most common mistake made by archery hunters

[Gazelle]

Had my rangefinder around my neck. Called a bull in to 20 yds. Drew my bow and shot. The string caught my RF and POW. My cable snaped and the bull just stood there trying to figure it all out. I no longer have the RF around my neck!

 

[rhendrix]

Had my rangefinder around my neck. Called a bull in to 20 yds. Drew my bow and shot. The string caught my RF and POW. My cable snaped and the bull just stood there trying to figure it all out. I no longer have the RF around my neck!

What do you do with it now?

 

[ak68]

I have one of the snap fasteners high on my shoulder strap for my rangefinder. It has a stretchy velcro strap to hold it close and out of the way.

 

[cnelk]

Only have/use 1 or 2 calls [cow calls or diaphrams]

You gotta have an arsenal to find out what call on what day works the best.
And then of course, know how to use them...

 

[bobhunts]

I would not disagree with what has been written above but when the Elk make themselves known.. I and the guy I hunt with do a stupid thing by calling when we should be quiet and just jump in as the unknown factor. Who knows? I'm working on that!

 

[Robert Hanneman]

For me the most common mistake that I make is being the caller and not the shooter.

 

[cowboyarcher]

I have to agree with much of what is said above. The two bulls I've had opportunity on and did not fill the tag were do to not anticipating the wind and not picking a spot on the elk to shoot at.

Being more aggressive intrigues me - one of the aforementioned bulls charged in on my from a half mile out, and I think responding in the same way to him may have landed me a better shot (he hung up around 35 yards in the trees, presumably because he couldn't see or hear any elk).

Good tips!

 

[slvrslngr]

Not buying Elknuts videos! I've made every mistake a guy can make, therefore I've eaten mucho elk tag soup. My biggest offenses have likely been moving too fast, not working the wind and being too passive.

 

[Above Timber]

Something I know something about if this would qualify you for a prostaff position I would be on every prostaff out there. Some of the things that I feel have left me in the tag soup line:
Not making enough time to hunt
Not putting on enough miles
Lack of preseason scouting
Not understanding when and how to call
And not being physically able (in good enough shape) to go where you want to go.

One week to go here in Colordo, good luck to everyone and I hope we can all punch a tag.

 

[Coloradoboy]

I made a big mistake last year on a good bull in CO.... Kind of a sh$t luck thing too.
It was the first week of archery season, third day of season to be exact and I had just put a group of bulls to bed and had got back to my horse. Riding with my range finder around my neck was annoying so I put it into my pack figuring I was just heading back to camp. As I stopped to open a gate on a Forest Service fence I looked down below me and there was a nice bull down drinking from a stock pond. Ended up tying the horse up and putting a sneak on him. Got to within comfortable bow range, but was not able to access my range finder without making a bunch of noise. In the moment I figured the bull to be 50 yards (what I didn't take account of was the downhill angle) Drew back settled the 50 pin in the hole and let it fly... arrow went over his back and the bull took off. Disgusted I dug my range finder out to find the range to be 47 yards, so my initial guess wasn't off by much but due to the angle I should of held for 40 or settled the 50 pin on his heart. Lesson learned; Always have your range finder at your finger tips and take the time to account for the angle of the shot. Rather simple stuff, but something the best of us forget to do in the heat of the moment.
Another mistake I think alot of guys make is when to be aggressive and when to back off and play it slow. I've personally had many situations on the woods to where If I would of been more aggressive and pushed the issue on a bull I most likely would of got an opportunity and vise versa... Getting aggressive on a bull and pushing him when I should of laid back and slow played him.

Coloradoboy
Tenderfoot Outfitters

 

[bearguide]

not taking the shot / i am always thinking i can cet closer or a better shot

 

[MTbowhunter36]

After riding my mountain bike in a few miles, I got off and walked a ways to start an afternoon hunt. Frustrated due to the swirling and strong blowing wind, I threw out a bugle to see if anything would answer (was preparing to ride back out, but thought what the heck?). Thinking my scent would be everywhere, I didn't prepare for the unexpected! Within 20 seconds of my bugle, a bull charged in front of me within 4 yards. Since I thought the hunting conditions were worthless I didn't have an arrow knocked or even out of the quiver. Now, before I call, I always knock an arrow.

 

[actionshooter]

Yes, we all have our weaknesses to work on!! But, with that said, I believe the biggest issue is not being aggressive enough with the elk!! Most hunters are too passive worrying about blowing elk out of the country so resort to no calling or cow calling! Yep, not aggressive enough!

ElkNut1

I agree 100%
You just descibed me to a T. I've been working on it though.