Giving up on the compound already

[madeinuk]

I used an xbow for the first time this season after using a  56lb recurve for over 10 years.

Lung surgery prevented me from practicing until recently so I did not have the confidence to shoot at a deer and kill it when the season began.

The xbow is a much more efficient deer killing machine.  The downsides are its weight, it is louder, you have cock it and seat the bolt then shot it into a rubber target/ground to uncock it   The (IMO) upsides greatly outweigh the downsides which are: accuracy, velocity of the bolt sheer hitting power of it.

Hammer4reel's point about aiming for the exit is spot on and I think it applies to all shooting sports honestly.just like in martial arts you are taught to hit through something not just hit its surface.   It really helps to focus on where your projectile will exit the target and not the point of impact.

 I learned this the hard way too .

Edited September 22, 2018 by madeinuk

[bucky]

Like other said there is a lot that goes into hunting with a vertical bow ,at 8 months you're just learning how to crawl,sometimes it will take a few years to get it done,once you figure it out it becomes fairly easy. Sorry there is no instant gratification when it comes to hunting with a bow

Edited September 22, 2018 by bucky

[Livesintrees]

A lot of good suggestions here. I don’t know where you live. However the most important part of shooting out of a stand is actually practicing from some height.  Basically what’s going to happen if you don’t have the proper form in alignment is you’re going to get high and low Mrs. From time to time depending on your follow-through you’re also going to get some left and right Misses.  When you don’t bend at the waist what you end up doing is changing your alignment between your Peepsight and your front sight housing.  As soon as your alignment becomes out of whack weather in a tree stand or not things go to hell in a handbasket quick.  I don’t even know how many animals I’ve killed with a bow. I will tell you that even now if I have a dear straight out in front of me I will draw my bow back straight out of a tree stand as though I’m going to shoot the tree in front of me at the same height as the tree stand. I’ll coming to my anchor get my alignment spot on and then just pivot my upper body at the waist.  What does does when you anchor as though you were shooting in your backyard is sets up your T-formation your alignment between your bowl and your rear elbow. When you pivot at your waist while maintaining that form you keep your Peepsight and upper body alignment where it needs to be. At that point whether shooting targets at 100 yards or a deer at 15 yards you need to look at the spot you want to hit put your pin there and then naturally let it float the way that it’s going to float. While you still have the pain floating around would you have to get comfortable with allowing it to happen continue to stare at what you want to hit regardless of where your pain is at the time. When the shot goes off the arrow somehow freaking find that spot even if your pain is 6 inches to the left.  I can shoot 70 yards on my property. With the hunting site no magnification like I have in my target scopes sometimes my pen will be 6 to 8 inches one direction or the other when the shot breaks. That freaking arrow lands in the spot nine times out of 10. It’s all about trusting your pin float and having good form an alignment. Archery is no different than anything else it literally starts with the fundamentals and the foundation.  The other thing you have to be honest with yourself about is how you were getting that shot to go off. If you’re squeezing the trigger like a lot of pro shops will recommend you do because it’s just the easiest way to get you want target fast you need a different approach.  You need to get that shot to go off using back tension which gives you a surprise shot.  One way to bring this into perspective very easily is the name is simple fact. There’s only a handful of archers in the world who can successfully go out there and compete in tournaments situations by slapping the shit out of that trigger. The rest use back tension.  Now I hope you’re still reading this post as well as the rest.  I want you to go onto Google and search for John Dudley. He competed for over two decades. He has such a wealth of free information out there on the Internet that simply watching it thinking about it and applying one thing at a time is going to put you further ahead than the vast majority of other people. Try to watch his videos in sequence start from the foundation and give what he says a shot. The way he teaches and coaches is geared towards the fundamentals. Whether you shoot your crossbow this year or your compound do yourself a favor and check this guy out. It’s still nice enough weather that you can start applying his teachings to your compound and practice. Like I said I don’t know where you live but if someone on here wanted to put together a meet up I think that would be a great idea and everybody could work on some shooting and kind of taking a better look at what you’re doing to see if there is something in your shot sequence that is noticeably causing you issues on live animals. I will tell you that once you get everything figured out dialed in and perfected a compound has accuracy that you did not believe was possible.Anyway I’m not going back and reading through this huge post as I did talk to text and I’m sure the spelling and grammar errors are going to be ridiculous.

 

[Livesintrees]

 And again what broadheads are you shooting? And did you shoot them into them prior to hunting with them? Here are a couple of examples. I don’t know how this is going to post here or in what order. But I’ll give it a shot. 

 

This first picture are field points. Showing the difference a change in justbthe vanes can make. 

This picture shows a field point at 50 yards vs a big fixed blade head before Broadhead tuning 

This is picture represents where the mechanical heads I shoot will hit out to 70 yards. All arrows are a touch right bc I haven’t adjusted the sight yet bc I’m still testing different components  

 

I expect my field points and mechanicals to be 3/4-1” right with no sights adjustment. But a tiny adjustment and they in the center. The fixed blade requires a rest adjustment and some sight adjustment but just illustrates what happens if you screw something on and don’t test it. 

