Out of range

I had two good sized does come in just before dark last night but wouldn't quite break the 50 yard mark for me. I do everything I can to anticipate deer movement and set up in range, but it didn't pan out for me this time. My goal this year is to shoot a buck with my bow, and I intend to keep the bow in hand all year. However, I'll be damned if it isn't frustrating having deer just out of range!

Get used to it. Ive found it helps with frustration if you bow hunt in places that you can only see a deer if it's in bow range

Where I hunt sections are cut into firebreaks all through out property. I actually post up on intersections where I can see in all sorts of directions. Most time I can’t shoot but see plenty of deer. After a few deer cross certain trails I move in on em. I really just like seeing deer. Killing is just the topping on the cake.

Good point, I was happy to see some thats for sure. A nanny doe still gets me shook up.

Oh. Me too. Especially if I am looking to shoot a doe.

Watching a buck chasing a doe around out of bow range kinda of sucks too. Lol. Late season makes it harder to hide, as well.

Good luck with your quest.

set up on a trail being used to reach the greenfield, maybe 25-40 yards off the field. You want ONE deer to walk by in range, not ten deer 60 yards away IN the field.

^^^The master has spoken. Unless you've got a some sort of bottleneck in the field that will force them by you, you're better off hunting them on the trail or trails coming into the field. Generally, you'll also have better cover options in the woods just off the field.

What Bham Fred said. When bow hunting you gotta set up where deer move to and fro. And typically when I'm out for meat I shoot the very first one by. If you wait to clean up the back of the pack somebody out front is eventually going to see or smell you. Having several sets of eyes on a good plot or single acorn bearing tree is a bow hunters night mare when it comes to pulling off a shot undetected. Get where they travel and hang in there.

Good advice here, thanks.

My only issue is that this is timber company land and has 4-6 year old pine thickets that are impossible to hunt. There are some hardwoods, but a good majority is without climbable trees. Regardless, I could move the blind off the field and try and find some open areas to cut them off.

I've had most shots set up on fence crossing and creek crossing.

Had a pair of does feed up hill to me on 11/11. Lead doe finally stepped to 30 yds, turned the opposite direction from what I needed, took two steps and plopped down on the ground to watch the world go by for about 30 minutes. Other doe never quite made it into range, got twitchy after awhile and they both eased back down the hill the way they came.

Saturday afternoon, on the gun opener, I got caught by two does walking down a clearcut hill as I was standing in the wide open on top of the end of a dam. By the time I saw them it was too late to scramble for cover so all I could do was stand very still. They kept coming and the lead doe got close enough for me to spit on before she finally looked up and saw me standing there. She nearly broke herself in half trying to get out of there. It would have been funny except I was carrying my rifle and it was bucks only on the wma. My freezer is still empty.

I've had over a dozen deer in bow range this season and the only one I've had a shot on was a spike. I feel your pain.

Listen to Fred ,,I imagine he has busted many that way!

Like fred said, hunt inside the timber. Most animals mill around before entering. The advantage is if they're waiting on darkness, you're in the zone. As far as thick, short pines, find the crossings on roads and hunt them. Had a place in MS we hunted like that and saw lots of deer that way.

Oh, if your goal is to kill a buck, let the girls pass.

Thanks for the advice. I have found an area that is beat down from them crossing across a main road, just got to find a spot on either side to set up.

Bow hunting is sort of like turkey hunting, to me, in that the frustration is what makes it so alluring. That deer that hangs up just out of range, or stops in just the wrong spot....if it wasn't for that, it wouldn't be nearly as fun.