WHATS THE RUSH?

[rebstud]

#5248

I’m new at Traditional Bow hunting, but have been hunting with a compound for years. Is it just me,or does every one fill like their being rush to take a shot only to miss! I shoot pretty good at targets but have missed some close up shot at deer. When its all over I’m not really sure i concentrated on a spot! Any suggestions on staying cool enough to make a good shot on a nice deer? I shoot instictive, and like I said shoot pretty good at targets but rush to shoot at deer and seem to make bad shots!!!

[Patrick]

#38760

Howdy and….huh?

[Mark Turton]

#38838

No, it’s everyone else.

[P.J. Petiniot]

#40161

Rushing your shot when shooting at a live animal is something that many of us do at times–I think when the moment of truth has arrived and everything is going right, your brain says “hurry up, this deer won’t stand there looking the other way forever” and you don’t “stay calm and pick a spot”

You need to make sure you have a routine when you shoot-you need to do everything exactly the same regardless if you are shooting at deer or targets of deer.

When I make sure I do everything the same shooting at an animal as I do shooting at a target, the evidense is usually laying at my feet shortly after the arrow is loosed-

If I have broken my routine and not fully concentrated all the way until the arrow hits where I am looking, I am usually in for a long day-

Practice, practice, practice–That is what it takes–If you are not 100% confident in your ability to make any given shot, you shouldn’t take it–

And sometimes, live creatures just have that 6th sense going for them–More times than I can count I have had an animal about to make his final step of two and for whatever reason–they just FEEL something isn’t right and they go back the way they came from–

[rebstud]

#40246

P.J. Petiniot wrote: Rushing your shot when shooting at a live animal is something that many of us do at times–I think when the moment of truth has arrived and everything is going right, your brain says “hurry up, this deer won’t stand there looking the other way forever” and you don’t “stay calm and pick a spot”

You need to make sure you have a routine when you shoot-you need to do everything exactly the same regardless if you are shooting at deer or targets of deer.

When I make sure I do everything the same shooting at an animal as I do shooting at a target, the evidense is usually laying at my feet shortly after the arrow is loosed-

If I have broken my routine and not fully concentrated all the way until the arrow hits where I am looking, I am usually in for a long day-

Practice, practice, practice–That is what it takes–If you are not 100% confident in your ability to make any given shot, you shouldn’t take it–

And sometimes, live creatures just have that 6th sense going for them–More times than I can count I have had an animal about to make his final step of two and for whatever reason–they just FEEL something isn’t right and they go back the way they came from–

Sounds like good commonsence advice. I’ve been shooting for an hour in the morning and evening for about two weeks now, and feel like I’m doing a little better. I shoot a 51# Black Widow recurve and trying hard to stay in a routine, shooting at 20yrds most the time and 30yrds a little. Feel like I’m making some head way drawing the bow back and holding it with little discomfort. Seems like I hold pretty much on the 30yrd as I do the 20yrd shot (instinctively) so thats going to be my limit I guess. Still not sure of the broad heads to shoot with all the pros, and cons I’ve been reading on!! A bit confusing,I think I’ve settle on the Eclipse two bladed type. But thats a whole differant chapter. Thanks for taking the time to respond..Regards Wade

[P.J. Petiniot]

#40272

Wade–

I will offer up one more piece of free advice-It will be worth exactly what you paid for it;)

Although there is nothing wrong with gaining the skills it takes to hit targets at 20-30 yerds, you must first be completely confident and competent at 5-15 yards-I mean you must know that you will never miss at those ranges before you worry about longer ranges-At this point in your traditional archery journey, I would concentrate on making the shot at much closer ranges. In a woodlan invironment, even having the oportunity to make a 30 yard shot is pretty rare-

As a traditional bowhunter, the majority of your shots will be close (5-15 yards) you want to know you can kill every creature that crosses your path at those ranges-

If you do this, you will become a successfull bowhunter, this I am sure of.

As for Eclipse broadheads-You cannot go wrong with these heads. Blake is a great guy and I will be using these heads exclusivly for the first time this season.

I have used many heads over the years and kept coming back to Zwickey Deltas. I love the heads and I have killed a lot of stuff with them but I know Blake and his family. They are good people and he makes a great product. I am going to give these heads an honest run this season and I will not shoot anything else. I have shot them and they are flying great for me-no issues there..

Keep us posted on your practice routine and tell us of your progress.

