Aiming at the lower 1/3 regardless of distance is how your supposed to aim at whitetail from a tree stand period! Whoever showed you to aim center mass gave you bad info, a deer is not a target like you shoot in the backyard, it has reflexes! Lower 1/3 aim ensures a boiler room hit if he ducks or doesn’t duck!
Yup, spot on. Honestly for me, I knew it and it was just a mental mistake. I also know that many people might not realize that, so wanted to take the opportunity to teach from one of my mistakes!
Not trying to be that guy who always disagrees. But I think every situation could be different. Like depending on how high your stand is. Are you shooting compound or crossbow. Is he 18 yd or 38 yd. That's why I preach, practice practice practice and from different scenarios. I do agree 9 out of 10 deer their first reaction upon hearing the twang is to duck.
Like if you're shooting from a high 24 FT stand and that deer is only 20 yards. I'm going to aim center Mass. Especially if I take out the crossbow that day. Sorry you didn't recover it was a nice dear, take care and good luck
There are always additional variables to consider and it’s hard to cover all in one video, so that’s what the comments and conversation is for. Thanks for sharing
The comments here are incredible. It’s mind boggling to know that so many people lack ability/willingness to listen. I’m green with a crossbow this year, but the advice tracks. With a rifle it’s a high neck shot or no shot for me. Straight down, no suffering, no waste.
I’m a new hunter, thanks for the info. I’m always amazed at the fact that people take time out of their lives to share knowledge with total strangers. Thank you.
Glad we could help, it’s the least I could do after wounding a deer, hopefully it will mean fewer people and animals experience it. Good luck this year!
Brian, I was told ages ago that the basic reason for holding low was because the downward trajectory takes gravity out of the equation, that if you aim from a tree stand like you would on flat ground, you'll always hit(or miss) high. From what I'm seeing in this video and some others I've watched, the reason to hold low is to account for the deer ducking prior to launching it's hairy ass out of the area. How much of what I've been told is correct, and how low should I be aiming? I don't know if it's worth mentioning, but I shoot a recurve. Should I just follow the advice here on this channel, or is there more to it? Thanks.
Another thing to note is a deer with its head down feeding will drop faster than a deer with its head up. When the deer reacts to the sound of the bow it loads it’s legs to take off running. That’s why they drop down. When the deers head is up it’s body only drops as fast as gravity pulls it down. When the deers head is down and it reacts to the shot it can drop faster than gravity pulls it down as the inertia from the deer raising it’s head and neck forces the body down faster
Someone else mentioned that. Makes sense! I guess that also means that you are better off stopping the deer, even though it is “on alert”? What do you think?
Well idk. But let’s say a deer is grazing or eating at a cornpile. Now that I know that I would rather wait for their head to be up. I used to just assume it was best to shoot when their head was down if you get the option
Good job, Seth. I've tried to explain that to many people and I think I must get too technical. The way you explain it is much simpler and easy to follow. I usually can generate a deer in the headlights look shortly after I explain an "equal but opposite reaction." I never realized how far a deer can move like that until I put a scope on my crossbow that records video.
Great video and great advice. I started bow hunting at the age of 10 in 1970. Learned this same lesson the hard way. Another good tip is practice with your bow in the gear you will be hunting in. Shooting your bow in August/September in short and tee shirts is different than shooting the same bow wearing heavy clothes in November. Learned that lesson the hard way too. Practice like you hunt. It makes a difference. Also keep taking practice shots all during the season to make sure your bow doesn't change. Dragging the bow around the woods you can hang the sight or arrow rest on a limb and move things without knowing it. Learned that the hard way as well. Good luck and hunt safe!
100% agree, I actually do something I am not sure a lot of other people do, to get "Mental Reps" on deer I don't plan to shoot. Check it out! ua-cam.com/video/UVMsZ8aWbDU/v-deo.html Thanks for the comment!
Great advice and very true ! I had a friend/customer that was getting ready for a Canadian whitetail archery hunt. I had told him the same thing about practicing in what you will be wearing. The next day he called me in a panic, begging me to come to his house and help him figure out what was wrong with his equipment. He was shooting 2ft to the right at 20 yards and his grouping was opened up pretty badly. I get to his house after work and he looks like the Michelin man , lol ! He is wearing his 40 below zero , white snow suit he planned to hunt in. We had to retune and resight his bow ! Had I not given him the advice to practice in his hunting suit, he likely would have had a catastrophic Canadian hunting trip . Even a thin net type face mask can wreck your anchor point and cause a miss, or worse, a bad hit.
Great video! I´m from Europe and bowhunting ist banned here. With a rifle the situation is very different: Over 25 years ago, I took a shot on a roe deer (it was only my second). I had a combined weapon, which had a shotgun barrel on top and the rifle below (don´t know the English name for it), so there was a big distance between scope and barrel. The deer came very close, about 10 meter/yards and I was about 6-7 meter/yards above ground level. Impossible to miss -I thought... You surely understand, how surprised/shocked I was, when the deer ran off completely unharmed (I could watch it out of reach of my gun) When I checked later, to be sure, I found not even a single hair. So, what had happened??? I was aiming at the center, but the distance between barrel was 7cm (about 3 inches). While my sight was pointing perfect the barrel was, because of the steep angle and the short distance, pointing below the body... But, in the mountains on a very long range the situation would have been the exact opposite: Because the bullet is influenced less by gravity it will fall less than usually, if you shout up- or downwards, so it might be necessary to aim above the point you want to hit.
You are definitely doing the hunters and the wildlife a service by sharing this learning point! I hope that every last person can see this or learn it from someone prior to learning it the hard way-really ought to be taught more in bow hunter education so it is engrained in us when we hit the woods! Hate for the wildlife to suffer (the ones that have it worse than a back strap scar) for us to do our learning, but the life of wildlife is definitely never easy, even on the best day. We owe it to them to learn all we can and practice to do everything within our control to deliver that lethal hit. Everything else is left up to chance of course. I appreciate your humility and willingness to share this crucial information rather than being the kind of person who just looks down on the weekend warriors! Good luck this season!
Man Im 51 and I just lost the biggest buck I've ever had an opportunity at 1 because I didn't make the noise to stop him, and 2 because I aimed Center. The result was a gut shot that resulted in 6 hours of tracking only to realize he must have still been alive making me feel absolutely dejected that I just injured a beautiful deer for nothing. Such a big responsibility to make the right shot! Great video!
If you hit him in the guts and you backed out then you can likely still find him tomorrow. Give him until mid day or so tomorrow, grid search or get a tracking dog. The deer is going to die, so you still have a chance to find him. Good luck!
Great video! Deer dont "jump the string" they "Duck the string". They drop their front shoulders to load the rear legs😂. The amount the drop is greatly increased if there head is down.
Been rifle hunting for 20+ years and this will be my first year trying a bow so I'm glad I stumbled across this video! The deer in SC are spooky enough at 100+ yards, I'm eager to see them at 20.
When I began bow hunting, I had to learn to manage buck fever, not used to seeing so many more deer bow hunting, vs rifle hunting. Enjoy the show, & relax. “Just focus on hitting that small pea sized spot on your target”.
@@L2FlyMN Also spend some time thinking about where deer will come from, and shooting lanes around you so when you are in the moment you have less to think about and are more in reaction mode. Mental prep is a huge component to bow hunting. Thanks for the comment!
I enjoyed this video. I'm looking to get into bow hunting and this is very good advice. I found it comical that the ad that came on before this was an ASPCA ad and it had the banner throughout the whole video.
True, I hit one high and thought I blew it, but it hit below the spine, it hit the main artery that runs along the backbone , it was like a garden hose out both sides for 10 feet on each side (in 16" of snow) he made it 30 feet and stuck in the ground like a lawn dart. 20x30 area of solid red . Best bad situation ever, my yard looked like the Japanese flag . I followed the backstrap hit option once too 5 hours and I saw him 3 times, almost no blood and he didn't even act hurt. Good Video.
I killed a nice buck with a cross bow last week. I aimed at the heart and hit the heart. Severed the heart and the deer went 40 yards. I Did not alert the deer. I do agree with the advice to aim low and hit the heart if he doesn't duck but hit the lungs if he does because otherwise you make the shot into muscle or shoot over top of the deer.
They duck 99% of the time when they're alerted, like how you got him to stop. It's easy to read their body language and know. I think if this buck is still casually eating acorns and you didn't have to stop him, that shot is a double lung. Still solid advice, I always aim for the heart too.
Yeah this bah thing is not very smart. Back in the late 80s hunting shows started doing this. Take your mouth and make a clicking noise like you would to a horse. You set a deer up to explode with the bah.
Thanks for the suggestion I will have to try that! There have been times that softer/different noises doesn't stop the deer or doesn't stop them long enough for a shot. Notice I went softer at first (I always try to start subtle), then I went loud. I would rather have the deer stopped and on alert than gone with no chance at a shot.
That's right. My husband gets tell me to shoot in center. But I don't listen. Grandpa always says shoot for the heart you never go wrong. Out of 3 deer last year I got two of them. Muzzleloading it's kind of harder because when you get smoke from you don't really know where you're really hit them when you think he hit him by the end up not dying and he still alive.
Totally agree wish I would have seen this video 3 years ago till I learned this lesson the hard way. I was fortunate enough he ducked the entire arrow and was a clean miss but It was on the biggest buck I’ve pulled the trigger on to date.
I don't know if I'd ever have the patience to set up a camera like that and take the time to keep adjusting it so other people could have a good view of my hunt. As a new hunter, I truly appreciate you taking the time to do it because it's great being able to see these details to fully understand!
That’s what we do it for! There are definitely times we think “man this would be a lot easier without 5 pounds of camera gear and the extra setup” but there is also something about being able to pull it off and then relive it over and over! Thanks for the comment!
I was taught that lesson when I started bowhunting back in the 1970s. You have to know your effective shooting distance when bowhunting, and especially shooting instinctively with a much slower, recurve at a lower poundage and using a wooden arrow. Even inside 20 yards, I had 2 deer in the first season that I shot over the top of, and part of the reason is when you have to stop a deer with a blat, or another noise. It puts them on high alert and it's amazing how fast they can drop. Lesson learned. Nice video.
Well, nice to know that he survived, and now he's really educated, lol. Great video. I'm not sure I would aim that low, it looked like a pretty far shot, so maybe. Really appreciate you working to get the hunt on video. U da man and Jesus is Lord!
