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10-30-2017, 07:23 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 4,858
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Success rate?
How often are you guys successful with your bows? Also what is your success rate with different animals?
Hunted pretty hard the last two months for Mule deer and wasn't able to get it done. Had a few good chances, but deer spooked before I could get off a shot. Just want to know if I stick with it, will my success rate go up? Or should I just stick to rifle hunting where I know I'll be going home with something most of the time?
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10-30-2017, 07:29 PM
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Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 782
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Success
Success is what you make it. When I was bowhunting, I wasn’t always successful and comparatively my success % compared to the number of times I went out while bowhunting was lower compared to when I go out with a rifle. With that said, some of my most memorable and enjoyable hunts was with a bow. Regardless what you use, enjoy the experience.
Morb
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To speak without thinking is like shooting without aiming!!
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10-30-2017, 07:54 PM
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 204
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As far as successful goes, I firmly believe that every time I go it's a success! As far as a kill rate, I usually average 3 or 4 big game animals with my bow each season. I've had better years, but I've also had WAY worse years! I also don't always target big bucks, so with that my harvest rate stays high. This year was my 19th bow season.
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10-30-2017, 07:58 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Look behind you :)
Posts: 27,789
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Only way to have success bow hunting is to stick with it. If the going gets tough and you switch back to the rifle you miss out on another opportunity to learn.
The average time for a Bowhunter to get his first animal is 4-5 years I have been told. Stick with it.
If I get an elk or a moose down early I become very choosy. I have been lucky to have a good streak on archery elk so I have passed on many moose and deer as a result.
LC
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10-30-2017, 07:59 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,717
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A day hunting when you don't get anything is just another step towards getting an animal. It won't happen in a day, be persistent, keep hunting and it'll happen.
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10-30-2017, 08:22 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Edmonton, Ab.
Posts: 2,038
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Every time I get close enough to an animal to be within bow range. I call it a good hunt. Firing a shot and harvesting an animal is ultimately our end game, but bowhunting is all about the challenge, and the adventure. You learn so much more about the game you hunt, when you have to get within close proximity to them. My success rates with the bow have come way down since I stopped hunting from a tree stand, but it is so much more exciting. I still hunt with my rifle, but I put in a solid effort to try and harvest something with my bow. Don't give up on the bow just yet! My biggest piece of advice is, if you are going to "still" hunt from the ground, take it super slow. I still spook animals as I'm walking sometimes. Always have to remind myself to slow down. Good luck!!
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Hunting... The one vice, i'll never give up!
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10-30-2017, 09:16 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 1,338
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck
Only way to have success bow hunting is to stick with it. If the going gets tough and you switch back to the rifle you miss out on another opportunity to learn.
The average time for a Bowhunter to get his first animal is 4-5 years I have been told. Stick with it.
If I get an elk or a moose down early I become very choosy. I have been lucky to have a good streak on archery elk so I have passed on many moose and deer as a result.
LC
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I don’t agree I know many who harvested first year. Also helps scouting and that I arrowed more from 14-18 then I do now but more selective now as well
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10-30-2017, 10:07 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Look behind you :)
Posts: 27,789
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Slicktricker
I don’t agree I know many who harvested first year. Also helps scouting and that I arrowed more from 14-18 then I do now but more selective now as well
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Think of how many archers there are out there...this is the figure I was told as a "global" average.
LC
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10-30-2017, 11:17 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 1,269
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Morbious X2
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10-30-2017, 11:23 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 4,858
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Lets be clear, I could have taken many whitetail does but have chosen not to. With more then a month left in rifle season I felt no need to take a whitetail. Although I seen the biggest buck of my life at 107 yards with no way to get closer.(He was in the middle of a field) Hunting mulies is over and goes to draw on November 1st. I guess the good thing about the bow is that Ive had 2 more months to hunt which was fun. But in saying that I hunted hard the last two months and Im coming home with nothing. Pretty frustrating to put in a ton of miles and time to not bring anything home. This is despite seeing plenty of game in the 100-150 yard range. Which is why I want to see how everyone does. If I stick with it, will I get to a point were I have a pretty good chance of harvesting an animal. Or is it more for getting out in the wilderness and relaxing? I dont mind paying my dues, i just want it to pay off in the end.
