Why Bowhunters Miss: 5 Common Causes and How to Avoid Them

Visions of a particular big Pennsylvania 10-pointer continue to haunt me six years after the encounter.

It was an otherwise uneventful early November morning in the tree. Not a single tail appeared in the woods around me from first light until 10 a.m.

I had to get to work soon, so I was debating whether to call it a day when movement to the left caught my attention. I turned and saw a large deer with a wide rack plodding at a steady pace directly toward my tree.

By the time I stood and got my bow off its hook, the buck was within 30 yards and closing. I knew instantly it was the biggest Pennsylvania buck I’d ever had in bow range.

I drew and peered through the peep.

The buck reached a small opening I’d already ranged at 25 yards. I grunted with my mouth. The animal stopped on a dime, and I settled my pin behind his leg.

Dead deer, I thought to myself.

I squeezed the trigger on my release, and the bowstring snapped forward effortlessly. Still locked into shooting position, I watched the arrow sail straight toward the buck’s vitals and hit the ground directly between his front and rear legs.

a bowhunter wearing camouflage at full draw in preparation to taking a shot — The list of things that can go wrong while bowhunting is nearly endless, but recognizing the most common causes of misses can help you avoid many of them.

The buck bounded out of sight and out of my life, leaving me dumbfounded. I stood there in disbelief for several minutes, replaying the shot in my head.

What could have possibly gone wrong?

Only when I nocked another arrow did I spot the problem. My arrow rest was shoved down far lower than its normal, level position.

I had returned by plane from a hunting trip the day before, and I hadn’t looked over my bow before the morning hunt. When I climbed into the tree and nocked an arrow, it was still dark, so I didn’t see the misaligned rest.

Unfortunately, missing is part of bowhunting. If you haven’t missed, it’s because you haven’t hunted long enough. Rest assured, you will miss eventually.

That doesn’t mean missing has to be a regular occurrence, though.

Understanding why bowhunters miss deer means looking at the things most likely to go wrong: equipment, shot execution, range, adrenaline and obstacles in the arrow’s path. Recognize those problems before they cost you, and you can keep misses as the rare exception.

5 Reasons Bowhunters Miss Deer

Equipment has shifted, broken or gone unchecked
Poor follow-through moves the bow before the shot is complete
The distance is wrong or was never ranged
Adrenaline causes the hunter to rush the shot
A branch, twig or other obstacle crosses the arrow’s path

a whitetail buck in a food plot with leaves and branches in the foreground — Even when a buck’s vitals appear unobstructed, a branch elsewhere along the arrow’s arcing flight path can still cause a deflection. Photo courtesy Realtree.

The Gear: Check It Before the Hunt

I lost that Pennsylvania 10-pointer to an equipment problem, even though it wasn’t exactly a malfunction. I later noticed a gouge in the foam inside my bow case right where the rest would have been sitting. Somehow during transportation, enough force was applied to the bow to shove the rest downward. That’s why the arrow hit where it did.

I’d flown enough times with hunting gear to know how badly things can get damaged in the baggage-handling process, but I neglected to inspect my bow before the next hunt, and it cost me big.

Know your gear. Know how it works and what it takes for it to work properly. Then check it regularly during hunting season to make sure everything is still good.

There are lots of things that can throw a compound bow out of whack during hunting season. As I proved, the rest can move, sight pins can bend or break, cams can be bent or timing can be thrown off, strands of the bowstring or cables can break, and the list goes on.

You also could have problems with bent broadheads, cracked arrow nocks or release aids that corrode or break.

You won’t know any of these problems exist if you don’t look for them—or until they pop up at the moment of truth.

a hunter checks the fletching on his arrow as it rests on his bow — K.C. Smith of The Element YouTube channel checks his fletchings and rest alignment before settling in for an afternoon bowhunt. Because he travels frequently, Smith says regular equipment checks have become part of his routine. Photo courtesy The Element.

Before You Hunt, Check These:

Rest position
Sight and pins
Strings and cables
Cam condition and timing
Arrow shafts and nock
Broadheads
Release aid
Perform one or two confirmation shots if the bow has traveled or taken a hard knock

Trust the Shot: Don’t Peek

I’ll never forget the first piece of archery advice I got while shooting with a buddy many years ago. I kept getting left and right fliers, and I couldn’t figure out why. The more I shot in hopes of finding the problem, the more my accuracy dwindled.

My buddy watched me for a bit and then said, “You know, if you want to see a bad archery shot, look for it.”

What he noticed was that as soon as I released an arrow, I immediately popped my head away from the bow to see where it would hit. In addition to the head movement, my bow arm shot to the left or right, and my arrows followed.

The next bit of advice my buddy gave me was to stay in my shooting motion until I heard the arrow hit the target. Only after hearing the arrow hit should I look for it in the target.

I had to learn to trust that my arrow would hit where I wanted, keeping my bow arm directed toward the target and my release arm moving straight back while my head stayed exactly where it was when I was looking through the peep sight.

Looking for the arrow by trying to see around the bow throws perfect shooting alignment out of whack. So don’t look for the shot. Have faith it’s on target.

Quite frankly, even if your arrow isn’t on target, looking for it after it leaves the string only makes it worse.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common causes include equipment problems, inaccurate range estimates, poor follow-through, rushing the shot under pressure and unseen obstacles in the arrow’s path.

Use a rangefinder whenever possible and pre-range trees, rocks and other landmarks around your stand before deer arrive. If you hunt from a treestand, practicing from an elevated position can also help because the view and shooting angles differ from ground-level practice.

