The Bowhunting Blues

[Bowhuntingboy]

Well, I am a twenty years old and have been bow hunting for 4 years up in east central Minnesota. I've read every deer hunting book that's out there. I've kept a journal of every hunt I have ever gone on. I am determined to become a consistant trophy hunter. Each year I take a doe for the meat and heard management and then the rest of the season is trophy hunting time. I pass up anything smaller than a 8 pointer. My tactics and strategies and determination finally began to pay off last year when I had an enormous 12 pointer come into my decoy and offer the perfect shot on the second to last day of Minnesota's bow season. My deer fever shakes caused me to only come away with some of the bruiser's chest hair as a trophy. No blood. So, this year I was determined to have learned from my mistake. Yesterday morning I hit the deer stand not expecting much since Minnesota's gun season just ended and has deer on pins and needles. The warm weather made the snow soft and quiet so I did not hear the beautiful 10 point typical that was suddenly 20 yards away from me. I never got to take a shot at him because I never got to stand, turn, and draw back. I am 0-2 in my trophy hunting oppurtunities. Argh! I've got the bow hunting blues. Well, I am going to correct the mistakes I made and hopefully I will be 2-2 two years from now instead of 0-4! Well, good luck everyone.

 

[canjoco]

Hey there bowhuntingboy, sounds like you and the coach should get together and figure out how to not let big bucks get the drop on you. He's one of the best I've ever seen at it. I've got video to prove it. Seriously though. Bowhunting is the best and the worst of times. That's what makes it great. Sure there are those that bag a big boy right off the bat. The majority of us have to take our lumps and learn the hard way. Next year when you bag that monster he'll mean more because you have learned the lessons and paid the price. stay after 'em.

 

[muddy]

from the sounds of things you've had a great season and some invaluable memories which are better than anything. keep plugging away and things'll turn around for you!! most of my best hunts entail coming out of the timber with a smile on my face and the big buck still running around.

 

[Buckhunter]

Spooken like a true bowhunter Muddy!
Keep trying and thing's will turn around for you.Enjoy yourself,that's really what it's all about anyway.

 

[Liv4Rut]

thats what you got to love about bowhunting, you just never know what will happen, it could be the worst day of the year and turn out to be the best. stick with it, it will all come together eventually. to me a trophy hunter is someone who can or could have consistently killed big bucks in the past, if someone were to tell me, ive passed on a dozen 140 class bucks, i would think for sure , well then that guy is good, if you get big bucks within bow range, even if it doesnt work out, your doing something right

 

[Blaster]

I agree with Muddy. I put too much preasue on myself this year, and was starting to not have much fun. It was more like work. Yesterday i relized why i bow hunt in the first place. I walked out of the timber with a smile on my face, and didn't even shoot anything.

You keep doing what your doing and it will pay off!

 

[spinefxr]

You guys all hit it right on the head. After spending the weekend riding out the wind in the stand, I get back to my in-laws farm, and my 3 year old daughter asks " did you catch anything?" Made me smile

 

[Limb Chicken]

Ahhh, Chicken Soup for the Bowhunters Soul. It is very easy for one to sit and get frustrated and Blaster hit the nail on the head, bowhunting starts to feel like work... I have experienced this first hand this year... I have never been so outwordly negitive or pessimistic, I let the pressure to take a big buck get to me... I wanted immediate results... I want my burger and fries and super size it... NOW!

I was thinking about how this isn't the way things were last year. How come that big buck isn't showing up?! I am hunting harder and seeing less than ever... Then I remembered the reason I am there is for the experience, how things can change so quick for better or for me this year for the worse... You always learn though, you keep experiencing things many people are missing in their lives... you are out there for your own reasons and mine are different than yours and that is what is great about what we do... It doesn't matter whether you choose mathews, hoyt or schaffer... wood, aluminum or carbon... own, lease or use public land... we bowhunt.

Many people are losing sight of this, we are becoming jealous, selfish and pressured to be put in a fishbowl that the hunting industry is creating because we are buying it...

If trophy hunting is what you want to do I think it is important for you to trophy hunt... you have won the battle (getting close) now you have to win the war (make the shot). It will happen, just let it. Good Luck and keep your head up. You have probably seen two deer that will be bigger than some may see in their lifetime consider yourself lucky and keep the big picture in focus! You have a ton of bowhunting infront of you! Good Luck!

 

[mole]

Well said Limb.

I couldn't have said it better myself. I found myself in the same boat this year. It seemed no matter what I did the deer were always a step ahead

It was probably one of my best years in seeing deer, but I didn't connect on the "Big One" oh well one more year for him to grow and the season isn't over yet. Don't quit early, theres always the last minute of the last hunt.

mole

 

[Bowhuntingboy]

Well, thanks for all the advice. I think you guys are right, though, I feel like I've been making hunting become almost like a job and I should start to just enjoy it more and the rest will work out. I still have until the end of December so I'll be hunting, I'll be freezing cold, but I'll be loving it.