This is exactly how I got my deer last year. I had taken a flat land shot on a Doe a couple years prior at 50 yards, and missed over her back despite the shot going exactly where my pin was. That experience led me to do what you are saying here. I had a big doe standing full broadside at 52 yards with perfect conditions, so I set my sight to 52 and aimed lower 1/3 for the heart. I ended up double-lunging her and she only made it about 50 yards before she crashed.
Hunt long enough and we will all make mistakes. I love it when people can openly share so others can learn. Thanks for sharing and good luck this year!
@@craig5649 That's right. The further the shot is the more time they have to drop before the arrow makes contact and they'll have time to turn away as well. Having said that Mostly I wouldn't take a long shot like that.
I have always aimed for the elbow which points at the heart when they are standing still. My only close range shot with the bow was less than 20 yards on the ground, and that buck dropped nearly a foot, and my arrow just hit bone. Needless to say, that buck ran off after spinning around and ripping the arrow out of his back.
You’re spot on. Aim lower than you think for a good shot, especially at closer ranges. I did a similar thing last year, aiming high and tight on the sweet spot in the golden triangle only to hit the shoulder blade. I tracked a very weak blood trail for three hour eventually loosing the deer.
I’m 65 years old. Been bow hunting all my life. Never have shot under a deer with a bow. Hit high or shot over them more times than I would like to admit. Especially in the early years shooting aluminum arrows and 44” ata bows with 9” brace height.
Not gonna lie tho them aluminum arrows seemed to blow through anything they hit, it took me some time to get my arrows right when i switched to carbon weight wise.
i was lucky this fall. Got my first buck since starting bow hunting last year. Got him at 30 yards, double lung. ran about 60 yards and dropped dead. He didn't flinch until the arrow was already thru him. When i found the arrow it was soaked in blood tip to nock so i knew i had a good shot. Ive always been told to aim low because they will drop and also to not do a shot when their head is down. I was pretty damn excited to get one 😁 He was just upwind of myself. He stopped right in front of me and looked around. My friend said my shot placement was perfect. Its good to see videos where people admit their mistakes so others can learn from them.
One situation where you would want to aim higher is a steep shot angle. You're aiming for the lower third on the interior of the deer, which means you have to aim higher than the lower third on the exterior of the deer at those angles. It's exact same reason why you aim towards the back of the lungs in a quartering away shot.
@@WeekendWoodsmen Even if they did have time to drop, the location of the entry wound is irrelevant as long as the center of the wound tract goes through the bottom third.
Always aim for the heart, know your distance and know the bahaviour of your prey. There are so many arrow hunters that impart unnecassary pain and suffering on animals because they have little understanding of how to kill quickly.
Great video no doubt man. I lost the 180 inch plus this exact same way with a raven crossbow he ducked it just enough to punch no man's land. Thanks and best of luck to all you deer hunters!
Crazy, I never aim low with my cross bow and have never had a deer duck the shot. I shoot a good amount of deer at my place and municipal land where we are required to take around 15 deer a season. I use an old parker with a 165 lbs draw, which is shooting slower compared to your ravin. How far out was the deer? I try to limit shoots to 40 yards.
I just got my 2nd buck this year with bow(1st was last year and been bow hunting 3 years). I took him at 57 yards. I did exactly this, aimed at his heart and when he dropped right before the arrow hit it smoked him double lung. He went down like a ton of bricks. No running off and died about 3' from where I shot him. He tried once to get up but it was curtains
There are several factors on where the aiming point on a deer could be but I feel the most important factor is to be able to determine the mood of the deer . Is he or she calm ,on alert or nervous ? I have actually put my pin below the deers body at 34 yards because the deer was already spooked but the result was a shot that took out the top of the heart .
Sorry that happened to u. I now hunt with a recurve while filming so I don't have to go back & forth with the camera. I always have a secondary Tactacam setup where I feel that deer will be in optimum view in a pinch point. With a recurve I would have taken that deer just b4 his head was even with that big 🌳 trunk when he was close. Back years ago b4 the 300 acres i lived on got developed into a golf course by a family we had a 3D course. We had a legless 3D large target suspended on a pulley system. Practiced alot on training the brain to fire the shot on a slow walk @ the perfect time. Everyone had a try @ it & was shooting compounds. I switched in the last couple of years to the recurve cuz all shot opportunities r close in all the places I hunt. Too much cover to shoot 30 yards from a 🌳 or even being able to identify the deer @ that range in the thickness. Back years ago the pendulum sight was a great way to train your brain. Depending on angle u really wanted the deer to be @ 15 yards. Especially if u were standing & @ 12 feet or more. Shooting 3D from a 🌳 really helps u educate w/o mistakes since most of the time close range on a small deer target u get a very good capture of the exit wound location which is as important as a passthrough.🎉
Great informative video and camera work. I'm always impressed by hunters who take the time to film. I never tried it but I just know it can't be easy. Things can happen so quick in the woods.
Thanks for the comment! It does make it hard! Have to be able to plan ahead and think about different scenarios so you are just reacting vs trying to figure it out on the fly!
I've heard that if your on the ground you don't need to compensate for the deer dropping but if your in a treestand or a elevated position that the deer can hear the arrow for some reason. I'm not making this statement only saying that I have recently heard this something to look in to
there is some truth to not compensating as much but that also depends on the distance and your bow speed IMO. The arrow will fall with gravity on the ground vs shoot at a downward angle from the stand. We've shot a decent amount from the ground - mostly at 25-30 yards and I still went for the heart with many of the deer dropping enough to hit about center mass
Good video and great advise. Also, started PTSD when viewing all those obstructions in various lanes where a shot could have been taken. I was always so careful with scent management but there needed to be some clearing done of that blocking foliage. Sometimes I wonder how it's possible to get a shot off?
This is good info thanks. I shot 2 deer so far in my hunting career and both times the entrance wound was a bit higher than what i had aimed at (I was fortunate enough to double lung them both times) That confused me a little because at the time I was using a pretty well calibrated crossbow. This perfectly explains what was happening. I will be using this knowledge for sure going forward and when I teach people who want to learn from me.
I really only think about my elevation if the deer is really close like 15 yards and in. In those situations they don’t have much time to drop. General rule of thumb is aim for where you want The arrow to exit
@@b.a.lineman7582 both mine were from the ground and pretty level shooting position but I get your point and will keep it in mind if I start using a tree stand
It’s my opinion that if you don’t stop the deer, you don’t have to aim low. Stopping the deer puts it on alert, then the sound of the bow makes it drop down. Today’s bows are fast enough to hit a walking deer. I shoot deer that are walking and sometimes even trotting with my old bow, which is only about 260 fps.
I 100% agree that stopping the deer puts them on alert and makes it extremely likely they are going to drop. I have a hard time saying it’s okay to shoot at a walking deer, I don’t even like shooting at a moving deer with a gun. Have I done it? Yes. Do I recommend it, no. Ideally you are either stopping the deer and aiming lower 1/3, or you are waiting for the deer to stop normally and STILL think aim lower 1/3. That being said, you have to know your capabilities and your equipment, so I am not going to tell you “you are wrong” just, general recommendation for most people, would be to wait until the deer is stopped.
@@WeekendWoodsmen If you’ve never watched “Bowhunting October Whitetails” with Barry Wensel , I’d recommend you checking it out. It’s pretty eye opening.
I love it and fully agree! One of the first shot placement tips I got was from the owner of the archery shop I worked at. All he said was "Aim low." This video explains why that was such a good tip.
A deer’s reaction time is amazing at any distance. I had a doe duck clean under an arrow at 10 yards! I thought it was a guaranteed kill when I released. She left elbow and chest prints in the snow and my arrow was stuck in the tree behind her at perfect lung height (I was shooting from the ground, level with her). She was totally relaxed and unaware I was there too until the shot. Amazing creatures.
Witnessed the same thing at 25 yards. Missed her clean! They can be masters, at dodging arrows. I’ve even shot low, expecting the drop, then they jump instead. 😑🤷♂️
Impossible based on physics and reaction time. An animal simply can’t react that quickly at 10 yards to dodge an arrow. Either you are lying or there is something you aren’t telling hs
Waholo, nope. I had a ~15 yard deer duck my arrow last year shooting my micro mag at around 320 fps. Here's the thing about physics (and I'm a PhD in solid state physics): the Schrodinger wave equation allows information to go in both directions in the time stream. Look it up. So a deer may be acting on instincts that don't conform to typical linear time models. Second, they have a head with mass. I can whip my hand down to catch a dropped pair of keys faster than free fall due to overall momentum of my body. A deer can whip its body center low faster than gravity if it is moving it's head up quickly at the same time. Pretty amazing, but not at all impossible. Good hunting.
@@ChrisPBacon741 " *Impossible based on physics and reaction time* " A trad bow at 150fps would take about 0.2s to reach the doe. Theoretically possible, but not really. I remember I once counted the frames on a collection of bowhunting hits. Embarrassingly, I don't remember the result, only the conclusion, that chasing speed in order to hit quicker seemed like a folly idea. The animals reacted, sure enough, but the reaction time was fairly consistent and quite reasonable. Anybody can repeat my approach. A "." and an "," advances and backs up the video by one frame increments. Just find a compilation and start counting. Should be useful, especially for people who think that 30% more speed is a worthy trade off for the penetration potential.
Ever since I watched a video (over 20 years ago) that showed how fast a deer can drop (fractions of a second), I have always aimed about 1/3 up from the lower chest, right behind the leg, for exactly the same reasons you mention. Very interesting to see it in practice!
Great information. I really like how you did the over lay and slow motion to prove what your saying. Im still learning and have gotten lots of mixed information on if a deer will drop or not. Your point at the end really sells the idea. If you aim for the heart and he doesnt drop good hit, if he does still good hit. Thanks for the information.
Great video, very practical tip for everyone to take into consideration. 3D targets often can skew our perspective on where to actually aim. Next time you are out shooting try to kill the target so to speak. This has helped me a ton!
Exactly, no bad result from aiming low. Excellent presentation. I had the same thing happen to me a few seasons back and have learned from my mistakes.
It's vital to know yardage when aiming low. Probably thousands of deer hit in the brisket doing this then finding the deer was a bit farther out than thought.
Any bowhunter with any time under his/her belt has experienced what you just showed in some form or fashion. Some won't admit it, they were experts on their first day of course. My earlier years of bowhunting I was definately aiming wrong "all the time". Won some, lost some. Back then "everybody's" advice was to simply say "aim behind the shoulder". Today, I have a much greater understanding of deer and thier anatomy. For the last 7-8 years I have 2 simple areas I aim with my bow. (1) "The magic triangle", primarily for broadside shots, which is straight up the front leg and aim just above the armpit region (thats where all the goodies intersect). (2) Quartering away aim for the armpit. The degree the deer is quarting away determines how far behind the armpit. "Aim for the exit hole" if you will. 100% recovery rate the past 8 years. School of learning from my mistakes the first 10 years.
