Help me figure out why I missed...
 

So far this year I have missed 2 deer with my crossbow:mad:

This year I had a 20 yds (horizontal distance) and a 25 yds shot at deer. Both were clean misses! I cannot say where they missed, but I found the bolt and there was no blood or sign whatsoever. I also looked around for a deer and any other signs but found nothing. I also couldn't find any obstructions in the way of the shot.

I have a lot of experience in a variety of shooting sports and I honestly don't think I jerked the trigger. It looked like I held the correct sight point on the target for the whole shot. I also have gotten deer the past two years with the same xbow

I am wondering if my crossbow could be to blame: it is a SA sports fever. Relatively speaking, it is VERY slow (200 fps chronographed) and VERY loud.

Could the deer be reacting to the noise and dodging the bolt? With that speed they have at least half a second to react.

Maybe I just got lucky on the first couple of deer that I got with it?

Maybe I need to buy a faster and quieter xbow. I was thinking of an excal grizzly.

Any ideas to help me figure out what went wrong would be appreciated. I am still hunting for the remainder of the season and don't want to continue to waste opportunities.

How's it shooting now at a target? I am going to assume OK in this comment. I think you are on something. I have been around several brands and models of cross bows as of late. My hunting buds are all sort of like me in that we are old and wearing out. The Cross Bow sure allowed me to keep "bow hunting". But man are these things loud compared to modedrn compounds and tons quieter than my "old" recurve. If you get another shot maybe try shooting low in the kill zone. Be interesting to hear if that made any difference.

I just got my first crossbow this year too for my grandson to hunt with. I sighted it in and couldn't believe how loud it is. Couple that with a whitetail that is a bundle of nerves and it is quite possible that the deer is ducking the shot. At the sound their first reaction is to drop their front end to recoil out of the area.
If you're aiming center of chest they could be ducking the bolt. Next attempt try aiming low (heart area). That should give you a couple more miliseconds to get a vital hit.
If you're looking for a different bow, I may sell the previously mentioned crossbow with all the goodies for a real good price. Its and Excalibur Ibex. Drop me a pm

After my first miss, when I went home, I shot a broadhead at a target in my yard at the same range and it was right on.

After the second miss, I carried the same target out to the woods on a Sunday and fired from my stand to the approximate spot where the deer was. It was a couple inches high, but that could have been a minor error on my part.

In either case, I'm open to the idea that I just screwed up, but I'm also considering the noisy xbow and dodging deer theory.

I'm taking my son hunting sometimes, and I sure hope he has better luck than I do if he gets a shot...

You never did say where you aimed on the deer? If you aimed center body height you likely overshot the deer. At a minimum you should aim at the lower 1/3 of the body. If the animal doesn't react you will take out the heart and lower lung lobes. A deer reaction should still net you a double lung shot.

For my first miss, I did aim right at the middle behind the shoulder.

For my second miss, after I gave it more thought and research, I tried to aim lower near the heart.

I have a vertical bow that I might dust off and use for some of the remainder of the season...

I'm still thinking about a faster xbow, its always nice to buy new gadgets...

If your shooting from a stand then you need to practice shooting your x-bow from that stand. Far too many people practice shooting from the ground at a target and don't anticipate how the new elevation affects the bolt trajectory. So sounds like 2 things simultaneously coming together for your shots. 1. the bolt is going higher then you are anticipating and aiming slightly lower will definitely help in this situation and 2. the deer is ducking your shot at the sound. Both issues can be mitigated by aiming slightly lower.

Definitely practice from the stand though, getting a faster x-bow will not change that simple fact but may allow you to get more spine shots in a deer that I don't recommend. One shot testing doesn't prove what each bolt will do or what your crossbow will do each shot. Do groups, and on a side note I find your name and this thread kind of humorous. Not being a jerk but having physics in your name I thought this stuff would be in your wheel house so to speak.

I was measuring the distances using only the horizontal distance to the target. While that gives a slightly longer time in the air, that should be the correct distance for sighting/aiming.

I also did cart out a target into the woods to shoot from my stand. That just isn't something that I can consistently do on a regular basis for practice.

Thanks very much for all of the posts that offered help and suggestions.

If I remember correctly SA recurve crossbows are recommended having the string changed every year. With the low velocity of 200 fps arrow drop will become a factor and shooting from an elevated position will have different POI than shooting from the ground.

Try practicing from the height you hunt at and make the necessary adjustments. I would also recommend saving up for another crossbow for next year. I have shot that crossbow next to my Tenpoint GT Flex and there is a noticeable difference in construction, velocity, and accuracy between the two.

Final conclusions:

1. I will be upgrading my crossbow later this year. I think that 200 fps is just too slow when coupled with the extra noise from a xbow.

2. Although not the best, it still works: