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Need Advice on the Endgame

Scentlok Saddlepants said:
Having one of those years myself. So much learning, but after passing a bunch early, I stopped getting opportunities. More time in the field than ever before, but repeated gaffs. Burned myself out, but allowed a couple passes and forced myself to keep putting the time in and it made me appreciate the fresh air. A few of those days I basically just hiked with a bow in my hand… not interested but started learning like the early days. Different issues than yours but same hunting struggles. Honestly it’s probably what I needed because I didn’t have that kill drive early this season, then got in my head about not seeing anything, then about bumping them/over hunting spots/all kinds of rookie stuff. Good reset year and honestly enjoying it(even if I’ve been ready for the season to end a month ago)
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I bet you’ll be extra fired up next year.
 
Scentlok Saddlepants said:
Having one of those years myself. So much learning, but after passing a bunch early, I stopped getting opportunities. More time in the field than ever before, but repeated gaffs. Burned myself out, but allowed a couple passes and forced myself to keep putting the time in and it made me appreciate the fresh air. A few of those days I basically just hiked with a bow in my hand… not interested but started learning like the early days. Different issues than yours but same hunting struggles. Honestly it’s probably what I needed because I didn’t have that kill drive early this season, then got in my head about not seeing anything, then about bumping them/over hunting spots/all kinds of rookie stuff. Good reset year and honestly enjoying it(even if I’ve been ready for the season to end a month ago)
Click to expand...
I bet you’ll be extra fired up next year.
HuskerInIowa said:
I agree with most of what has been said. It’s hunting, stuff happens, we learn from it, we grow.

The only thing I’d add, and I am sincerely trying to help and in no way intending to be mean, is that it seems you may be a little more gear focused than shoot your bow and stay calm focused. I say that as a support thread buys too much gear guy myself. If you don’t have buck fever and are completely missing or wounding deer several times that’s a separate issue from a broadhead coming off.

Personally I think you had a little bit of a realization when you wrote that out; it’s not buck fever but you make bad decisions when deer come in so….Breathe and have fun brother. You got this.
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Ya I’m not blaming the gear or focused on the gear, I was trying to say at least half my mess up’s are not gear failure related so that means it’s all me. And that’s what I’m trying to get help fixing. A loose broadhead or leaning out to shoot and having your predator kick out bc you didn’t cam it, those bonehead mistakes only happen once and are easy fixes.

But for me I have a ton of mistakes I can’t figure out how to fix. I seem to draw too soon or too late and I seem to get pegged in the tree almost every time a deer is in range. I may get pegged and still kill, or should have had a kill, but I’m getting pegged a lot.
 
All good advice so far, but…..you say “no buck fever”, but there’s some kinda fever. If you took the shot at the buck above at the angle the pic shows then it’s lack of confidence fever. No need to take that shot, he has no choice but to make the angle better no matter which way he goes from there. Wait for the good shot. You’re rushing because your brain is trying to convince you to shoot before something bad happens.

My advice? Follow GCTerp dude’s advice above with one caveat….wait until the deer is at the verge of going out of range. Once you do that the first time try on the next one to go through the entire shot process as soon as the deer gets in range without spooking it. Then do it again as it’s going out of range.

You need to get extremely comfortable having deer around you, especially deer you plan to kill, because that comfort level vetoes the panic from the brain saying you’re not going to make the shot and you’re left to simply pick the time and execute the shot.
 
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Patriot said:
I really need some help. I THINK what I need help with is knowing when to draw, and perhaps selecting better trees for better cover, but if you think of other stuff by all means please just give advice.

So here’s the summary on me and why I need help. Been doing this 6 years. First 3 seasons I killed does and two small bucks but never saw deer, I killed basically every deer I encountered and never missed those first several deer.

Then 3 seasons ago it all kinda clicked from reading this site, consuming all podcast and YouTube content and then all of a sudden in a low deer density state I’m passing on does every other hunt and I’m getting onto really good bucks for my area anywhere from 3 to 7 encounters per season, all well within bow range, and many great encounters with really good bucks for my area. I’m too ashamed to tell you how many I missed completely and I’m LUCKY that I only wounded one but I know hes alive so that’s good.

So in my opinion I’m pretty good at everything except closing the deal. It’s not buck fever, I’m pretty chill but I def make bad decisions so maybe that is a form of fever?

For all of my mess ups about half are gear related things I think I have corrected, stand kick out bc I forgot to cam it down, freakin broad head flew off on a gorgeous buck bc after weeks of hunting I didn’t think to tighten the BH and I didn’t apply lock tite.

But non gear related mess ups, I’ve drawn too early and held as long as I could but it all broke down. A few weeks ago this nice buck was 18 feet from me but I didn’t draw as he walked in bc he was walking straight at me and I didn’t want him to peg me. But then he was so on top of me he got me anyway.

