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Anything i can do?

Bowhunter500

Active Member
Hey guys... i was hunting last saturday.. i had a giant doe come in 20 yds away from my stand and.. i drew back took my time aimin... and released... she then ducked my arrow...(lowered her back and i missed) but it would have been a dead deer shot for sure... but she ducked it.. anythin i can do? i have a Hoyt Xtec and it already has the limbsavers on that and the string spiders or whatever those are... did she duck my arrow from the vibration? snap of the bow? i just cant figure out what made her duck the arrow! any help would be appreciated! thanx guys

~Alex~
 
Buy a faster bow????? Bowtech?
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Or go with a quieter bow?? Mathews?
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Tough decision

Seriously only thing I can think of is a STS which gives you a quieter bow. I have never personally ever had a deer duck a shot. Sounds like to me you couldnt add anything more except a STS to help quiet your bow a little
 
True.. but i just got the bow... pre fast i think already as is.... idk... ill just go to the bow shop and see if i can get sumthin!
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Definitely try the STS. It is around $40 and my guy let me try it before I bought, shoot your bow before and after and if room is quiet enough you can tell the difference. I am no way an affiliate with STS, I just believe it works and have them on both bows I own
 
I am very happy with my STS. It cuts down on my noise, vibration, and (in my opinion)I think it makes my bow more forgiving.

But also, those old big does are pretty alert and crafty. That's what makes bowhunting so fun.
 
Shock Terminating Suppressor.

If you buy them from cabelas they are $45 but I got one from a archery shop and it was $40 and he installed it for me and put the serving on my string.

Yes it is worth the $45 IMO. Here is what it does.

It reduces shock through the bow, it also allows the arrow to be released earlier because the string is stopped at center and not allowed to goes as much past center then without the STS.

Also if you where bulky clothes, like the most of us, it helps eliminate your string getting caught in your coat during bow release and when shooting in the summer prevents string slap to the highest degree.
 
Just aim lower, deer duck the string all the time, might just have been bad luck wtih the doe. Aim for the heart, that way if they duck, they get double lunged!
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Just aim lower, deer duck the string all the time, might just have been bad luck wtih the doe. Aim for the heart, that way if they duck, they get double lunged!
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At 300 fps IMO it's pretty hard for a deer to duck an arrow (at 20 yards) ...unless it was to high in the first place.

I've missed my share of deer...over...under...
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but never ever had one truly "duck" the arrow.

Maybe I've just been lucky
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(or it's my Matthews
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)
 
Muddy ill just keep that one in mind! haha never really thot about that but that damn deer completely ducked its front half... i was more embarrassed than anything becuz my dad was like.. they dont seem to be actin like they are hit when we met up at the truck.... but i would have most definitely been a double lung pass-through! o well... she comes to my stand usually every morning! so... maybe ill get a chance again after she forgets about that! haha
 
Was she spooky prior to your shot? I've never had a calm deer react hard to my shot. I shot a doe last night that caught my wind and reacted by bolting 15 yards. She made the fatal mistake of stopping to look back at 30 yards. I was already at full draw and.....even though I aimed low, she reacted and I hit higher than anticipated but still in the kill zone. She died 100 yards from the shot.

Just curius as to her temperament at the time of your shot.
 
I would not be real quick to seek further technological advancement to remedy the situation.

I would always rather hit lower than higher especially when I was the one having to do any tracking necessary.

An old wise bowhunter always told me, "Never shoot at a deer that is standing perfectly still and fully alert"!

"Shoot them when they are relaxed and walking slowly with their front leg which is facing you is forward."

"That is because a deer will naturally flex it's muscles and lower its body to make the quick jump to escape."

"A heart shot is a heart shot if the deer doesn't react, and if the deer does react then you still will have a good double lung shot."

This was in the day of us hunting with recurves, and I have a hard time seeing that a deer can actually "duck" an arrow from a modern compound bow.

These days, I think everyone watches the "pros" stop a buck just prior to the shot with a "baaaaat" and thinks that is the best thing to do in every situation.

Obviously, they don't show you the footage of the 5.5 year old buck that whips around at the sound and is a mile away before they know what has happened.

It is my opinion that a deer that lowers it's body enough for a complete missed shot was reacting prior to the shot, something other than the noise of the released arrow.

Something that isn't discussed enough among bowhunters is a deer's body language and when to draw, how to focus, when to release, and why.

And to be honest, talk sometimes isn't good enough. The school of hard knocks, bad luck, and experience is often the best teacher.

And when you think you have completed all your homework and have it all figured out,.... a bad shot, a flaw in judgement, etc... will bring you back to earth...and that is where we all need to be.
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"That is because a deer will naturally flex it's muscles and lower its body to make the quick jump to escape."


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Spot on.

What's the speed of sound? 780 FPS, or something like that. More than twice the speed of the fastest bow for sure. So if a deer is reacting because of a noisy bow the only chance you would have for a lethal shot would be to decrease the distance of the shot. If the deer is walking slow and I think I can get a good shot without stopping a deer I will take that option first.
 
Idk fellas.. i dont think she was spooky prior to the shot! she was with her young one tho! a big mature doe!!! but... i went to school and talked to my friend who bowhunts and he said a mature doe is harder to kill becuz of their spookiness i guess u could say! (me... i dont think thats true!) but idk.. i started bowhunting last year... and i dont think there is a better sport out there! i saw my dad shoot a doe at 45 yds. with his bow.. and i was hooked and i didnt even shoot it! i guess maybe she was spooked a little by something... but thats fine! hopefully i will get a chance next weekend! ill keep you guys updated!
 
Let's face it there are just some things that cant be engineered out of the hunting world. Bows can be faster, quiter, and more accurate. Unfortunately no one told deer this. The fact that deer jumped the string makes as much sense as why that big buck that never came your way that night went somewhere else on it's rounds. Hunting is becoming just a little to technical these days. What you need to do is shoot two doe the next time and you will feel much better about this one!
 
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What you need to do is shoot two doe the next time and you will feel much better about this one!

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Lot of truth to that...the more deer you take, the more you learn about your quarry, your equipment and ...yourself...
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Yep.. its fine.. gunna head to deep river here soon to get my bow and im gunna shoot it tonite.. check and see if everythings alrite! gunna go get her this weekend! or him! hehe
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