Excellent advice 100% agree with it and I wanted to make sure that others learned from my mistake, it in a small way makes a bad situation better. We owe it to the animals we hunt! thanks for the comment!
I am not meaning to say anything negative. Far from it. A few yrs. ago I went to Nevada on a deer hunt. I took this suggestion from a older guy. I thought he was full of it. That was the first mistake I made. We were using rifles in that hunt. I remembered what he had told. A nice buck came out, at about 150 yds. Took my time squeezed the trigger, shot about 2 1/2inches above the shoulder. Dropped him right there. Since I had another tag, we sat there and talked. This guy bet me $700 that I could not do it again. The older guy that taught me about this was with us. I said OK , then Ed said he would double up. OK, the guy that had bet $1400 I will add another $700. O K . Ed looked at me, the next deer that came up, same distance. I thought if I miss , I will have to pay this $2100. Needless to say, I look in Ed at Ed, and he winked at me, told me you got this. He told me to take my time. I sueezed
Since I accidently hit the arrow to send it. When I squeezed the trigger, watched the deer drop right there. That was the most money I made in about 30 minutes. I would definitely try to go to some 3 D shoots.duringthe summer months. It is fun and you learn quite a lot from each other👍
3 D shoots are a blast! Once you go to one, you will be hooked, really. Everyone shares little things and bounces this and that off each other. I love them. Believe me when bow season starts, you will even be more sure of yourself. I will say, people will share everything they know. I have a Mathews TacTic and I use a HHA single pin slider sight. Makes it easier to adjust for different distances. One trick a senior pro showed me to set different distances I to take a piece of cardboard and use gorilla glue tape and tear it in half. Then the cardboard , which I use about an 18 inch square make one tape vertical and the other tape horizontal. The HHA sight you can make adjustments so you are hitting dead on where you are aiming. I use it and I set my my bow out to 40 yards. The HHS sights come with different sight tapes. Makes things so much easier. If you know someone that can help you, it makes it so much easier. Once you get this taken care of, bow hunting is even more fun, just saying and losing arrows are a thing of the past. Bowhunters are a different breed of hunters.
Thanks for the tip as a newbie I would have just thought shoot center mass but I under estimated how quick the reflexes of deer really are glad I’m learning these vital tips before my first hunt!
Oh boy. I wich I had seen this video before our hunting season. Was my first hunt ever, and with a longbow. Hit the buck to heigh. 3 days of tracking - losts of blood but NO buck. Will practice more purposfull on lower placement. Thank you for sharing your failures to - just always see the good shots in the videos! Greetings from South Africa
Thanks! You are right, it’s a natural “loading their legs” motion they make as they hear the shot, however it happens so fast many people don’t realize that it happens before the arrow gets there and they think it happens mostly after the arrow has struck.
I like that you show a healthy respect for properly harvesting the deer. That is the worst feeling to hit a deer and lose it and not know what happened to it. Even if its a doe.
you and tannerharris are either blind or trolling because the deer obviously moved. My father and his father taught me to aim low in bowhunting here in western Maryland for the exact same reason.
Thanks for the video. My friend always says aim low from a stand or elevated position and aim where you want the arrow to exit. Even though he preached that to me my first season I did exactly what you did. And the arrow went right over her back. Lesson learned.
It is absolutely harder said than done. I knew better when I made this shot too, made a mental mistake. It also made me think about how many people may not realize it, which is what led us to create the video! Thanks for the comment!
@@WeekendWoodsmen it just doesn’t feel right aiming that low, especially when shooting at a regular target from flat ground. After my first season we set up a tree stand in my friends yard to set try and mimic every scenario I ran into. Also for learning quartering shots, I had an old target that was layered so the arrow would protrude out the back. I placed a piece of duct tape on the backside of the target and visualize where I wanted to exit. I would practice left and right quartering shots. In doing that was amazed how far back I would have to aim to exit where I wanted.
You shot high. That's all it is. You shot 6 in high. The first thing you did was alarm the animal. Now you telling people to shoot low to anticipate a deer's reaction. Please stop giving that advice. What are you gonna do if the deer is 10 yds from the stand? Aim low? HOW ABOUT AIMING RIGHT, NOT TAKING SHOTS IN BAD SITUATIONS, KNOWING WHEN TO SHOOT AND WHEN NOT TO SHOOT, AND KNOWING WHERE TO SHOOT. Maybe if you wouldn't be worried about making money with your video you could have been in a better situation to take a more ethical shot .
Seems like you are really angry and lacking drastically on specific instruction. You are also clearly not paying attention to the video where I say, something along the lines of “Unless they are really close” and had the deer not dropped then it would have been a double lung, so what specifically is your actual problem with aiming at the heart? Because 99% of the time a deer is dropping whether on alert or not, and alerting the deer to get its head up actually REDUCES the amount a deer will drop contrary to popular belief. Finally you should read through the comments on the number of people this has helped before you start giving crap to people about “making money”. How many other people would have made this same mistake if this video didn’t exist? At what point was I in a better position to take a more ethical shot? The first lane I had I DIDN’T stop him because I DIDN’T want to alert him and he walked right through it, that’s the risk you take when you don’t stop them when you need them stopped. How many people do you see out there highlighting mistakes they have made so others don’t have to? Everyone else just “sweeps them under the rug” You should really try to broaden your perspective, and if you are going to criticize someone, you should offer specific information on how to improve, otherwise. So I will ask, where would you have aimed in this situation?
@@WeekendWoodsmen you need to acquire some sound experience before giving instructions. I did offer you some information, stop playing with your camera and focus on making a clean shot. I commend you for admitting your shot was bad that's more than some others would do.
1 never alert the deer to your presence if you would of stopped messing with the camera you would of killed that buck and you are wrong about lower 1/3rd if that deer doesn't drop you just shot to low here's my advice on a deer stop with bad advice you just made a bad shot in happens we all make mistakes but stop with the excuses
to each their own on stopping the deer. yes that is the downside to filming...and the lower 1/3 MOST deer drop and if you shoot at the lower 1/3 it's a heart shot vs aiming CENTER MASS which is too high to start let alone when that drop. it was a mistake that is admitted in the video? Aimed too high which means I shot too high? lol@@tylernewton3719
I think many archers aim center for fear they have misjudged yardage and this point of aim can allow for being a few yards off on distance estimation. My experience, it is better to miss low, than hit high. High hits tend to be less lethal, less penetration, no pass thru, sparse or non-existent blood trail as most of the blood stays in the body, even on a lethal hit, and a more difficult tracking job. Many times ends with no deer recovery, and no arrow refund. Also arrows sticking out of survivors is bad PR for bowhunters.
@@WeekendWoodsmen I went on the heavy arrow journey a few years back. You tend to get better penetration and more arrow refunds, but if you go too heavy, the deer can drop so significantly, your chance of a high hit is greatly magnified, especially if you are not shooting a very fast arrow launcher to begin with. Example, my testing showed going from 450 grains to 650 grains slowed the arrow down around 35 fps. If you are shooting 70 pounds at 300 fps and drop your arrow speed to 265, you're still in the game. If you're shooting a light compound at 240 fps and drop your arrow speed to 205, even a 20 yard shot can be iffy IF the deer reacts and you're not aiming LOW. Traditional shots best at under 15 yards and aim LOWER 1/4.
Makes sense I switched the VAP Elite (Micro Diameter) with a 50 grain sleeve and those arrows are fast and BLOW through everything. Biggest problem I have is finding targets that stop them 🤣
Great advice, thanks for that. This is my first year solo hunting as an adult. Haven't hunted since I was a child. Trying to learn enough to get some meat in the freezer this year. This will certainly help next year when I plan to do archery season with a recurve!
Wow WW. Things are complicated enough in the tree without having to be a one man video production unit. That was some Cecil B footage. In the meantime... I read of the shooting low thing prolly 50 years ago in Field & Stream. And never understood it, quite, until I saw your vid. The theory of the day was that it was all about the entry angle. Slowmo shows that it's more about the psychic (pshyco?) flinch. A very good and instructive vid. Thanks!
Appreciate the comment! Shot angle should come into play at close range. If the deer is close (let’s say inside 15 yards) you have to be careful about aiming low because if you miss the heart you risk a “one lung” hit by catching the front lung and exiting below the second lung. This will lead to a long or impossible recovery. At close range the deer don’t have time to react at close range so you can get away with a higher aim point to account for the steeper angle. For shots outside 15 yards, unless you are 30 feet up in the tree (which we do not recommend) the angle becomes less prominent and the deers reaction time becomes a bigger factor, so you should aim low. Hope that helps!
Great video. I don’t bow hunt anymore but I did learn this lesson years ago. And with all the videos on here showing shots at deer, you see this happen on basically every shot. You would think it would be common knowledge now. But that adrenaline gets pumping and we revert to the training we’ve mastered. I would encourage this, when practicing at the range, practice shooting low for this reason. As you said, at point blank range, this is not an issue. But shots over say, 10 yards, the deer hears the bow release and his instincts kick in, he drops and bolts away.
One thing I learned from Chuck Adam's MANY years ago when we used dinosaur bones for arrows ... and found it to be true today with modern bows and physics. When shooting downward don't drop your arms, onto the target. Bend AT THE WAIST! You're essentially keeping the same plane as being on ground (kinda), my lethal rate went way up when I learned this. I even do it when using pendulum sights. 100% of time works like a charm! IMHO. Good hunting this year my friends.
I don't hunt from tree stands. Depending on the angle, I usually aim ahead or behind the elbow so if they drop, I get a double lung and if they jump it hits the heart. If he holds still, I pin the foreleg to the ribs and get both lungs and/or aorta and he has a hard time running. I also prefer to aim forward of the foreleg because I would rather put the shot in the neck or a clean miss out front than a gut shot.
Just got one two days ago at 22 yards broadside with a crossbow. Gave him a mmmrrpp to stop him in a shooting lane, aimed for the heart anticipating the drop. He didn't move so the bolt went clean through the heart and I had an easy recovery. You are exactly right. If he had dropped, it would've been a perfect double lung hit...
Fantastic! Congratulations! I just shot a doe last week. Never made a noise completely non-alert at about that same distance. She dropped a number of inches and I took the top of her heart out, she crashed within 50 yards!
The Hunting Public also preach the lower shot. I've also been told that most deer duck when they hear the shot. For some reason, I still prefer to aim right above the elbow which gives me the biggest margin of error for broadside. It's good advise, though. You're not alone thinking that way. . . you've got some high profile hunters with the same thinking.
