I'm writing this more out of frustration with myself and just trying to get it all out of my head. It's my history of my bow hunting career and as a disclosure: it's going to be lengthy lol but I'm just trying to get this all off my mind and hoping for some words of encouragement.
Anywho... today really irked me because my season so far I've had 3 shots, 2 on yotes at 20yds and 1 at a doe at 20yds. The doe I missed because she spotted me and snorted taking off maybe a half second before I shot(I think i shot in reflex to her taking off cuz I did't expect her to boogey) but both yotes I just outright missed. Nerves got to me and I fugged up. The one I missed toady I was super confident when drawing then he wouldn't stop moving and when he finally did I just rushed the shot. That miss made me think of my past and I've shot at 13 big game animals w/ my bow and have only killed 4 of them. This ratio really bums me out. I started bowhunting in 2002 when I was thirteen years old however I didn't get real serious until maybe two years ago.
My first miss came my first year of bowhunting(13yrs old) when my dad watched a gobbler roost and we snuck up on it at 20yds(may be considered unethical but i was only 13) and i flew one over his back. No other arrows were flung that fall.
The following year(14yrs old) we went on an archery antelope hunt in NE and the first day I had a buck @ 20yds broadside and I shot and hit it in the back leg, LUCKILY hitting the artery and the goat bled out. Later on that fall I stuck a 4pt in the shoulder and w/ 35# draw wt I got no penetration.
Now my third year of bowhunting(15yrs old) I had a shot at a second 4 pt and I shoulder hit and we tracked it and found the arrow and once again found I only had maybe an inch of penetration. A couple weeks later I made a dumb shot on a doe that was basically directly under me, I was desperate for a shot, and ended up outright missing her.
Finally the next year (16yrs old) I had a 3pt at 25yds and double lunged him and he dropped within 60yds of the shot. FINALLY my first whitetail with a bow. Well Later that year I had a doe at 25 yards and it was early light and I misjudged her distance and flew one under her belly.
I didn't have any shots the following year(17yrs old) and 18-21 I didn't archery hunt because I was away at college and I only could get back for gun season.
At 21 years old I came home on a weekend to visit the fam and my dad asked me to go out for an evening hunt. 30 minutes into the hunt a 7pt came thru @ 25yds and I double lunged him and he dropped w/in sight.
The following fall (22yrs old)I was getting serious into bow hunting again and was shooting out to 50yds, my previous max distance being 30yds. Well that year came and I had a shot at a doe in the early season and I drew on her and was at full draw for what felt like a minute cuz she was staring me down from behind a tree and she tried to sneak away but i didn't acct for the extra distance and shot under her. Later that fall was my first Ohio hunt and I never got any shots off.
The next fall(23 yrs old) my dad and I were having a great archery season and had a good year seeing bucks but nothing I wanted to shoot because I've been killing some decent sized bucks with my rifle in rifle season so I was passing up a lot of the smaller ones in bow season. Later that fall was our second time in Ohio and the fifth day of the hunt I had a 130"(biggest deer i've ever seen with a bow) come in at 30yds. I had to grunt to stop him, he was looking right in my direction and to this day I still picture the pin a little high on his body(cuz it was a steep angle shooting down) and right behind the shoulder, it was a done deal. I let the arrow go and he dropped straight to the ground and ducked my arrow.
Last year(24 yrs old) I started to get BAD target panic before the season but the second sit of the year I was able to double lung a doe at 20yds. The rut came and went and I hunted the day after thanksgiving and it was 20MPH wind and EXTREMELY cold. I hunted a random spot on public land that I scouted via topo. WOuldn't you know it I had a doe come feeding in at 10am. I watched her feed towards me for 45minutes till she got in range. She was at 10yds, I drew back and my pin was on her arse and no matter what I did I couldn't get the pin to the vitals and I ended up flinching off the shot and missing her clean.
And then this year at (25 yrs old) you've seen my record 0/1 on does and 0/2 on yotes.
Anywho looking at my past just really bums me out. On the range i'm okay, I even fling some arrows at 60yds and am hitting a 6-8" dia circle. Just kinda feel like I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself and letting myself down. I feel like some of my pressure is I've been killing mature bucks with my gun so I always keep passing on the smaller bucks in archery waiting for that mature buck. Should I maybe take my standards down and get some kills in me for experience? Just like last weekend I had a BB at 20yds feeding/bedded for 30minutes, could have easily shot him but I didn't want to cuz he was a BB.
Really bums me out I've been such an awful shot at crunch time... The only thing I can think of is at least I can only go is up from here. I'm wondering if maybe this winter I should get a shooting coach, get my shooting down then maybe join some leagues so I have some "pressure" when shooting and not just all relaxed like when I'm at the range.
And what else sucks is I live in an apt and can't shoot every day, like i could at my hometown. I have a little 5yd range but my target is just bout shot up and can't trust it to stop my arrows anymore lol I'm going to start making the 30 minute drive to the range every other day tho, as inconvenient as it is, I just need to figure something out...
Fortunately I've had an excellent history in gun and muzzleloader season(knock on wood haven't missed a deer yet) keeping venison in the freezer however I love bowhunting and shooting my bow and there's no way I could ever give up bow hunting.
