Your worst mistake

[Sligh1]

These are all really good thoughts and learning lessons. It's funny to read this stuff and think back to about every single one of these mistakes I've made in the past. And probably some I'll make in the future!!

 

[Handcannon]

Always looking behind me instead of watching in front of me. Afraid I might miss something. And on 3 occasions, when I turned around there was a nice buck looking at me.
Also not stopping a buck soon enough for the shooting lane. They always seem to take a few extra steps & then no shot.

 

[Pavel Makarov]

Not leaning over for a close shot. I practice year round and belong to a shooting club. However I shot a 150s nice mature buck at 7 yards and never found him because I did not lean (or bend at my waist) enough and shot him high in the no mans land. Never found him and still lose sleep over it.

 

[Wapsi Tree Rat]

good stand location with with confirmed sightings....... ✓
day off work on Nov 5.....✓
forecast is light NW wind and very cold.....✓
washed all clothing in scent away.....✓
sprayed all clothing in scent away......✓
In the shower with scent away soap at 5:00 AM....✓
Colder than forecast, 2 more layers.....✓
1/2 mile hike to the stand.....✓
sweating like an Ethiopian marathon runner
and busted by every doe in the timber in 1/2 an hour...... ✓

 

[Sligh1]

"sweating like an Ethiopian marathon runner" - that's good stuff! When I started, I walked to every stand, near or far with full camo on, my 5 pairs of gym socks & 3 sweatshirts layered on. Got to stand soaking wet and froze to death.
Here's another one to add after reading above on "busting every doe"....
Walking through food or food plots in AM or even crappy exits at night through food. I avoid it like the plague now and find ways around it. When I started hunting, good gosh was I stupid. Screwed a lot of spots and hunts up. Oh, and ya, when I started hunting, I maybe had 2 or 3 spots.... Just hunted them over and over and over. So funny. I think "Teenage Me" is the worst hunter on this site period!!!
Also..... One I really never did (since when I was younger I really had no blinds or food to hunt over) but I see all the time..... Blinds in the middle of the food plots. It boggles the mind!!! How a guy doesn't get winded constantly during the hunt 1st and 2nd, getting down - has to blow the field every time. Misplaced blinds in general are pretty easy to spot. Go drive along any highway in Iowa - look at the blinds, 75% of em make zero sense and those guys are ruining their spots, blowing fields or not planning for where deer coming & going to. It's funny to look at em. Ideally, I like to have mine on crest of hill with wind in my face of course.... I wanna be able to climb outta that blind with no deer or few deer seeing me. I either have to have my blinds tucked in major cedars or have EW in front of them and then i TRY to position them so I climb down and walk downhill where no deer in food can see me. Ideally.

Few more... Sorry!!....
-Horrid shots because I had my facemask hanging out or even hitting my arm with string because my coat looked like "Stay Puff Marshmellow Man"
-1st year as a kid I sat all day, had pop cans I set on back of my stand to clean up at end of night, stepped on one trying to position for a big buck - ya, he was GONE!
-Getting lost in the woods in dark with new spots and not not having good tacks or ability to find spot. End up angry, pouring sweat and running every deer out of county. Those hunts don't end up well!
-Had the mitten/gloves that "top flipped back" so fingers are out.... Had a GIANT sitting under me at 10 yards.... (like 180"+ Legit) Everytime I started to draw, half way through, trigger on my release would get hit with top of glove.... Took me 4 times to figure this out. Went to grab 5th arrow and take glove off, wasn't there. Buck stood there even though arrows had been sent through trees (windy day) & I watched him for 20 mins.

 

[Wapsi Tree Rat]

These are all really good thoughts and learning lessons. It's funny to read this stuff and think back to about every single one of these mistakes I've made in the past. And probably some I'll make in the future!!

Ha! I was just thinking the same thing. I can't say I've ever had one duck under my arrow, but I have definitely flat missed due to nerves.
Jkratz5 mentioned a creaky stand...I've heard my stand creek going up on a cold calm morning, but not during a shot...suppose it could happen. Any remedy besides being solid? I want to fall out just as bad as the next guy, so my stands are solid, 3 inch screws for the ladder brace and 2'' ratchet straps at the top. Still makes a noise or two. Suggestions?

