NavyDeerHunter

I'm rather embarassed to say that although I did score a buck and a doe, my season was awful...and it's all my fault. [:@][:'(][]
1st deer: Bow shot and missed...misjudged the distance and shot long.
2nd deer: Bow shot and missed...misjudged the distance and shot short.
3rd deer: Muzzleloader kill (buck)
4th deer: Bow shot and missed...no idea what happened
5th deer: Bow shot and double lung kill
6th deer: Muzzleloader miss due to grazing a tree limb
7th and final: Last night, bow shot and missed cause I was stupid and did not get my anchor point right before firing.

I know I'm extremly fortunate to have had so many opportunities and i'm not bit*hing about that...I know it's all me. Two days of the season left(for me...due to travel), but today is going to be pretty windy so Iprobably won't go.

I OBVIOUSLY need to get my butt in the treemore during the off season and practice.Funny thing is that after the first two bow misses I went to the range thinking something was wrong with my gear. Nope...hit everything I aimed at.

Hope ya'll had better luck that I did.

Hey DD, did you MISS any at all this year?

Craig

Western MA Hunter

Slow here.
I took a spike w/ the bow.
Wounded a doe w/ the bow.
Took 2 doe w/ shotgun.
Missed nice buck w/ smokepole.
Saw alot of does this season, but only 2 bucks... the little one I killed and the big 8 I missed.
Can't wait till next year.

DoctorDeath

Navyyes the good Doctormissed a couple bow hunting earlier in the year ..mostly because I just can't see well upclose anymore ( senior citizan here ) so I gave up bow hunting after almost 30 years and bought a crossbow even though I have not hunted with it yet ... I did not miss with the rifle though ..my old Belgium Browning bolt action 270 did the job. Navy I am impressed with your honesty about your misses bow huntingand you should be commended for posting the truth ..I think a lot of guys on here get down on themselves for missing ..thinking they are the ONLY ones missing and get flustered ..I can assure you that if you deer hunt with a bow no matter how much you practice and no matter how good you are on 3D shooting your going to miss on occations ..I was wondering if you have thought about using a Pendulum sight ...I think a lot of us have some trouble juding yardage out of a 20 ft high treestand when your heart is pounding 90 miles and hour ..I know I did and went to the Pendulum sight and had a lot more success...just a thought for you ... I think it is most likely the most esentialaccessory you can have on yourbow it eliminates guessing the yardage ... I mean there is NOTHING more depressing then buying ALL the equipment ..practicing ALL summer thenon opening day getting up at 4.30 in the morning ..driving 50 miles to your hunting area ...climbing a mountian ...getting climbed in a tree that you hope a deer will come within 25 or 30 yards of ..hoping the wind is right ..then when the time comes you miss or wound the animal becasue you misjudged the yardage ... I can assure you it is a great investment ... but then again ..its just something for you to consider from an old bow hunter.

dd

Spiffy

Shot a 5 point with crossbow

Missed one in a while chasing a drive. (jumped up, I shot, slid down bank, on my stomach) chased a second out and we got it.

Passed on a 6 point with the bow same night i shot the 5.

over all, not bad but could be better.

NY Bowhunter

Hey Navy........ do you practice from a tree in the offseason? If not I would suggest simulating the exact way you'll be hunting when you're practicing. Practice in all the different hunting clothes you may wear during bow season. Practice different angles at different yardages. Practice holding your draw for a minute or so rather than just draw and shoot at your practice target.Practice inlow light. Practice when it's windy/rainy. The more you can vary your practice and simulate real situations the better off you'll be. I've even gone as far as running to get my heartbeat up as high as I could then grabbing my bow and making a good shot. JMO on some of the things I've done to help me become more consistent over the years.

Shootstuff4570

i shot my first buck, a 11 inch spike.

DannyD

Congrats on your first buck Whitecloud.

Had a great season (my second)

Spent 2 youth days in the woods with my daughter. We saw deer both days. First day I couldn't wake her up in time for her to get a shot. Second day she just never felt comfortable with the quartering to shot that was presented at 30-40 yards.

Introduced one of my soccerdad friends to hunting and took him on his first hunt. He got a doe at 70 yards in the first hour on his first day with my 30-30. He went out and bought a 270 within a week. He's hooked


I shot at 2 deer. Got 1 at 35-40 yards with the 270 and one at 151 yards with the new 243.

tanktrunk

Well I had my best year ever and still hoping to get another before bow season ends. I got a total of nine - 2 bucks and 7 does. Biggest buck ever a 13 point nontypical that scores 177" and dressed out@ 215 lbs during muzzleloader season. I also was lucky enough to get a 10 pointer that goes 138" during shotgun season. I got 4 with my bow and 5 with the gun. 6 big does out of the seven. I missed 2 other does on drives with my muzzleloader. It was a great year and saw a bunch of young bucks that will be good in a year or 2.

My hunting group got a total of 70 deer and 5 nice bucks out of it. Thats a new record for total deer.

HuntinGUS

I always call Hunting Season a success. Better than working..........

As far as what I killed, I have had better. I had enormous problems with my bow! Although I firmly believe that the problem was the man behind the bow, I still had som significant "tunning" problems. I took it to a shop that obvisously is not very good. My arrow flight was inconsistent and I had very little confidence mid-way through the season.

Killed 3 with my bow..........all does

Lost a "well hit" spike with my bow. I shot about 3" too high......lost blood

Missed about 135" 10 point at 20 yards........[:@] Shot about 1/4" too low.........[:@][:@].

Killed a spike with my gun on the last day of my hunting in 2005.

Great memories with the new hunter in the family......my nephew. He took his second deer with his 243. Lots of smiles, laughs and jokes with my Dad, Brother, and nephew.

Looking forward to 06!!!

NavyDeerHunter

Thanks for the feedback ya'll. I'm glad to hear that you have had productive seasons.
Doc-- I have considered a pendulum sight, but hear that it's worthless on level ground. Is that true? If not, I'll certainly consider getting one.
NY-- Yep, I practice from stands using my hunting clothes in various conditions and am usually pretty consistant. The first and second bow misses came less than 5 minutes apart. I misjudged the first and shot over her and then was so pissed that I flubbed the chance at the second doe that came in a few minutes later. The bow miss last night I'm convinced was an anchor point problem. It was windy and cold and I neglected to move my face mask out of the way and therefore did not get my kisser button into the corner of my mouth. Stupid rookie mistake and I deserve the miss. I'm just grateful that it was a "clean" miss and I did not wound the deer. The other miss really befuddles me. I had lasered the yardage, was not nervous, conditions right and it just missed. Who knows sometimes.
Again, thanks for the feedback.
Craig