How do you all do it?

[bowhntineverythingnh03743]

So I figured I would start this thread to see what other people do to get them through the hard times of hunting. It has been a two year quest for me to harvest a deer with one of my own bows. Two days ago I had ten deer in front of me about 120 yards away. I still had an hour of light left as they fed the flat towards my location. I was sitting 20 feet in the air in my climber since this is a new spot that I scoped out the other day. Motionless I watched as minute by minute they inched their way towards me. With about 20 minutes of light left a large doe and fawn broke the 30 yard barrier.

Now I must mention that last year I couldn't even get a deer into 40 yards due to the hot conditions. Everyone here in New Hampshire had a tough bow season in 2011.

So back to my story.... As the two of them were the closest I removed my bow from the hanger and stood motionless trying to calm my nerves so that if a shot was presented I would be ready. Then out of no where, for no flipping reason, the little fawn started running away and took ever last deer with her. They didn't get alarmed or anything so I know that I still have a shot of knocking one down.

But after pursuing for two years straight now I have been tempted many times to pick up my compound and let an arrow rip at 40 yards to call it good. Something inside of me stops me every time though and tells me to continue on my quest.

So as I write this I think to myself even if it takes me 10 years I will continue to head into the woods with a stick and string until I can't do it anymore. Something inside of me needs the challenge and devotion to take an animal the hardest way I can.

How do you all stay focused when times get tough?

Well time to head out and work on a new bow!!!

Justin
New Hampshire

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

Not sure what to tell you other than push on and hang in there.I always tell folks you need a good place to hunt if you want to do well.If the game you are after aint there then you wont kill it , this dont sound like your problem though.It will happen for you if you stick with it , is it just Whitetails you are having issues with or any game with a trad bow. I wish you all the best.....
,,,Sam,,,,

[vintage-bears]

What Sam said.
Best of Luck!

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

Thinking on it a little more do you know anyone around you that always gets it done , you know the guy that no matter what he gets his animal. If you know that guy see if he or she could come out with you and look at your set-ups and lend some helping pointers for you.First hand help from someone that is good at the Trad game is worth its weight in deer meat , and if they are true to Trad bowhunting they wont mind a bit giving a helping hand to a fellow hunter....
,,Sam,,

[30coupe]

I don't know what the area is like where you are hunting, but seeing deer 120 yards away could be part of the problem. I've had stands like that in the past, on the edge of timber where I could see deer from far away. They usually stayed far away though, or they got almost close enough, but it was by random luck. There was nothing to funnel them to me but luck.

I now move into deeper cover and look for funnels that put the deer into my range. Deer can't be depended on to just wander into range, you have to set them up. Find a spot where trails converge or where a trail follows along a high ridge or creek, then set your stand where deer passing through HAVE to get close, watch the wind and kill a deer.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

move to where you see the deer, its no good being where they aren't going to be until its too dark to shoot. I know this seems overly simplistic.

trad hunting  is 90 % scouting 10% shooting

[stiknstringer]

Using a real stick and string will make you learn to get closer to the animal you are after simply because your effective shooting range is closer. You won't be able to shoot 40, 50, or 60 yards because you don't have a sight pin or whatever or 350 fps bow. It's all you. This is where the real challenge of bowhunting is IMO.Also, the feeling of accomplishment and enjoyment an't be beat.

[AkDan]

remembering I enjoy the hunt for the hunt and not putting the emphasis on the kill.  I love to eat wild game as much as the next person, enjoy that lstt second as I put tension on a bow string, but the need to kill is not what drives me to continue bowhunting!  Success is not a punched tag!

[kbetts]

You are not a bad person if you pick up the wheel machine and put one on the ground.  Confidence is just as important as anything else.  At this point I imagine you are putting extra pressure on yourself.  Shoot something and you will feel refreshed.  Relax...it happens when you least expect it.

X2 on 90% scouting and 10% shooting.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I don't see how you guys got the patience to sit in those trees and wait for them all day myself.

if i could see them 120 yards away I'd either get on the ground and get closer, or move my stand closer to where you first are spotting them.

But.... I'm really not going to be much help. we hunt black tail deer a little differently out west.

