hiatus from hunting for a bit and why.

[David Dumke]

So today, and before anyone gets on me about practicing more, I practice quite a bit, I loosed five arrows at the same 2 deer in 40 minutes.

They were small, yea, but no spots and they weren't puppy sized so I figured, first year hunting... why not?

I had a bad 2 shots sunday but today took the cake.


After cursing under my breath after the 5th shot I noticed a pattern. Every... single... arrow... went high.

I brought a harness with that came with my stand but the thing got gas spilled all over it so I tossed it out of my stand behind me lest I get light headed and pass out. The fumes were unbearable.

The harness was going to be a way for me to lean out and feel safe about it to get my alignment perfect but with that out of the picture I took some practice draw. I felt confident that everything was on key so I sat down for the wait. I Texted my brother and told him I reamed of gasoline and this hunt was already going terrible.. then out through the brush came the two little ones prancing to an evening munch. Ironic...

I sat and debated to myself and decided to go for it. The one was a little meatier than her sibling and I was confident this shot would be it. I steadied myself and then my heart started racing. I put my bow down and focused on a spot and took some controlled breaths. Down goes the heart rate and the knees stop shaking. I raised my bow once more not taking my eyes off her boiler room door, this deer was mine. I reached anchor slowly making sure to keep back tension. As soon as I was secured to my anchor the arrow flew straight as, well, an arrow. Inches above her back. Repeat this 3 more times on the bigger one and twice on the skinner deer and you have my situation figured out. Didn't matter the distance they were, 20 yards, 10 yards, 15 yards, 12 yards... every arrow was high.

So frustrating so im taking the now dull blades to a friends house asap and shooting from his roof. I need to figure out why these heads want to act like airplanes and reach lift off.

Thanks for your time and any input would be appreciated.

God bless,

Dave

[stevewills]

did you practice from an elevated stand.sounds to me like your dropping your bow to watch the impact...follow trough

[Bow Bum]

Its easy to miss high from an elevated position. Be sure to bend at the waist and maintain the archers T.

Good luck with the trouble shooting.

B

[Mike Vines]

Bend at the waist.  Don't drop your arm when aiming.

[straitera]

Had planing probs so bad w/Zwickeys I blamed the bh. It AIN'T the BH! Spin test & adjust every one. Elevation shots need plenty of practice to adjust for angles. Tendency is to shoot high from elevation anyway.

Confidence is key! If that down maybe a break is good. Admire your concern. Smaller rabbits & squirrels may boost confidence. Try hunting from the ground. Practice w/same bh's. Get 'em closer! Don't give up. You'll know.

[soap creek]

been bowhunting for 30yrs with trad equipment.It definitely does'nt make me any kind of an expert but I do have a few yrs under my belt and plenty mistakes.Dont over think it and try not to get discouraged.Try practicing from an elevated position if you can.On whitetails I aim at the bottom 1 3rd of their body, since I usually am hunting them from a stand.

[Jedimaster]

Deer are pretty quick to drop too. For that reason as well as the tendency to shoot high from an elevated position, I typically aim low.

[LeeBishop]

I'm new to this traditional bowhunting as well. I have a tendency to shoot high even when I'm on the ground shooting at my target until I get to 20yrds. When I'm at 20-25yrds then I can hit the center of the target instead of high of the bullseye.

But if things are slow in the woods, I will pick out a leaf on the ground to shoot a target arrow at just to make sure I have a good reference so I can hit target.

I get bored after a while, so I had to take like half a dozen arrows to the stand with me to shoot at leaves or squirrels or something when not in peak hours.

[Roger Norris]

When I miss from a tree, I miss high.

In 1987 I missed the same deer 3 times in 3 minutes. 15 yards. It happens.

Practice from elevation, thats the right idea.

As an aside....if you ever forget your harness or don't have one,  climb down, hunt off the ground.

[Bowwild]

Dave,
Have you been accustomed to shooting a bow with sights?  This can have a "shooting high" impact on folks who go bare bow.

What happens is with sights you are used to seeing the pin on the spot you want to hit (it's subconscious). Then, even though you have no difficulty when practicing, when the high excitement of a shot at game occurs instead of "looking low" the mind puts the point of the arrow on the spot you want to hit. Since most bow shots are far shorter than "point on distance" you shoot high.

