Darn
Well i went back to the same stand this morning i missed in yesterday. The feeder went off and here came the same 3 deer i have missed this week. they were coming into the feeder and then all of a sudden blew and ran. Thought they smelled me but then looked up and here came a small 3 point and a monster (to me). They came right to the feeder and when the big buck turned broadside with a slight quarter away, I drew, bent picked a spot released. Got him, he took off running tail down, and hunched up and ran directly into a fence. I waited 30 minutes and called my bro n law for help. We went to the fence and found hair, but no blood, no arrow no nothing. I walked a small circle and decided to back out and come home. Im gonna wait until about 9am and go back and look some more. if i dont find him I will have a bob lee for sale. its not the bow but maybe im not meant for trad shooting pj
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First off wait longer because it sounds like you may have hit the stomach or guts. I would say wait until noon to start looking then if you run out of sign go check out all the water in your area because a gut shot deer will seek out water.
Now back to your shooting. It sounds to me like your problem is all in your head now. You are lacking confidence in a big way and need to get it back. You will not get your confidence back by shooting targets. You need to get out and shoot as many rabbits, squirrels,pigs or any other live targets that you can. I would assume you started Trad shooting for the challenge and now you have one. My suggestion to you is stick with it and stay positive and don't dwell on the bad shots.
I will bet that there are a lot of bow hunters that can tell a very similar story to yours. I know I can but I persisted and 22 years later I still remember struggling with confidence those first few years.
Good luck and I hope you find the buck. -
I would bet that when you took up Trad that you were in the mind set to even just be lucky enouph to have a shot???
Now you have done that, its the next challenge.
Ol Man has told me 1,000,000,000,000.... times that Trad is more mental than anything.
Hang in there and good luck finding your animal!Comment
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Bmac is right about it being mental. If I'm afraid of making a bad shot most times I will. Doesnt matter what weapon is used, EVERYBODY has made bad shots.
Shake it off and get the next one.Comment
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I feel your pain..... Don't give up. Just look around at folks like Chunky, Lost Hawg and all the others here that consistently kill critters with there bows. It is not magic. They are normal Ole folks, nothing special other than they just kept on trying until it came together for them. It really does get easier after you get a couple.Comment
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i shot a really nice buck last year and got him and i lost a 140 class animal last year due to poor shot placement and just plain bad luck!!!! we all loose animals it will happen to everyone, its just a matter of sticking to it and going back out there.
about the shot what did the arrow look like, usually you can smell it the next day and it will smell like guts. did it pass clean threw him ?
where do you think you hit him? i would also wait a little longer. and going to water is a good idea.Comment
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