[rebstud]

#40284

P.J. Petiniot wrote: Wade–

I will offer up one more piece of free advice-It will be worth exactly what you paid for it;)

Although there is nothing wrong with gaining the skills it takes to hit targets at 20-30 yerds, you must first be completely confident and competent at 5-15 yards-I mean you must know that you will never miss at those ranges before you worry about longer ranges-At this point in your traditional archery journey, I would concentrate on making the shot at much closer ranges. In a woodlan invironment, even having the oportunity to make a 30 yard shot is pretty rare-

As a traditional bowhunter, the majority of your shots will be close (5-15 yards) you want to know you can kill every creature that crosses your path at those ranges-

If you do this, you will become a successfull bowhunter, this I am sure of.

As for Eclipse broadheads-You cannot go wrong with these heads. Blake is a great guy and I will be using these heads exclusivly for the first time this season.

I have used many heads over the years and kept coming back to Zwickey Deltas. I love the heads and I have killed a lot of stuff with them but I know Blake and his family. They are good people and he makes a great product. I am going to give these heads an honest run this season and I will not shoot anything else. I have shot them and they are flying great for me-no issues there..

Keep us posted on your practice routine and tell us of your progress.

P.J.

Besides your obvious experiance,and your advice is easy on the pocket(Ha Ha)my evening practice will be some what closer to my targets. My wife says my back yard looks like a zoo, for all the 3-D targets I’ve purchased over the last month or so. And thanks for your insight on the Eclipse heads. I do have one quicky for you! I was reading an article by Ashby on single bevel broadheads because of their bone crushing capabilities. Have you heard of such a broadhead,and if so what is your take on them? Oh I puchased a Doz.cedar arrows from Northwest Archery with 5 1/2″ feathers,so the heads that are in question will be the type that are held in place with an adhesive.

[Buzzard]

#43001

Rebstud, i’m +1 with PJ. It’s fun to play with 30yd shots around the yard, but in the field, with live animals, 20yd is my limit. If i’m shooting good around the house at 30yd, then a 10ydr at a groundhog or deer feels like a chip shot. I shot zwickey eskimos for decades and love them, but you’ll not go wrong with Eclipse. You can read more about the single bevel heads at this site on Dr. Eds page. You may or may not need them depending on the game you’ll be hunting. Don’t try to rush your accuracy ideals. With no pins, it’s more diffucult to get consistancy.

[rebstud]

#43616

buzzard wrote: Rebstud, i’m +1 with PJ. It’s fun to play with 30yd shots around the yard, but in the field, with live animals, 20yd is my limit. If i’m shooting good around the house at 30yd, then a 10ydr at a groundhog or deer feels like a chip shot. I shot zwickey eskimos for decades and love them, but you’ll not go wrong with Eclipse. You can read more about the single bevel heads at this site on Dr. Eds page. You may or may not need them depending on the game you’ll be hunting. Don’t try to rush your accuracy ideals. With no pins, it’s more diffucult to get consistancy.

Hey Zard: I know where your comimg from. I started shooting from 5yrds and that was a no brainer, went back to 10yrds and still grouped in about 4″, so went back at 16yrds wher I grouped at about 10″ with an occasional opps. 16yrds is a little weird but gets me out of the Florida sun (shade tree). I hunt in Ga. and have quit a few 130,140 bucks so I really want to get my skills honed. My son, and nephew both shot nice 125 bucks, but still rifle hunt. I only Traditional bow hunt so I have some catching up to do! I’ve made up my mind to limit mt shooting to 20yrds since I enjoy hunting in heavy cover. I still have a lot of oracticing to do and do so two times a day for an hour or so. I’m getting more commfortable with my shooting, but still pretty much shoot from a standing possition. I read somewhere a guy practiced sitting on a bucket! Sounds like a good idea, but I don’t think I’m ready for that. I stand up in my loc-ons most the time but do sit to rest(I’m sure thats when BIG BOY will show up). But any rate still at it and thanks for all the input, it does reall help us guys just starting out… Regards Wade

[MontanaFord]

#45545

All of the advice here is solid and sound. On a lighter note, if I was to say that I had never missed a shot, you could bet your life savings that I had never taken a shot. I’ve missed lots and killed few. But that’s hunting at its best. At its worst, you get to spend all day looking for that animal that you made a bad shot on, or spend all night hoping that it doesn’t rain and you can find your animal in short order in the morning. Always be prepared for the worst, but pray for the best, and as was said above….PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!!

Good shooting!