 

[Bowtech84]

Patience and staying calm in the moment. Years ago I had a nice 10 within range for 15 minutes but not offering a shot. I had hundreds of trail cam pics of this deer and had seen him 5 times that year but never in bow range. My knees were uncontrollably shaking standing there and he looked up and had me pegged. He didn't really spook, he just turned and started walking slowly quartering away. I panicked and pulled the bow back and tried sneaking an arrow through a small opening. Mistake, ended up clipping a branch and hitting him high but non lethal. A guy in our group killed him a couple weeks later with the shotgun. I still think about that deer a lot while hunting. If I knew then what I know now I would of let it unfold and probably would have gotten a good shot at him. Instead I forced it because i thought he was going bolt. I never considered it a big mistake because I learned a lot that day. Looked into a lot of target panic info and found something that worked for me. No shaking till after the shot now.

 

[Wapsi Tree Rat]

Few more... Sorry!!....
-Horrid shots because I had my facemask hanging out or even hitting my arm with string because my coat looked like "Stay Puff Marshmellow Man"
-1st year as a kid I sat all day, had pop cans I set on back of my stand to clean up at end of night, stepped on one trying to position for a big buck - ya, he was GONE!
-Getting lost in the woods in dark with new spots and not not having good tacks or ability to find spot. End up angry, pouring sweat and running every deer out of county. Those hunts don't end up well!
-Had the mitten/gloves that "top flipped back" so fingers are out.... Had a GIANT sitting under me at 10 yards.... (like 180"+ Legit) Everytime I started to draw, half way through, trigger on my release would get hit with top of glove.... Took me 4 times to figure this out. Went to grab 5th arrow and take glove off, wasn't there. Buck stood there even though arrows had been sent through trees (windy day) & I watched him for 20 mins.

Laughing my butt off!! These are all great! Never heard of getting busted by a pop can. I will remember to watch out for those!

 

[LYON]

Looked into a lot of target panic info and found something that worked for me. No shaking till after the shot now.

Care to elaborate? I could use some tips to keep the adrenaline down until the time is right.

 

[Bowtech84]

Care to elaborate? I could use some tips to keep the adrenaline down until the time is right.

I quit shooting groups when practicing. Shoot one arrow, walk to target, pull and repeat. It slows things down for me and makes me focus on that one shot knowing that's all I have at the moment. This carries over to the field. When it's time to draw back on a live target my focus is on making that one shot count just like in practice. That focus overrides all other distractions. My accuracy has improved greatly and my target panic is non existent. I believe Levi Morgan wrote an article about it, I will see if I can find it.

 

[Daver]

Care to elaborate? I could use some tips to keep the adrenaline down until the time is right.

For real...concentrate on slightly flexing your knees. Often, physiologically, when someone is tense they "lock" their knees. This restricts blood flow and combined with the visual stimulation of a target animal...often leads to uncontrollable shaking. If you have the presence of mind to gently flex your knees you actually keep the blood flowing and slightly divert your attention. It definitely helps!

 

[arm]

Care to elaborate? I could use some tips to keep the adrenaline down until the time is right.

Go out and shoot a ton of does. When a big bad buck walks by it'll be just like a simple ol doe and you'll be driving to the taxi before you know it. Even though the first doe of every year gets my heart going every time

 

[LYON]

I quit shooting groups when practicing. Shoot one arrow, walk to target, pull and repeat. It slows things down for me and makes me focus on that one shot knowing that's all I have at the moment. This carries over to the field. When it's time to draw back on a live target my focus is on making that one shot count just like in practice. That focus overrides all other distractions. My accuracy has improved greatly and my target panic is non existent. I believe Levi Morgan wrote an article about it, I will see if I can find it.

Interesting! I'll have to start giving that a shot! I've tried to make a point in the past about really focusing on the first arrow I shoot when practicing, but I like this idea even better. Thanks!

 

[Brett Morris]

I'm no target archer but I beat target panic by drawing back my bow and FORCING myself not to shoot. Just holding that pin on the target for 10, 20, 30, 40 seconds. Once I got to where I could control that, it started improving quickly. Now I shoot thousands of arrows throughout the year to stay on top of it. An HHA single pin also helped me a lot.

