im not ready for hunting yet, i have a great place to hunt at my grandpa' s, ther are plenty of does and some good bucks, but for my first few hunts should i just shoot does untill i learn more about tracking and what they do when their hit, because obviously the doe are not going to be as difficult to kill as the bucks. Just let me know what you think and any other tips you might have for a new young hunter.:D

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

OK.........First welcome to the board! You can learn a lot here, and I' ll try to help right off the bat.

#1 Does are NOT target practice! They are also not tracking practice, They are an animal that will teach you many of the rights and wrongs about bowhunting and don' t take a mature doe lightly, just because there might be more of them, they are NO PUSHOVERS! and above all........They are an animal that should be treated with the same respect as their male counterparts.
Don' t you dare shoot at a doe with the attitude of " Oh well its only a doe" ! You tell me that and you will have a serious lecture on your hands I guarantee you of that.

Along with the mechanics of hunting and shooting a bow, you will need to also devolp the proper " Attitude" and respect for your quarry.

You will need to be close, and you will quickly learn to respect that big ol' doe when she spooks quicker than that nice buck that is your ultimate goal.

Practice hard with your bow, know your limitations on shooting and don' t stray from that. Have fun and learn from your mistakes.......

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

I' m not experienced but I' ll throw in my 2 cents... I think a well placed shot is a well placed shot regardless of the deer. As many have pointed out on this forum before deer have and INCREDIBLE will to live and ALL would make it a good distance (if not survive all together) on a bad shot. Nobody' s perfect, but I think the first thing you should do is be confident enough in your shot. When you are I think you could go after either gender you wanted. I don' t think that their body parts makes either one any " easier" to bring down than another.

but like I said this is all head knowledge for me. I' ve only been through 1 season, but I read A LOT. So I' m just telling you what I' ve read mostly.

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

This is a common misconception. Believe me, mature doe are just as hard, if not more difficult to bag than a adolecent buck (even a mature buck for that matter). [:o]

I' m sure alot of these guys would agree.

Good luck. We all love to hear a good success story.

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

Whoa..........:D

Doe can be tricky to hunt - but lets not get carried away there:D;)

I am sure - every one I know that shoots 5 or 10 or 15 of them a year is always telling me how they are more of a challange than mature bucks.....LOL:D[&:]

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

I shouldn' t even have to add this but by a " well placed shot" bscofeild means the lungs/heart NOT the spine/ neck.....,,But with some of the posts this year [:' (]. i dont wanta " newbie" to get the wrong idea. and as mentioned before Practice e pateint and have " ethics" . But mot of all have fun!!!;)

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

If you can learn to fool an old doe then you can get a buck.As with most women,they never forget.If she bust you once MOVE!!;)

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

MATT ,

I couldn' t agree with you more....nough said..
GOOD LUCK mtnewbowhunter....wish you much success...

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

Ok, well that makes alot of sence Matt, thanks for the good advise, im just so ready to get my first deer with my bow i cant hardly stand it and it looks like it will be real late this season i get to go hunt if at all with my bow, im still not even that accurate at 20 yards, but if i dont bow hunt i will get one with my rifle (which isnt hunting since i discovered the beauty of bow hunting) o well:(

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

and btw, thanks for all the other post, with advise, and wishing me luck!

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

I don' t have much to add......Matt/Pa said it all. Only one thing........if you are not " that accurate" at 20 yards, I believe one more year should be spent rifle hunting and during that time............shoot your bow a lot to get more accurate.

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

Matt is right...If you start posting like does are for practice, then even though it' s against the rules you will get cyber bashed!

There are books about whitetail deer, how they eat, sleep, hide, run, etc.... you can learn more from those books in one week than you can in 2 years here. Plus you will always have them to refresh your memory.

Those books also have a section on tracking, so you will be able to find your deer after the shot.

Get a 3D target and use it! that is the best way to practice for a heart/lung killing shot. but don' t forget when shooting from a tree or other elevated platform the arrow should go thru the center of the target area and not into the side like it did when shooting from the ground. sorta move the impact point up the side.

REMEMBER... when you see that buck of a lifetime... PATIENCE is the best tool to use. It is better to let him walk than to take a marginal shot and injure him.

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

If you want ot practice with live animals leave the bow home. See how close you can get and stay before being detected. Spoend some evenings sitting on Grandpa' s farm just watching. Observe. See what is going on, how the deer act and so on. For God' s sake, don' t shoot does to warm up for Mr. Hatrack. It is true, you learn from every shot and every tracking experience but you need to treat every animal with reverence. Your' e trying to kill them!! Learn to love the sounds and the sights and the deer you are shoting at.

I wish we had some of those dumb does around my properties!:) When we get a deer that does something stupid, like walk within ten yards of my tree, we say he knows a lot about hunting.

Greg

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

Sorry I didn' t proofread that last one!

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

i couldn
' t wait to make my first kill with a bow either, but i kept asking myself if i could make a clean kill shot at 20 yds. the answer was no. i practiced everyday for an hour after work, shot out a lot of targets by the way. when i was confident with my shooting i hit the woods, by the way i practiced for almost 6 months and joined a league. those guys really helped me with my form.
just keep practicing, it will come to you, and listen to the guys on this site, they have the knowledge.[:-]

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

Just remember any harvest with a bow is a great challenge, and that the bow
shot needs to be perfect so the animal does not suffer.
Be sure you are ready for that shot, I hate to see any animal die slowly.

RE: Question for experienced bow hunters!
 

Thanks again for the posts, great tips, if any of you have anymore then keep them coming! I need to know from people that have been there before.