 

[moosehunter]

man.........it's refreshing to read a post like this. This being my 1st year of bow hunting I really, really wanted a nice buck. I took off 2 1/2 weeks of vacation just to do nothing but deer hunt. Now that I've been back to work for a couple of weeks it's givin me a little time to look back at what I've seen and learned. Many lesson's were learned. All these years I've hunted muzzleloader taught me very little about bow hunting during the rut. And things you see and hear during the rut are different. Like two bucks going at it, a buck hearding a doe like a sheep dog til he caught her and mounted her, or tried too, a buck come crashing in to my grunt call within seconds (of course I wasn't ready), and countless other memories that will be stored as long as I live. When my time off was almost up, I was a little bummed out cause I hadn't gotten what I wanted. But there's time left and if I don't harvest my 1st bow kill this year I still learned many valuable lesson's that will help me next year.

 

[Coach]

Hey Boy, Don't listen to Canjoco (the first reply in the string). What he's not telling you is that one of the Monsters that gave me the slip was because he was fiddling around with his climbing stand and got us busted while filming me!

On a more serious note, It looks like you have got some good advice from the crew. I've been bowhunting for 17 years now and I can tell you one thing. It is more fun each and every year. I look back at some of my early hunts and can't imagine how dumb I must have looked. I would be embarrassed to tell you about them. I wouldn't trade any of those early hunts for a giant trophy buck. I was self taught by trial and error ( mostly error ), and loved every time I got into the field. Love what you do and you'll never quit. Stop and smell the Fall air, watch a sunset, and share some hunts with friends; Thats what it's all about.

 

[Rudd]

Some great advice here. Hanging around this site made me feel like I could harvest a huge buck by anyones standards. The select few that harvest these incredible monsters are dedicated to the sport more than anyone realizes. They say modestly that luck plays a part of it. I say yes but 1% on their part....me harvesting a huge one would be 99% luck. I actually hunted less than any other years this year. I stock piled my vacation time and wouldn't you know it......I COULD NOT USE IT! But it forced me to hunt smarter and I kept an open mind. It also didn't hurt that some buddies seen me down in the dumps and offered a spot or two. I also seen some monsters that made me drool like a puppy. Funny thing was that I was bummed big time about not getting close enough to the bucks I wanted. To the point I was losing sleep, irritable and just plain being a cry baby....then I talked to some friends and they reminded me why I was out there in the first place. I harvested my best buck to date and although he isn't the biggest.....he's a good base to start from. The night I shot him...I was just out having fun....and I was......it was the coldest night I hunted and I didn't even notice. Next year will be even better.

Hang in there.....your doing everything right.

 

[muddy]

deep thoughts...by limb chicken. well said.

 

[tracker]

Stay at it, move some stands around,and keep letting the little guys grow up.A person gets to reading the success stories on this site and then starts to compare themself.You have to remember that there are alot of people that belong to this site, and not very many actually harvest an outstanding deer every year, let alone once every three years.And don't compare yourself to any of those hunting video's that are out there either.Alot of those video's are shot at game farms, or people have scouted areas prior to the hunters arriving to know that there are deer of that caliber around.You're real close, keep the patience and the ethics and it's going to pay off.

 

[deadeye]

I was home and got all my small racks out yesterday. I sorted them into musket kills, bow kills, and found dead. Then I began putting them up in our shed. I realized I shot some pretty small bucks that I should have let walk, but also realized the memory that every one of them gave me and the fun I had getting them. I got my best buck this year after passing on a couple smaller bucks. Now looking back I am kinda glad I released or pulled the trigger on them all. Yeah you have to let small ones go to have more big ones around, but sometimes one doesn't always get a big one and needs to reconsider what you are really after - trophy for the wall or an enjoyable hunt and meat in the freezer.

Memories are priceless. Big bucks look awesome on the wall. Small bucks look okay on the wall. Does - memories are priceless. You decide.

 

[trper]

Well said Limb, My bowseason was cut short due to having to go back East to Maryland and help care for my terminally ill mother as well as visit her while she is able to enjoy our visit. I was really pumped for this years bow season and the rut and all. I was only able to get out 6 or 7 times during the season. For as much as I truly love bow hunting and all it did not really seem that important in the scheme of things. I won't say I was not frustrated about my shortened hunting in the month of November, but when I put it all into perspective its really not all about harvesting a big buck as you said. Sitting out in the timber helped to clear my mind of all the stressfull aspects that go along with dealing with my mom's illness. What a wonderful therepy tool to have as a passion. Yeah that big buck is still out there and maybe him and I will get together still yet one cold December or January day. After just getting back in town today a few days before the shotgun season I am so thankful that I went home to spend time with my family and my mom. Sometimes what you think is important isen't really all that important after all in the scheme of things. You can be rich in many ways but if you don't have your health you don't have much at all. For all of you that I missed saying congrats on harvesting a deer this past few weeks! Congrats!!! Best of luck on the rest of the season.
Trper