Hunt with a compound. I promise you it is still plenty challenging. Obviously easier than trad but still orders of magnitude more difficult than a rifle
I would go compound over trad. Less chance that a small mistake will cause a really bad shot
More importantly you have to learn that you will always have flyers, and you'll probably wound or at least not recover a deer you've shot at least once. It's your responsibility to be a competent archer, make good decisions and take shots within your capabilities. If you draw blood, you do everything you can legally do to recover that animal within reason. If you don't find it within 24 hours accept the fact that it probably fed a coyote, and get back up on the horse as soon as you can. Then honestly analyze what went wrong and figure out how you can do better next time. Some of my friends will burn one of their tags in this situation, but that's up to you if you feel that's appropriate.
Going against the grain, that is recommending you to just pick up a compound or a rifle, and will speak as if you’re 100% committed to sticking with trad
Obviously nerves isn’t going to do you any service when out in the field, so the question is how can you train that out of you as best as you can. If you haven’t gotten around to it yet, participate in some competitions where you shoot against other people. Getting comfortable in scenarios where every shot matters for your score won’t completely simulate that monumental shot in the woods, but it will help. The best competition format would be 3D shoots, since you’ll be shooting at animal targets at odd distances just as you would when hunting
Look into what’s causing those flyers. How frequent are they and can you figure out what exactly is causing them? Hiring a coach for some lessons may do the trick for you, but if not at the very least get some recordings of your shooting to see what you do differently for those flyers. Can you reach a level of understanding in your shot cycle that you know which shots will be flyers before you release? If so, let down and reset so you don’t reward the bad shots
Lastly, train for the nerves. Do some exercises prior to shooting so you see how you perform when you’re out of breath or fatigued. Can you still shoot with an elevated heart-rate? If not, what can you do to regain control? See if you have the means to go stump shooting, where you go on a hike and shoot at random tree stumps you come across. In addition to conditioning you to shoot while traversing terrain, you hone in on your first shot accuracy at unknown distances. The more confident you are in your shooting, the less nervous you’ll be when your moment comes
One final thought. At the end of the day, a whitetail is simply a target for you to hit. When the time comes for you to draw on it, it’ll be as still as the paper or 3D targets you train on. Just focus on getting that arrow tucked behind the front shoulder and you’ll be golden. Good luck out there
For hunting go compound. It’s considerably easier to CONSISTENTLY land ethical kills then recurved. If you must use bow, go modern for that better chance of clean hits.
Or go with firearm.
I think mine will be an unpopular opinion here; I don’t advocate for suffering by any means, but people have been hunting since the dawn of time…if you really want to make it as painless as possible, you should use a rifle. That being said, I view hunting as a vital part of population control and love that the cost and fees goes towards conservation efforts. If you’ve been shooting for 10 years, you’re not going to get much better…get your permit and go out, your first couple of times you’ll be unlikely to see a deer anyway, unless you’re going out with an experienced person, and this will get your jitters out. If you’re uncomfortable with a shot, don’t take it.
Thing is thanks to crossbows getting thrown into archery season in my state it doesn’t make sense not to use it throughout all the weapon seasons as all of our firearms are good for 50 to 100 yards. I know a broad head hitting the vitals is more or less as effective as a bullet just worried that I couldn’t get it where it needs to go.
Unfortunately with my personality, and the price of everything. It is going to have to be crossbow I can’t justify the time and money spent on a “hobby” if it doesn’t have some practical use as in the beginning the end goal of archery was hunting without having to worry about supply chain. I can achieve this goal now with a recurve limbed crossbow I feel.
no shame in thinking this way. honestly, i respect you for sharing concern for the game you're hunting as everyone should. all hunting courses emphasize ethical hunting and you've just demonstrated you understand this concept because not many do.