Michael

[Hiram]

#45809

The shot may be rushed, but the sequence is burned in through Bale work and proper practice. I only shoot when the position is right. Now getting to this point as a Hunting Archer included not always doing this in the proper:) order lol

[rebstud]

#45894

Hiram wrote: The shot may be rushed, but the sequence is burned in through Bale work and proper practice. I only shoot when the position is right. Now getting to this point as a Hunting Archer included not always doing this in the proper:) order lol

Thanks Guys I’ll keep practicing, one thing I’m still a little fuzzy about,which is this. Being an X compound hunter it’s a known fact arrow flight is always a bit high shooting from a tree stand. although I shoot instictive do I shot as if there going to be a rise in my arrow flight?

[rebstud]

#46054

MontanaFord wrote: All of the advice here is solid and sound. On a lighter note, if I was to say that I had never missed a shot, you could bet your life savings that I had never taken a shot. I’ve missed lots and killed few. But that’s hunting at its best. At its worst, you get to spend all day looking for that animal that you made a bad shot on, or spend all night hoping that it doesn’t rain and you can find your animal in short order in the morning. Always be prepared for the worst, but pray for the best, and as was said above….PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!!

Good shooting!
Michael; thanks for your input. I still have a lot of practicing to do!
I hope I haven’t picked up any bad habits. I still want to try shooting
from a sitting position(on a bucket). From a tree stand,to see if
there’s any arrow rise as with a compound bow. I own a Martin Savannah
longbow@55#, and a Black Widow recurve bow @51# enjoy shooting both, but
I quess I need to make up my mind which to hunt with! Both have good
points and like I said love shooting both. What do you think?

Michael

[MontanaFord]

#48908

To be honest, I’ve never hunted from a tree stand. But, anything with a trajectory, be it a rifle, hand gun, compound, recurve or longbow, it will “hit high” shooting up hill or down hill. Figure it this way…if the animal is uphill or downhill from you, you can create a right triangle out of your position in relation to the animal’s location. The vertical distance is the vertical side of the triangle. The horizontal distance is the horizontal side of the triangle, and the distance from hunter to target is the diagonal line. NOW…we all know that the diagonal is the actual distance from shooter to target. However, what most novice shooters don’t realize (and I learned this the hard way by missing a huge whitetail buck with my rifle) is that when shooting, the only distance that matters where trajectory is concerned is the true horizontal distance from you to the animal. Elevation only affects one thing….the actual distance from shooter to target. Trajectory is only affected by the horizontal distance to the target. If a deer is 20 yards from the base of your tree, the only distance that will affect your arrow (or bullet) is the 20 yards. It doesn’t matter if you are up in the tree or on the ground, you would shoot for (or aim) like you are shooting 20 yards. If you are 20 feet up in the tree, and the deer is 20 yard (60 feet), the actual distance is 21 yards (63 feet). That 21 yards doesn’t matter. This is where range finders can hinder more than help. Many range finders do not take out the factor of the elevation…they only shoot the distance from you to the target. If you’re uphill or downhill, and your range finder doesn’t compensate, you might miss. Hope this helps. If I managed to confuse somebody, please let me know where I confused you, and I’ll try and explain it better.

Michael.

[rebstud]

#49119

MontanaFord wrote: To be honest, I’ve never hunted from a tree stand. But, anything with a trajectory, be it a rifle, hand gun, compound, recurve or longbow, it will “hit high” shooting up hill or down hill. Figure it this way…if the animal is uphill or downhill from you, you can create a right triangle out of your position in relation to the animal’s location. The vertical distance is the vertical side of the triangle. The horizontal distance is the horizontal side of the triangle, and the distance from hunter to target is the diagonal line. NOW…we all know that the diagonal is the actual distance from shooter to target. However, what most novice shooters don’t realize (and I learned this the hard way by missing a huge whitetail buck with my rifle) is that when shooting, the only distance that matters where trajectory is concerned is the true horizontal distance from you to the animal. Elevation only affects one thing….the actual distance from shooter to target. Trajectory is only affected by the horizontal distance to the target. If a deer is 20 yards from the base of your tree, the only distance that will affect your arrow (or bullet) is the 20 yards. It doesn’t matter if you are up in the tree or on the ground, you would shoot for (or aim) like you are shooting 20 yards. If you are 20 feet up in the tree, and the deer is 20 yard (60 feet), the actual distance is 21 yards (63 feet). That 21 yards doesn’t matter. This is where range finders can hinder more than help. Many range finders do not take out the factor of the elevation…they only shoot the distance from you to the target. If you’re uphill or downhill, and your range finder doesn’t compensate, you might miss. Hope this helps. If I managed to confuse somebody, please let me know where I confused you, and I’ll try and explain it better.

Michael.