Sorry for the long vent, hope it wasn't too lame/depressing of a post.
-T.J.
Anywho... today really irked me because my season so far I've had 3 shots, 2 on yotes at 20yds and 1 at a doe at 20yds. The doe I missed because she spotted me and snorted taking off maybe a half second before I shot(I think i shot in reflex to her taking off cuz I did't expect her to boogey) but both yotes I just outright missed. Nerves got to me and I fugged up. The one I missed toady I was super confident when drawing then he wouldn't stop moving and when he finally did I just rushed the shot. That miss made me think of my past and I've shot at 13 big game animals w/ my bow and have only killed 4 of them. This ratio really bums me out. I started bowhunting in 2002 when I was thirteen years old however I didn't get real serious until maybe two years ago.
My first miss came my first year of bowhunting(13yrs old) when my dad watched a gobbler roost and we snuck up on it at 20yds(may be considered unethical but i was only 13) and i flew one over his back. No other arrows were flung that fall.
The following year(14yrs old) we went on an archery antelope hunt in NE and the first day I had a buck @ 20yds broadside and I shot and hit it in the back leg, LUCKILY hitting the artery and the goat bled out. Later on that fall I stuck a 4pt in the shoulder and w/ 35# draw wt I got no penetration.
Now my third year of bowhunting(15yrs old) I had a shot at a second 4 pt and I shoulder hit and we tracked it and found the arrow and once again found I only had maybe an inch of penetration. A couple weeks later I made a dumb shot on a doe that was basically directly under me, I was desperate for a shot, and ended up outright missing her.
Finally the next year (16yrs old) I had a 3pt at 25yds and double lunged him and he dropped within 60yds of the shot. FINALLY my first whitetail with a bow. Well Later that year I had a doe at 25 yards and it was early light and I misjudged her distance and flew one under her belly.
I didn't have any shots the following year(17yrs old) and 18-21 I didn't archery hunt because I was away at college and I only could get back for gun season.
At 21 years old I came home on a weekend to visit the fam and my dad asked me to go out for an evening hunt. 30 minutes into the hunt a 7pt came thru @ 25yds and I double lunged him and he dropped w/in sight.
The following fall (22yrs old)I was getting serious into bow hunting again and was shooting out to 50yds, my previous max distance being 30yds. Well that year came and I had a shot at a doe in the early season and I drew on her and was at full draw for what felt like a minute cuz she was staring me down from behind a tree and she tried to sneak away but i didn't acct for the extra distance and shot under her. Later that fall was my first Ohio hunt and I never got any shots off.
The next fall(23 yrs old) my dad and I were having a great archery season and had a good year seeing bucks but nothing I wanted to shoot because I've been killing some decent sized bucks with my rifle in rifle season so I was passing up a lot of the smaller ones in bow season. Later that fall was our second time in Ohio and the fifth day of the hunt I had a 130"(biggest deer i've ever seen with a bow) come in at 30yds. I had to grunt to stop him, he was looking right in my direction and to this day I still picture the pin a little high on his body(cuz it was a steep angle shooting down) and right behind the shoulder, it was a done deal. I let the arrow go and he dropped straight to the ground and ducked my arrow.
Last year(24 yrs old) I started to get BAD target panic before the season but the second sit of the year I was able to double lung a doe at 20yds. The rut came and went and I hunted the day after thanksgiving and it was 20MPH wind and EXTREMELY cold. I hunted a random spot on public land that I scouted via topo. WOuldn't you know it I had a doe come feeding in at 10am. I watched her feed towards me for 45minutes till she got in range. She was at 10yds, I drew back and my pin was on her arse and no matter what I did I couldn't get the pin to the vitals and I ended up flinching off the shot and missing her clean.
And then this year at (25 yrs old) you've seen my record 0/1 on does and 0/2 on yotes.
Anywho looking at my past just really bums me out. On the range i'm okay, I even fling some arrows at 60yds and am hitting a 6-8" dia circle. Just kinda feel like I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself and letting myself down. I feel like some of my pressure is I've been killing mature bucks with my gun so I always keep passing on the smaller bucks in archery waiting for that mature buck. Should I maybe take my standards down and get some kills in me for experience? Just like last weekend I had a BB at 20yds feeding/bedded for 30minutes, could have easily shot him but I didn't want to cuz he was a BB.
Really bums me out I've been such an awful shot at crunch time... The only thing I can think of is at least I can only go is up from here. I'm wondering if maybe this winter I should get a shooting coach, get my shooting down then maybe join some leagues so I have some "pressure" when shooting and not just all relaxed like when I'm at the range.
And what else sucks is I live in an apt and can't shoot every day, like i could at my hometown. I have a little 5yd range but my target is just bout shot up and can't trust it to stop my arrows anymore lol I'm going to start making the 30 minute drive to the range every other day tho, as inconvenient as it is, I just need to figure something out...
Fortunately I've had an excellent history in gun and muzzleloader season(knock on wood haven't missed a deer yet) keeping venison in the freezer however I love bowhunting and shooting my bow and there's no way I could ever give up bow hunting.
Sorry for the long vent, hope it wasn't too lame/depressing of a post.
-T.J.