I’ve hit branches I’ve misjudged distance, I believed I went too far w the heavy arrow and single bevel movement and that lead to more variance to arrow flight path if I miss judged distance. I corrected that by going to auto lock broadheads with lighter arrow and no more brass inserts.

I dunno, I can get on top of them but I find a way to fk it up for many many encounters for THREE YEARS STRAIGHT!!!!

please help. I am so close to putting it all together but I can’t get over the hump.

This pic is zero zoom taken from my tactacam. I could have jumped out the tree and stabbed him lol. But I messed up on him too.
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Congrats you're human :)

Here's some things I would think about:

1. go to a standard setup (normal weight arrow, 3 or 4 blade broadhead, no fancy inserts/outserts, normal pin sight of 1 to 3 pins, handheld laser rangefinder)

2. you've learned a lot from outside sources, but maybe you've learned enough to make yourself more your point of origin.....as a confidence thing....but continue to learn of course

2. start shooting 3D but don't obsess about score, try to make it as applicable to hunting as possible

3. don't stop shooting does

Related to point 3, once I got better at getting on mature bucks, shooting does started losing its shine (especially after a back injury and now part of my decision is "do I want the pain and risk of getting a doe out of here"....but you can mitigate that by where you'll shoot a doe on the landscape). I also wouldn't shoot smaller bucks. This resulted in seasons where I didn't even pull back my bow. When I did draw, I was out of practice and it seemed like way bigger of a deal than it actually was. So, I've decided I have to keep taking does to stay tuned up. I'll give the meat away to hunters for the hungry or other people if necessary. None of it will go to waste.

I missed every deer I shot at from age 15 to 18 because of nerves until one day a doe jumped out unexpected and I shot it without thinking too much. That ended that bad streak.

4. I have mantras I repeat on stand and I also visualize my potential shots (and range find to those spots while waiting and make a game out of memorizing at least 6 yardages to useful landmarks). These mantras include "smart, slow, silent" and "finger behind the trigger, stop the deer, pick your spot".
 
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dbow0603 said:
To be fair to the TV guys most won't show you the effort or the time they put in either. The other day I watched a show where to guy said he had logged over 40 hours that week of hunting, on private land!
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This is true, but also people lie all the time regarding hunting feats, especially when money and attention are involved.

Sometimes, the back story might be that they have an advantage that they aren't letting on or there was hard work by other people.

So, I don't compare myself to anyone on TV/youtube.
 
raisins said:
Congrats you're human :)

Here's some things I would think about:

1. go to a standard setup (normal weight arrow, 3 or 4 blade broadhead, no fancy inserts/outserts, normal pin sight of 1 to 3 pins, handheld laser rangefinder)

2. you've learned a lot from outside sources, but maybe you've learned enough to make yourself more your point of origin.....as a confidence thing....but continue to learn of course

2. start shooting 3D but don't obsess about score, try to make it as applicable to hunting as possible

3. don't stop shooting does

Related to point 3, once I got better at getting on mature bucks, shooting does started losing its shine (especially after a back injury and now part of my decision is "do I want the pain and risk of getting a doe out of here"....but you can mitigate that by where you'll shoot a doe on the landscape). I also wouldn't shoot smaller bucks. This resulted in seasons where I didn't even pull back my bow. When I did draw, I was out of practice and it seemed like way bigger of a deal than it actually was. So, I've decided I have to keep taking does to stay tuned up. I'll give the meat away to hunters for the hungry or other people if necessary. None of it will go to waste.

I missed every deer I shot at from age 15 to 18 because of nerves until one day a doe jumped out unexpected and I shot it without thinking too much. That ended that bad streak.

4. I have mantras I repeat on stand and I also visualize my potential shots (and range find to those spots while waiting and make a game out of memorizing at least 6 yardages to useful landmarks). These mantras include "smart, slow, silent" and "finger behind the trigger, stop the deer, pick your spot".
Click to expand...

PS....long range practice also helps me a lot


I hunt with a 2 fixed pin sight (25 and 40 yards) now. I should be switching out to my 5 pin sight during the off season though. When I used a 1 pin slider, I found that if I shot regularly at 60 yards, then 40 yard and in shots were much easier. My personal limit is around 40 or 45 yards when hunting.
 
Patriot said:
I got obsessed with scouting for 3 years and did it all the time. And thru scouting I basically learned to hunt swamp edges exclusively and find the trails coming out thru scouting, and then there are always trails just outside the swamp that circle the swamp and I hunt just outside that ring. And if I’m not hunting a swamp I’m hunting thick woods right on the edge of the hardwoods where it meets the woods where it’s basically a swamp lol. Like those parts of the woods where there is about a foot of water between the clumps of trees? It’s not quite a swamp but it is water about a foot or more deep. I dunno man, I’ve just always found the most sign in these areas. And through scouting I came up with what I call my “circuit” and I go thru my circuit based on time of year and wind direction and I rarely ever hunt the same place twice.

