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First hunt with recurve. Having major anxiety leaving the wheels at home.

HuumanCreed

HuumanCreed

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2020
Messages
2,683
Location
Westminster Maryland
I'm nowhere near a good shooter. But even on my worse day with my compound bow, is still better on my good days with my recurve.

As opening day got near. I was developing real anxiety about my decision about only trad this season. Made the mistake of taking my compound out yesterday to make sure it still in tune after 6 months in storage. At 40 yards l was grouping baseball size. I forgot how much fun and confident it gave me. Even to this morning, l was close to putting the compound bow in the truck 'just in case'.

But as I'm in the tree now. All of the possible scenarios of wishing l had my compound bow run uncontrollable in my head.

I keep telling myself you knew what to expect. You know the stories of other letting lifetime bucks walk away at 30 yards. But to be in a situation that it can happens to me, just the realization of it kind of punch me in the face right about now.

Going to try to calm down in the dark as l wait for daylight. Hoping l find peace or make peace with myself before a deer show up.
 
Patience is the name of the game. You may see deer at 40 yards and need to refrain from shooting. Heck you might see a deer at 20 yards and not get a good shot opportunity. The modern brain wants everything quick and efficient - try turning that off. Cherish the time watching the miracle of life and observing the intricacies of nature. Wait for the right moment, the right shot, the right situation.
 
I’ve been there. In fact I had similar feelings during an out of state hunt in PA and missed a personal record with my back up “wheels”.
Last season was recurve only in archery, I went through my draw cycle on 3 bucks that were outside my range or a weird angle. I can appreciate it now as I didn’t miss or just rush a shot.

I had deer in recurve range during muzzleloader of course..!
trust your practice, slow down and enjoy the challenge; its just deer hunting, and there are a lot of great members on here that can offer advice
You can do it!
 
Being a new Trad hunter myself I know the exact feelings you're having. I too am a far cry from a competitive target archer but I have confidence with my wheeled setup. I'm less consistent with the longbow for sure. While I can't bring myself to dedicate to trad only, my plan this year is to lean heavily on the longbow earlier in the season when my sight/shot distances are more limited by foliage anyway. I don't worry about missing deer, my bigger concern is bad hits. To that end I'm going to try to limit my shot distances with the longbow to 15yds and in this year. Good luck and enjoy the season!
 
HuumanCreed said:
I'm nowhere near a good shooter. But even on my worse day with my compound bow, is still better on my good days with my recurve.

As opening day got near. I was developing real anxiety about my decision about only trad this season. Made the mistake of taking my compound out yesterday to make sure it still in tune after 6 months in storage. At 40 yards l was grouping baseball size. I forgot how much fun and confident it gave me. Even to this morning, l was close to putting the compound bow in the truck 'just in case'.

But as I'm in the tree now. All of the possible scenarios of wishing l had my compound bow run uncontrollable in my head.

I keep telling myself you knew what to expect. You know the stories of other letting lifetime bucks walk away at 30 yards. But to be in a situation that it can happens to me, just the realization of it kind of punch me in the face right about now.

Going to try to calm down in the dark as l wait for daylight. Hoping l find peace or make peace with myself before a deer show up.
Click to expand...
It's a whole new game.. You don't need to impress anyone but yourself. Do what you like and enjoy. There's nothing like being able to see the whiskers on the one you want to shoot, But it's pretty cool to see the one you plan to shoot at 35 yds and know without a doubt you can shoot him, So you just have to please yourself. Whichever you choose just be efficient with it and know your limits. Shoot straight and kill a giant friend.
 
If you don't feel ready, don't force it. I put the single string down more than once. You have to able to enjoy what you're doing. Trust me, the thought of laying a trad bow on a dead critter is something most bow hunters dream about. Just don't let it rule your season if you aren't 100% in to it.

I want to be able to shoot deer at a certain distance. Until I got confident at that 25-30 mark, I switched back and forth with bows. I almost bought another wheel bow.....then I focussed and practiced harder. I've saved myself $1500 or so by putting in more effort.