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10-30-2017, 11:44 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 262
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This is my third archery season and I connected with my first mule buck on Friday. I put in a lot of time and had many failed stalks but eventually it all came together. Mules can be pretty clever and rarely stick around once they sense something is up, they aren’t getting any stupider and I’m not getting much smarter so I doubt it will get any easier.
I can’t imagine that now that I’ve harvested one buck I now know enough to easily do it year after year, I’m looking forward to blowing stalks next fall and likely eating tag soup more often than not.
The enjoyment for me is in the challenge, failure makes the successes sweeter.
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10-30-2017, 11:50 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 4,858
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Akoch
This is my third archery season and I connected with my first mule buck on Friday. I put in a lot of time and had many failed stalks but eventually it all came together. Mules can be pretty clever and rarely stick around once they sense something is up, they aren’t getting any stupider and I’m not getting much smarter so I doubt it will get any easier.
I can’t imagine that now that I’ve harvested one buck I now know enough to easily do it year after year, I’m looking forward to blowing stalks next fall and likely eating tag soup more often than not.
The enjoyment for me is in the challenge, failure makes the successes sweeter.
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Yea, I used to think mulies were dumber then whitetail before this bow season. Now Im not so sure. lol They're pretty smart if you try to get closer then 100 yards. And theyre ghosts, Ive spooked many, figuring theyd go 100 yards and look back, but they disappear into the bush.
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10-31-2017, 12:19 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 262
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They put those big dumb ears to work, even in a strong wind and me approaching downwind they hear (sense) something is up. Then there is the issue that they always seem to bed in groups and have eyes checking every direction.
Even the open country I hunt they vanish without a trace once they’re spooked.
They can be a tricky quarry but the most fun bow hunt I can think of, it’s not usually too tough to find another deer and make another plan.
Keep at it, it will pay off.
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10-31-2017, 05:31 AM
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Banned
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Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Calgary
Posts: 2,109
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my first big game animal with my bow happened this year, r years in. Shot skunks, gophers, and rabbits but nothing big until this year. I had chances and took what I thought were great shots at great opportunities. I had animals duck the string, I put my arrow into a fence wire (what are the odds of that at 30 yards?), and just straight up missed. Heading out again tomorrow until Saturday to see what else we can do.
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10-31-2017, 06:39 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Edmonton Area
Posts: 4,107
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Quote:
Originally Posted by raab
Lets be clear, I could have taken many whitetail does but have chosen not to. With more then a month left in rifle season I felt no need to take a whitetail. Although I seen the biggest buck of my life at 107 yards with no way to get closer.(He was in the middle of a field) Hunting mulies is over and goes to draw on November 1st. I guess the good thing about the bow is that Ive had 2 more months to hunt which was fun. But in saying that I hunted hard the last two months and Im coming home with nothing. Pretty frustrating to put in a ton of miles and time to not bring anything home. This is despite seeing plenty of game in the 100-150 yard range. Which is why I want to see how everyone does. If I stick with it, will I get to a point were I have a pretty good chance of harvesting an animal. Or is it more for getting out in the wilderness and relaxing? I dont mind paying my dues, i just want it to pay off in the end.
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Play the wind and set up on travel routes. Use trail cameras to determine what routes are being used the most. If you set up on the edge of a large field, there are probably multiple exit/entry points for that field that the deer can use. Get on google maps and find the pinch point that leads to the field. I have 1 property in the Edmonton bow zone which after 4 years, I finally have a good idea of their primary travel route. There is also a fair amount of odds and luck in the equation, so if will happen eventually. Just stick with it and the end result will be worth it.
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10-31-2017, 08:04 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 728
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first year on a property, consider it a wash. If you get the opportunity on a animal its a bonus. Pay close attention and see how the animals use the land features.
