Best strategy for drawing back and not being seen before the shot?

[lmastrine]

Hi,

I'm very new to saddle hunting, very much looking forward to later this year. I am wondering if anyone has any strategies to avoid being seen right before the shot with respect to drawing back on your bow. I plan on being up atleast 20 feet. Thanks

 

[Jtaylor]

Use brush, limbs, etc to your advantage. Then let er rip when it steps into your shooting window. Another thing I was taught was if you can't see their eyes, they probably can't see you.

 

[BTaylor]

Hi,

I'm very new to saddle hunting, very much looking forward to later this year. I am wondering if anyone has any strategies to avoid being seen right before the shot with respect to drawing back on your bow. I plan on being up atleast 20 feet. Thanks

Shoot a draw weight that you are in absolute control of regardless of position or conditions. This allows you to position the bow for the shot, prior to drawing, so the only movement is your draw arm elbow moving back into the full draw position.

 

[Nutterbuster]

I have never been busted doing anything by a deer that had its head behind a tree. If you can see eyes, those eyes can see you. I generally draw as soon as they out something between their eyes and me.

 

[kyler1945]

1 - cover at deer's eye level, or closer to the deer than you, is far more effective than cover at your eye level, or closer to you. pick an ambush that makes best use of this fact.

2 - get proficient with your weapon/don't be overbowed. being able to draw, settle, aim, and shoot quickly has an advantage - you can draw on a deer that is looking in your direction. It will stop to identify the movement (unless it's already jacked and on alert), and you may be able to touch off a shot before it identifies you. Not being overbowed let's you go in opposite direction and draw extremely slowly which can go undetected. I've done both.

 

[Nutterbuster]

Or just embrace the dark side and buy a hickory creek mini. Draw your bow at the truck.

 

[BTaylor]

Or just embrace the dark side and buy a hickory creek mini. Draw your bow at the truck.

Smokeless in your ML and powderless in your cross gun huh?

 

[Nutterbuster]

Smokeless in your ML and powderless in your cross gun huh?

Millenials. Proudly killing blockbusters, chain restaurants, Mcmansions, and the archery "tradition."

 

[Weldabeast]

I try pick trees that is waist to shoulder width . I'll try to stay 180 of the animal. I'll peek around to look but I'll draw on the opposite side if at all possible. Turning my bows draw weight down helped significantly also

 

[gameflogger]

Hi,

I'm very new to saddle hunting, very much looking forward to later this year. I am wondering if anyone has any strategies to avoid being seen right before the shot with respect to drawing back on your bow. I plan on being up atleast 20 feet. Thanks

I always try to hunt in forked trees, or clusters of trees, I personally have found that the closer the deer is to me in a saddle, the easier it is to draw my bow back, if they are close they have to be looking straight up to see you. You just have to be sure that your bow, arrow rest, and clothing are silent when you are drawing back. A slight breeze or wind noise helps.

 

[flinginairos]

Shoot a draw weight that you are in absolute control of regardless of position or conditions. This allows you to position the bow for the shot, prior to drawing, so the only movement is your draw arm elbow moving back into the full draw position.

Bingo. Just because you can shoot 70lbs standing in your yard doesn’t mean you should in the woods. You need to be able to draw slow and smooth with the bow aimed at your intended target. Other than that it’s just like drawing from a stand. Wait until their head is behind something or their attention is elsewhere then slowly draw. In cases where they do happen to see you they normally pause long enough to kill them. In most cases at least. Lol. Also make sure your arrow doesn’t make any noise on the draw.


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[huntin_addict]

Learn how to draw straight back to your anchor point. Too many people are over-bowed. Hold bow straight out in front of you and pull straight back to your anchor point. Your bow itself will actually help to mask some of this.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Learn how to draw straight back to your anchor point. Too many people are over-bowed. Hold bow straight out in front of you and pull straight back to your anchor point. Your bow itself will actually help to mask some of this.

This^^^
Also, don't get skylined. Better to be lower in cover than to be high and stick out like a sore thumb.
And learn deer behavior and body language. I shoot traditional and can't and hold for a long time before the shot, but it's pretty surprising what movement I can get away with when deer are right in my lap. Knowing body language and the mood of the deer can help you when to decide to move.

 

[Gator]

Agree with the others about being overbowed, if you can't draw without a sky draw you need to lower your poundage. Like already mentioned, pulling your arm straight back with no bow movement, your bow and body hide a lot of that movement

 

[Kurt]

#1 watch the deer, they will let you know when it's safe to draw.
#2 good cover
#3 let your body and the tree if possible, block your draw arm going back.
#4 set up and or wait for shots going away when possible.
#5 definitely a bow you can handle, practice crazy angles and uncomfortable positions.
#6 draw early and hold, this is a tough one because you never know if their going to hold up before they get where you need them.
Decide for yourself depending on the situation if it's better to get busted drawing thinking you may get the shot, or let the animal walk and maybe get a crack at him another day.

 

[Bigfoot522]

With both recurves and compound I always pick my moment as the deer approaches to methodically reach for my bow, pick it up, position it to where I fore see my shot and then I tension the string feels like a third of the draw, I then am ready to just stroke the bow to full draw at which point it's about over for that deer. This is done slower than it reads.

New bees make the mistake of moving freely like they see on t.v. and alert the deer or flat out get busted. Many deer that "duck " the arrow are often times in ninja mode because of this.
Knowing when and how to move in the presence of game is possibly the most important part of a good harvest.

 

[Weldabeast]

I set my draw weight to were I can hold the bow straight down at my side and draw with my elbow traveling straight up. I'm not exactly sure the exact weight but according to how many turns I took out the the limb bolts should be 56-60. Drawing and just shooting in general is much more enjoyable.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

I agree with all of the above but one thing I didn't see was to possibly wait until the deer passes by you before drawing.

When I set up I try to visualize the directions a deer may come from and try to formulate a plan for each scenario. For instance, that scenario may be different for a deer traveling left to right versus right to left on the same trail. Sometimes the best scenario is to let them pass by and draw and shoot once they're headed away from you. Quartering away shots are generally preferred anyway.

 

[CptFrank]

One thing I have gotten away with when all else fails, if the deer is moving and its focus is elsewhere or it is relaxed, you can get away with slow methodical movements.

My theory on why this works is even if the deer is relaxed but standing still its eye will be drawn to movement since from its surroundings are stationary. However if it is walking all of the trees and leaves will be moving relative to the deer's eye. By this logic as long as your movements are slower than the rest of your surroundings, your movements wont stand out.

Do i think this is as reliable as waiting until his head is behind a tree? No. Can this allow you to get into position when you otherwise wouldn't get a shot? It has worked for me a few times.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

Millenials. Proudly killing blockbusters, chain restaurants, Mcmansions, and the archery "tradition."

Dagnab kids . . . no respect for nuttin'