As a recurve shooter, we do this a lot! Slower arrows, even though most of our shots are inside 25 yards. My bow is also a little louder than I'd like. Trying to tweak it but hunting season starts Saturday here for us in Texas!
I put yarn silencers on my longbow and i shoot a pretty heavy arrow. I have yet to have a deer drop before the arrow reached them. Granted i have not killed a huge number of deer, but i have been pretty lucky with it so far.
This is exactly what my employer talked about when we discussed about deer hunting with a bow. He owns this hunting store (sells all kinds of gear for hunting, as well as hunting bows and fire arms) and he's been hunting with a bow (and fire arms) for few decades. Very good info for all new bow hunters about to score their first deer 👌
Really easy to judge people for these shots until it happens to you, this is such a great video! Perfect evidence, in real time this is a perfect shot, when slowed down you see a different story! Well done sir!
I feel your pain man! My dad always taught me even with the rifle "look for the white of his belly and inch the crosshairs just above that and behind his leg. You'll nail em' every time! Now I'm having fun teaching my mom who's second ever hunt, she got drawn for the elusive Bull Moose tag!!! I'm super excited for her!! (Greetings from Saskatchewan Canada!)
This is one of those pieces of wisdom I'm glad I learned really early on. Last one I shot (with a muzzle loader) I thought I shot too low, but it turns out he ducked when he heard the lock snap, just before the round discharged and I still double lunged him. Never underestimate that duck, or how close to the sternum (low in the chest) those vital organs really sit.
Just started my 62nd season. im sure you have heard jumping the string. I've learned it depends on how close the deer is and over my years ive had to adjust form recurve to compound and now crossbow. the speed of the arrow and how close the deer is, also hunting pressure. lots of variables.
Centre mass is great for target shooting into foam to set up for heart shots on target when you group .5” at 50 in the heart on foam (consistently) you go hunt and always aim for the heart on everything you hunt. Never assume broadhead sharpness either. Sharpen everything up to cut through paper. Happy hunting have fun be safe.
Great video. We've all been or will be in your situation. I shot a double brow tine buck quartering away from me at 35 yards. I aimed at the lungs and got his top 1/3. Great learning lesson.
I had what would have been my first deer on public land last year at 35 as well. Didn't know about this concept and missed over the back. I think stopping it put it on alert as well, making the jump worse.
Thanks, I’ve been doing some research on this topic, because I to made a bad shot, and lost the blood trail, and deer, most hunters are saying aiming low above the leg is the spot to shoot, hopefully get another shot this season.
That’s is right. As many comments mention, there are always additional factors. When you get 15 yards and in then I will start moving up a bit due to less time to react and steeper angle.
My 2 cents worth. Always pretend your aiming at the center of a basketball in the vitals. Also. I shoot a pse Mojave with my fingers set at 57lbs. And still do. I will spend lots and lots of time making my bow quiet as possible. By hitting the limbs with my fist and listening for any type of vibration anywhere. And even when I release the arrow. I always listen to my bow. I'm not worrying about speed. I want that thing as quiet as I can get it. Because of this very reason. I have rubber spider legs cut at different lengths and placed in different locations on my string. Which is 2 on the shooting string then two more coming off of the cams. And also a heavily waxed string. But, you do have a good point here sir. Great information.. Good hunting this year!!!
Great advice and it's so hard to both self film and hunt with a bow, but you kept your cool! I'm amazed at how this buck started to drop and that you didn't spine him! Yes, the bottom 1/3 is the vital point! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the comment! We have found that whether they are alert or not they actually drop about the same. Head down relaxed deer will sometimes even drop more, but regardless that aim point will cover you in all but the most extreme situation.
@@WeekendWoodsmen agree. I’ve found they hear the arrow. I’m convinced of it. Stand around the corner of a building and have someone shoot past you. It’s super loud. You can obviously hear it when you shoot bit being close to the arrow really lets you know how loud a broadhead is compared to field point
@@mikemellon80 agree! There have even been broadheads I have shot that I can hear from where I stand taking the shot, so I think they can hear it coming.
Great video and good advice. There is a difference between shooting targets and putting yourself in the moment. Thanks for making the video...................
Deer have lightning fast reflexes!! I’m a traditional bowhunter. And getting as close as possible, and aiming low is even MORE crucial with a Trad bow, because your arrows are flying at almost half the speed than that of a compound.
My deer with the bow was at 10yds so he had no time to duck the arrow. This will definitely be helpful now that I am really shoving back into bow hunting and willing to shoot up to 40yds for a deer with my current setup
Robert Carter, who talks about traditional archery says the same thing in his "Traditional archery tips and tricks". He aims at the little white hairs just to the back of the front leg. Also aim small, miss small. He does not use any sights and has taken a lot of deer and pigs.
I had a good mentor that told me to always aim low to where you want to hit cause of the dips they do. I've been blessed not to miss one yet but one day a deer will the the matrix move on me. Good video
Lost one last night to a mid-body aim. A prior miss was low due to longer range than expected. Wasn't going to do THAT again. So, "MEH", mid-body aim, good release, and clean miss. Still learning after decades at it. Frustrating when you forget lessons.
@@WeekendWoodsmen Tonight, aimed for the heart of the mule deer doe. At 18 yards, she didn't jump the string. Heart shot, and down in 100 yards. Confidence restored!
I knew better, I just made a mistake, and then in conversation with others I realized it wasn’t as common as you would think, so we made the video to try to help others. Then if you scroll through comments you will see it helped many, and there are still many that refuse to admit that “their” deer drop.
Aiming at the lower 1/3 regardless of distance is how your supposed to aim at whitetail from a tree stand period! Whoever showed you to aim center mass gave you bad info, a deer is not a target like you shoot in the backyard, it has reflexes! Lower 1/3 aim ensures a boiler room hit if he ducks or doesn’t duck!
Yup, spot on. Honestly for me, I knew it and it was just a mental mistake. I also know that many people might not realize that, so wanted to take the opportunity to teach from one of my mistakes!
Red dawn G43x Yep, you have successfully pointed out exactly what was just explained in the video.
Not trying to be that guy who always disagrees. But I think every situation could be different. Like depending on how high your stand is. Are you shooting compound or crossbow. Is he 18 yd or 38 yd. That's why I preach, practice practice practice and from different scenarios. I do agree 9 out of 10 deer their first reaction upon hearing the twang is to duck.
Like if you're shooting from a high 24 FT stand and that deer is only 20 yards. I'm going to aim center Mass. Especially if I take out the crossbow that day. Sorry you didn't recover it was a nice dear, take care and good luck
There are always additional variables to consider and it’s hard to cover all in one video, so that’s what the comments and conversation is for. Thanks for sharing
The comments here are incredible. It’s mind boggling to know that so many people lack ability/willingness to listen.
I’m green with a crossbow this year, but the advice tracks.
With a rifle it’s a high neck shot or no shot for me. Straight down, no suffering, no waste.
The unwillingness to listen is pervasive throughout our country! Thanks for the comment
I’m a new hunter, thanks for the info. I’m always amazed at the fact that people take time out of their lives to share knowledge with total strangers. Thank you.
Glad we could help, it’s the least I could do after wounding a deer, hopefully it will mean fewer people and animals experience it. Good luck this year!
Yes tk u for the info... just moved here from Maryland.. looking for a hunting buddy ... and a place to hunt... iam in dayton ohio.... tks
Good luck this year!
you're a stand up dude!! just came across this video, thanks for taking the time to help fellow hunters!!@@WeekendWoodsmen
Glad it was helpful and thank you for the comment and the support! @@brett1567able
Takes courage to be this honest about your mistakes. great video.
Appreciate the comment!
@@WeekendWoodsmen😅
Thanks mom
Yup, most people never say anything. Pretend it didn’t happen.
We preach "aim low" in our archery club. You described perfectly why we do. If a deer doesn't drop it's heart shot, if it does drop it's double lung.
💯 Appreciate the comment!
Brian, I was told ages ago that the basic reason for holding low was because the downward trajectory takes gravity out of the equation, that if you aim from a tree stand like you would on flat ground, you'll always hit(or miss) high. From what I'm seeing in this video and some others I've watched, the reason to hold low is to account for the deer ducking prior to launching it's hairy ass out of the area. How much of what I've been told is correct, and how low should I be aiming? I don't know if it's worth mentioning, but I shoot a recurve. Should I just follow the advice here on this channel, or is there more to it? Thanks.
Excellent use of the lighted circular aim point to show what took place after your shot.
Thank you!
Another thing to note is a deer with its head down feeding will drop faster than a deer with its head up. When the deer reacts to the sound of the bow it loads it’s legs to take off running. That’s why they drop down. When the deers head is up it’s body only drops as fast as gravity pulls it down. When the deers head is down and it reacts to the shot it can drop faster than gravity pulls it down as the inertia from the deer raising it’s head and neck forces the body down faster
Someone else mentioned that. Makes sense! I guess that also means that you are better off stopping the deer, even though it is “on alert”? What do you think?
Well idk. But let’s say a deer is grazing or eating at a cornpile. Now that I know that I would rather wait for their head to be up. I used to just assume it was best to shoot when their head was down if you get the option
Good job, Seth. I've tried to explain that to many people and I think I must get too technical. The way you explain it is much simpler and easy to follow. I usually can generate a deer in the headlights look shortly after I explain an "equal but opposite reaction." I never realized how far a deer can move like that until I put a scope on my crossbow that records video.
Great stuff!
That's one of the best things about this, is also learning from you all!
Great video and great advice. I started bow hunting at the age of 10 in 1970. Learned this same lesson the hard way. Another good tip is practice with your bow in the gear you will be hunting in. Shooting your bow in August/September in short and tee shirts is different than shooting the same bow wearing heavy clothes in November. Learned that lesson the hard way too. Practice like you hunt. It makes a difference. Also keep taking practice shots all during the season to make sure your bow doesn't change. Dragging the bow around the woods you can hang the sight or arrow rest on a limb and move things without knowing it. Learned that the hard way as well. Good luck and hunt safe!
100% agree, I actually do something I am not sure a lot of other people do, to get "Mental Reps" on deer I don't plan to shoot. Check it out!
ua-cam.com/video/UVMsZ8aWbDU/v-deo.html
Thanks for the comment!
Great advice. I say the same thing because I've learned the hard way. Practice how you hunt!
@@KeepinYouUp07 💯 thanks!
Great reminders, thanks!
