Shooting at the edges and missing deer

[whiskyweasel]

My Georgia season started off with a bang. I hung a stand on a patch of public land oaks just shy of a nest of deer beds. Within 30 minutes of shooting light I catch the gleam of sun off the hindquarters of a nice basket rack six jumping a ditch to my right and moving in fast. He read the script, came to the base of my stand, smelled where I had stepped and button-hooked out to a hard quartering away shot at about 8 yards. I had half drawn on him when he was at my tree but the angle was just too steep. At 8 yards I drew, I think I anchored, I know I told myself to pick a spot, but all I really remember is watching the arrow zip just over his back. And then he was gone.

Exciting, certainly. Except, in my decade or so of bowhunting I've shot at a grand total of 3 deer. All 3 of them I've slipped arrows just over their back. I am dead nuts left to right, but I can't seem to get the arrow down. My guess is that this has to do with not properly picking a spot and/or not practicing sufficiently from a tree stand. Regardless, I need some thoughts/advice. One of these days it'll all come together and until then I sure do love seeing deer and being in the woods, but I'd really like to stop missing. Especially chip shots.

Good luck to you all as you start your seasons.

[Bowguy67]

You’re bow was broken. Only way you coulda missed! In Capsticks books , theyre about a PH in Africa and using rifles but when a guy misses he states the locals say a witch grabbed the bullet so maybe a witch grabbed your arrow?
On a serious note. Years ago my buddies and I shot lots of 3D in my yard. Whoever shot a target best picked the next shot. I’d always pick close and in a tree. You’d be surprised at how many can’take that shot. It’s not practiced. Have you? If not start today and it’ll seem easier

[Pat B]

My understanding of shooting over a deer's back is you are not picking a spot but shooting at the deer. I think this is common early in the season because folks are itching to make that first kill shot. I missed 6 one morning, years ago, all within 15 minutes, every shot over the back. That was back when deer were stupid. 

[Bowguy67]

My next piece of advice, if 10 years yielded 3 shots you need to change something pretty drastic. Let someone help you and tell us what you’ve been doing hunt wise?

[Markp]

Do whatever it takes to "fix it." 
I missed a lot starting out, at 20-25 yards, with both an old Redwing recurve and homemade d-bows.  Starting out, I practiced standing up mostly.  However, I actually shot at deer crouched down, kneeling, sitting and once coming out of a long held push up position to my knees to shoot, and that particular arrow landed right in front. The three coues whitetails just looked at it. I was not drawing a full 28 inches or whatever.  A friend said I missed more shots in the 2012 Arizona velvet season than his work mates had opportunities added together, since they hunted. That season haunts me.    I sympathize.

But, excluding deer jumping the string, edge shooting was a problem.  It is natural to look at contrast, like a deer edge.  Have you tried cardboard cut out of a deer in front of you target?  Push your fist into the cardboard to create crease like on a deer. 
In Arizona, does became forbidden when I moved down here.  So, I get plenty of opportunities to watch female deer.  Train yourself to see the kill zone.  I ground hunt exclusively, so I do not know what a kill zone looks like from above, but my first coues deer was 21 yards down a cliff.  I hit the spine.  Meaning I almost missed.

Keep practicing.  And, only three shot opportunities in a decade?  I would find better ground. 

[Cmane07]

Most deer I've missed have been over their backs as well.  I think its just the nature of the beast when you hunt elevated.  I wouldn't beat yourself up about it too much, from your story it sounds like the buck was pretty spooked.  A keyed up deer can duck the arrow like crazy unless you intentionally aim much lower.  I've seen does' bellies hit the dirt it seemed.

[mnbwhtr]

I don't know how high in the tree you were but you have to bend at the waist to keep your same sight picture when shooting downwards. It's easy to just drop your bow arm and shoot high. Done it several times in the last 54 years. At eight yards I'd be burning a hole right on the heart. Good luck!

[Charlie Lamb]

John Schulz recommends you cant your bow more. It does help.

[David Mitchell]

I was just about to post the same thing mnbwhtr posted.  Fred Asbell had an article in a recent issue of TBM about that.  The main reason for high misses from tree stands I believe is not bending at the waist to keep bow arm alignment the same as when shooting on the ground.

[Butch Speer]

You're shooting at the whole deer. Don't ask me how I know.

[Texoma]

The way I keep my self composed is to tell myself I'am not going to shoot that deer and believe it all the way until you release the string.Has been full proof so far for me no more shakes and failed shooting routine.I now get the shakes after the shot.

[madmaxthc]

All good suggestions here.
I agree with the above,  either you were aiming "at the deer", or possibly you were not bending at the waist.  Also, depending on how high up the tree you were,  you might have overestimated the distance.

Have a look at this short video,  see if it helps:



Good luck 

[Roy from Pa]

Aim for the heart, if the deer jumps the string you will still be good..

[Sam McMichael]

Commonly, at the shot, a deer bolts. If you watch in slow motion, you will see that they drop low as they load up the rockets. Many old timers told me early on to aim a bit low so the boiler room will duck into the arrow's trajectory. Not following that advice has cost me on a number of occasions. Maybe this has happened to you. Even with a fast bow, a deer can often duck the shot.

[Bvas]

This may sound silly, and I don’t want to add demons to anyone. But after shooting over three deer last year, I finally discovered my problem. I was concentrating too much.

I shoot instictive for elevation, but use the arrow in my peripheral vision for my left and right. May be strange, but works for me.  When hunting I would pick my spot low on the deer and concentrate. But I found I was trying to concentrate too much on the arrow and my spot at the same time. And trying to concentrate on two objects is easier if they are closer together. So I was bringing my spot on the deer closer to the arrow, thus making me shoot high.

I still don’t “gap” shoot, but recognize more where my spot is in the sight window and pay less attention to the arrow.

[TooManyHobbies]

I've shot over more deer than I've killed. Every one of them was sooo close it was a slam dunk. 

[the rifleman]

In my case when i shot over a deers back it was because i just naturally covered up the spot i wanted to hit with the point of the arrow.  Apparently the thousands of " instinctive" shots taken in preparation didn't work for me.  I made some adjustments at my end to get my point on at 20 yards--- put the tip of the arrow on and shoot--- simple as it gets-- for me at least.

[hitman]

Bend over at the waist according to the angle of the shot. Bow arm shoulders and elbow must be in a straight line of the angle. Doing that will definitely make a difference while picking a spot.

[GCook]

I don't know how high in the tree you were but you have to bend at the waist to keep your same sight picture when shooting downwards. It's easy to just drop your bow arm and shoot high. Done it several times in the last 54 years. At eight yards I'd be burning a hole right on the heart. Good luck!

This.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[BigJim]

You know that it has to be your bow!  You aren't but 3 hours from me. Bring it down and I'll sight it in for you. 

I have been quite successful from a tree stand .. except when I wasn't!  I don't worry about some of the other issues I read above.. not saying that they don't work... Heck, maybe I do them naturally.

I always know that I'm going to hit what I'm looking at  until I don't (in other words, confidence is everything)

Most of my tree stand misses have been to deer ducking my arrow.  Fortunately Kansas deer don't flinch until the arrow hits them! my experience at least.  The Georgia deer that I have killed have been shot high when I pick a spot in the center of the vitals, or have been hit at the top of the vitals when I have picked a spot on their lower body.

Just my experience, BigJim