Originally posted by Raypo
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What percent of archery shots result in recovered animal?
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I am probably saying too much but I believe in some of what is posted above and strongly disagree with other points made. I am a bowhunter. I practice hard and I hunt hard. I have lost 4 whitetails out of about 25-30 that I have shot with a bow. Most of these when I was starting and less patient. I have learned and grown from those sleepless nights. I will say that even when well prepared....Murphy happens and deer move.
I now wait 30 minutes unless I see the animal fall. If I hear of see anything out of the ordinary at the shot I wait an hour. If an animal is shot and then jumped still alive my personal rule is three hours.
I recently helped track a deer that was jumped after the shot. We recovered him after being jumped and his eyes were still clear and bright. I honestly don't think he had been dead 15-20 minutes. When spending the kind of money we do to chase whitetails not waiting can get real expensive.
I have also gotten much better at tracking deer. Slow and steady.
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Originally posted by ttaxidermy View PostTaking a 70 yard shot in high winds at any animal is as about as ignorant, irresponsible and unethical as it gets as a bow hunter..
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Originally posted by ttaxidermy View PostI have said it for years..
I would hate to be a deer during archery season..
To many yahoo's hunting with archery equipment, or any equipment for that matter, that refuse to put in the time and effort it takes learn their equipment, what it takes to be effective and efficient at killing with their chosen equipment.. There is a whole more that is required to be efficient at killing than some realize....
Example: We should NEVER, ok rarely, see a post describing "lack of penetration"!!! I know it happens frequently on "hunting shows" but honestly it should rarely be a issue with today's technology in bows and broadheads.. There is entirely to many hunters that are choosing speed over Kenetic energy for a flatter flight path as to help with them compensate for lack of practice and their lack of ability to judge distance.. Kinetic energy is second in importance only behind accuracy.. It's obvious that many do not get this..
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Experience matters. I recovered only 1 of the first 5 deer I ever shot at with my bow (1 was a clean miss). This was over about a 7 year stretch. I honestly almost gave up bow hunting because I had previously killed around 40 deer with a rifle without wounding a single one. I have so much respect for the deer I am hunting, that I wanted to give up.
From that point, I decided that for me to release an arrow at a deer, EVERYTHING had to be perfect. Deer posture, distance, confidence in bow setup, etc. I will not take a shot at a deer if he is further than 20 yds out (preferably 18 yds), deer has to be perfectly broad side without a leg in the way.
Since making these personal rules, I am 6 for my last 7 (I took a hard quartering away shot, which was a no-no for me, on the 1 wounded deer, puncturing one lung, but he survived).
Having wounded all of those deer has actually has made bow hunting more enjoyable for me. I used to get way stressed and ****** off when I would see a buck but didn't get a shot off. I now enjoy watching them walk away un-wounded knowing that I didn't take a shot where something could have gone wrong.
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My long term average was to lose about one animal for every 30-40 I shot with a bow. In my early years I missed a bunch. Completely air mailed them. Thank God because I would much rather have a clean miss. I used to shoot a ton of animals per year. The biggest thing to me about Bowhunting is that you have to kill stuff. You have to practice on live targets. I think the other big lesson is where to aim. I lean towards 1/3 of the way up and straight up the leg. I never aim “behind the shoulder” if broadside. I also always try to aim for the exit. Like if quartering away try to bury that arrow in the front part of the offside shoulder. Finally, don’t shoot at whitetails that are alert or looking right at you. It doesn’t tend to end well! Let them relax or make your setups to where they don’t know you are there.
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Originally posted by PYBUCK View PostWhen I started hunting in 1980 the success rate for archery was about 10%. Today with the new bows, arrows & broadheads I would guess the success rate is close to 70%. Way more information for the new hunters to glean knowledge from as opposed to the old trial by fire approach we used in the old days. Still there is no better way to improve your success rate than practice, practice, practice. Most hunters that wound game consistently take marginal shoots and get gassed up before releasing the arrow.
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Originally posted by ttaxidermy View PostTaking a 70 yard shot in high winds at any animal is as about as ignorant, irresponsible and unethical as it gets as a bow hunter..
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Originally posted by Raypo View PostSays you. I haven’t wounded an animal with a bow in many, many years. If you practice at 40, then maybe. If you practice at 100, then not so much. Your opinion. Such strong words. I guess I’ll continue to pile up animals in the most ignorant way possible.
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Originally posted by Raypo View PostSays you. I haven’t wounded an animal with a bow in many, many years. If you practice at 40, then maybe. If you practice at 100, then not so much. Your opinion. Such strong words. I guess I’ll continue to pile up animals in the most ignorant way possible.
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