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A hard learned lesson

Thunderflight

Dignitary Member
17,770
167
Shermans Dale, PA
Yesterday I learned a very hard lesson and figured I'd share it with everyone in hopes that someone else won't make the same mistake.

Back in October I missed a doe at 15 yards. I shot high and figured I just screwed up. 15 minutes later I missed another at 25 yards, but this time I pulled the shot to the left when I looked up to see where the arrow was going. I wrote both misses off as "not concentrating" and figured my target panic issues were the cause. I went home shot and shot from my roof and thought I confirmed this theory when I was shooting good.

It has been a tough season and yesterday was the first time I had another doe come into range (I'm hunting an area that you have to shoot a doe before you can kill a buck). I had a four deer in front of me (down wind, thank you scent smoker) and after 30 minutes the mature doe presented me a 20 hard chip shot. My form was perfect and I was focused like a laser, but when I shot my arrow flew about six inches to a foot over her back!

I was pissed, but figured I still had the other two deer, now bedded up at 25 yards, to redeem myself. 1.5 hours later a BB present me with a 15 yard shot which I took (fell off wagon) and again my arrow flew 6-12 inches over his back! I almost threw my bow across the woods when I noticed the third deer, a doe, came over to check out what that noise was. She milled around and stayed in the cover, but eventually present me with a 25 yard shot. I took this one, but as my luck would have it my orange vest got caught in my bow string and I missed again; making 5 missed deer total this year.

I was just sick and was ready to sell all my trad gear and go back to the compound world. I had another 1.5 hours to hunt and being a glutton for punishment I figured I'd hunt vise calling it quits. While sitting there feeling sorry for myself I started going over possible causes as to why I was missing so much. I shoot great in my back yard and from elevated positions. I know my hunting and practice arrows shoot the same, but then it hit me..... I'm using Luminocks in my hunting arrows and not in my practice arrows. Could the 40 grains in the tail be the problem?

I carry a blunt tipped arrow for squirrels and it doesn't have a Luminock so I figured I'd test my theory on a dirt patch near where I had missed the BB. Guess what? I drilled it...... Next I pulled out one of my Luminock arrows and shot..... It flew about 12 inches high!!!!!

Holy Cow!!!! How could I have made a mistake like this!!!! Common sense says to shoot the same set up in practice and hunting. I did test shoot them back in summer, but it was only with field points. Needless to say I wont be using them anymore.
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,741
274
North Carolina
Well Chuck life lessons learned the hard way.... Could of been much worse in the wounded deer dept..... Glad you got it figured out.....
 

Gordo

Senior Member
5,515
121
Athens County
Damn. Could have been easily avoided. The littlest detail. At least u where t wounding the shit outta the deer. Crazy how that 40 grains made that much of a difference.

Get out there and redeem yourself dude!
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
How's the fit of the lighted nocks on your string? Tighter or more loose than your regular arrows?
 

Thunderflight

Dignitary Member
17,770
167
Shermans Dale, PA
Rookie. lmao

Yelp.....:smiley_baby:

Well so much for my original theory.....

On a whim I shot one arrow with a LN and one with out (w/BH's)...... BOTH flew 1.5 feet high!!! Just to be sure I shot them three more times with the same results.

WTF? Back in September they shot right with my FP's..... I'm wondering if my nock has slipped......
 

Jamie

Senior Member
5,690
177
Ohio
sorry to hear of your mishap, TF. doubt that it is your nock point, though. if it slipped enough to make your arrows hit a foot high at 20 yards, they would be porpoising quite noticeably. if they's flying good, it isn't a the nock point. wearing lots of layers makes shooting traditional bows "different". wearing heavier gloves than usual can make a difference, too. that luminok, however useless, isn't the problem either. something in your shooting form has gone astray. agree with Brock, start with your grip on the bow. these sorts of shooting meltdowns always wind up being something simple and stupid for me. double check your anchor/back tension, how much you are canting the bow, how much you are canting your head, i.e. the string alignment with your eye.

Did Geezer give you a skirt to wear when you hunt with that Bowtech? rotflmao dang...
 

Milo

Tatonka guide.
8,184
157
sorry to hear of your mishap, TF. doubt that it is your nock point, though. if it slipped enough to make your arrows hit a foot high at 20 yards, they would be porpoising quite noticeably. if they's flying good, it isn't a the nock point. wearing lots of layers makes shooting traditional bows "different". wearing heavier gloves than usual can make a difference, too. that luminok, however useless, isn't the problem either. something in your shooting form has gone astray. agree with Brock, start with your grip on the bow. these sorts of shooting meltdowns always wind up being something simple and stupid for me. double check your anchor/back tension, how much you are canting the bow, how much you are canting your head, i.e. the string alignment with your eye.

Did Geezer give you a skirt to wear when you hunt with that Bowtech? rotflmao dang...
he can smell these threads I swear TF. The force must have shifted :). Now back to the blank bale
 

Jamie

Senior Member
5,690
177
Ohio
skirt in Pink/Lavender Predator Deception, I presume? :smiley_crocodile:

anything different in your practice arrows and hunting arrows besides the point? form can be solid and still be a little out of kilter. jus' sayin'.
 

Thunderflight

Dignitary Member
17,770
167
Shermans Dale, PA
skirt in Pink/Lavender Predator Deception, I presume? :smiley_crocodile:

anything different in your practice arrows and hunting arrows besides the point? form can be solid and still be a little out of kilter. jus' sayin'.

Actually yes....... I'll bet this is the same skirt you left at his house!!!!!

Actually no, there is nothing different. I'll figure it out, but for now I'm taking a break from Trad Archery. I love it, but my confidence is shot for this season. Saturday I'll be compounding it and then using a flintlock......:smiley_crocodile:

As for next year, I'm gonna see how things go between now and probably May time frame. After three unsuccessful elk hunts I'm wanting to kill something more than care about how I get it. I'm considering buying a compound for my August antelope and Sept/Oct elk hunt. The added precision and 20 or 30 yards of range makes a different out west. Then again if my shooting comes around and I figure this BH thing out I may stick to what I have. I guess we'll see how it goes.