Bowhunting Whitetail Deer

Close Encounter Hunting

My whitetail deer bowhunting adventures started in 1984 when I purchased a used compound bow from the brother of a college roommate. I paid about $20 for the bow and I can’t even remember the name of it. I had no idea what the draw length, draw weight or let-off percentage was on that bow, but I did manage to kill one deer with it. I would say that before I shot that first deer in 1990 I had missed on at least a dozen other occasions. At this point I was far from a bowhunting expert. As a matter of fact one love struck spike let me take three shots at him, all of which I missed. To say that I didn’t know what whitetail deer bowhunting was all about was an understatement. I used different length arrows, different weight broadheads and my shooting style of course left a lot to be desired, but bowhunting gave me extra time in the woods especially in the earlier part of the deer season. The weather and fall colors are spectacular in October and early November.

In the early nineties I decided that a new compound bow would change my whitetail deer bowhunting luck so I bought a Bear Silent Hunter. This compound bow was a large step up from my first bow. It shot rather well when compared to the prior bow, but I had to be real particular with my broadheads and arrow shaft stiffness. With a bear broadhead I could and did miss a groundhog by a good five feet from twenty yards. After some experimentation I finally got to where I could shoot decent groups with a 2317 aluminum shaft and a 125 grain Thunderhead broadhead. I have since thought that my biggest problem was likely the flipper rest that I had on that bow. Chances are the accuracy of that bow may have been improved with a better rest.

Not realizing that a different rest could probably have solved my problems with the Bear, I purchased a PSE Nova Boss 1 Impact compound bow. This was in the earlier days of the single cam bows. On this bow I installed a Bodoodle arrow rest and have had good success with this bow for several years now. I have dropped down to a 2216 aluminum arrow shaft and still shoot the 125 grain Thunderheads at about a 60 pound draw weight. I have also shot 2117 shafts with various other broadheads just to see how they performed and they all performed well. I also have an older T.R.U.Ball release that has the ball attached to the string. I have evolved to this release after two other caliper releases tore up my string more than I liked. The T.R.U.Ball has performed very well for me. With this bow I can’t blame missed shots on anything but myself.

Over the years I have learned a few things about shooting a compound bow that have helped me such that I do not miss many shots these days. Have your bow set up so that if you miss it is your fault. If your bow is not shooting straight then your shooting form inconsistencies only compound the problems. You want your bow to be right on when you do everything correct. The things that help my shooting form the most are a wrist strap and a peep sight. The wrist strap lets me relax my bow hand and take away any influence by pulling or pushing shots. The peep sight ensures a good aim when under pressure situations as well as helping me keep a more consistent anchor point. Consistency is very important; you must have the same form each shot. It also could go without saying that the more you shoot your bow the better bowhunter you will be.

Many of my early frustrations were while bowhunting from the ground. I generally do most of my bowhunting from treestands. Putting yourself above the field of view of the deer helps keep you concealed and often gives you a chance to pull the bow back. Being close enough to shoot a deer with a bow requires you to put as many things in your favor as you possibly can. A whitetails vision is not great but they pick up movement really well.




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