A friend leased some hunting land years ago, put up some tree stands and ground blinds. As soon as people who knew him learned he had some decent property, his list of newest best friends grew overnight.
Two came to hunt from another part of the state where deer were few, and seeing any buck was great cause for celebration. He did all the work, built blinds, did the preseason scouting and they just came to shoot deer.
He assumed they were hunters. That assumption led him to believe they knew when and where to shoot a deer. That assumption was incorrect.
Running shots at bucks are risky
Each one hunted the first weekend with my buddy. At the end of two days, four deer -- two bucks and two does -- had been wounded and lost. They didn't have Game Trackers on their bows, and all four deer eventually fed the neighborhood coyotes.
They came the next weekend, and my friend presented each with a Game Tracker unit and helped them install it on their bow. You guessed it: they shot and lost four more deer because they wouldn't tie the string behind the broadhead so they could easily recover wounded animals.
"No more," he screamed. "You've lost eight deer in four days of hunting over a two-week period. Either learn when and where to shoot or don't bother to come back. And ... you won't hunt one more day here without using a Game Tracker."
The following weekend he explained the facts of life to them again. He told them that where they once hunted, and where they seldom saw a deer, was a thing of the past. If they were to hunt more than this one last day with him, they would know when and where to shoot deer.
Take only high-percentage shots.
He explained the necessity of taking only high percentage shots, and never taking low percentage opportunities. He told them the only shots they could take were standing broadside or standing quartering-away shots at 20 yards of less. There would be no exceptions to these new rules.
Any deer hit anywhere else would buy them a one-way ticket off his hunting land. And, he stressed, friends or not, he was done messing with them. They would do it right or they wouldn't do it at all.
He used a deer target and positioned it at all different angles. He offered them broadside, quartering-away, quartering-toward, dead-on and dead-away shots. He made them shoot countless arrows at the target when it was properly positioned, and they finally realized what they had been doing wrong.
They had been flinging arrows in hopes that a lucky hit would kill the deer. No doubt the first eight "lucky" hits killed the deer but none were recovered even after several hours of blood trailing long after dark.
They soon became excellent shots, and knowing which shots to take and when to take them came next. He had to teach them how and when to draw, and he didn't want them shooting at moving deer.
"A deer that is feeding is occupied," he said. "Watch that animal and any other nearby deer, and make your draw slow and noiselessly. Take careful aim at the heart-lung area, and don't shoot at anything else. Neck, frontal or rear shots are strictly forbidden. Quartering-away bow shots are the best of all."
He told them that patience is a virtue, especially when trying to arrow a deer. Wait until the deer offers you the ideal shot. Often deer will move around and never offer a shot, so he told them not to shoot. You be the judge of when to shoot: don't let the deer decide for you.
Quartering-away bow shots like this are the best bow shots of all.
"You control when you shoot," he preached. "Don't raise the bow until a deer turns sideways or offers a quartering-away shot. If the deer is within range, but other deer have their heads up and are looking around, wait.
"Don't be in a big rush to shoot. Cherish the moment. Make it last. Drag out the final outcome as long as possible. When you decide to shoot, make certain the buck is properly positioned within range. Check to make sure no other deer have their heads up or are looking in your direction.
"You'll know when the right moment comes. Pick a spot, come to full draw, aim at that precise spot, and make a smooth release. Don't lift your head up until the Game Tracker line starts going out after arrow impact."
That night both of them shot bucks. Nothing big, but bucks nonetheless. They waited, and true enough, when the right time arrived for a shot and the deer were perfectly positioned, they eased back to full draw and killed their bucks.
Everything in life must be learned, and proper hunting methods are no different. Do it right or don't do it.
Learning periods like this are very important. Beginning bow hunters have the urge to shoot something, and they invariably take shots that offer little hope of recovering the wounded animal.
Bow hunters must perfect the art of patience. Don't try to rush things. If and when the time is right to shoot, the deer will be motionless and looking away or at another deer, and you'll have plenty of time to shoot. Learn how to wait, and if a deer doesn't offer a good shot that day, let the animal go and try again the next day.
Shooting and wounding deer is stupid. Practice constantly, and know when to draw, how to aim and where to shoot. Refine each of these skills. They are not difficult to learn, and once hunters understand these principles, shooting a buck become much easier.