Great advice and very true ! I had a friend/customer that was getting ready for a Canadian whitetail archery hunt. I had told him the same thing about practicing in what you will be wearing. The next day he called me in a panic, begging me to come to his house and help him figure out what was wrong with his equipment. He was shooting 2ft to the right at 20 yards and his grouping was opened up pretty badly. I get to his house after work and he looks like the Michelin man , lol ! He is wearing his 40 below zero , white snow suit he planned to hunt in. We had to retune and resight his bow ! Had I not given him the advice to practice in his hunting suit, he likely would have had a catastrophic Canadian hunting trip .
Even a thin net type face mask can wreck your anchor point and cause a miss, or worse, a bad hit.
Great video! I´m from Europe and bowhunting ist banned here.
With a rifle the situation is very different:
Over 25 years ago, I took a shot on a roe deer (it was only my second).
I had a combined weapon, which had a shotgun barrel on top and the rifle below (don´t know the English name for it), so there was a big distance between scope and barrel.
The deer came very close, about 10 meter/yards and I was about 6-7 meter/yards above ground level.
Impossible to miss -I thought...
You surely understand, how surprised/shocked I was, when the deer ran off completely unharmed (I could watch it out of reach of my gun)
When I checked later, to be sure, I found not even a single hair.
So, what had happened???
I was aiming at the center, but the distance between barrel was 7cm (about 3 inches).
While my sight was pointing perfect the barrel was, because of the steep angle and the short distance, pointing below the body...
But, in the mountains on a very long range the situation would have been the exact opposite:
Because the bullet is influenced less by gravity it will fall less than usually, if you shout up- or downwards, so it might be necessary to aim above the point you want to hit.
great comment - thanks for watching! and what a bummer that there is no bow hunting over there - why is that?
You are definitely doing the hunters and the wildlife a service by sharing this learning point! I hope that every last person can see this or learn it from someone prior to learning it the hard way-really ought to be taught more in bow hunter education so it is engrained in us when we hit the woods! Hate for the wildlife to suffer (the ones that have it worse than a back strap scar) for us to do our learning, but the life of wildlife is definitely never easy, even on the best day. We owe it to them to learn all we can and practice to do everything within our control to deliver that lethal hit. Everything else is left up to chance of course. I appreciate your humility and willingness to share this crucial information rather than being the kind of person who just looks down on the weekend warriors! Good luck this season!
It's good to see someone to understands what it is all about! Appreciate the comment and good luck this year!
Man Im 51 and I just lost the biggest buck I've ever had an opportunity at 1 because I didn't make the noise to stop him, and 2 because I aimed Center. The result was a gut shot that resulted in 6 hours of tracking only to realize he must have still been alive making me feel absolutely dejected that I just injured a beautiful deer for nothing. Such a big responsibility to make the right shot! Great video!
If you hit him in the guts and you backed out then you can likely still find him tomorrow. Give him until mid day or so tomorrow, grid search or get a tracking dog. The deer is going to die, so you still have a chance to find him. Good luck!
Great video! Deer dont "jump the string" they "Duck the string". They drop their front shoulders to load the rear legs😂. The amount the drop is greatly increased if there head is down.
totally agree!
Been rifle hunting for 20+ years and this will be my first year trying a bow so I'm glad I stumbled across this video! The deer in SC are spooky enough at 100+ yards, I'm eager to see them at 20.
When I began bow hunting, I had to learn to manage buck fever, not used to seeing so many more deer bow hunting, vs rifle hunting.
Enjoy the show, & relax. “Just focus on hitting that small pea sized spot on your target”.
@@L2FlyMN Also spend some time thinking about where deer will come from, and shooting lanes around you so when you are in the moment you have less to think about and are more in reaction mode. Mental prep is a huge component to bow hunting. Thanks for the comment!
if your deer are spooky at 100 yards, you probably won't ever see one at 20
@@Day12My very true
I enjoyed this video. I'm looking to get into bow hunting and this is very good advice. I found it comical that the ad that came on before this was an ASPCA ad and it had the banner throughout the whole video.
thanks for the comment
True, I hit one high and thought I blew it, but it hit below the spine, it hit the main artery that runs along the backbone , it was like a garden hose out both sides for 10 feet on each side (in 16" of snow) he made it 30 feet and stuck in the ground like a lawn dart. 20x30 area of solid red .
Best bad situation ever, my yard looked like the Japanese flag . I followed the backstrap hit option once too 5 hours and I saw him 3 times, almost no blood and he didn't even act hurt.
Good Video.
Thank you, I was really hoping I had clipped that artery, no dice ☹️ thanks for the comment
I killed a nice buck with a cross bow last week. I aimed at the heart and hit the heart. Severed the heart and the deer went 40 yards. I Did not alert the deer. I do agree with the advice to aim low and hit the heart if he doesn't duck but hit the lungs if he does because otherwise you make the shot into muscle or shoot over top of the deer.
thanks for the comment!
They duck 99% of the time when they're alerted, like how you got him to stop. It's easy to read their body language and know. I think if this buck is still casually eating acorns and you didn't have to stop him, that shot is a double lung. Still solid advice, I always aim for the heart too.
Appreciate the comment! Thank you! Good luck this year!
Yeah this bah thing is not very smart. Back in the late 80s hunting shows started doing this. Take your mouth and make a clicking noise like you would to a horse. You set a deer up to explode with the bah.
Thanks for the suggestion I will have to try that! There have been times that softer/different noises doesn't stop the deer or doesn't stop them long enough for a shot. Notice I went softer at first (I always try to start subtle), then I went loud. I would rather have the deer stopped and on alert than gone with no chance at a shot.
I read they drop 75% faster with their head down
Interesting
That's right. My husband gets tell me to shoot in center. But I don't listen. Grandpa always says shoot for the heart you never go wrong. Out of 3 deer last year I got two of them. Muzzleloading it's kind of harder because when you get smoke from you don't really know where you're really hit them when you think he hit him by the end up not dying and he still alive.
always listen to Gpa! that muzzle loader smoke is tough to deal with sometimes!
Totally agree wish I would have seen this video 3 years ago till I learned this lesson the hard way. I was fortunate enough he ducked the entire arrow and was a clean miss but It was on the biggest buck I’ve pulled the trigger on to date.
It’s tough!!! Thanks for the comment. Good luck this season!
I don't know if I'd ever have the patience to set up a camera like that and take the time to keep adjusting it so other people could have a good view of my hunt. As a new hunter, I truly appreciate you taking the time to do it because it's great being able to see these details to fully understand!
That’s what we do it for! There are definitely times we think “man this would be a lot easier without 5 pounds of camera gear and the extra setup” but there is also something about being able to pull it off and then relive it over and over! Thanks for the comment!
I was taught that lesson when I started bowhunting back in the 1970s. You have to know your effective shooting distance when bowhunting, and especially shooting instinctively with a much slower, recurve at a lower poundage and using a wooden arrow. Even inside 20 yards, I had 2 deer in the first season that I shot over the top of, and part of the reason is when you have to stop a deer with a blat, or another noise. It puts them on high alert and it's amazing how fast they can drop. Lesson learned. Nice video.
Thanks for the comment! They also drop even when they aren’t on high alert. It’s amazing how much the drop when they hear that bow regardless!
Well, nice to know that he survived, and now he's really educated, lol. Great video. I'm not sure I would aim that low, it looked like a pretty far shot, so maybe. Really appreciate you working to get the hunt on video. U da man and Jesus is Lord!
thanks for the comment!
This is exactly how I got my deer last year. I had taken a flat land shot on a Doe a couple years prior at 50 yards, and missed over her back despite the shot going exactly where my pin was. That experience led me to do what you are saying here. I had a big doe standing full broadside at 52 yards with perfect conditions, so I set my sight to 52 and aimed lower 1/3 for the heart. I ended up double-lunging her and she only made it about 50 yards before she crashed.
Hunt long enough and we will all make mistakes. I love it when people can openly share so others can learn. Thanks for sharing and good luck this year!
@@WeekendWoodsmen Thanks! Same to you!
At that distance they not only drop but begin to turn. I've also had them freeze not knowing where the noise was coming from.
@@craig5649 That's right. The further the shot is the more time they have to drop before the arrow makes contact and they'll have time to turn away as well. Having said that Mostly I wouldn't take a long shot like that.
Doing my first deer hunt 2023. I’ll remember this, thank you!
good luck!
I have always aimed for the elbow which points at the heart when they are standing still.
My only close range shot with the bow was less than 20 yards on the ground, and that buck dropped nearly a foot, and my arrow just hit bone.
Needless to say, that buck ran off after spinning around and ripping the arrow out of his back.
That scapula is tough to get through if you hit it, sorry to hear it. Thanks for the comment!
You’re spot on. Aim lower than you think for a good shot, especially at closer ranges. I did a similar thing last year, aiming high and tight on the sweet spot in the golden triangle only to hit the shoulder blade. I tracked a very weak blood trail for three hour eventually loosing the deer.
The shoulder and bone structure is what pushes my aim point back a little further than what most recommend.
I did not hit scapula. I aim back edge of the leg to take it out of play completely.
I’m 65 years old. Been bow hunting all my life. Never have shot under a deer with a bow. Hit high or shot over them more times than I would like to admit. Especially in the early years shooting aluminum arrows and 44” ata bows with 9” brace height.
Appreciate the comment!
Not gonna lie tho them aluminum arrows seemed to blow through anything they hit, it took me some time to get my arrows right when i switched to carbon weight wise.
I used to shoot aluminum also, they were tanks!
@@WeekendWoodsmen Easton gamegetters! Oh for the old days…!!!
🤣 I forget what I shot but they were Eastons!
i was lucky this fall. Got my first buck since starting bow hunting last year. Got him at 30 yards, double lung. ran about 60 yards and dropped dead. He didn't flinch until the arrow was already thru him. When i found the arrow it was soaked in blood tip to nock so i knew i had a good shot. Ive always been told to aim low because they will drop and also to not do a shot when their head is down. I was pretty damn excited to get one 😁 He was just upwind of myself. He stopped right in front of me and looked around. My friend said my shot placement was perfect. Its good to see videos where people admit their mistakes so others can learn from them.
Congratulations on your buck and thanks for the comment!
One situation where you would want to aim higher is a steep shot angle. You're aiming for the lower third on the interior of the deer, which means you have to aim higher than the lower third on the exterior of the deer at those angles. It's exact same reason why you aim towards the back of the lungs in a quartering away shot.
Yup, you are correct, and on steep shots they have no time to drop so works out well!
@@WeekendWoodsmen Even if they did have time to drop, the location of the entry wound is irrelevant as long as the center of the wound tract goes through the bottom third.