And don't be afraid to shoot. You gotta be able to dump the string without a long internal conversation.
 
HuumanCreed said:
I'm nowhere near a good shooter. But even on my worse day with my compound bow, is still better on my good days with my recurve.

As opening day got near. I was developing real anxiety about my decision about only trad this season. Made the mistake of taking my compound out yesterday to make sure it still in tune after 6 months in storage. At 40 yards l was grouping baseball size. I forgot how much fun and confident it gave me. Even to this morning, l was close to putting the compound bow in the truck 'just in case'.

But as I'm in the tree now. All of the possible scenarios of wishing l had my compound bow run uncontrollable in my head.

I keep telling myself you knew what to expect. You know the stories of other letting lifetime bucks walk away at 30 yards. But to be in a situation that it can happens to me, just the realization of it kind of punch me in the face right about now.

Going to try to calm down in the dark as l wait for daylight. Hoping l find peace or make peace with myself before a deer show up.
Click to expand...
Yep it’s normal I’d imagine, when I go from being able to shoot out to 100yds with my compound accurately and then step in the woods with my recurve where I’m limited to 30-35 yds it’s a humbling experience. What helps me is that even with my compound I’ve shot majority of my deer under 30 yds. But regardless it is unsettling but it’s natural, we as people always have a worry of missing out.
 
I’m reading Fred Bear’s Field Notes right now, that dude launched a lot of arrows from a recurve at 40-60 yards. But a mere mortal like myself, I’m waiting for a shootable deer at less than 20. This will be my year three, and unlike the last couple years I’ve got a bonus doe tag. But going from twenty years of public/private rifle hunting to public trad archery, it is a completely different game.
 
Well it happened. There was a 4 points chasing a doe it seem. He got within 20 yards of me. I know because l ranged the tree the doe passed. Once he got infront of the tree. I started drawing. The sound of the arrow scraping against the elevated rest to me sound like cat claw on windows for those 2 seconds. Guess he agreed. He looked right at me. I froze in full draw. I dont know how long l was at full draw but it seem forever. But he finally started to continue walking. So l readjusted my aim but the jerk faked me out! I swear he looked right at me again as l released. He jumped the string and my arrow sailed high and into the horizon.

I'm getting down from the tree and sitting on the ground for a few minutes. Really demoralized. Good bye arrow, don't even remember where it sail off to.

I was mentally prepared for some failures. But missing a velvet buck on opening day was probably on the top of my list of worse day.....
 
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HuumanCreed said:
Well it happened. There was a 4 points chasing the doe it seem. He got within 20 yards of me. I know because l ranged the tree the doe passed. Once he got infront of the tree. I started drawing. The sound of the arrow scraping against the elevated rest to me sound like cat claw on windows for those 2 seconds. Guess he agreed. He looked right at me. I froze in full draw. I dont know how long l was at full draw but it seem forever. But he finally started to continue walking. So l readjusted my aim but the jerk faked me out! I swear he looked right at me again as l released. He jumped the string and my arrow sailed high and into the horizon.

I'm getting down from the tree and sitting on the ground for a few minutes. Really demoralized. Good bye arrow, don't even remember where it sail off to.

I was mentally prepared for some failures. But missing a velvet buck on opening day was probably on the top of my list of worse day.....
Click to expand...

Try to enjoy yourself. You're off work, getting a few hours of peace, and seeing deer. You haven't maimed yourself or any critters. The rest is always gravy.
 
HuumanCreed said:
Well it happened. There was a 4 points chasing a doe it seem. He got within 20 yards of me. I know because l ranged the tree the doe passed. Once he got infront of the tree. I started drawing. The sound of the arrow scraping against the elevated rest to me sound like cat claw on windows for those 2 seconds. Guess he agreed. He looked right at me. I froze in full draw. I dont know how long l was at full draw but it seem forever. But he finally started to continue walking. So l readjusted my aim but the jerk faked me out! I swear he looked right at me again as l released. He jumped the string and my arrow sailed high and into the horizon.