This is why I choose to string walk. If my subconscious is going to see the point of the arrow on the kill zone, I'm going to compensate.

[David Dumke]

I was aiming low, but I guess not low enough. In my down time I am going to make up some bamboo arrows and practice stump shooting with those.

I debated hunting from the ground but am hesitant to take time to make a natural blind. I don't want to spook them all away.

[Hawkeye]

Make sure your head is dropped down into its normal position, with your nose pointing at the spot you want tho arrow to make a hole!

From a higher shooting position, there can be a tendency to hold your head too erect, especially when you are trying to hold SO still.  This places your eye and inch or two higher than normal, essentially raising your "rear site" (even of you shoot 'instinctively') and causing your shot to go high.  With my shooting style I determined it made about 15" difference at 15 yards when shooting from elevation.

That is enough to shoot over a deer even if you picked the correct "spot."

Mess around with it a bit, and see if there's a chance this is what happened to you...

Pick THE spot and keep your head down!

[mparks]

I've missed high a lot over the years.  Here is MY theory on what caused ME to miss high on whitetails from a treestand: Even though I was trying to do nothing more than "pick a spot" and "burn a hole", I was using the tip of the arrow in my secondary vision.  Since I wasn't bending at the waist properly to maintain that "archer's T" I had a different sight picture.  Just dropping the bow arm to shoot from a tree stand gives you a different angle between the eye and the tip of the arrow than what is practiced in the backyard all summer.

Here's how I fixed it: I make sure to bend my upper body at the waist before I even extend my bow arm to draw.  Another way is to hold the bow arm parallel to the ground and then bend at the waist.  Shooting a judo at a leaf or something before leaving the stand on morning hunts is always a good way to practice and build confidence.

I've read "bend at the waist" for many years but actually doing it takes some thought and practice.  I also had to admit that I wasn't as "instinctive" a shooter as I thought.

[calgarychef]

Hawkeye, I think you're onto something.  Folks should reread what you wrote a few times and give it some good thought.

[Bud B.]

Last year was my first trad hunt in many years. After missing two from the ground on different days I made a lumber tree stand and put it up Sunday evening. I shot at a deer Monday morning over the back. She was about ten yards.

This year about a month before season start I shot many arrows from the same stand at survey flags I placed in the ground; a small and visible elevated target.

Opening day at 730pm I shot a doe who stood exactly where one of the flags were. She ran only 30 yards. I shot from a seated position.

Point being, practice from the stand if you can. If not the stand on the tree you'll be hunting from then from an elevated position that mimics your situation.

I know how frustrating it can be.

Good luck.


Bud

[Hermon]

I agree with Hawkeye.  I have shot shotguns for years and that is my biggest problem when I start missing a lot.  We raise out heads out of excitement and wanting to see where the arrow will hit.  Try keeping your head down and see how it goes.  Don't give up.

[Huntschool]

David:

Take some time.. son you are still as green as a leaf... no offence.... practice keeping the "T" and try shooting practice from an elevated position.

You came into this very fast.  There are lots of things that you need to spend time with....

[mtsrunner]

wear the harness.  Even if it smells like gas, dung, skunk and swampass.   Wear it.  You will shoot more confidently and more importantly be safe!

[Kentucky Jeff]

One of the first things I do when I get on stand is to take a couple of shots with some blunt points just to limber up and make sure I'm mentally calibrated from THAT stand.  

First trad deer I ever missed I was up in an apple tree and a respectable 8 pointer came by.  At about 10 yards I put the arrow right between his antlers!   I'm sure he felt the breeze as the arrow passed overhead...         I never picked a spot...I was looking at antlers.  I was 16 years old shooting a Ben Pearson Cougar Recurve.  Still have that bow too... I'm 49 now...

FWIW, My first bow kill was from the ground on a stalk in some fresh snow...it was a doe that took two steps and dropped...  I prefer ground hunting to treestands.  But stalking takes skill and more importantly patience that stand hunting does not require.

Get back in the stand and keep flinging sticks--the old cliche is you can't kill deer from the couch.  You'll figure it out...

[Bill Carlsen]

Keep at it. Remember, as much fun as it is to make a kill the experience of hunting with trad equipment is special in and of itself.  The more interaction you have wit wildlife the more fun it will become  and misses will actually become pleasant memories with lessons to be learned.Enjoy the hunt. The killing is always anticlimatic.