I hunt at least 30 mornings evenings a season and multiple full days in november. before kids more then that. I have 7 animals in 6 yrs so far. I pass on many animals a year being smaller young bucks, does with fawns,cow moose with calf and so on. I passed on a 1.5yr moose on sunday.
a animal in range is all I need to consider the outing. The shot is just the next step. That being said, its not for everyone.
bowhunting is my passion and dont pick up a rifle all year.
So excited for rutting deer season!
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10-31-2017, 11:20 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Stony Plain, 248
Posts: 441
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Off the top of my head...first season with a bow, I called in a bull moose to about 60 yards, no shot, and had no success on the land I had permission to hunt. 0% success rate
The next season, I killed a mule doe on opening day, and a whitetail buck (163") the next day. I went on to arrow a 40" bull moose that fall and killed another doe in November.
That was the first 2 years. I was stoked. I learned you only get out of it what you put into it. I went on to kill 7 more moose over the next 10 year period, 1 other buck that grossed in the 170" bracket - and countless other deer, and a couple bears.
In that span, I can think of (1) year, when I turned down 11 bucks through October, spent well over 30 total sits in the stand, only to arrow a spike buck on the last day i could hunt. To date I consider this my best success with a bow to be honest! So yes, success on hunt is what you make of it.
However, now with kids, living where I do, I put in appox 17 total days through the past (2) Novembers, and my success rate has been 0!!! lol
I use AO forum for the motivation, as I know if i stick with it it'll come back. Eventually. I am also thinking about cheating and using a gun this fall in the interest of necessity. But I won't include it in my success rate.
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10-31-2017, 12:23 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 258
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If you're bow hunting strictly for the harvest, I think you are missing the point.
Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk
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10-31-2017, 05:35 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 509
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Success rate?
Quote:
Originally Posted by tbrown
If you're bow hunting strictly for the harvest, I think you are missing the point.
Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk
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I see what your trying to say . But IMO I don’t think I would hunt if there was no chance of bringing meat home . It’s like catch and release fishing .i don’t see the point . I’m to busy to not do anything productive.
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10-31-2017, 05:47 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 11,424
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MugEye
I see what your trying to say . But IMO I don’t think I would hunt if there was no chance of bringing meat home . It’s like catch and release fishing .i don’t see the point . I’m to busy to not do anything productive.
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I guess it all depends on your personal definition of productive.
__________________
“One of the sad signs of our times is that we have demonized those who produce, subsidized those who refuse to produce, and canonized those who complain.”
Thomas Sowell
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10-31-2017, 06:16 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Stony Plain
Posts: 64
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pikergolf
I guess it all depends on your personal definition of productive.
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Exactly.
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10-31-2017, 06:27 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 1,827
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Rifle to archery to rifle, I still do both.
Archery with in our budget is good.
Lots of rifle now days, but archery remains as it offers rewards like no other.
Self + archery = good times.
I never had the chance to meet Al personally, but it was his ideas that forced me to learn more about who I am.
http://www.archeryhalloffame.com/henderson%20al.html
Don
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10-31-2017, 06:30 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Edmonton
Posts: 9,693
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Sons first moose draw, first time as an archer. I'm the guide. Boy we had fun this fall so far. Many bull moose on cam, many sightings, many games with grunting moose but just too far away. Now the bow goes away and rifle comes out and those 50 inchers we had at 200 yrds are a little less safe. But it is safe to say we both got the archery bug now.
Fun times with the bow and really fine tuned what I knew for hunting all these years. Kid learned a lot. So did I.
Best chance we had, very early, very hot. Close but lots of under brush. Let him walk as we had many bigger bulls on cam and the rut was just showing itself. Have now seen 3 of the big boys we were after but never close enough. 30 days to still find one of them
jpg.gif Mr Moose.jpg (91.5 KB)
Last edited by jungleboy; 01-01-2024 at 09:41 AM.
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10-31-2017, 08:19 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Edmonton
Posts: 616
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Last year was my first year bow hunting. There were times that i was frustrated and times where I debated giving up. Being hard headed i stuck it out. I ended up getting my buck on the second to last day of the season. This year so far I've come up empty handed. I've hunted hard since the beginning of bow season. Got busted on a few spot and stalks. I enjoy just being out in the wilderness. I'll keep trying till the end of hunting season. Fingers crossed that it comes together again. Good luck. I would keep at it.
