How does everyone keep positive

[Caleb the bow breaker]

I will say it has been pretty tough this year and I am having trouble keeping hopeful and positive.  I have missed two shots.  One was at a small forkhorn and another at a huge (to me anyway) 10 point both at less than 10 yards.  My confidence is suffering and I have already contemplated pulling the training wheels out of the closet.  How does everybody keep their chin up and stay the course????

Caleb

[Featherbuster]

Keep at it.  No need to pull out the training wheels...If hunting was easy then everyone would be doing it.  I remember when i went thru a stretch of missing four deer in five days    And it was during gun season, I could have easily put down the stick and picked up my rifle.  Its very depressing, but you will connect before too much longer.

[Gerardo]

Just focus on the next one, pick a spot and keep the faith

[ChuckC]

Caleb  first you have to decide whether it is the journey or the destination that you are wanting.  Do you NEED to kill a critter every year ?  Do you want to learn a new way to do it, and maybe that means not killing something for a few years ?  Do you want to maybe get some neat experiences with trad equipment ?

Only you can decide what is important to you.
ChuckC

[FerretWYO]

You cannot let a few misses get you down. I have missed a lot of critters and elk specifically. I got so excited when I saw one that I could not seem to keep it together. I would short draw rush the shot and not pick a spot. This will make you shoot high I know for a fact.

Try to keep your calm. If you can let the deer be there for a little bit allow, your nerves to calm. PICK A SPOT. Imagine something like a orange sticker where you wanna hit.

This is what helped me some. Keep with it I know you can do it.

[Caleb the bow breaker]

thats an interesting point Chuck.  I do need to kill a couple every year because my family loves the meat.  But since you ask I dont guess i need to kill them with a bow.  I do utilize some of the late doe only seasons with my gun or muzzleloader.  I try to tell myself that it will be so much better if I do it with my curve.  But man it is so hard sometimes. LOL

Caleb

[ChuckC]

It is Caleb,  but I think you will find that over time, you get a little more relaxed and sure of yourself and things go a little more naturally.  

Try to enjoy the trip.  See the little things,  smile at what you see and hear.  Enjoy it rather than worry over it.  That sounds too much like work.

ChuckC

[trashwood]

I aim.

rusty

[jhg]

Doubt is a natural impulse to conditions we feel are not under our control . Allowing it to control an outcome though is a choice. We allow doubt to interfere with out concentration to succeed.

Choose a distance. Decide that any deer that presents a shot within that zone is yours. You OWN the skill within that distance to deliver a lethal shot. No ifs. No buts. Anything in that zone is toast. Period. You OWN that zone!
 I mean it.
Anything in there is in serious jepardy if you choose to draw.

Don't overthink the shot. Even thinking about how you can miss or if you will miss works against your concentration to HIT.

What is in your mind when you shoot is what will be the outcome. So within that "no doubt" distance you only are thinking "that deer is toast the shot is going to be true the arrow will pass through..."

Set yourself up to accept that anything outside that zone can go free without any regret on your part. Maybe next time. Maybe next year. Wasn't it great that buck walked by today...


Joshua

[stickbow2442]

I missed 7 last year. But its not just about getting something.
Best thing to do is sell your wheel bow. Oh and practice, practice and then practice.

[George D. Stout]

That old axiom, "pick a spot", is so important, but it is the most overlooked when the critter gets into range.   Just about anyone with minimal skill can kill something with a machine, release and sights.  You need to control your emotions during the shot and pick that one hair you want to hit.  I would be depressed if I couldn't hunt, but not if I missed a time or two.

[BUFF]

I miss every now and then and laugh at myself when I do. I expect to kill every thing I shoot at but I'm just human. Just relax and kill the next one. It is not hard. Just look at the goof balls here that kill stuff all the time.
Good Luck
Buff

[twitchstick]

For me it is a percentage game. I know if I hunt long enough I am bound to get lucky. I may not be just about getting lucky but it is a process and not the final product that is important. Enjoy the windy days,the cold and wet and the misses. If you are missing animals you have got pasted the hard part. It is like the diffence between art and a craft. Art is timeless never ending. It is always being reshape,rethought,and redone and will have beauty. A craft is a product that is completed to reach the end,and will be found on the shelfs of wallmart.

[Tom]

Missing is part of the game, everyone does it whether they admit it or not. Last year I missed the first two I shot at, got p***** off, tokk a few days off and then drilled the next two I saw.
 Don't beat yourself up over a few misses, sticks aren't easy but they are very rewarding. It comes with patience, practice, and experience.
 Go out and get them now.

[John3]

Getting close is what makes this so much fun.. then doing it right when close is "gravy"!  Get focused and follow through.  Even Bryon the best bow shot I've ever seen admitted to not being able to hit a deer when he first started.  He was shooting at the whole animal...

Focus on that spot..!

Good luck and let us know when you have one killed.

John III

[joevan125]

This is my first year with a trad bow and i missed 2 deer this weekend one being a rack buck. I can feel your pain brother but for me i will never go back to a wheel bow. Looking back to when i first started shooting a compound 28yrs ago i missed a truck load of deer before it finally started to click. I have killed over 100 deer with a compound and i just had to have something different and i have found it with a stick and a string.  

[always89s boy]

I miss ALL THE TIME, so i no how ya feel. I just dont take it to seriously anymore. In my mind missin is as good as killen cause i was able to get the deer close enough to were i thought i could hit it with a recurve, thats a task in itsef, plus now i dont have to drag  anything out of the woods. I know the deer was right were i needed it to be it was just my nerves (usually) that ended up keepin venison out of my belly.
missin also makes hitin allot more rewarding  

[northener]

Keep at it!! You received some good advice here.

Focus and pick that spot!!! It will happen.

[Mr.Vic]

Been at it thirtysome years, missed yesterday and i'll probably miss tomorrow but i'm still healthy enough to go out and sit with the critters and thats makes me very Positive!

[ron w]

Keep positive????!!! Your getting shots,what do you want. I have never killed a deer with a longbow or recurve, started hunting with one in 1968. now I'm not even seeing deer around my home state. Atleast you are missing a few....at this point I would love to miss one....lol!!!