Moving your head or bow arm immediately after release can disturb consistent shot execution. Good follow-through keeps the bow arm up and the shooting motion intact through the release.

At minimum, equipment should be checked regularly and anytime it has been transported, dropped or subjected to an impact. Arrows and nocks deserve especially close inspection because cracks or other damage can affect accuracy and safety.

Distance: Know the Yardage

Improper range estimation is one of the most common reasons bowhunters miss deer. You might not think that’s possible since nearly every bowhunter carries a rangefinder. If you don’t, you should.

I’ll wager your distance-related misses decline dramatically when you have a rangefinder and use it properly.

A rangefinder is not foolproof.Bucks sometimes show up out of nowhere, and there’s not always time to use the device. Quite often, a deer is instantly within bow range, and it’s time to shoot.

In such cases, it’s good to have already used your rangefinder on various objects around the stand. I range trees, rocks and/or fallen logs as soon as I’m able to do so. This gives me a frame of reference should a buck show up quickly. If I know the small oak to my left is 26 yards away, then I don’t need my rangefinder if a buck is standing next to that oak.

If you don’t like technology or just don’t want to shell out for a laser rangefinder, then practice judging distance. You’ve got to train your brain to accurately judge distance.

And don’t just practice from the ground. If you hunt from elevated stands, practice from a similar elevation. Distances can look different from a tree than they do from the ground.

a bowhunter attempts to get close to a whitetail buck in a brown field — LaCrosse Footwear pro-staffer and The Element YouTube channel co-host Tyler Jones attempts to stalk closer to a whitetail buck. Misjudging distance is one of the most common causes of bowhunting misses, and Jones says it's moments like this that encourage him to practice judging distance so often. Photo courtesy The Element.

The Rush: Slow Down the Moment

It’s no secret taking a shot at a whitetail with a bow and arrow is a heart-pumping experience. Would we all be addicted to it if it was no different than mowing the lawn?

Your adrenaline will surge, your muscles will quiver, and your mind will race. That’s normal.

Unfortunately, such factors can lead to bad decisions, like taking a shot before you’re truly ready. Things you concentrate on while practicing—like having your aiming pin locked precisely where you want your arrow to hit, having your body in proper anchor position or considering the distance and elevation of the shot—go out the window.

I recall a shot at a stout Illinois 10-pointer a few years ago where I was already thinking about telling my buddies about the buck before I even got to full draw. My mind was not in the moment, and I was not focused when I sloppily put my sight pin somewhere near the vitals and quickly squeezed the release trigger. The negative result was inevitable given my lack of attention to detail in the moment.

Take your time. Have a mental checklist that you consciously run through before you release an arrow, just like you do on the practice range. Make sure your form is correct and that you’ve got the right pin locked on the buck’s vitals.

Only when you’re certain everything is ready should you release that arrow.

There are many aspects of a hunting situation you can’t control, not the least of which is what the deer is going to do next. That’s why it’s imperative to be under complete control of yourself.

a whitetail buck stands in the woods with several branches covering its shoulder and chest — Trying to squeeze an arrow through a tight opening is another common cause of bowhunting misses. Be patient and wait until the deer steps into a position that gives your arrow a clear path. Photo courtesy Realtree.

The Branch: Check the Whole Arrow Path

If I close my eyes, I can still see the nock glowing in the sunlight as my arrow flew toward the chest of a beefy Pennsylvania 8-pointer. The flight was spot-on until the arrow took a quick, violent turn straight down, hitting the dirt in front of the buck.

The arrow had hit a branch that escaped my attention.

As bowhunters, we operate in the deer’s environment, which is full of things that can affect an arrow’s flight. The problem is, as much as limbs, twigs and bushes can work against us, they also provide the cover we need to avoid the wary eyes of a whitetail. Cutting down every piece of vegetation around your treestand or ground blind is not a good idea.

So what can you do? You’ve got to pay attention. You have to know every potential pitfall around your hunting position and then avoid them.

I like lots of cover around my stands. It helps me feel concealed—a key factor since I’m more concerned with avoiding the eyes of doe sentries than I am about spooking a buck.

I want cover, so I trim shooting holes in that cover. This gives me open areas to shoot through while leaving cover in places I know I can’t shoot. When a deer is not in one of my shooting lanes, I don’t even think about taking a shot.

I’d rather not get a shot than have that deer spot me in the open and spook. I’m patient. I can wait for that buck to step into one of my shooting lanes.

When checking a shooting lane for potential hazards, remember that arrows fly in an arc.

Let’s say you’re shooting at a deer that’s 30 yards away. His vitals could be in the clear at that distance, but you have to make sure there’s nothing in the way at 10, 15 or 20 yards, where your arrow will be at those various distances. You have to check the entire path from the bow to the deer, not just the opening around the target.

If you see a branch that looks like it’s going to be a problem, don’t shoot. You might be able to slip an arrow just over or under that limb, but you might not. If there’s a gamble involved, why risk failure?

a bowhunter poses with a large whitetail buck — With both his successes and misses documented on film, The Element’s K.C. Smith goes to great lengths to eliminate as many preventable mistakes as possible. Photo courtesy The Element.

Make Misses the Exception

One of the main reasons deer hunters take up bowhunting is because of the greater challenge it offers. You have to get close to the deer, and your margin for error is smaller than it is with a firearm.

There are plenty of opportunities for something to go wrong. Sometimes the hunter makes a mistake. Other times, a deer moves, a branch interferes or something else happens that you simply can’t control.

But if you understand the main reasons bowhunters miss—and eliminate as many of the controllable ones as possible—you can minimize those heartbreaking moments and enjoy many more successful ones.