For removing the shaking I bought a couple deer targets to shoot at. I rarely shoot at my block target anymore. A Shooter Buck Target at 60 yards feels like it's the size of a fawn. I figured if I can get to where I can consistently put an arrow on target in that type of practice scenario anything in real life should feel incredibly simple. Again, I'm not an expert but I absolutely smoked my bow buck at 43 yards this year & it felt like a chip shot. This sport is 99% mental. Put yourself in a scenario where the real encounter feels simple, you'll be successful.

 

[Hardwood11]

My worst mistake--not shooting a follow up shot--slug-- on a giant buck. It dropped like a rock then suddenly regained life, and in one miraculous spin was off and running ( never to be found again). Still can't figure that one out.

 

[BDAHMS]

My biggest mistake was driving all the way out to a property only to realize my bow was still in my garage And not sitting til dark in the early years of bow hunting thinking nothing was coming out and I wanted to glass another area quick- never failed I would blow a deer about ready to come out. That def doesnt happen anymore (getting down early that is- I still forget stuff all the time)

 

[Daver]

My worst mistake--not shooting a follow up shot--slug-- on a giant buck. It dropped like a rock then suddenly regained life, and in one miraculous spin was off and running ( never to be found again). Still can't figure that one out.

A friend of mine had something similar happen one time. He shot a buck, I think with a muzzleloader, from about 80 yards out. It dropped like a stone and being a dufus...he either set his gun down and walked out to it or didn't reload. By the time he got up to it, it jumped up and staggered around a little and sprinted off! (I know at least one person was with him that day that watched all of this transpire and laughed hysterically. Unfortunately, I was not with him that day and could only share in the hilarity later, when the story was told to me.

At any rate, as best as could be figured...the deer was hit high, over the actual spine...but probably still on the "spinous process". (Which is the vertically oriented bone structure of the spinal column.) The shock of the hit dropped the animal due to a temporary shock to the spinal cord, but since the actual cord was not ruptured, etc, the beast recovered in the 2 minutes or so that it took him to get over to it and then ran off...apparently to live on.

 

[4DABUCKS]

My worst mistake--not shooting a follow up shot--slug-- on a giant buck. It dropped like a rock then suddenly regained life, and in one miraculous spin was off and running ( never to be found again). Still can't figure that one out.

There's no way that could happen! It's only those guys that shoot arrows at deer that loose them! Lol
I too have done the same thing, now if at all possible I put a second arrow into any animal I shoot. A broadhead kills by way of hemorrhage, if I can make that animal bleed more, than all the better!

 

[Highmark]

Not drawing when I had a chance or in other words waiting for a better opportunity that never came. Cost me a 195"+ that a buddy shot on my farm a couple weeks later. I was glad that he got him.

 

[Wapsi Tree Rat]

I'm no target archer but I beat target panic by drawing back my bow and FORCING myself not to shoot. Just holding that pin on the target for 10, 20, 30, 40 seconds.

This is a great shooting tip. How often do you just draw and shoot out in the yard? How often do you have to draw....wait for the shot....and shoot from the stand?

When I was a 20 something "youngster" learning to shoot with my buddies, sometimes the trash talk needed to be settled. We had a chunk of iron with a 2 inch hole in it and we'd shoot through it at 20 yds. First person to miss not only lost, but they also trashed an arrow. Ever see an aluminum arrow hit a 1 inch chunk of steel? Let's just say you're not shooting that stick again! Anyway, it meant something if you missed. Back then $5 for a new arrow was a sizable chunk of your weekend beer and poker money!
We'd also do some stupid stuff like setting our deer target at 100 yds. Lost a few arrows on that game too, but it was quite incredible how many times we hit that sucker! 7 out of 10ish?

There was no question about skill with a bow. We could shoot. Then we'd deer hunt with little or no success from opening day until pheasant season opened up. Late October through Christmas was for pheasant hunting and nothing else. We had no idea what the rut was! Here's the really sad part...we had permission to hunt an 80 acre farm on Otis Rd on the south side of Cedar Rapids. If any of you know this area, you know what I'm talking about. This is prime deer country bordering an apple orchard, the railroad tracks spilling grain from Cargil, the Cedar Valley Nature Preserve and the Cedar River. Yup, 3 years we packed up in Oct to go bird hunting. And as I continue with my ADD rambling, I realize this is another of my "worst mistakes".