[buckeye_hunter]

Aerial scouting with Google Earth is a huge time saver in getting close to deer. It helps me find funnels and other features that I can use to my advantage. Then I have to put some boot leather into the project to get the best spot.

It took me 7 years to get my 1st trad deer and I learned a HUGE lesson that day(last week). Lesson learned that day = Being well concealed sealed the deal.

I have always been good at getting close to deer, even on public land, but I stink at closing the deal. I learned that I can't stick out like a sore thumb and expect deer to walk in calmly. Even climbing fairly high doesn't work well without excellent cover around me. Often the deer would drift away or bug out all of a sudden and I KNOW they did not wind me.....

I am almost ready to go back to climbing sticks and a hang on stand. I don't like their weight or cost, but these stands will allow me to get into trees with more cover around me. I have messed up so many times that I hope this bit of advice helps.

Just my two cents. This advice comes from lots of mistakes....

I almost forgot to answer your question of what gets me through the seasons when I don't get a deer with my bow.

The answer is that I couldn't look at myself in the mirror if I gave up. I might hunt with a muzzle loader later, but I won't give up my trad bow during archery season. I even carry my bow sometimes during gun season. I suspect you are the same or you might have quit already.

[maineac]

I don't know where you are in NH, but I don't have any woods I can see more than forty or fifty yards in if I am in a treestand.  Most only give 20 to thirty.  If you are on a field edge try to get a stand that is closer to where the deer enter the woods.  See if you can get back in a ways on the trail they come out on.  Be careful of the wind.  More than likely they enter the field on a trail that comes into the wind.  If yo go back a bit you might find a tree that lets you play an angle, like if the wind is usually westerly a NW wind will keep your scent of the trail, but they will still use it.  All that said I am still trying to close the deal one this year.

[PaulRoberts]

Good advice above.

X3 on 99% scouting/hunting, 1% shooting. You've got to love being out, and the process of hunting. Archery -they don't call it "the hard way" for nothing.

I can commiserate, I hunt mule deer now and find them very difficult, not to mention the low popn density compared to the whitetails I hunted back east.

Hang in there. Success is all the sweeter.

[ron w]

My first shot with a recurve was in 1971, I killed a deer with a compound devise in 1993 and then went back my roots in Traditional Archery. I started bow-hunting in 1968.....those are the "ONLY" shots I have ever had.....have seen deer [Average 3-5 a year]. I still go and spend time to complete my quest, how do I do it......maybe I'm just not that bright!  

[Jerry Jeffer]

You should feel proud! Isn't 10 deer like the total whitetail population of NH?

[Bill Carlsen]

As a fellow New Hampshire resident I think that if you are seeing 20 deer at one time I envy you. My best friend in the state just got his deer with a bow after a 5 year drought. Stand placement and patience is required in NH. It is one of the toughest states to bowhunt in successfully. Just check the stats....and those #'s include compounds. I've gone many seasons without seeing 20 deer in 3 months. Right now, if I were you, I'de find some acorns on the ground and sit there. I gave up hunting field edges years ago for the reasons you describe. Your best shots will be in the woods from ground or tree stands where deer are feeding. Your best attitude has to include perseverance and patience and be willing to see fewer deer.

[Butch Speer]

I'm probably the worst hunter around. I would love to kill a deer. But I found that being out hunting & being with my hunting buddies to be more important. I had a buddy, that if he didn't kill a deer, it was a bad season. Not me. If I enjoy all the other thing about bowhunting, it's been a good year.

[NBK]

"Every minute I'm here I'm one minute closer to my next buck".

It's the mantra I remind myself with.  Confidence in my stand placement and the belief that the kill is just the icing on the cake.  I would rather take a whitetail doe with my longbow than a 300" bull elk with a compound.  Remember, it's the journey...

[ron w]

Originally posted by Jerry Jeffer:
You should feel proud! Isn't 10 deer like the total whitetail population of NH?

     I can't say a thing.....

[KSdan]

I shoot mature deer every year- sometimes in a couple of different states.  But in fairness, while I can enjoy an evening and see lots of deer hunting on a field edge, I can NOT count on one hand (maybe a few fingers) how many deer I have actually harvested on a field/crops in 38 years of hunting. Like others said- the thick stuff is where to harvest a deer with a bow.