Always aim for the heart, know your distance and know the bahaviour of your prey. There are so many arrow hunters that impart unnecassary pain and suffering on animals because they have little understanding of how to kill quickly.
vital v - that way if you miss heart, it's still double lunged and a quick clean kill - agree!
Thanks for the advice im trying to get my first deer with a bow this year and have never thought about them ducking.
Many people can’t see it in real time, they are naturally going to load up, which makes them drop. Appreciate the comment!
Absolutely appreciate this short and to the point video of lessons learned. Most hunters wouldn't be man enough to share this. Thank you!!
Glad you enjoyed it! Have to make the most of a bad situation!
@@WeekendWoodsmen just shows you are a true leader. Not afraid to own mistakes and share so other may benefit. A rare find nowadays!
@@SeanNewlin-c3k appreciate it and try to live it every day!
@@WeekendWoodsmen❤
Great video no doubt man. I lost the 180 inch plus this exact same way with a raven crossbow he ducked it just enough to punch no man's land. Thanks and best of luck to all you deer hunters!
Thanks for the comment, sorry about the buck, hope you get another shot at him!
Crazy, I never aim low with my cross bow and have never had a deer duck the shot. I shoot a good amount of deer at my place and municipal land where we are required to take around 15 deer a season. I use an old parker with a 165 lbs draw, which is shooting slower compared to your ravin. How far out was the deer? I try to limit shoots to 40 yards.
I am shooting a Mathews Traverse, 32” Draw at 70 Pounds, it’s fast and flat. This deer was 25 yards.
I just got my 2nd buck this year with bow(1st was last year and been bow hunting 3 years). I took him at 57 yards. I did exactly this, aimed at his heart and when he dropped right before the arrow hit it smoked him double lung. He went down like a ton of bricks. No running off and died about 3' from where I shot him. He tried once to get up but it was curtains
Nice shot! Congratulations!
There are several factors on where the aiming point on a deer could be but I feel the most important factor is to be able to determine the mood of the deer . Is he or she calm ,on alert or nervous ? I have actually put my pin below the deers body at 34 yards because the deer was already spooked but the result was a shot that took out the top of the heart .
Absolutely! Great point
Sorry that happened to u. I now hunt with a recurve while filming so I don't have to go back & forth with the camera. I always have a secondary Tactacam setup where I feel that deer will be in optimum view in a pinch point. With a recurve I would have taken that deer just b4 his head was even with that big 🌳 trunk when he was close. Back years ago b4 the 300 acres i lived on got developed into a golf course by a family we had a 3D course. We had a legless 3D large target suspended on a pulley system. Practiced alot on training the brain to fire the shot on a slow walk @ the perfect time. Everyone had a try @ it & was shooting compounds. I switched in the last couple of years to the recurve cuz all shot opportunities r close in all the places I hunt. Too much cover to shoot 30 yards from a 🌳 or even being able to identify the deer @ that range in the thickness. Back years ago the pendulum sight was a great way to train your brain. Depending on angle u really wanted the deer to be @ 15 yards. Especially if u were standing & @ 12 feet or more. Shooting 3D from a 🌳 really helps u educate w/o mistakes since most of the time close range on a small deer target u get a very good capture of the exit wound location which is as important as a passthrough.🎉
great advice thank yoU!
Great informative video and camera work. I'm always impressed by hunters who take the time to film. I never tried it but I just know it can't be easy. Things can happen so quick in the woods.
Thanks for the comment! It does make it hard! Have to be able to plan ahead and think about different scenarios so you are just reacting vs trying to figure it out on the fly!
I've heard that if your on the ground you don't need to compensate for the deer dropping but if your in a treestand or a elevated position that the deer can hear the arrow for some reason. I'm not making this statement only saying that I have recently heard this something to look in to
there is some truth to not compensating as much but that also depends on the distance and your bow speed IMO. The arrow will fall with gravity on the ground vs shoot at a downward angle from the stand. We've shot a decent amount from the ground - mostly at 25-30 yards and I still went for the heart with many of the deer dropping enough to hit about center mass
Good video and great advise. Also, started PTSD when viewing all those obstructions in various lanes where a shot could have been taken. I was always so careful with scent management but there needed to be some clearing done of that blocking foliage. Sometimes I wonder how it's possible to get a shot off?
That’s was why he sat inside 20 yards for so long with no shot attempts! I am also very careful with lanes and obstructions! Thanks for the comment!
Dude I appreciate it. I'm going out this season to get my first. I was planning on aiming for the albow/ center mass before this.
good luck!
This is good info thanks. I shot 2 deer so far in my hunting career and both times the entrance wound was a bit higher than what i had aimed at (I was fortunate enough to double lung them both times) That confused me a little because at the time I was using a pretty well calibrated crossbow. This perfectly explains what was happening. I will be using this knowledge for sure going forward and when I teach people who want to learn from me.
Yup, many people don’t even realize it is happening because they can’t see it in real-time. The camera tells the real story! Thanks for the comment!
The speed of the arrow would make a difference. I'm shooting 425 grain at 350 fps.
When you shoot from an elevated position,your POI is slightly higher than aiming point .. yea????
I really only think about my elevation if the deer is really close like 15 yards and in. In those situations they don’t have much time to drop. General rule of thumb is aim for where you want The arrow to exit
@@b.a.lineman7582 both mine were from the ground and pretty level shooting position but I get your point and will keep it in mind if I start using a tree stand
Very humble of you to admit error and help us learn from your mistake.
Hopefully it makes a difference!! Thanks!
It’s my opinion that if you don’t stop the deer, you don’t have to aim low. Stopping the deer puts it on alert, then the sound of the bow makes it drop down. Today’s bows are fast enough to hit a walking deer. I shoot deer that are walking and sometimes even trotting with my old bow, which is only about 260 fps.
I 100% agree that stopping the deer puts them on alert and makes it extremely likely they are going to drop.
I have a hard time saying it’s okay to shoot at a walking deer, I don’t even like shooting at a moving deer with a gun. Have I done it? Yes. Do I recommend it, no. Ideally you are either stopping the deer and aiming lower 1/3, or you are waiting for the deer to stop normally and STILL think aim lower 1/3.
That being said, you have to know your capabilities and your equipment, so I am not going to tell you “you are wrong” just, general recommendation for most people, would be to wait until the deer is stopped.
@@WeekendWoodsmen If you’ve never watched “Bowhunting October Whitetails” with Barry Wensel , I’d recommend you checking it out. It’s pretty eye opening.
Will check it out, appreciate the comment!
I'm with you. I don't stop deer inside 20 yards unless they are moving fast.
@@IIDASHII We try not to, which is also why he walked right through my first shooting lane!
I love it and fully agree! One of the first shot placement tips I got was from the owner of the archery shop I worked at. All he said was "Aim low." This video explains why that was such a good tip.
Glad you liked it! Thanks for the comment!
A deer’s reaction time is amazing at any distance. I had a doe duck clean under an arrow at 10 yards! I thought it was a guaranteed kill when I released. She left elbow and chest prints in the snow and my arrow was stuck in the tree behind her at perfect lung height (I was shooting from the ground, level with her). She was totally relaxed and unaware I was there too until the shot. Amazing creatures.
That’s crazy! Appreciate the comment!
Witnessed the same thing at 25 yards. Missed her clean! They can be masters, at dodging arrows.
I’ve even shot low, expecting the drop, then they jump instead. 😑🤷♂️
Impossible based on physics and reaction time. An animal simply can’t react that quickly at 10 yards to dodge an arrow. Either you are lying or there is something you aren’t telling hs
Waholo, nope. I had a ~15 yard deer duck my arrow last year shooting my micro mag at around 320 fps. Here's the thing about physics (and I'm a PhD in solid state physics): the Schrodinger wave equation allows information to go in both directions in the time stream. Look it up. So a deer may be acting on instincts that don't conform to typical linear time models. Second, they have a head with mass. I can whip my hand down to catch a dropped pair of keys faster than free fall due to overall momentum of my body. A deer can whip its body center low faster than gravity if it is moving it's head up quickly at the same time. Pretty amazing, but not at all impossible. Good hunting.
@@ChrisPBacon741 " *Impossible based on physics and reaction time* "
A trad bow at 150fps would take about 0.2s to reach the doe. Theoretically possible, but not really. I remember I once counted the frames on a collection of bowhunting hits. Embarrassingly, I don't remember the result, only the conclusion, that chasing speed in order to hit quicker seemed like a folly idea. The animals reacted, sure enough, but the reaction time was fairly consistent and quite reasonable.
Anybody can repeat my approach. A "." and an "," advances and backs up the video by one frame increments. Just find a compilation and start counting. Should be useful, especially for people who think that 30% more speed is a worthy trade off for the penetration potential.
Glad I ran across this video. Great insight and advice. Age has taught me to listen to people who know more than I do. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful! Good luck this year and thanks for the comment!
Ever since I watched a video (over 20 years ago) that showed how fast a deer can drop (fractions of a second), I have always aimed about 1/3 up from the lower chest, right behind the leg, for exactly the same reasons you mention. Very interesting to see it in practice!
Yup! Glad you appreciate the video! Thanks for the comment!
Great information. I really like how you did the over lay and slow motion to prove what your saying. Im still learning and have gotten lots of mixed information on if a deer will drop or not. Your point at the end really sells the idea. If you aim for the heart and he doesnt drop good hit, if he does still good hit. Thanks for the information.
Sure thing! Good luck out there this year! Hope you get your first deer!
Great video, very practical tip for everyone to take into consideration. 3D targets often can skew our perspective on where to actually aim. Next time you are out shooting try to kill the target so to speak. This has helped me a ton!
Thanks for the comment and great advice!
Exactly, no bad result from aiming low. Excellent presentation. I had the same thing happen to me a few seasons back and have learned from my mistakes.
Really appreciate the comment!
What about one jumping the string when shooting low?
They don’t really “jump” they always drop. Even if they were to jump they would load up first resulting in a drop.
It's vital to know yardage when aiming low. Probably thousands of deer hit in the brisket doing this then finding the deer was a bit farther out than thought.
Any bowhunter with any time under his/her belt has experienced what you just showed in some form or fashion. Some won't admit it, they were experts on their first day of course. My earlier years of bowhunting I was definately aiming wrong "all the time". Won some, lost some. Back then "everybody's" advice was to simply say "aim behind the shoulder". Today, I have a much greater understanding of deer and thier anatomy. For the last 7-8 years I have 2 simple areas I aim with my bow. (1) "The magic triangle", primarily for broadside shots, which is straight up the front leg and aim just above the armpit region (thats where all the goodies intersect). (2) Quartering away aim for the armpit. The degree the deer is quarting away determines how far behind the armpit. "Aim for the exit hole" if you will. 100% recovery rate the past 8 years. School of learning from my mistakes the first 10 years.