[rocky]

I think you are doing the right thing. Until you figure out what the problem is and how to correct it use the crossbow. We owe it to the deer. Yes wounding is a part of hunting at times but, we have to do everything in our power not to do it. Respecting the game we hunt will make you a better hunter. 

Actual hunting scenarios are a great help. If you hunt from a stand practice from a stand. Use a 3-D life sized target and have someone move it around your practice area setting it up at different angles and distances will help immensely. Looking away while the target is moved and then turning around for a quick shot is also beneficial at judging distances and angles when afield. Good luck and be safe.

[Lunatic]

2 hours ago, njbowhntr said:

Read closely and interpret.  If he takes a break and works on the issues he is having, that is a victory.  If he just says it is too hard and gives up, that is a failure.  And if you read closely I also offered him one on one help in tuning is his bow for broadheads.

Lunatic, I am sorry if you do not agree with my view of what a failure is.  I view failures as quitting before you reach your end goal, not as a set back in the journey. 

I don't have an argument with you because we all look differently on life and that's fine. I will only tell you how I think about it. My friend's kid went to college to better his life by getting a BS degree. During the first year he experienced  great difficulties in keeping up with his work and almost dropped out. He was a chemistry major and he just couldn't do it, it was not for him. So he changed his major to something that matched better his interest, personality and ability and in four years he graduated with honors. I would not call this a failure but an intelligent decision that had to be made to reach the desire goal.  There is more than one way to skin a cat, or in this case kill a deer, and the word failure is inappropriate in my opinion.

Edited September 22, 2018 by Lunatic

[Nomad]

That's how I felt at one time.  Recheck all your equipment.   Sight in with your broadheads.  Go over what went wrong in your head and try to make sure it doesn't happen again.  Keep trying.  I bet the next shot you make on a deer is going to be beautiful, because you are going to be extra careful.  Good luck.

Edited September 22, 2018 by Nomad

[Livesintrees]

6 minutes ago, Lunatic said:

I don't have an argument with you because we all look differently on life and that's fine. I will only tell you how I think about it. My friend's kid went to college to better his life by getting a BS degree. During the first year he experienced  great difficulties in keeping up with his work and almost dropped out. He was a chemistry major and he just couldn't do it, it was not for him. So he changed his major to something that matched better his interest, personality and ability and in four years he graduated with honors. I would not call this a failure but an intelligent decision that had to be made to reach the desire goal.  There is more than one way to skin a cat, or in this case kill a deer, and the word failure is inappropriate in my opinion.

My definition of failure is giving up. Success in anything takes time and dedication with an end goal in mind. 

[Roon]

Sounds like target panic to me.

1st you need to relax,  I only bow hunt and have killed a lot of deer. I also use a crossbow at times and will admit its much easier to focus on your shot without worrying about extra movement. 

Just cause you are hitting bullseyes at home it doesn't translate to the field. 

Every deer I shoot with the bow I focus on the opposite front leg, that is my aiming point and what I shoot for.

RELAX,  the deer will give you time and there is no need to rush your shot, if the deer comes in and does not give a shot don't go for pot luck.

Only difference between them and back yard is they have a heart beat. 

Give it time think about your shot, then draw and shoot. 

Best of luck 

 

 

[toxo]

Sounds like target panic. You are shooting at the whole Deer.Pick a spot and then pick a hair in that spot. 

[Shootemandmountem]

To rutting buck. Not being confident is always a big problem, you are going to have a lot of thoughts as you pull back on a deer.  Shoot the crossbow, but keep shooting the bow on targets. Have you ever shot at a decoy target? I like to use this for low light conditions, has helped me for sure.I have one if you wan't to borrow.I live in Monmouth County and work in Union.

[Rutting Buck]

9 minutes ago, Shootemthenmountem said:

To rutting buck. Not being confident is always a big problem, you are going to have a lot of thoughts as you pull back on a deer.  Shoot the crossbow, but keep shooting the bow on targets. Have you ever shot at a decoy target? I like to use this for low light conditions, has helped me for sure.I have one if you wan't to borrow.I live in Monmouth County and work in Union.

I have a 3D target I use to practice shooting from the stand and ground.  Thanks for the nice offer, I’m going continue shooting it just not going to hunt with it for a while

[Nomad]

  Get right out there with it and try again.  You can do it Bro!!  Good luck.

Edited September 23, 2018 by Nomad

[Rutting Buck]

1 hour ago, Nomad said:

  Get right out there with it and try again.  You can do it Bro!!  Good luck.

I may have little choice right now. I put the string on my crossbow but haven’t sighted it in yet.  I plan on hunting tomorrow morning and don’t want to hope that it’s still on after completely removing the string after last year. I’ll have to sight it in after I hunt tomorrow   So if I go out I’m taking the compound 

Edited September 23, 2018 by Rutting Buck