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I used to walk into a room full of people and wonder if they like me ...
Now I look around and wonder if I like them!
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11-01-2017, 09:38 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 198
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Just put my bow away after my 3rd season. Put in 22 days this year with it. Drew on many WT does, and a couple spike bucks, never released the arrow. I have yet to harvest a big game animal with bow to this day. I have every year gained success in my opinion however as I get more and more opportunities year after year. Just havnt had the animals that I like to harvest within range. I in no way am a trophy hunter, but I do like to give animals the chance to grow past spiker stage, and my area has no supplemental tag for WT so I like to use the does as practice stalks and draws. Anyways, if you absolutely love and obsess about bow, stick with it. If you don’t, and you like the higher probability of harvesting I don’t think anyone here will judge you for putting it away.
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11-01-2017, 11:03 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,717
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Success ....one deer a year for the last 15 years give or take. Some years aren more than one, a couple years, nothing, Most with traditional gear. I've only shot two with the compound and only because I couldn't shoot the longbow those times because of physical requirements. I gotta say a compound is much easier, but it doesn't tickle my soul like a longbow.
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11-02-2017, 07:52 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: SW Calgary
Posts: 27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clarky
Just put my bow away after my 3rd season. Put in 22 days this year with it. Drew on many WT does, and a couple spike bucks, never released the arrow. I have yet to harvest a big game animal with bow to this day. I have every year gained success in my opinion however as I get more and more opportunities year after year. Just havnt had the animals that I like to harvest within range. I in no way am a trophy hunter, but I do like to give animals the chance to grow past spiker stage, and my area has no supplemental tag for WT so I like to use the does as practice stalks and draws. Anyways, if you absolutely love and obsess about bow, stick with it. If you don’t, and you like the higher probability of harvesting I don’t think anyone here will judge you for putting it away.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Well said and keep at it!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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11-02-2017, 08:16 AM
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 849
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Quote:
Originally Posted by raab
Lets be clear, I could have taken many whitetail does but have chosen not to. With more then a month left in rifle season I felt no need to take a whitetail. Although I seen the biggest buck of my life at 107 yards with no way to get closer.(He was in the middle of a field) Hunting mulies is over and goes to draw on November 1st. I guess the good thing about the bow is that Ive had 2 more months to hunt which was fun. But in saying that I hunted hard the last two months and Im coming home with nothing. Pretty frustrating to put in a ton of miles and time to not bring anything home. This is despite seeing plenty of game in the 100-150 yard range. Which is why I want to see how everyone does. If I stick with it, will I get to a point were I have a pretty good chance of harvesting an animal. Or is it more for getting out in the wilderness and relaxing? I dont mind paying my dues, i just want it to pay off in the end.
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Draw on every potential animal that you can harvest, doesn't mean you have to
take the shot. It makes you more comfortable when it comes down to actually threading the needle, and gives you experience's such as different angled shots on vitals and learning to draw and letoff on your bow while being silent. All experiences are learning experiences….
__________________
Live life like a Beer Commercial
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11-02-2017, 12:30 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 4,858
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Team Anzac
Draw on every potential animal that you can harvest, doesn't mean you have to
take the shot. It makes you more comfortable when it comes down to actually threading the needle, and gives you experience's such as different angled shots on vitals and learning to draw and letoff on your bow while being silent. All experiences are learning experiences….
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Thanks, never really thought about drawing on every animal. Will be doing it next year if I decide to keep at it. Which I probably will since it gives me so many more oppotunities to get out. Will probably not focus so much on it though and take a few trips up north to ensure I get a couple deer in the freezer.
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11-02-2017, 01:18 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Look behind you :)
Posts: 27,789
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Quote:
Originally Posted by raab
Thanks, never really thought about drawing on every animal. Will be doing it next year if I decide to keep at it. Which I probably will since it gives me so many more oppotunities to get out. Will probably not focus so much on it though and take a few trips up north to ensure I get a couple deer in the freezer.
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Make sure you don't punch the trigger!
LC
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