Missin' deer, can't seem to "Pick a Spot!"

[German Dog]

I'm no expert but i've been there, done that, and sometimes it still gets me.

I think pick a spot can be two different things.....
It can be hard to mentally pick a spot when your thinking "boy thats the biggest buck ive seen this year" or "that doe is nervous stay calm and don't move" and so on.
The other is when you just don't see that tuft of hair where you want to hit.

One thing that has helped me the most by far is during practice sessions is to pick a spot and draw but don't shoot. Then, let down and quickly pick another spot and draw. Sometimes only let half way down and re-draw. For one it just helps you get more consistant draw and anchor sessions and the other bonus is in hunting situations sometimes you have to let down because the animal moves and you need to draw again. Sometimes that might happen several times before you get a shot.
For me there's times where i will draw on a deer and anchor and let down cause it doesn't "feel right" and then i draw again and let it rip cause it felt right. I immediately know when it doesn't "feel right" and thats cause i see the whole deer.

[Kirkll]

Sometimes I find that it's a matter of staying with the shot, particularly with high misses.  Sometimes people put an extra little tug downward on the bowstring right as they release the arrow which causes the arrow to angle up.  Other times the bow arm is not as solid as it should be and begins to rise as you expand rather than staying locked on target.  What I mean by staying with the shot is to keep your head still and follow the arrow through your sight window all the way to the target, especially when you're shooting at an animal, which is when you're most likely to lose focus on your spot in the moment before release.  If you get in the habit of watching the arrow through the sight window all the way to the target it will be obvious to you if you do either of the things I mentioned because you will notice the arrow begin to drift off target and can stop the shot.

I would vote for reading this post a couple times… Follow through is a huge thing.

I’ve seen some very good archers that just fall apart in front of game and have the same experience you are having. Their adrenaline starts pumping and they are holding their breath and shaking like a leaf. Typically the shot was rushed and results were not predictable.

I’ve seen other archers who were “peeking” and dropped their bow arm or moved it to the side to watch the arrow fly. These guys had problems on the 3 D course as well as hunting.

I helped a few archers with this by using a piece of string. Put one end of the string on the shelf of the bow and hold it there lightly with your bow hand. Then take the other end and put it between your fingers like you would place on your fingers on the arrow on the string,   Now simulate coming
to full draw to your anchor point letting the string slide though your bow hand over the rest. You are not drawing the bow string at all, but simply keeping the string between your anchor point and the bow tight, And holding it there while looking down the string though the sight window at your target.

Looking down this string is what guides your arrow to the point of impact. So when you go back to shooting arrows pretend you still have that string attached to your fingers at anchor.

What this does is let you imagine guiding your arrow to the target with your bow arm and using the string in your hand still at anchor to hold it on target….

Of course you cannot do this and actually shoot arrows. But it sets you up for maintaining your form and follow through just holding that imaginary string tight and guiding your arrow.

It’s actually a pretty amazing drill that helps develop consistent back tension though the shot too.  Ive used this string drill to train kids to shoot sucsessfully too.

As far as how to pick a spot goes… I’ve always used that front leg and shoulder blade location to focus on. As the deer is walking I’m watching that shoulder blade going forward and back and pick the spot at the tip of the should blade to focus on. I want that shoulder blade forward at the precise moment of release and wait for it.

Sometimes the shot develops,  sometimes it doesn’t.      Kirk

 

[Tajue17]

Like someone mentioned above a huge piece of cardboard with nothing on it OR several hay bales again with nothing pinned to it,,,, now just start picking little things on there to shoot at and never i repeat never keep shooting at the center because your brain remembers that..... my 3d targets get shot everywhere i exercise my hand/eye coordination by shooting at eyes ears and noses and i like that behind that center of back leg too with broadheads,,, targets last forever...

[buckeyebowhunter]

You cannot take your eye off the spot, not even for a split second.

When I see a deer i want to take I look at only the vitals and my mantra is "eye on THE spot, pull through the shot".

I still miss em sometimes, all part of the game. Good luck.

[LookMomNoSights]

Once you've found you've been at this a bit,  you will hear comments or read about ......."I don't remeber the shot",  "it happened so fast,  I don't remember shooting"  or "I didn't have time to think about it,  I just made the shot."   
Why is that?  Why was no thought put into the execution of a shot and the shot resulted in a solid ethical shot and meat on the table?
Sometimes luck?  Perhaps ...... but more often and giving credit to the individual making the shot,  "luck" did not make up the brunt of it.  What did,  was lots and lots of GOOD practice on form and fundamentals,  so much so that it becomes "instictive".  Not instinctive aiming per say,  but the entire process of SHOOTING.   Perhaps the only thought was,  this ones a shooter.
If you are a good shot on the targets at the ranges and all that scenario,  and you really aren't thinking about it,  but you change that when a living breathing critter is out the back of your bow,  well ....... that can be a recipe for things not going how you want.
Also,  an older buddy of mine who has done pretty good for himself over the years has said on many occasion: "You have to kill deer to get good at killing deer."  Kind of cryptic I know,  but I know what he is trying to explain,  and part of that is that a target rich environment and getting deer in front of you to shoot at,  can help tremendously with getting over such a hump as not securing a harvest.  The more you shoot at deer (cuz we are talking about deer on this occasion),  the better you SHOULD get at shooting deer.   All this for what it's worth naturally,   just me talking .......... 

[Even]

I have a friend who is a deadly shot with a rifle, on a target, but as soon as he sees live game, his shooting skills go out the window.  Its an interesting mental game, finding what works for you to work through an adrenaline surge.  There are a few ways people react to adrenaline, and figuring out how to work through your own responses, seems to be the key.

I've played a little mental game with myself for years, wherein I convince myself that hitting or missing really doesn't matter.  If you think about it, most of the time these days, and certainly in my situation, its not survival on the line.  That would up the ante a lot, if it were.

Instead, I tell myself from the start of the hunt that it honestly doesn't matter if I take the animal, or not.   If not, the animal lives another day, and it wasn't its time.  Or mine to kill it. 

I found that putting "pressure" on the shot upped my chances of the arrow going where I didn't want it to.  A soon as mentally it became "just another shot", I calmed right down, and it really was just another shot. 

I guess I try to emulate what I do when I practice, right down to the mental state, because well... thats what we practice.   Change that, and things get weird. 

I don't have a large adrenal response either, though.