Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting I understand

I am 40 years of age and have taken numerous deer with rifle,muzzle loader and pistols. I have since 18 dabbled off and on with bows,usually setting one up shooting a while and selling off. I have tried bowhunting multiple times but to no avail,usually being caught moving,not high enough,wrong tree choice,and several other mostly self inflicted issues. This year I really set my mind to do it. A friend and his son and I shot every other day from about March until May. Then my work got hectic and bow shooting went to the way side. Finally around the end of August work slowed but I didn't get back at the bow. Pistol shooting and helping friends get loads ready for the season took over. Early in gun season I had an encounter with some deer and I raised my pistol to shoot and this thought creeped in,this would be a killer bow shot,so I didn't shoot. I got my friends bow out shot it several occassions and went bow hunting. I never saw a single deer. So back to the guns.Took a scrub buck with a pistol,but kept looking for opportunities. One came my way,one of the young people that hunts with us alot told me about a group of good size does that walk up this mowed path a good ways. So he and I set an ambush. Saturday afternoon we headed in early,bow in hand. After getting in the stand a settling in my worst nightmare happened,the wind began to flip flop,and shortly after came blowing and running. I was dejected but decided to sit it out,just at sunset movement caught my eye. I looked good and yes a deer,I began to shake like the first day of school for a five year old. I talked to myself as I eased up and flipped my seat back. I got my bow in hand and felt my legs getting shakey,what is wrong with me. Three deer filtered out and acted as if they were going straight across and not coming my way. Then they turned and started my direction. I got focused on the one I wanted to take,my hearts pounding,my hands sweating,knees weak,I at this point ain't even sure if I can pull the seventy pounds. Then as her head eased in behind a cover tree I drew,anchored,picked my spot,and released. It seemed as if she dropped but the arrow went through the lower part of the spine and out the lung on the off side,and she dropped. Now I have taken some descent deer,multiple bears(up close and personal),but this for me was more exhilerating and more satisfying as anything I have ever done in the hunting realm,I see what I'vee been missing. My friends that bow hunt tell me all the time when you hear that "smack,crack or whack" for the first time,it won't be the last,THEY ARE CORRECT!I have alot more to learn but am definately looking forward to it. Thanks for reading and sorry for being so long winded.

A trophy in many, many ways.

Congratulations.

Gun only hunters are missing so much. The bow to me is the ultimate. Any buck or doe with archery equipment is a fine animal.

Sweet. I'm a new bowhunter, well three years now, but what a rush. I'm 3 for 3 - - 2-spikes and a 4ptr and all were dinks, but I'd rather have anyone of those three than monster with my 30-06. Quiet, up-close and personal with a bow.

Good job, you'll be hooked now. Watchout for bow upgrades, they are expensive

Good job!Nothin' like bowhunting!

congrats. It can get addicting. But I'll offer this, a smack crack or whack isn't what I"m after, that means you hit bone, just like your spine hit which was nothing but pure luck. She ducked and you got lucky. I"ve done it many times.

Aim lower, avoid bones and what you want to hear is the thump of the bow and something about like hitting a watermelon when you go through the ribs only.

Of course others will differ and say bones are easy to break and such..... and I agree, part of the time, but the odds are against you, and if you center a shoulder blade the head will be super dull by the time it gets through to vitals.... something to consider.

I have something over 100 bow kills of big game under my belt before bowhunting got boring and life got too fast for me to dedicate the time, I"m not bragging, just saying, I've BTDT a few times and hate to see folks have to learn the hard way.

Trust me too, when I say you are going to ENJOY this adventure, its absolutely super. I went backwards and started with a bow while most go from gun to bow, but if you were gun only more or less its plain amazing what you'll see and learn from up close encounters. Its amazing when you have a deer 8-10 feet directly below you for a long period of time eating acorns. Its amazing how close they'll come by if you do it all right. Its amazing how quick an arrow can kill.

I'll leave you with these thoughts... long shots are a gamble. Not that you don't have the talent but you don't have the speed, the deer has moved by the time the arrow gets there, and while this time it moved into the spine, the next time it could have easily been a whirl into the guts, or if lucky a complete miss. 20 yards and less is best IMHO. And this is from someone who shot over 100 arrows a day for years since I was almost in highschool.... and was good enough that we shot at 80 yards a lot and something size of a softball or coke can was almost always in danger at that distance.
And let me offer one more thing, when( almost a guarantee to happen) you gut shoot one, give it lots of time before crawling down, IE 30 minutes or an hour. Sneak out away from the direction the deer went, even if you have to crawl, don't even go look for the arrow. They are almost always bedded within 100 yards of where you shot them. Leave them TOTALLY alone at least 6 hours, and we prefer 8. At 8 I've never found a live one. At 6 sometimes but fairly ill. You don't need a blood trail to find a dead deer thats within 100 yards of the shot. You just have to look. I've even seen them gutshot and bed inside of 100 yards in a wide open field, just because they won't go another 70 yards to the brush....

Best of luck. Enjoy. Take a silent digital camera along. Life is good. Don't buy into scent lock stuff, be clean, don't use fragrant scented soap and such, but always hunt the wind.

Jeff