Sweetwater

You are not a bad hunter, but you need to DEMAND RESPECT of your own self first. Perhaps you would want to go sit in a stand & refuse to come down until you take a deer of your liking. One time I went out & I shot free throws on the dirt court before I made out for the woods. I knew this would relax me & it was sure to DEMAND RESPECT as I hit 20 of 20 in a row.

dough boy

this sport is not for the weak of heart. Stick with it....once you get your first deer you will think all of the troubles were worth it

Bulzeye

I' m in my third year bowhunting myself, and have yet to take one.
I think that if you' re seeing deer, not getting busted, and not missing them all the time or wounding them and not being able to recover them, then you' re doing ok.

Don' t get impatient and take a bad shot.
I' m proud to say that I' ve passed on 3 shot opportunities because they were poor angles, too much stuff in the way, or the deer was aware of me and would likely jump the string.

Ted Nugent said it best:
Don' t be afraid to let your bow down and let him walk.
The perfect moment will come.

BuckSecrets

Nobody who has posted on this thread is a bad hunter. It can take years or even a lifetime to slowly build up knowledge of deer behaviors, and to take big deer. Read all you can, observe and learn, and hunt hard. Good Luck to everybody this season!
Mark
http://www.buckhuntersecrets.com

Sitter

AMEN to that

Sometimes hunting success is from hard work, sometimes its from luck. But I promise you.... the harder you work, the luckier you' ll get!

GBhunter

I agree with all of these posts. My father is a wonderful hunter and a wonderful person moreover. he has been hunting more than 30 years and has never even seen a deer with an 8 pt rack or bigger while hunting. we hunt on good land and he hunts hard. sometimes you just dont see the deer, then it becomes very hard to shoot them.

burniegoeasily

Very true. Luck is simply when preperation meets opportunity.

Tazman

Well it is one or more of the following things:

1. Dumb luck
2. Experience
3. Persaverance

I wish I had the dumb luck portion, but I don' t, I have 40 seasons under my belt so #2 helps, but #3 is what gets me deer. If I didn' t love the outdoors so much I would trade the #3 for the #1!

SW Iowa Hunter

Have faith and keep at it. Sometimes it is the simple things that count. When I find myself in a funk sometimes it is time to get back to the basics. Check your weapon make sure it will not let you down when the time comes. Practice make sure you are confident that you can make the shot. Sometimes you got to forget about all that technology and just hunt. Think like a deer. learn all you can about thier habits. What time of the season is it? What are the deer thinking about? Food or water or does or what? Then put yourself in the path of whatever they want. Know your area like the back of your hand. Scout during the off season so you know where the deer go all year around. This helps when you can' t find them during season. All of this stuff takes time and patience and you sound like you are using both wisely. Stick to it and it will come around. Think like a deer and forget about all those calls and lures. They have thier place but there are many more deer shot each year without them than with. Basics, Basics, Basics. Bedding ground, food, water, does. Deer are alot like men alittle of each of these and we are happy. put yourself in the right spot and it will seem easy.

SCRIDER1

Its been my observation that the people who seem to connect every year are the ones that hunt over a feeder. Which isnt hunting, in my humble opinion.
You' re doing fine. Its the dry spells that make the eventual success all the sweeter.
SC in LR