How many more times do I need to mess up

[Lefty]

I choked again. I realize one of these times I wont mess up
I had ranged all the land marks, then moved in thirty yards.
A bit more calling and here is a bull I hadnt seen trotting in 90 yards and moving fast,
At 22 yards he jumps and I cow call and he stops. A 5x6. I draw and release.Did the arrow deflect, everything seemed right!
I pull the bull back with a couple cow chirps. Should I range him,.. No he will see the movement Perfect broadside,.. this time I see the arrow go high. One arrow left,.......
I can only laugh and learn from another bull my mistakes again this year.
Whats with my brain? bulls are big , they should look close,.. I forgot to subtract 30 yards , I completly mis-calculated the ranges

Over-all a great year foe me. I called in my fist elk which I didnt get to see. Then Thursday I spent an hour and 1/2 working 2 bulls and the third bull came in.
Almost text book. wouldnt come to a cow and calf. Other than not strolling off with locate bugles, hitting my hands on the ground and rubbing my bugle on a sage bruch then shaking the brush got a bull to come on in and give me a chance,.. agh,... errr,.... three chances
what a great year

Maybe I should move this to Doc's forum

[idahoghost]

Lefty,

I feel your pain, only twice as much. I missed two bulls this year, shot over both. Both had me dead to rights, so I didn't think I could get away ranging them. I should have taken the time. Instead I relied on my guess, I was wrong not only once, but twice. Both just stood there while I drew and released.

I am thinking of spending some time at the zoo with my rangefinder. The elk seem to look smaller than I think they should at 30 yards.

All in all though, I had a great season. Both came to cow calls, to whom I have Elknut to thank for his teachings.

Am already planning on next year....both the elk and I will be much smarter...

[Swede]

I think the two of you have experienced a very common problem. I hope this helps. You are in too big of a hurry. It is common for less experienced hunters to panic/rush things or they may freeze up. Freeze up includes indecision based on not being sure what to do. I have found that it works best for me to not focus too much on what the elk is doing, but to concentrate on the things I have to do and to do them without spooking the elk. Neither you or I will ever get all of the elk we try for, but you can get to a point where you know you did everything you could within reason. Often we need to work quickly and carefully, but don't leave out important parts of your preparation for the shot just because you think the bull may wind you, see you or hear you. You will loose more often than you wil win.

[Lefty]

I was telling my brother last week how much I really enjoy elk hunting, for a 53 year old things just shouldnt be this exciting.
Knowing me his claim is that Im not good at it and I enjoy the "failure" challnge and success. I think he is on the right track.
Messing up on another bull and enjoying it

[Lefty]

Swede you are likely correct in my case
I would say Im a very good goose hunter and the majority of mistakes I see with those that I host is too fast ,.. Ive watched excellent duck shooters miss "easy " geese

And and yes I know, I even thought I need to range this guy after the miss, my range finder was hanging out of my pocket. I was in a hurry, I had just taken a shot and missed and this bull elk is now closer? ,... I will also say something went way wrong ( can I really claim bull fever) in my thinking. Why wasnt I using the right pins? Why was I holding high?
the facts are Ive been close to a number of bulls in 4 years, I really get a rushout of it but I fail in my shooting

Maybe the real shame came when my wife was standing where the bull had been standing when I had taken the 2nd shot, looking back at the sage I was sitting by .. It wasnt a question but a statement "You missed an elk this close"

[ElkNut1]

LOL!!! Women!!!! Lefty, not a big deal bud, shake it off & move on my friend! We've all been through those adrenalin rushes where the excitement can cloud our thoughts , judgment & shooting accuracy! (grin) You will gain control over it in time, it's really hard to teach it, with experience you will be able to control that inner excitement & get it done! Keep at it & start preparing & looking forward to next season!! Each new season will present its own set of challenges & excitements, this is what keeps us coming! (grin) You had a great season!!

ElkNut1

[Swede]

Lefty and other hunters, you will get better with practice. In all fairness I have to admit I missed two bucks this year. One ran forward just as I released. The other stood, with just the top of his back above the Sage and Bitter brush. I thought I could lob an arrow above the brush and drop in into his vitals. Well that was before I received my new rangefinder, so I had to guess at the distance. To make a long story short, I guessed wrong. The most embarrassing part, was that my brother who thinks I do not miss, witnessed both of my bad shots. I have found that concentrating on what I am doing, and less on the animal, has helped me take care of the nerves issue. I am still far from perfect. As Elknut said, I am sure we have all had to come to terms with excitement/nerves. Simply, if there was no excitement, why go hunting? It seems to me that is why we go through all of the expense and effort to hunt.

[Lefty]

Swede harrasment from a brother is one thing, From my wife thats another.
My wife use to do a lot of hunting with her dad and she was on a number of Rifle teams, She spots game better than anyone Ive known.
Ill see if I can find the pic of her dads shed of her horns.
Shes killed a lot of nice deer,.. Sadly her uncle sold all of her racks over 27"

[Lefty]

th_IMG_0352Small[1].jpg (3.3 KiB) Viewed 4775 times

All my wifes deer 24-27"

[T/H]

"How Many More Times" i seem to remember a Zeppelin tune with that title but the answer i would give would be however many more times it takes until you get it done. unless you are a quitter jk

http://youtu.be/9J8-xmbfBWc

[six]

Lefty

I feel your pain. I've missed and blown stalks on more elk than a lot on this site have killed. This year I had a 6x6 bull @70 yards, wind in my face, ground was damp and quiet. He didn't have a clue I was around. I tried to hurry in and got busted by a cow I didn't know was around (tunnel vision).

Keep at em. I love the rush.

[ElkNut1]

Lefty, nice bucks, she's better than you!! (big grin)

ElkNut1

[Lefty]

She has made it clear nothing goes on the wall unless its bigger than hers, So where do I get a 37" mulie?

[KMT]

The first year that I hunted elk with a bow, I had 24-25 bull encounters. Only the last one was a successful. So for me, it took a lot of trial and error...mostly error. I have never had that many encounters again, but I'm thankful for that first year. It probably took 5+ years off of my learning curve. I have hunted elk on public land with a bow for 13 years, and still find a way once or twice each season to screw up.

[Lefty]

Lefty, nice bucks, she's better than you!! (big grin)
ElkNut1

Yes she is,.. she really married down

Her dad use to keep all her horns in a pile.
15 years ago my Father-in-law called me,.. really upset. He had made an assumption when his brother asked about some horns. He thought he wanted a pair for a cabin he was building,.. The Uncle grabbed everthing over 27" that was in the shed and sold them So my wife only has her first buck 29 5/8" on a board