Missed buck

[SeaScene]

Samic Sage 45lb, stalker extreme carbon 400, 55/70 8.4 gpi.... a year target shooting ...good grouping. Yesterday missed a nice black tail buck, 20 yards shot on the money but about a foot high. It was raining and fletchings were wet and a bit flattened and I shoot from the bow arrow rest not a peel off rest (less arrow interference option). So.... for hunting purposes what is the general advice to cover all the bases. For example, should my fletchings be plastic... should I use the less friction arrow rest option with the stick on rests?

.... thanks

[tinhorse]

Keep practicing! shoot you arrows wet, shoot in the wind and see how these conditions affect your groupings and arrow flight. your fletching being wet shouldn't cause a rise in your POI at 20 yards. Too excited and pulled up at the last second....? Lots of things to consider. 1 missed shot doesn't mean you need new equipment components.

[Blockcaver]

Get some feather dressing to keep the feathers dry in the rain, and even then, augment with a sandwich baggie over each fletch in hard rains. The easiest to find is likely a dry fly dressing although there are feather specific dressings out there...or used to be. Years ago I used a powder that kept feathers dry, but forget the name of it....worked so well it was hard to read the blood sign on a pass through arrow as it didn't stick. Good luck...you are doing it the hard way for sure!

[quadrakid]

At twenty yards i doubt very much if the fletchings had anything to do with being a foot high. I have taken over twenty blacktails with the bow, i have also put a few arrows over their backs at twenty and less.Thats bowhunting.

[okas]

most likely the deer dropped for a escape as went down to spring away . As not a lot of speed there

[Wild one]

Odds are it was not your set up and you just missed it happens

[E.B.]

Samic Sage 45lb, stalker extreme carbon 400, 55/70 8.4 gpi.... a year target shooting ...good grouping. Yesterday missed a nice black tail buck, 20 yards shot on the money but about a foot high. It was raining and fletchings were wet and a bit flattened and I shoot from the bow arrow rest not a peel off rest (less arrow interference option). So.... for hunting purposes what is the general advice to cover all the bases. For example, should my fletchings be plastic... should I use the less friction arrow rest option with the stick on rests?

.... thanks

Try bare shaft with a 500 spine. Those 400's probably seem fine with good fletching but unless you have a very heavy tip they should be a bit too stiff and dont recover the paradox properly. 500 and 125 tips should work better imo

[greybark]

SeaScene , your search for a reason for your 20 yard miss may not be equipment failure but as I experienced the "good enough " syndrome ". In spite of progressing to the top ranks of archery including 3-D , I as you missed several of my first deer arrow launches . Accessing what happened I realized that instinctively hurried up the shot sequence to such an extent that the "Good Enough" facture hurried up the shot , well it was not good enough . You have to take your time to get Clinical in focusing on that spot .
One of the Canada`s top Traditional archers recently experienced what you and I had . Confidence is the key . Just remembered a top Compound archer doing same .
Cheers and get back at it !

[Spy]

At twenty yards i doubt very much if the fletchings had anything to do with being a foot high. I have taken over twenty blacktails with the bow, i have also put a few arrows over their backs at twenty and less.Thats bowhunting.

X2 I would guess he lifted his head or forgot to use the peep sight, like you say thats hunting...

[SeaScene]

Practicing again 3 hrs yesterday... very thoughtful, encouraging posts guys... thanks