Bowhunting Blunders: 10 Bowhunting Mistakes to Avoid

Bowhunting Blunders: 10 Bowhunting Mistakes to Avoid

By Ryan Graden

So you think you know how to make it happen, huh? You are going to march right out there on October 1st and fill your 2015 archery tag? Well, it’s a possibility, but for most guys and gals it’s going to take a bit more than that! From my experience, over confidence is a good indication that I’m missing something! And that “something” that I’m missing is usually what will cost me the opportunity at a trophy that I would be proud of.

So, with that said, I would like to help you think through the 10 most common mistakes that we bowhunters could make that would send us home to our wives or husbands in a mood that could only be remedied by winning the lottery. Most of these blunders and mistakes come from my personal experience and as much as I’d like to say I have my “act together”, there is still more to learn! So, let’s start with our greatest mistake!

Mistake #1 You Think You Know Everything!
Yep, I said it! Sounds like we’re kids taunting each other on the playground again doesn’t it. But, the honest truth is, just when we think we have all that we need in planning, equipment, location, and more, we will be blindsided and will have to learn from a new flub-up! That’s right! Over confidence in a “plan of attack” is sometimes your greatest weakness.

I have learned that, for me, confidence means I am missing something. It also can quickly become my greatest letdown too! There is nothing worse than walking into a setting telling yourself that, “tonight is the night!” and you end up leaving the field without even a sighting of a whitetail. Why set yourself up for that? My suggestion, be humble! And think through everything that we are about to continue with over and over again!

Mistake #2 Gone With The Wind
As I was learning the art of bowhunting, I quickly realized how important it was to plan your hunt based on the direction of the wind. I grew up party hunting and doing deer drives during the Iowa shotgun seasons. Occasionally, deer might catch your scent when they were being pushed but that just meant that they would run by another member in our party! So, was it important?

Not really. But if I was going to have success with a stick and string, I had to treat this topic with the importance in deserved.

A mentor of mine gave me strict instructions to always hunt with the wind in my favor. Meaning, if I knew what direction the deer might be coming from, I should never let the wind blow towards that direction. And one week, I learned that very lesson!

It began with a stand and a gentle wind. I didn’t think that a 3-5 mph wind would matter that much. Especially if I was just trying to fill a doe tag. Not too long after being in the stand, I caught the movement of a mature doe coming down a trail that I was set up on. She came to 20 yards, stopped, lifted her nose to the wind, looked up right at me, and bolted.

Fast-forward to three days later. Same stand, with the wind now perfect to hunt it! Once again, trying to fill a doe tag, the same doe stepped from the timber onto the trail. Now, keep in mind, the wind was perfect. Nothing was being blown towards her “danger alarm”. She stopped almost in the same spot and without even bothering to smell the wind, looked right up at my stand once again, made me out, and bolted! I, now, always respect the wind!

Mistake #3 You Stink!
Which leads me to our next topic of talk. You, in all honesty, stink! And there is not anything out there that can guarantee you won’t! Nothing is 100% fool proof especially when you are dealing with the nose of a whitetail.

I know that there are carbon suits, silver suites, scent sprays, nose blockers, ozone machines, and much, much more out there on the market that people will swear by. And yes, I’m sure they do help. However, if you are alive and breathing, then I’m sorry to say it, you are “stinking” up the air!

Soon into my archery career I was sure that if I just bought a Scent Blocker suite, it would assure my success no matter what the wind was doing while I was out in the timber. And in the same manner of confidence, I would march right out the timber knowing that with my carbon suite on I was assured success! Boy was I wrong about that! (Remember mistake #1?)
Many times I watched deer come out or on their way towards me, change direction with caution evident in their behavior. They didn’t always know what was going on, but they would always err on the side of caution. Bottom line, my breath was just enough to warn them that I was here.

I believe that God gave us all bodies that, however perfect they are, still need to breath, sweat, and let loose the occasional silent (or not) fart. (Pardon my rudeness) And if you are in the stand partaking actively or passively in any of these actions, you will be busted. My advice, use what you can and understand that you still need to play the wind even with all the “cover up” you can do!

Mistake #4 Practice make Perfect!
Any wise and seasoned bowhunter can tell you of the shots that he or she wished that they had a second chance at. Shots that went horribly wrong and could have been better had there been a little more practice “at that distance” or “at that angle”. We can all say, “Hindsight is 20/20” but that doesn’t fix the frustration at a trophy missed!

So, what do you do? This one is simple. PRACTICE! My brother-in-law, when he first started shooting archery, took a few tips from his family members that were already involved in the sport. But, he seemed to learn the most when he would spend afternoon after afternoon shooting hundreds of arrows at the target down range. And the practice paid off his very first year of bowhunting!

He happened to be sitting in a stand that had always had a lot of activity over the years. And on this night, the story was the same. Deer were everywhere and it just so happened that nice 3 ½ year-old came out of the CRP right in front of him at about 45-50 yards and stood broadside. Now, not all bowhunters are well practiced at this distance. Even I, for a long time, was self-restricting to shots of 30 yards or less. But because of his practice and confidence, this was a chip-shot for him!

Later that evening, he and I were hauling that trophy back to the house with him wearing as satisfied grin from ear to ear! Practice makes perfect and the proof is on his wall!

Mistake #5 Get Off Your Rear and Do Something!
Scouting is a major part of the recipe if you want to have success during bow season. And in order to do this, you have to put in the time and physical effort of knowing the surrounding land that you will be hunting in. Visit your “regular” spots. Take time to discover some “new” spots. Iowa has thousands of public acres of timber that are free to use to anybody who has an Iowa hunting license. And many of the timber tracks, if you willing to walk back in there, contain some of the biggest bucks a person will ever see.