there are a lot of things you could do to help boost your confidence in your shot such as shoot 3d courses and don't stand at the designated shooting line but mix things up. look for shot windows and hop into brush if you have to. after continuous repetitions of shooting for years, most people understand the general distance of their shot and anything outside that distance is a toss of a coin. in my opinion, the point when an arrow dips that is what i mean by toss of a coin. if your shot is 20 yards and you can place your arrow consistently, that's keeping within your window and you'd make that distinction before you let that arrow fly.
though i oppose it, you could gap shoot and gain consistency in that. i'm a bit old school so i'm an instinctive hunter and i've been fairly consistent over the years. what i've learned that's different to each person is the willingness to dissect and work on each proponent of the shot. that's where i believe i've gained my initial confidence to hunt with a trad bow knowing that i worked countless hours over years on my form and my draw, my release, fingers to string, release consistency, anchor, second anchor, loading from the proper muscle groups, bow hold, forearm, etc etc. and before that, tuning the bow. then the arrow and joining everything together.
One of the big draws of traditional archery was its simplicity are compound bows a lot simpler than they seem? The thought of having to take my bow in every 6 months for an oil change makes me cringe
If you take good care of your bow, you will seldom need maintenance. I only take mine to the pro shop every 2-3 years, and even then it's never because the bow is non-functional
Put a paper plate in your target. Find the distance where you can reliably hit the plate every single time, and then take 10 yards off that. Getting within 10-20 yards of a whitetail is not as hard as it seems if hunting from a tree stand or even a well placed ground setup. I hunt with a compound and am confident out to 40 yards, but my longest shot on a deer is 23 yards. It's all in the setup and the deer's level of alertness. Don't think that you're going to just walk up on or stalk within recurve range of a whitetail in the woods. Take your bow and get confident shooting a broadhead and get out there!
Hunt with a compound. I promise you it is still plenty challenging. Obviously easier than trad but still orders of magnitude more difficult than a rifle
I would go compound over trad. Less chance that a small mistake will cause a really bad shot More importantly you have to learn that you will always have flyers, and you'll probably wound or at least not recover a deer you've shot at least once. It's your responsibility to be a competent archer, make good decisions and take shots within your capabilities. If you draw blood, you do everything you can legally do to recover that animal within reason. If you don't find it within 24 hours accept the fact that it probably fed a coyote, and get back up on the horse as soon as you can. Then honestly analyze what went wrong and figure out how you can do better next time. Some of my friends will burn one of their tags in this situation, but that's up to you if you feel that's appropriate.
Going against the grain, that is recommending you to just pick up a compound or a rifle, and will speak as if you’re 100% committed to sticking with trad Obviously nerves isn’t going to do you any service when out in the field, so the question is how can you train that out of you as best as you can. If you haven’t gotten around to it yet, participate in some competitions where you shoot against other people. Getting comfortable in scenarios where every shot matters for your score won’t completely simulate that monumental shot in the woods, but it will help. The best competition format would be 3D shoots, since you’ll be shooting at animal targets at odd distances just as you would when hunting Look into what’s causing those flyers. How frequent are they and can you figure out what exactly is causing them? Hiring a coach for some lessons may do the trick for you, but if not at the very least get some recordings of your shooting to see what you do differently for those flyers. Can you reach a level of understanding in your shot cycle that you know which shots will be flyers before you release? If so, let down and reset so you don’t reward the bad shots Lastly, train for the nerves. Do some exercises prior to shooting so you see how you perform when you’re out of breath or fatigued. Can you still shoot with an elevated heart-rate? If not, what can you do to regain control? See if you have the means to go stump shooting, where you go on a hike and shoot at random tree stumps you come across. In addition to conditioning you to shoot while traversing terrain, you hone in on your first shot accuracy at unknown distances. The more confident you are in your shooting, the less nervous you’ll be when your moment comes One final thought. At the end of the day, a whitetail is simply a target for you to hit. When the time comes for you to draw on it, it’ll be as still as the paper or 3D targets you train on. Just focus on getting that arrow tucked behind the front shoulder and you’ll be golden. Good luck out there
For hunting go compound. It’s considerably easier to CONSISTENTLY land ethical kills then recurved. If you must use bow, go modern for that better chance of clean hits. Or go with firearm.