Excellent advice 100% agree with it and I wanted to make sure that others learned from my mistake, it in a small way makes a bad situation better. We owe it to the animals we hunt! thanks for the comment!
I am not meaning to say anything negative. Far from it. A few yrs. ago I went to Nevada on a deer hunt. I took this suggestion from a older guy. I thought he was full of it. That was the first mistake I made. We were using rifles in that hunt. I remembered what he had told. A nice buck came out, at about 150 yds. Took my time squeezed the trigger, shot about 2 1/2inches above the shoulder. Dropped him right there. Since I had another tag, we sat there and talked. This guy bet me $700 that I could not do it again. The older guy that taught me about this was with us. I said OK , then Ed said he would double up. OK, the guy that had bet $1400 I will add another $700. O K . Ed looked at me, the next deer that came up, same distance. I thought if I miss , I will have to pay this $2100. Needless to say, I look in Ed at Ed, and he winked at me, told me you got this. He told me to take my time. I sueezed
Since I accidently hit the arrow to send it. When I squeezed the trigger, watched the deer drop right there. That was the most money I made in about 30 minutes. I would definitely try to go to some 3 D shoots.duringthe summer months. It is fun and you learn quite a lot from each other👍
I have heard 3D shoots are fun. I do plan to try them sometime! Thanks for sharing!
3 D shoots are a blast! Once you go to one, you will be hooked, really. Everyone shares little things and bounces this and that off each other. I love them. Believe me when bow season starts, you will even be more sure of yourself. I will say, people will share everything they know. I have a Mathews TacTic and I use a HHA single pin slider sight. Makes it easier to adjust for different distances. One trick a senior pro showed me to set different distances I to take a piece of cardboard and use gorilla glue tape and tear it in half. Then the cardboard , which I use about an 18 inch square make one tape vertical and the other tape horizontal. The HHA sight you can make adjustments so you are hitting dead on where you are aiming. I use it and I set my my bow out to 40 yards. The HHS sights come with different sight tapes. Makes things so much easier. If you know someone that can help you, it makes it so much easier. Once you get this taken care of, bow hunting is even more fun, just saying and losing arrows are a thing of the past. Bowhunters are a different breed of hunters.
Thanks for the tip as a newbie I would have just thought shoot center mass but I under estimated how quick the reflexes of deer really are glad I’m learning these vital tips before my first hunt!
Awesome! That’s why we do this! Good luck!
Thanks for sharing, we all understand that pain.
Thanks Mike. It was tough, I’m hoping sharing my experience will prevent others from feeling it!
Yes, it’s a complete heartbreak to wound a beautiful animal. Pick up a rifle and all that STOPS.
people in the comments don't know what a startle call is. Great video thanks for the tips.
Appreciate the comment!
Stop worrying about the camera and you'll get a better shot.
Oh boy. I wich I had seen this video before our hunting season. Was my first hunt ever, and with a longbow. Hit the buck to heigh. 3 days of tracking - losts of blood but NO buck. Will practice more purposfull on lower placement. Thank you for sharing your failures to - just always see the good shots in the videos! Greetings from South Africa
Sorry to hear it, and it is also what we try to do, which is make it better for all (including the animals). 🙂 good luck this year!
Great advice. I always aim for the heart for that very reason.
Thanks! It’s harder to get your brain to allow it than you would think 🤣. Appreciate the comment!
Great video. Lots of bow hunters do not know the deer drop "hunch down" syndrome. Particulary Bucks tend to sense a shot.
Thanks! You are right, it’s a natural “loading their legs” motion they make as they hear the shot, however it happens so fast many people don’t realize that it happens before the arrow gets there and they think it happens mostly after the arrow has struck.
Thanks for not telling us your horoscope and what you ate for supper.
You are welcome! Thanks for the comment!
I like that you show a healthy respect for properly harvesting the deer. That is the worst feeling to hit a deer and lose it and not know what happened to it. Even if its a doe.
Totally agree! Appreciate the comments!
thar deer did not jump the string...you hit high
🤣🤣 what video are you watching?
So glad someone else said this. That deer did not move one bit until the arrow hit🤣🤣🤣
@@tannerharris1483 and you both clearly didn’t watch the whole video…🤣🤣 Jokes on you bud there’s a reason you are now pinned to the top.
you and tannerharris are either blind or trolling because the deer obviously moved. My father and his father taught me to aim low in bowhunting here in western Maryland for the exact same reason.
lol@@pickler_pickler
Thanks for the video.
My friend always says aim low from a stand or elevated position and aim where you want the arrow to exit.
Even though he preached that to me my first season I did exactly what you did. And the arrow went right over her back.
Lesson learned.
It is absolutely harder said than done. I knew better when I made this shot too, made a mental mistake. It also made me think about how many people may not realize it, which is what led us to create the video! Thanks for the comment!
@@WeekendWoodsmen it just doesn’t feel right aiming that low, especially when shooting at a regular target from flat ground.
After my first season we set up a tree stand in my friends yard to set try and mimic every scenario I ran into.
Also for learning quartering shots, I had an old target that was layered so the arrow would protrude out the back.
I placed a piece of duct tape on the backside of the target and visualize where I wanted to exit. I would practice left and right quartering shots. In doing that was amazed how far back I would have to aim to exit where I wanted.
You are doing it right! Kudos to you! Mental reps and physical reps are all incredibly important
You shot high. That's all it is. You shot 6 in high. The first thing you did was alarm the animal. Now you telling people to shoot low to anticipate a deer's reaction. Please stop giving that advice. What are you gonna do if the deer is 10 yds from the stand? Aim low? HOW ABOUT AIMING RIGHT, NOT TAKING SHOTS IN BAD SITUATIONS, KNOWING WHEN TO SHOOT AND WHEN NOT TO SHOOT, AND KNOWING WHERE TO SHOOT. Maybe if you wouldn't be worried about making money with your video you could have been in a better situation to take a more ethical shot .
Seems like you are really angry and lacking drastically on specific instruction. You are also clearly not paying attention to the video where I say, something along the lines of “Unless they are really close” and had the deer not dropped then it would have been a double lung, so what specifically is your actual problem with aiming at the heart? Because 99% of the time a deer is dropping whether on alert or not, and alerting the deer to get its head up actually REDUCES the amount a deer will drop contrary to popular belief. Finally you should read through the comments on the number of people this has helped before you start giving crap to people about “making money”. How many other people would have made this same mistake if this video didn’t exist? At what point was I in a better position to take a more ethical shot? The first lane I had I DIDN’T stop him because I DIDN’T want to alert him and he walked right through it, that’s the risk you take when you don’t stop them when you need them stopped. How many people do you see out there highlighting mistakes they have made so others don’t have to? Everyone else just “sweeps them under the rug”
You should really try to broaden your perspective, and if you are going to criticize someone, you should offer specific information on how to improve, otherwise. So I will ask, where would you have aimed in this situation?
@@WeekendWoodsmen you need to acquire some sound experience before giving instructions. I did offer you some information, stop playing with your camera and focus on making a clean shot. I commend you for admitting your shot was bad that's more than some others would do.
@@HeathTriche camera or not the advice is sound. Thanks for the comments
1 never alert the deer to your presence if you would of stopped messing with the camera you would of killed that buck and you are wrong about lower 1/3rd if that deer doesn't drop you just shot to low here's my advice on a deer stop with bad advice you just made a bad shot in happens we all make mistakes but stop with the excuses
to each their own on stopping the deer. yes that is the downside to filming...and the lower 1/3 MOST deer drop and if you shoot at the lower 1/3 it's a heart shot vs aiming CENTER MASS which is too high to start let alone when that drop. it was a mistake that is admitted in the video? Aimed too high which means I shot too high? lol@@tylernewton3719
I think many archers aim center for fear they have misjudged yardage and this point of aim can allow for being a few yards off on distance estimation. My experience, it is better to miss low, than hit high. High hits tend to be less lethal, less penetration, no pass thru, sparse or non-existent blood trail as most of the blood stays in the body, even on a lethal hit, and a more difficult tracking job. Many times ends with no deer recovery, and no arrow refund. Also arrows sticking out of survivors is bad PR for bowhunters.
I think you are spot on, it is much easier said than done to aim low when you mentally feel like you are giving up the majority of your target!
@@WeekendWoodsmen I went on the heavy arrow journey a few years back. You tend to get better penetration and more arrow refunds, but if you go too heavy, the deer can drop so significantly, your chance of a high hit is greatly magnified, especially if you are not shooting a very fast arrow launcher to begin with. Example, my testing showed going from 450 grains to 650 grains slowed the arrow down around 35 fps. If you are shooting 70 pounds at 300 fps and drop your arrow speed to 265, you're still in the game. If you're shooting a light compound at 240 fps and drop your arrow speed to 205, even a 20 yard shot can be iffy IF the deer reacts and you're not aiming LOW. Traditional shots best at under 15 yards and aim LOWER 1/4.
Makes sense I switched the VAP Elite (Micro Diameter) with a 50 grain sleeve and those arrows are fast and BLOW through everything. Biggest problem I have is finding targets that stop them 🤣
@@WeekendWoodsmen Yes. Get your wallet out...
@Kurtdog63 true!
Sorry, that one is on you. Wrong shot placement.
Kinda the ENTIRE point…
FFS watch the video and use your brain. Braindead comment.
No sht sherlock, thats the point of the vid...omg lol
Great advice, thanks for that. This is my first year solo hunting as an adult. Haven't hunted since I was a child. Trying to learn enough to get some meat in the freezer this year. This will certainly help next year when I plan to do archery season with a recurve!
Great! Check out the “Vital V” by Ranch Fairy, he has good stuff in shot placement too
@@WeekendWoodsmen I'll check it out for sure.
Wow WW. Things are complicated enough in the tree without having to be a one man video production unit. That was some Cecil B footage. In the meantime... I read of the shooting low thing prolly 50 years ago in Field & Stream. And never understood it, quite, until I saw your vid. The theory of the day was that it was all about the entry angle. Slowmo shows that it's more about the psychic (pshyco?) flinch. A very good and instructive vid. Thanks!
