Feeling a bit discouraged

[runningbird]

haha, we all go thru this.   I tell my family, I'm a great hunter , but a terrible killer.  After 40 years of archery hunting I still get horrible buck fever. On the other hand my son or I can get my wife on a deer or elk and she kills every time.  I don't think I've ever seen her miss live game.  Bad hit on a Javilina once but that's it.

I would say most of my issues are, I put too much pressure on myself.  I figure if you are missing at 40 yards you would still be missing at 10 yards.  You either do things right or you don't.

 

 

 

[Non-Typical Solutions]

Good question and good thread...........

[Esiegel91]

5 hours ago, cjl2010 said:

I mean, if you can’t hit it at 42, maybe 32 would be more better?

42 was my first shot ever on a deer, he was downhill from me, I misjudged where to place my pin and sailed it over him

[oz31p]

11 minutes ago, Esiegel91 said:

42 was my first shot ever on a deer, he was downhill from me, I misjudged where to place my pin and sailed it over him

It’s normal to make errors and mess when you’re start now after a while everything just kind of clicks

[CatfishKev]

I'm embarrassed to admit how many arrows get launched on my behalf vs successful stalks. Buck fever is a real thing.  Persistence is key, also switched to IQ bowsite which helps slow me down a bit to verify my shot.  it's real easy to clench your bow when you are jacked up and a little off adds up as yardage increases.  Also you mentioned downhill I think. I'd suggest a rangefinder that adjusts for angle compensation

[oz31p]

Check out Joel turners iron mind. I missed a ton inside 45 for the first few years. I have not missed an arrow on game since 2011.

I started bow hunting in 2009. 25+ animals since. Compound and recurve.
 

 

[HuntHarder]

Get a garmin sight.  Helps eliminate form/shooting errors when your not thinking about them.  

[oz31p]

1 minute ago, HuntHarder said:

Get a garmin sight.  Helps eliminate form/shooting errors when your not thinking about them.  

How does that site eliminate form errors?

[trphyhntr]

My friend keeps telling me I should switch to a back tension release I think they’re called, for my buck fever.

when I was younger, I couldn’t miss. Now that I know I can miss, I only miss. Mule deer just do that to me though, like when I touch rim on a hot chick.. 

[HuntHarder]

1 hour ago, oz31p said:

How does that site eliminate form errors?

Let's you know if you are torqueing your bow, or not looking thru your peep exactly the same way you sighted it in.  Pretty cool technology similar to the IQ sight tech. 

[Green Bullet]

23 hours ago, Esiegel91 said:

So long story short, I’m in az,  I’ve missed 2 deer (bow) in the last 3 seasons, first time was a 42.5 yard shot, 2nd was 55, I have no issues finding deer, but man, it seems like I just can’t seal the deal no matter what I do.  Any advice would be awesome. This season I’m having a hard time finding bucks but I think everyone is from what I read on fb and stuff. 

You suck. Hang it up and focus on fishing Or golf

 

man up bro   What do you want?  the internet to make you feel good….  Fight through adversity like anything else in life and make adjustments to achieve your desired outcome   Sometimes it’s just a matter of bad luck but crying to a bunch of internet cowboys (I include myself in that statement) is meek  and shows a lack of character   Grow up   

 

LOL

[creed]

12 hours ago, trphyhntr said:

My friend keeps telling me I should switch to a back tension release I think they’re called, for my buck fever.

when I was younger, I couldn’t miss. Now that I know I can miss, I only miss. Mule deer just do that to me though, like when I touch rim on a hot chick.. 

Randy Ulmer agrees. 
https://www.bowhunter.com/editorial/benefits-of-hinge-style-release-aids/18293

 

[Swivelhead]

When practicing whether rifle or bow try to execute a relaxed shot, i.e. no target panic/buck fever.  When hunting remember to transition from hunter to marksman at the moment of truth.

[runningbird]

I tried a back tension release.  was great for practice.  I absolutely could not hunt with the dang thing.  

[bigbuckfever]

I think every archer has had a bout of "buck fever" at one time.  The last two deer I connected on with a bow I was able to hold the pin almost perfectly still and I hit where my pin was holding.  I didn't start power shaking until after the shot, then I was a hot mess.  (It was awesome)  The last deer I tried to shoot at, I had two nice 3 pointers coming into my waterhole and I told myself I was going to shoot at the first one to give me an opportunity, even though the second one was noticeably bigger.  When the first one got to 32 yards and turned to look back at the bigger guy, I drew and shot and saw my arrow sail over his back.  I couldn't think straight and was shaking like a little kid before the shot.  I still relive that f-up and can't explain why I couldn't calm down before the shot.  It happens.  

The best advice I can give is to get a precise pre-shot routine that you can concentrate on as your drawing the arrow back.  Then TRY to concentrate on the follow through.  

A clean miss is better than a poor hit that only wounds the animal.