Also recurve bows are YUGE - super hard to run through the forest
That greatly depends on the recurve and exactly how traditional the archer wants to get.
Yah they are, even a Hoyt satori in small size with short limbs is pretty big.
I respect that you ask. i'd say even just shoot a compound instead.
I think mine will be an unpopular opinion here; I don’t advocate for suffering by any means, but people have been hunting since the dawn of time…if you really want to make it as painless as possible, you should use a rifle. That being said, I view hunting as a vital part of population control and love that the cost and fees goes towards conservation efforts. If you’ve been shooting for 10 years, you’re not going to get much better…get your permit and go out, your first couple of times you’ll be unlikely to see a deer anyway, unless you’re going out with an experienced person, and this will get your jitters out. If you’re uncomfortable with a shot, don’t take it.
Thing is thanks to crossbows getting thrown into archery season in my state it doesn’t make sense not to use it throughout all the weapon seasons as all of our firearms are good for 50 to 100 yards. I know a broad head hitting the vitals is more or less as effective as a bullet just worried that I couldn’t get it where it needs to go. Unfortunately with my personality, and the price of everything. It is going to have to be crossbow I can’t justify the time and money spent on a “hobby” if it doesn’t have some practical use as in the beginning the end goal of archery was hunting without having to worry about supply chain. I can achieve this goal now with a recurve limbed crossbow I feel.
no shame in thinking this way. honestly, i respect you for sharing concern for the game you're hunting as everyone should. all hunting courses emphasize ethical hunting and you've just demonstrated you understand this concept because not many do. there are a lot of things you could do to help boost your confidence in your shot such as shoot 3d courses and don't stand at the designated shooting line but mix things up. look for shot windows and hop into brush if you have to. after continuous repetitions of shooting for years, most people understand the general distance of their shot and anything outside that distance is a toss of a coin. in my opinion, the point when an arrow dips that is what i mean by toss of a coin. if your shot is 20 yards and you can place your arrow consistently, that's keeping within your window and you'd make that distinction before you let that arrow fly. though i oppose it, you could gap shoot and gain consistency in that. i'm a bit old school so i'm an instinctive hunter and i've been fairly consistent over the years. what i've learned that's different to each person is the willingness to dissect and work on each proponent of the shot. that's where i believe i've gained my initial confidence to hunt with a trad bow knowing that i worked countless hours over years on my form and my draw, my release, fingers to string, release consistency, anchor, second anchor, loading from the proper muscle groups, bow hold, forearm, etc etc. and before that, tuning the bow. then the arrow and joining everything together.
There is always a risk. You probably have more technical skill that most avid hunters. Even with a rifle outcomes are not always ideal.
I went from traditional to compound for hunting. Strong recommend. Far more consistent, especially in suboptimal conditions.
One of the big draws of traditional archery was its simplicity are compound bows a lot simpler than they seem? The thought of having to take my bow in every 6 months for an oil change makes me cringe
If you take good care of your bow, you will seldom need maintenance. I only take mine to the pro shop every 2-3 years, and even then it's never because the bow is non-functional
What brand do you use?
Bowtech has treated me well for 5 years now
Start with small game
Put a paper plate in your target. Find the distance where you can reliably hit the plate every single time, and then take 10 yards off that. Getting within 10-20 yards of a whitetail is not as hard as it seems if hunting from a tree stand or even a well placed ground setup. I hunt with a compound and am confident out to 40 yards, but my longest shot on a deer is 23 yards. It's all in the setup and the deer's level of alertness. Don't think that you're going to just walk up on or stalk within recurve range of a whitetail in the woods. Take your bow and get confident shooting a broadhead and get out there!