Thread: Swing and a Miss

I hate to miss. When old speckled belly thumps the jig the brain automatically says jerk dude, he is there. With bow hunting, it’s a whole different ballgame. Scouting, shooting lane trimming, target practice, scent consideration and wind direction all fly out the window when that arrow passes by its intended target and kills two leaves and scares an earthworm. Yep, after all the preparations I flat out missed one this afternoon. Flinging a high priced piece of carbon with an even more expensive razor blade on the end is not how the Native Americans probably envisioned the practice, but even with all the modern advantages, the hunter still has to hit the target. It is hot here in TN, 86 degrees in the stand at 6:15pm this evening but a calm to WNW wind is perfect for my afternoon stand overlooking a pear orchard. The white oaks were falling behind me but history dictates the deer usually go for the pears first, and I was facing the field in anticipation of a successful hunt. Just about dark at last shooting light I heard a slight rustle behind me and then the crunching of acorns. Those devils had snuck in behind me and were getting ever so close to the path I had walked in on and were sure to detect my scent. At 21 yards the lead deer stepped from behind a large tree and presented an almost broadside shot. In a slight bind I turned and let one fly. Clang, dang it, shot low. I have not missed a deer with the bow in three years, and the last time I did...I missed low. The deer jumped up, hopped a few yards off and turned to look at what made such an awful racket. It stood there for a couple minutes, looked around and skulked off slowly. A couple other ones scattered from behind and snorted as they bounded through the darkness. I did not attempt a second shot as I was hoping to keep my elevated position concealed from my four legged quarry. I waited a good 15-20 minutes for the woods to settle back down I left quietly in the dark with my tail between my legs. It happens, we all miss, but with a bow it just seems worse.


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Good read. glad you found your arrow they tend to get expensive. anyone that has bow hunted has missed. trust me. I missed 3 times one night. I have only been hunting with a bow about 15 years.