I’m not sure if that’s correct. Mathematically I fill your correct,but you haven’t taken in consideration gravitational pull on the arrow! If I understand your theory the arrow would hit the target(deer) low. All my tree stand experience with a compound if the deer is 20yrds from the base of the tree, and your say 25ft up in your stand although the hypotenuse of the angle is greater, your arrow shoots over his back due to less gravitational pull. My statement come from an article I read yeas ago…Regards Wade

[Robin Conrads]

#49303

Here is T.J.’s take on it. This “Tip of the Week” from a while back was taken from his book, The Traditional Bowhunter’s Handbook. Shooting Up and Down

[rebstud]

#49447

TBMADMIN wrote: Here is T.J.’s take on it. This “Tip of the Week” from a while back was taken from his book, The Traditional Bowhunter’s Handbook. Shooting Up and Down

Good job Robin..Thanks,Practice rears its ugly head again!..Regards Wade

[DAbersold]

#53031

Rebstud – I’d like to throw in my two cents worth on your original question. First off, you are not alone. Anyone who has hunted much has missed easy shots. (Some of us just don’t admit it outside of family members.):oops:

One thing that I have found helps me is to get in as much small game hunting as possible in the off season. No matter how much bale practice I get, it’s completely different when shooting at live game.(mentally) So, the more live game I shoot, the more relaxed I feel when it comes to deer, bear, elk, or whatever. Now, you can’t compare a screaming bull elk at 15 yds. with a jack rabbit, but it is still different than a bale of hay, or even stump shooting for that matter. In fact, I’m off in about an hour to see if I can’t find me a screaming jack rabbit.:wink:

[rebstud]

#62096

dabersold wrote: Rebstud – I’d like to throw in my two cents worth on your original question. First off, you are not alone. Anyone who has hunted much has missed easy shots. (Some of us just don’t admit it outside of family members.):oops:

One thing that I have found helps me is to get in as much small game hunting as possible in the off season. No matter how much bale practice I get, it’s completely different when shooting at live game.(mentally) So, the more live game I shoot, the more relaxed I feel when it comes to deer, bear, elk, or whatever. Now, you can’t compare a screaming bull elk at 15 yds. with a jack rabbit, but it is still different than a bale of hay, or even stump shooting for that matter. In fact, I’m off in about an hour to see if I can’t find me a screaming jack rabbit.:wink:

Thanks Dabersold, I recieved my new Eclipse in the mail today,and put a good edge on them after a few practice shots. Lucky enough they flew perfect. Tomorrow morning I’ll get in the woods and see how it works on hogs. I’m taking all the advice I’ve recieved from all you guys and take my time, get a good broad side shot and see what happens..Thanks everyone…Later Wade

[tom-wisconsin]

#8179

Hello Wade, Hope you find a nice hog. The eclipse bh will not let you down. Good Hunting.

[rebstud]

#8247

Tom-Wisconsin wrote: Hello Wade, Hope you find a nice hog. The eclipse bh will not let you down. Good Hunting.

Thanks Tom; yeah it was a broad side shot. Pass though with a good blood trail. Ran about 80yrds. and piled up! Both lungs at about 12yrds away! In the freezer….Thanks again Wade

[lee c]

#28217

P.J. Petiniot wrote: Wade–

I will offer up one more piece of free advice-It will be worth exactly what you paid for it;)

Although there is nothing wrong with gaining the skills it takes to hit targets at 20-30 yerds, you must first be completely confident and competent at 5-15 yards-I mean you must know that you will never miss at those ranges before you worry about longer ranges-At this point in your traditional archery journey, I would concentrate on making the shot at much closer ranges. In a woodlan invironment, even having the oportunity to make a 30 yard shot is pretty rare-

As a traditional bowhunter, the majority of your shots will be close (5-15 yards) you want to know you can kill every creature that crosses your path at those ranges-

If you do this, you will become a successfull bowhunter, this I am sure of.

As for Eclipse broadheads-You cannot go wrong with these heads. Blake is a great guy and I will be using these heads exclusivly for the first time this season.

I have used many heads over the years and kept coming back to Zwickey Deltas. I love the heads and I have killed a lot of stuff with them but I know Blake and his family. They are good people and he makes a great product. I am going to give these heads an honest run this season and I will not shoot anything else. I have shot them and they are flying great for me-no issues there..

Keep us posted on your practice routine and tell us of your progress.

Thanks..I am glad you wrote this. Think I needed to re-hear this! Been kinda in with Rebstud lately myself. Good to hear again! Take care,lee

[Author]

Posts