I have, over the past four years, taken advantage of using motion cameras within my regular spots. Through those, I have learned the deer in my herd (named by my daughters and I), their route of travel, how often they are being seen, and much more. And that’s just from the cameras.

I always like to put foot to ground in mid to late August too! I personally want to get into the woods and look for as much deer sign as I possibly can. Topo maps, knowing food sources, water sources, and pressure from other possible hunters will all make a difference in your success. As a young man, I’ve heard the saying “A failure to plan is a plan to fail” and when it comes to scouting your resources, I believe that. So if you want success, put your boots on a work for it!

Mistake #6 Set it up and take it down.
Every August, along with my dad, brother-in-law, and cousin, I plan out our stands for the upcoming season. I live on the property that we often hunt and do the majority of the scouting that has led us to our successes over the years. But, I have grown to know that just because we harvested some “nice ones” over the years from “this stand” it doesn’t mean that it will always be like that. So, if my scouting suggests that deer have changed a patterns, sentiment aside, we move it!

Travel patterns are very key to stand placement. Which goes back to topic #5. As a result of your scouting you should know where to place your stands. I key in on two places to place stands depending on the time of days that I hunt. Evening hunting and morning hunting. Personally, I’ve had a lot of success hunting the mornings during the rut. In the last five years I’ve harvested 5 mature bucks from the same stand. I purposefully set this stand to cater to hunting the morning activity of a rutting buck.

The stand hangs half way down a timber ravine along a pretty heavily used deer trail. The wind, in this area, 75% of the time, blows from the top of the ridge down towards the bottom. I’ve made sure that my stand is set “below” that trail so the wind is perfect.

A rutting buck, in this area, will travel the edges of the ravines looking for the scent of a bedded doe in estrous who is bedded along the top of the flat. Most likely, she has eaten for the day and is now ready to sleep. So, for me, to have a stand on the edge of a food plot is not as effective in the morning.

Evening is a different story. The “ravine” stand is most of the time, useless. However, my stands on the edge of food plots are now in a high traffic area. Does coming out to feed, bucks cruising the edge using the wind to their advantage to check on these does! Think about where you put your stands! Include time of day, feeding patterns, trails, etc. You see how this is all adding up? Strategize!

Mistake #7 Patience My Good Fellow!
I know that Buck Fever is pretty contagious when you are in a stand in the fall! Seeing a trophy buck affects us all! But along with your practice, you need to add patience for a good shot! You owe it to the animal and you owe it to yourself.

Be patient enough to let that whitetail come in as close as they might want to. Be patient for them to take the right angle. Be patient in your draw. Be patient in your aim. Be patient in your release and follow-through! Patience is a big part of a successful shot and it’s easier said than done.

But be cautious to not assume you have all the time in the world! You never know when your prefect situation will bust! This is where working through mistake #4 will become an advantage. Practice will allow you the swiftness of a good and well-placed shot.

Mistake #8 Make Time – The 25th Hour
We all have busy schedules and, depending on the person, time might be limited in the timber. I’m sure we all take what we can get. But you need to realize, greater success comes to those who create more time to spend in the timber during bow season.

In and out activity, short sits, “hurrying”, are all detriments to a good hunt. Frankly, if you can’t sit till past sundown, or for a good hour or two after sunup, don’t waste your time. You’ll cause too much commotion during prime activity times and that could affect the area that you hunt in a HUGE way!

I’ve become pretty serious about taking mature deer on the property we hunt. We look for 3 ½ year olds or better and mature does. To get those I know that I have to commit my time to it too! So, thankfully, I’ve been in my job long enough to accrue a good amount of PTO every year. So, I always take a week off during November to hunt. I usually sit from 1 hour before sunup to lunch. Get down for a bite to eat. And then get back in the stand. What do I have to show for it? A five-year spread of mature European Skulls on my wall.

I know that this won’t be possible for everybody and that’s okay. But, as with anything, the more time you spend at something, the better your chances are of success!

Mistake #9 Expand your horizons.
I grew up hunting private property lands and because of that, I got pretty spoiled with success. But it also programmed me to believe that the best hunting out there was private lands that weren’t “overrun” by the “other guys” out there. Now, it might be somewhat true, but I have begun to see the folly in my thinking.

While learning from mistake #5, I’ve taken the time to scout some of the acres of public property in my area. Boy was I surprised at the sign that I saw and, on a couple of occasions, the sheds that I found! I took the time to hike “way back in there”. Sometimes going to the back edge of the public property to figure out how it lay and look for signs of deer. Since then, these have become some honey holes for seeing deer and even turkey hunting!

Don’t be so narrow minded. Expand your space and use what Iowa can give you! There are giants in the land!

Mistake #10 Stupid Is as Stupid Does
When something doesn’t go right, why do it again? That makes just as much sense as using a fork to eat soup! As a hunter you have to learn from your mistakes. And trust me, sometimes it takes us too many of the same mistakes to finally get us to change our minds!

Sadly, I am not the perfect bow hunter and every year I am reminded of that. But as I look back over the years that I have spent bowhunting, I can see the progress that I have made in learning from my mistakes. It’d be crazy not to!

So, it’s not rocket science. If you want success, learn from yourself and those around you! And keep at it. Nothing comes easy. Days upon days and mistake upon mistake in the woods will prove that to be true!

But underneath all of this, I think that’s what makes this sport so great. There is always something to learn and a “curveball” that will make it interesting. If it wasn’t like this, who would continue to do this? Hang in there and take your mistakes as they come. Make the best of it and never give up. Good luck!