I'm getting down from the tree and sitting on the ground for a few minutes. Really demoralized. Good bye arrow, don't even remember where it sail off to.

I was mentally prepared for some failures. But missing a velvet buck on opening day was probably on the top of my list of worse day.....
Click to expand...
You’re in your own head bud. Shake it off and try to enjoy the hunt. Whatever pressure you had with compound bow hunting, you compiled it by using a trad bow, but that’s ok. Traditional bow hunting is worth the work and added difficulties. You need to have confidence in yourself and in your shot. Even if it is false confidence you need to speak the confidence into existence. Last year I was in your shoes.

I told myself that I wanted to be on a lot of deer so that I didn’t feel compelled or pressured to take a shot I wasn’t confident in. I watched many deer come and go and I practiced my draw in the tree until I had an encounter with a deer that was clueless, at the right range, and I was comfortable with. Try to give yourself the best odds and when the time comes envision the hitting the deer. I know you have a big family and not a lot time to hunt so you’re going to have to not be so hard on yourself and accept the fact that you have low odds to kill a deer. Lowering the expectations of the season helps me enjoy my actual time in the woods. Quit over thinking it!

As far as making noise slow drawing your bow, that is something you can take home and improve on. Sounds like you might want to add felt or something to your rest and practice slow drawing the bow. I would do this inside sometimes where it is quite to hear how loud things are. It’s crazy what deer can pick up on sometimes.

Finally, I would say that you’re still gaining experience hunting deer and you may quickly be surprised by how easily you can get picked off drawing your trade bow. I know i sure was. When the deer in the area practice drawing your bow and envisioning a shot without release and without getting detected. Not getting detected is as much a part of hunting as the shot. Letting down without getting detected is as important to me as the draw.

Shake it off man! Walk it off! Enjoy the day!
 
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First things first.....why do you have a noisy arrow rest on a piece of equipment in which you are trying to shoot a high strung animal at under 20 yds?

That's just not thinking. Sorry.
 
gcr0003 said:
You’re in your own head bud. Shake it off and try to enjoy the hunt. Whatever pressure you had with compound bow hunting, you compiled it by using a trad bow, but that’s ok. Traditional bow hunting is worth the work and added difficulties. You need to have confidence in yourself and in your shot. Even if it is false confidence you need to speak the confidence into existence. Last year I was in your shoes. It is more if

I told myself that I wanted to be on a lot of deer so that I didn’t feel compelled or pressured to take a shot I wasn’t confident in. I watched many deer come and go and I practiced my draw in the tree until I had an encounter with a deer that was clueless, at the right range, and I was comfortable with. Try to give yourself the best odds and when the time comes envision the hitting the deer. I know you have a big family and not a lot time to hunt so you’re going to have to not be so hard on yourself and except the fact that you have low odds to kill a deer. Lowering the expectations of the season helps me enjoy my actual time in the woods. Quit over thinking it!

As far as making noise slow drawing your bow, that is something you can take home and improve on. Sounds like you might want to add felt or something to your rest and practice slow drawing the bow. I would do this inside sometimes where it is quite to hear how loud things are. It’s crazy what deer can pick up on sometimes.

Finally, I would say that you’re still gaining experience hunting deer and you may quickly be surprised by how easily you can get picked off drawing your trade bow. I know i sure was. When the deer in the area practice drawing your bow and envisioning a shot without release and without getting detected. Not getting detected is as much a part of hunting as the shot. Letting down without getting detected is as important to me as the draw.

Shake it off man! Walk it off! Enjoy the day!
Click to expand...
You're right. It's still a beautiful day and I'm coming home to a beautiful life. Family not going to starve. Thanks brothers. I needed to be reminded that stress when it comes to these things are self made. Found my peace. But giving up on lost arrow all the same....
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