So, scout, hunt swamps, and first sit best sit.
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I am in that 3 year period now... I scout year round. Can I ask where you are? I am in the panhandle of Florida and am getting more and more drawn to our swamps....
 
I will go against the grain a little. If you want to kill deer put the bow down and grab a gun. If you want to do it for the "experience" then enjoy all the experiences you are already having. I still screw up gun hunts, but when I am needing to put meat in the freezer I am not grabbing my bow (well my crossbow) I am grabbing my gun.
 
Patriot said:
What’s a dart system? Do you have the name of the thread you started?
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It’s a simulator where you screw in special flat tips and shoot at videos of game. It doesn’t help with range estimation as you’re at the same distance but the game interaction is life like and fleeting. This helps you with timing your shots on moving real time game animals.
 
I've always thought that small game hunting with your bow would be great practice for deer.
 
jphillips97 said:
I am in that 3 year period now... I scout year round. Can I ask where you are? I am in the panhandle of Florida and am getting more and more drawn to our swamps....
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NH, I wouldn’t be caught dead in a FL swamp haha. You boys are brave
 
Once you stop trying to be perfect, it gets easier.
Actually, it's easy to begin with.....we as humans want to complicate it.
 
Every deer that comes in you should envision shooting. When a fawn comes in or whatever that you have no intention to shoot, walk through the process of when you would draw, when you would expect the shot etc. You'll be amazed at how many times you would of drew back at the wrong time, expected a shot that never comes etc. Just use each encounter as a learning experience, especially those where there's never an intention of actually shooting. Also consider every deer in bow range a win, its not always about the kill.
 
Tell my wife that every deer in bow range is a win, when she has been home with the kids all day and I come home empty handed.
 
Patriot said:
I really need some help. I THINK what I need help with is knowing when to draw, and perhaps selecting better trees for better cover, but if you think of other stuff by all means please just give advice.

So here’s the summary on me and why I need help. Been doing this 6 years. First 3 seasons I killed does and two small bucks but never saw deer, I killed basically every deer I encountered and never missed those first several deer.

Then 3 seasons ago it all kinda clicked from reading this site, consuming all podcast and YouTube content and then all of a sudden in a low deer density state I’m passing on does every other hunt and I’m getting onto really good bucks for my area anywhere from 3 to 7 encounters per season, all well within bow range, and many great encounters with really good bucks for my area. I’m too ashamed to tell you how many I missed completely and I’m LUCKY that I only wounded one but I know hes alive so that’s good.

So in my opinion I’m pretty good at everything except closing the deal. It’s not buck fever, I’m pretty chill but I def make bad decisions so maybe that is a form of fever?

For all of my mess ups about half are gear related things I think I have corrected, stand kick out bc I forgot to cam it down, freakin broad head flew off on a gorgeous buck bc after weeks of hunting I didn’t think to tighten the BH and I didn’t apply lock tite.

But non gear related mess ups, I’ve drawn too early and held as long as I could but it all broke down. A few weeks ago this nice buck was 18 feet from me but I didn’t draw as he walked in bc he was walking straight at me and I didn’t want him to peg me. But then he was so on top of me he got me anyway.

I’ve hit branches I’ve misjudged distance, I believed I went too far w the heavy arrow and single bevel movement and that lead to more variance to arrow flight path if I miss judged distance. I corrected that by going to auto lock broadheads with lighter arrow and no more brass inserts.

I dunno, I can get on top of them but I find a way to fk it up for many many encounters for THREE YEARS STRAIGHT!!!!

please help. I am so close to putting it all together but I can’t get over the hump.

This pic is zero zoom taken from my tactacam. I could have jumped out the tree and stabbed him lol. But I messed up on him too.
Click to expand...
I hear a couple or three things in this post, you dont have absolute confidence in your gear, you dont have confidence in yourself and you expect a bad outcome. You absolutely need the first two and absolutely have to get rid on the last. I have said this before on here but I think your post is a perfect place to repeat it. Deer hunting is everything that happens up to the point the deer is in range, then the deer killing starts. This off season(quickly), I would encourage you to pick your bow and arrow setup, make sure it is tuned and then under no circumstance monkey with it until after next season. Spend the off season shooting from a tree in every sort of tight shooting scenario you can imagine. To the point you know exactly where that arrow is going every shot and that it is going to hit exactly where you send it. Next season, use your antlerless tags asap, no passing up shots. And then follow @GCTerpfan and @dalton916 advice about drawing on pretty much every deer that gets in range(killing time). Finally get mad at 'em. Look at every single one of 'em like they stole something from you. All that is left at that point is to break a clean shot every time.
 
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