Bow hunting shoot-follow time?

[Woods Walker]

gato: I will say this again.......

Just because you are accurate at 35 yards DOES NOT mean that you should take bow shots at that range. Accuracy is vital of course, but it's only HALF of the equation for a bow shot. Knowing WHERE to put the arrow is the other half.

Now here's where it gets tricky. You may be able to go to a 3-D range and hit 12 rings all day long. That's great....for a foam target. Problem is, a 12 ring shot on a live deer standing at even a slight angle quartering to or from is not a 12 at all, and many times will be a 5. One of the things that separates bow from gun hunting are the POINTS OF ENTRY AND PENETRATION ANGLES of the arrow. Most powder burners aren't even aware of these terms. I have bow killed a good share of deer that were quartering away from me (my favorite shot, BTW), and many times I have aimed at the last rib, and sometimes even behind that so that when the tip of the broadhead got to the center of the deer's chest it would be "in the 12". The converse is true for with quartering TO shot, except that when the arrow is in the middle of the deer you are in the guts. I never take quartering to shots with a bow.

Now I don't know about you, but at 35 yards, in the woods, under hunting conditions with the cover and shadows, I find it very difficult to tell 100% most of the time just exactly what shot angle is being presented to me. And I've killed many deer with bow and gun.

Too many times we hear people come on here in the fall with a bowhunting tale that goes like this......

"I put that arrow right behind the front shoulder crease! Perfect double lung shot! But the deer just kept on going. Never stopped, never bedded, and then the bllod just ran out. I'm going back tomorrow with some friends to look some more."

Well guess what......'taint a double lung shot! It may have GONE where a double lung shot would be on a 3-D target presented with a perfect 90 degree angle, but the woods ain't perfect...or a deer. In fact, the boogers can get downright uncooperative, and that arrow in fact either only clipped one lung or missed it entirely because it hit a shoulder.

For the first few deer at least, keep the shots close no you have absolutely NO doubt of the shot angle.

[gatodoc]

WW....thanks for the info and advice....I'm sure I'll screw up sometime, but it won't be because I take a questionable shot...My biggest concern is practicing the downward shots from a tree stand. I've never hunted from a tree stand before and the stands I've shot out of were 16' tripods at over 100 yards with a rifle so I've got a lot to learn. I understand that closer isn't always better from a height....

While an avid hunter, I have all the respect on the world for the animals I hunt and I don't take their deaths lightly and I'll always do the best I can to make it as humane an ending that I can.

Your advice is very helpful and I appreciate it. Thanks for sharing. Your wisdom and that of the others here is very helpful to a newbie archer and I'm listening.

Now......Can you stop that wind from shifting or pull that unseen twig out of my way?

[Woods Walker]

NOPE! That's above my pay grade!

[jonny5buck]

I will throw one more piece of good advice out there....if you hunt from a treestand ...Shoot out of that stand with your bow at the same height you will be hunting out of ...wether at your home or a buddies house ..make it happen...The repetition of shooting from the Actual stand you hunt from ...and the actual height is critical ..in my book...a month before season starts i do not shoot from the ground at all...only from the stand ..i know it's not possible for all individuals but NOTHING prepares a stand hunter better than shooting a deer target from the treestand-Just my 2cents!

[gatodoc]

More good advice.....I've got 4 treestands (ladder) 15 and 16 ft. to place on two different locations that I hunt....I had some minor surgery 2 weeks ago and can't play right now, but I'm planning on setting one up in the backyard and practicing entry/exit, harness wear, safety suspension and above all shooting over and over. The bow doesn't bother the neighbors and it's a joy to practice with as soon as I'm allowed to climb... Until then, I'm wearing it out on the ground.....

[Woods Walker]

There's no better time to try, but NOW. You would only be prolonging the agony of thinking when.

Anyways, I would like to share an info I found & joined recently. There's a Chestnut Trees drawing. I'm thinking that you guys would be interested, so I'm sharing it here too. Just check out the links I'm posting here. https://www.facebook.com/RealtreeNursery/app_28134323652

Other link that i found interesting.
http://realtreenurseryland.webpublishpro.com/


Thanks!

Theresa

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[ILBowhunter]

gato:
Too many times we hear people come on here in the fall with a bowhunting tale that goes like this......

"I put that arrow right behind the front shoulder crease! Perfect double lung shot! But the deer just kept on going. Never stopped, never bedded, and then the bllod just ran out. I'm going back tomorrow with some friends to look some more."

Well guess what......'taint a double lung shot! It may have GONE where a double lung shot would be on a 3-D target presented with a perfect 90 degree angle, but the woods ain't perfect...or a deer. In fact, the boogers can get downright uncooperative, and that arrow in fact either only clipped one lung or missed it entirely because it hit a shoulder.

In addition to Woods Walker's comment, I don't believe any bowhunter can be certain of where the arrow hit unless they see if drop from a spine shot. I have recovered deer that were hit higher or lower, or more forward or rearward than I thought at the time of the shot. Also, I have "single-lunged" a deer that I was certain was broadside at the time of the shot. Of course, animals do move sometimes so it may have been broadside but moved slightly as the arrow was released. In short, I don't believe most bowhunters know where the shot was placed until they recover the deer.

[jonny5buck]

In response to the above post .i mostly agree to a point ,but i also disagree.....


Though you may not be 100% all the time of the hit because of variables in the field.i have also wailed a few deer and watched the fletching almost in slow motion disappear Exactly where i was aiming.....i have also been so intent at watching the ''follow thru '' that i have seen blood spew and pump out of the exact spot where the arrow penetrated....

I must admit this is usually followed up with every hair on my body standing on end and heart palpatations that would make you think i ran a marathon----but yes it has happened ..and when i recovered the animal or watched them expire a short distance away..i am more than pleased when the arrow goes where it's supposed to...

[Deebz]

I know exactly what you're talking about Jon... The 2 bucks I've killed with my bow were both broadside to slightly quartering away. I can still picture EXACTLY the entire flight of the arrow into the exact spot I was aiming. There's something just amazing about seeing the release, the arc of the flight path, then seeing those fletching disappear into that exact spot... I try to practice watching the arrow when I target shoot, but it's never the same as when shooting a deer. It's amazing how something that takes merely a second or 2 can leave such a vivid memory.

[kellory]

J5B, I use no sight of any kind on my bow. From the moment of my release, till that arrow hit, it is an extension of my will, my eye, and my hand. I know the feeling you speak of. If I start shaking, it will be after the shot, not before.