Appreciate the comment! Shot angle should come into play at close range. If the deer is close (let’s say inside 15 yards) you have to be careful about aiming low because if you miss the heart you risk a “one lung” hit by catching the front lung and exiting below the second lung. This will lead to a long or impossible recovery. At close range the deer don’t have time to react at close range so you can get away with a higher aim point to account for the steeper angle. For shots outside 15 yards, unless you are 30 feet up in the tree (which we do not recommend) the angle becomes less prominent and the deers reaction time becomes a bigger factor, so you should aim low. Hope that helps!
Great video. I don’t bow hunt anymore but I did learn this lesson years ago. And with all the videos on here showing shots at deer, you see this happen on basically every shot. You would think it would be common knowledge now. But that adrenaline gets pumping and we revert to the training we’ve mastered. I would encourage this, when practicing at the range, practice shooting low for this reason. As you said, at point blank range, this is not an issue. But shots over say, 10 yards, the deer hears the bow release and his instincts kick in, he drops and bolts away.
Yup! You better believe the lower 1/3 (and really the belly line) on my target this year is WORN OUT!!!
One thing I learned from Chuck Adam's MANY years ago when we used dinosaur bones for arrows ... and found it to be true today with modern bows and physics. When shooting downward don't drop your arms, onto the target. Bend AT THE WAIST! You're essentially keeping the same plane as being on ground (kinda), my lethal rate went way up when I learned this. I even do it when using pendulum sights. 100% of time works like a charm! IMHO. Good hunting this year my friends.
Good advice for sure! Thanks for the comment and good luck!
I don't hunt from tree stands. Depending on the angle, I usually aim ahead or behind the elbow so if they drop, I get a double lung and if they jump it hits the heart. If he holds still, I pin the foreleg to the ribs and get both lungs and/or aorta and he has a hard time running. I also prefer to aim forward of the foreleg because I would rather put the shot in the neck or a clean miss out front than a gut shot.
great comment! thank you
Just got one two days ago at 22 yards broadside with a crossbow. Gave him a mmmrrpp to stop him in a shooting lane, aimed for the heart anticipating the drop. He didn't move so the bolt went clean through the heart and I had an easy recovery. You are exactly right. If he had dropped, it would've been a perfect double lung hit...
Fantastic! Congratulations! I just shot a doe last week. Never made a noise completely non-alert at about that same distance. She dropped a number of inches and I took the top of her heart out, she crashed within 50 yards!
The Hunting Public also preach the lower shot. I've also been told that most deer duck when they hear the shot. For some reason, I still prefer to aim right above the elbow which gives me the biggest margin of error for broadside. It's good advise, though. You're not alone thinking that way. . . you've got some high profile hunters with the same thinking.
Appreciate the comment!
As a recurve shooter, we do this a lot! Slower arrows, even though most of our shots are inside 25 yards.
My bow is also a little louder than I'd like. Trying to tweak it but hunting season starts Saturday here for us in Texas!
I made sure to take extra steps to silence my bow also! Good luck this year!
I put yarn silencers on my longbow and i shoot a pretty heavy arrow. I have yet to have a deer drop before the arrow reached them. Granted i have not killed a huge number of deer, but i have been pretty lucky with it so far.
This is exactly what my employer talked about when we discussed about deer hunting with a bow. He owns this hunting store (sells all kinds of gear for hunting, as well as hunting bows and fire arms) and he's been hunting with a bow (and fire arms) for few decades.
Very good info for all new bow hunters about to score their first deer 👌
Thanks!
Really easy to judge people for these shots until it happens to you, this is such a great video! Perfect evidence, in real time this is a perfect shot, when slowed down you see a different story! Well done sir!
Appreciate the thoughtful comment!
Excellent! To the point and great visuals to help! I’ve also learned the “hard way”, of improper arrow placement!
Appreciate the comment!
I feel your pain man! My dad always taught me even with the rifle "look for the white of his belly and inch the crosshairs just above that and behind his leg. You'll nail em' every time!
Now I'm having fun teaching my mom who's second ever hunt, she got drawn for the elusive Bull Moose tag!!! I'm super excited for her!!
(Greetings from Saskatchewan Canada!)
Greetings! Thanks for the comment and good luck on that moose hunt!!
the long refuted myth of "Jumping the string" This has always been an issue bowhunting. Good advice and lesson to be learned.
Thanks for the comment!
This is one of those pieces of wisdom I'm glad I learned really early on. Last one I shot (with a muzzle loader) I thought I shot too low, but it turns out he ducked when he heard the lock snap, just before the round discharged and I still double lunged him. Never underestimate that duck, or how close to the sternum (low in the chest) those vital organs really sit.
That’s right! I had a few people reply that they took this advice and shot too low, and I said “that’s really hard to do”
I cried just a little bit when that deer went running off and you said you didn't get him.
Been there and done that!!! Good video.
It hurt, not sure what was worse, thinking it was a good shot and finding out otherwise or knowing it was a bad shot from the start 😔
Just started my 62nd season. im sure you have heard jumping the string. I've learned it depends on how close the deer is and over my years ive had to adjust form recurve to compound and now crossbow. the speed of the arrow and how close the deer is, also hunting pressure. lots of variables.
Oh yes, tons of variables! Thanks for the comment!
Centre mass is great for target shooting into foam to set up for heart shots on target when you group .5” at 50 in the heart on foam (consistently) you go hunt and always aim for the heart on everything you hunt. Never assume broadhead sharpness either. Sharpen everything up to cut through paper. Happy hunting have fun be safe.
Great advice! Thanks!
As someone who has only hunted with firearms, i had never considered the deers reaction to the sound of a bow but it makes perfect sense.
Glad it helped! That was exactly the goal!
Great video. We've all been or will be in your situation. I shot a double brow tine buck quartering away from me at 35 yards. I aimed at the lungs and got his top 1/3. Great learning lesson.
It’s tough! Even when you know you should aim there it’s hard to! Thanks for the comment!
I had what would have been my first deer on public land last year at 35 as well. Didn't know about this concept and missed over the back. I think stopping it put it on alert as well, making the jump worse.
Sorry to hear it! I gave you some thoughts on as a reply to your comment. Thanks for the comment!
Thanks, I’ve been doing some research on this topic, because I to made a bad shot, and lost the blood trail, and deer, most hunters are saying aiming low above the leg is the spot to shoot, hopefully get another shot this season.
That’s is right. As many comments mention, there are always additional factors. When you get 15 yards and in then I will start moving up a bit due to less time to react and steeper angle.
My 2 cents worth.
Always pretend your aiming at the center of a basketball in the vitals. Also. I shoot a pse Mojave with my fingers set at 57lbs. And still do. I will spend lots and lots of time making my bow quiet as possible. By hitting the limbs with my fist and listening for any type of vibration anywhere.
And even when I release the arrow. I always listen to my bow. I'm not worrying about speed. I want that thing as quiet as I can get it. Because of this very reason. I have rubber spider legs cut at different lengths and placed in different locations on my string. Which is 2 on the shooting string then two more coming off of the cams. And also a heavily waxed string. But, you do have a good point here sir. Great information.. Good hunting this year!!!
Really appreciate the insights. Thank you!
Great advice and it's so hard to both self film and hunt with a bow, but you kept your cool! I'm amazed at how this buck started to drop and that you didn't spine him! Yes, the bottom 1/3 is the vital point! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the comment! I was also shocked I didn’t spine him, I wish I would have 😔
Been doing that for years after watching the Wenzel Brothers video on exactly the same thing. With a bow I ALWAYS aim for the heart.
Awesome! Thanks for the comment!
Perfect advice. Also. Only stop a deer if you absolutely have to in order to keep him in range. An alert deer will drop way more often when alert
Thanks for the comment! We have found that whether they are alert or not they actually drop about the same. Head down relaxed deer will sometimes even drop more, but regardless that aim point will cover you in all but the most extreme situation.
@@WeekendWoodsmen agree. I’ve found they hear the arrow. I’m convinced of it. Stand around the corner of a building and have someone shoot past you. It’s super loud. You can obviously hear it when you shoot bit being close to the arrow really lets you know how loud a broadhead is compared to field point
@@mikemellon80 agree! There have even been broadheads I have shot that I can hear from where I stand taking the shot, so I think they can hear it coming.
I'm a new hunter as well and it's very refreshing to have folks passing on their knowledge to us n00bies! Thank you!
Glad it helped! Thanks for the comment
This is super advice. I just picked up a bow yesterday for this up coming season and I think I would have made this mistake. Thanks!
Sure thing! Thanks for the comment!
Great video and good advice. There is a difference between shooting targets and putting yourself in the moment. Thanks for making the video...................
For sure! Thanks for the comment!
Deer have lightning fast reflexes!! I’m a traditional bowhunter. And getting as close as possible, and aiming low is even MORE crucial with a Trad bow, because your arrows are flying at almost half the speed than that of a compound.
Makes sense! Thanks for the comment!
My deer with the bow was at 10yds so he had no time to duck the arrow. This will definitely be helpful now that I am really shoving back into bow hunting and willing to shoot up to 40yds for a deer with my current setup
Glad it was helpful!
Robert Carter, who talks about traditional archery says the same thing in his "Traditional archery tips and tricks". He aims at the little white hairs just to the back of the front leg. Also aim small, miss small. He does not use any sights and has taken a lot of deer and pigs.
That’s definitely great advice! Thanks for the comment!
I had a good mentor that told me to always aim low to where you want to hit cause of the dips they do. I've been blessed not to miss one yet but one day a deer will the the matrix move on me. Good video
It's great advice and I hope you never have to feel what I felt! Thanks for the comment!
Lost one last night to a mid-body aim. A prior miss was low due to longer range than expected. Wasn't going to do THAT again. So, "MEH", mid-body aim, good release, and clean miss. Still learning after decades at it. Frustrating when you forget lessons.
Yes it is, sorry to hear it. Thanks for the comment!
@@WeekendWoodsmen Tonight, aimed for the heart of the mule deer doe. At 18 yards, she didn't jump the string. Heart shot, and down in 100 yards. Confidence restored!
Awesome!!!
Took this lesson to heart , aimed low and upon finding him 3 inches higher in the lungs, so thanks a lot partner
Really glad to hear it!! Congratulations!
great info ty very mucho. I think I would miss under it than get a high shoulder shot. I have spent hours looking for deer we never found hitting high
Unfortunately, same. Even when you know better it’s hard to do! That’s why we made the video. Thanks for the comment!
I don't know if it's that you are a younger hunter but that's common practice ever since I was growing up in the 60's
I knew better, I just made a mistake, and then in conversation with others I realized it wasn’t as common as you would think, so we made the video to try to help others. Then if you scroll through comments you will see it helped many, and there are still many that refuse to admit that “their” deer drop.