RE: This has become the "I wounded one" forum
 

Muley69,
I would agree with you. I have been out of hunting for about 18 years not just bow hunting but all hunting. This is the first year for me back in a tree trying to shoot a deer with a bow. I have passed on about 15 deer not because I'm waiting for that "BIG ONE"
trust me that is not the cast. It is because I am only sure of myself out to 20 yards. I've had a lot bigger deer with in 35 - 40 yards but I can't hit that target with confidence
so I stay within my limit. My first deer this year (and it’s my first deer with a bow) was
a doe about 70lbs field dresses. It was raining that night & it took over 2 ½ hours to find her. Sure I could have given up after the first hour, but I shot that deer & was not going to
just give up.
I think some people just give up, (I’m not talking about anyone here trust me)
I talked with a guy this afternoon, he only goes after the “BIG ONES” well
this weekend his son, son’s friend and himself all shot (in his words) BIG deer.
I asked if he had any photos and he tells me they only tracked them for about 45 minutes
and could not find anything. Found blood tracked em found nothing.
I’m going to buy two copies of that book and give him one.

RE: This has become the "I wounded one" forum
 

Bad shot, you bring up another aspect and that is overconfidence in ones effective killing range. 40 yards in the back yard is a heck of a lot different then 42 yards down hill, adrenaline pumping, sun at bad angle, walking target, with limbs and such in the way. There are a lot of good post on this subject and good points have been made. My opinion is that too many folks have not adequately prepared for the job of tracking an animal, then come to the boards and ask help. The big problem is it is often hard to tell who just happened to get a bad break, and who screwed up. Whether people on this site like to admit it or not, there are too many shots that shouldn't have been taken to begin with, too many people not capable of doing a tracking job, and too many people spending more time with their trail cams, then with focusing on the fact that they are killing. It's our duty to recover all animals we shoot, or die trying. I seriously doubt that the number of deer recovered is enhanced by posting on this site. If we sit back and evaluate every scenario that has resulted in a wounded animal, it is virtually always human error in one form or another, that's something I don't think we should be so quick to post up.

RE: This has become the "I wounded one" forum
 

It seems like the bowhunting sport is growing so rapidly that the new hunters want instant success and do not want to put the time into basics. Bowhunting is a sport that requires alot of shooting, reading, and research that is applied in the field. With the internet there are unlimited resources for us.
Only the hunter can judge what happened when the arrow wa released.

RE: This has become the "I wounded one" forum
 

Here's the thing. Is it the same people year after year that need help? Or week after week? It's the newer members for the most part. One MAJOR contributor to the new hunters in the woods not knowing what they are doing is they have very few if anyone people or friends to tell or show them what they need to do. I blame alot of it on the archery dealers who sell the newcomer to the game whatever they want. Most..NOT ALL..but most of em out there are there to make a buck, or as many bucks as they can. My first setup I bought was sold to me as "everything I would need to be able to bowhunt." A year later or so after stumbling into a a new friend who ran an archery shop and range I found out that what I had was straight poop. KE was horrible, broadheads were very cheap, bow was extremely slow and loud, and the bow was cheap..very cheap. Who knows how long I would have hunted with this if I didn't run into this guy. I knew nobody who bowhunted or knew anything about it.
Eitherwho, Anywho, or whateverwho, I still think it's great that people come here asking for help when they don't know what to do. The book will help, but it won't answer everything that 70,000 + members with Millions of years of combined experience can do.

I still think the success percentage is much greater of those who come and ask questions vs. those who don't ask and end up giving up because they didn't think that the deer may have gone for water to soothe the burning in its gut, or whatever....

RE: This has become the "I wounded one" forum
 

Oh yeah,
Being color blind does suck. But I swear I can spot a deer a whole heck of alot quicker than any of my friends while in the woods. They seem to just stick out like a sore thumb. Many of times I've had to point and explain over and over for my buddies to see the deer. But when it comes to blood you might as well stick me in a dark room and ask me to find a needle in a haystack.

RE: This has become the "I wounded one" forum
 

Sorry guys im one of the new bowhunters. Im only 16 and my dad only slug hunts. I have a couple of friends that were so bought one for x-mas. Got a Buckmasters G2 Sl. I praticed alot this summer. Shot up to about 35 yrds. I set my treestands up in the woods and the farest shot i can take is probable 25yrds. I knew i was right on the buck i shot at Sunday nite. But somehow i hit a small limb. Well anywayz went out after school today n here is the big boy i missed bedded 50 yrds from my stand when i spooked him. This site helps me more then any magazine i've read. But i know if i would of found anyblood what so ever i would of been skipping school, and searching for the rest of season. I was just confused and had too much buck fever sunday nite.

RE: This has become the "I wounded one" forum
 

You obviously are not in the group some of us are talking about. You sound like a great young hunter who is eager and willing to learn. Just reading some of the things you wrote makes it easy to see that you are headed in the right direction and have a good head on your shoulders.

Now go get that big boy and post some pics for us to see ;)


BTW I had a Fred Bear TRX a couple years ago and it was a great bow for the money. My brother still shoots it and it has taken 2 bucks in 3 years. The NAAG line of bows is highly underated in the market IMO.

I shot a G2 when looking to buy but I like the TRX better. I never shot the longer G2 because I already had my Patriot but I bet it is a smooth shooter.

Good Luck