Archery kill to stalk ratio

[Mule34]

I will add another question to this thread to anyone else responding - what is the biggest reason for your stalks being unsuccessful? Getting winded? Getting picked off or seen? Moving too fast?

My biggest issues were making too much noise, crunching or stepping too fast. you always have to play the wind if there is any, wind makes the best cover noise too...lol

 

[huntngolf]

I will add another question to this thread to anyone else responding - what is the biggest reason for your stalks being unsuccessful? Getting winded? Getting picked off or seen? Moving too fast?

I think the biggest reason for failure on stalks is attempting to stalk a deer that isn't in a stalkable spot. It doesn't matter how good at stalking you are if the deer is just bedded in an area that is impossible to get within bow range. If you find a deer in a stalkable spot, it can be quite easy to get within range. I know a lot of hunters only have a few days at a time to hunt, so they go after any deer hey find bedded. I think being patient and waiting for the deer to bed in the correct spot is much more important than the stalking technique itself

 

[elkhunter505]

I spent 5 straight years with no bucks taken including 2 rifle hunts. In the archery hunts, I’d say I put on 10 stalks. These were desert hunts mostly. Now the last three mule deer tags I have had I have killed bucks. I’d say those ratios were around 3:10. Lots and lots of stalks with bucks rutting but they don’t stay put. I would feel more confident at this moment hunting an early archery season where they stay put but I can’t get over hunting the rut.

 

[elkhunter505]

However, if we are talking kills to stalks on those three years I’m guessing 3 to 35. Shots on those hunts I would say 7-8 to 35. With each hunt having at least 1 miss. But in my experience, once I got my first one, my confidence increased dramatically and that became the reason why I killed the next two bucks. These are stalking basically any buck in the area though, if I was being choosy based on size or age, I’m sure the ratio would be much much lower.

 

[Bdjones]

I will add another question to this thread to anyone else responding - what is the biggest reason for your stalks being unsuccessful? Getting winded? Getting picked off or seen? Moving too fast?

I was hunting some big boys and would pull out of my stalk if I knew it felt like it was not a high success rate, I only did this because I knew I could only bump this bucks or twice before they relocated. They never seen it smelled me but unfortunately another hunter out pressure on them and blew them out of the area or into some deep dark hole lol

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[Sammckeeth]

I don’t archery hunt mule deer every year, but in the last six years I’ve killed 4 bucks on 6 stalks. I try to wait until everything is perfect before going in. It may take a couple days before everything is right, wind, terrain, and what I usually get busted by other deer.


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[rclouse79]

Don’t need a calculator for that. 0. My why the hell did I do that per stalk ratio is quite high.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

One season of chasing mule deer with a recurve, so take this with a grain of salt. I'm 0-6 I think, with two blown shot opportunities. One shot was longer than it looked, and the buck jumped the string. That should have been a dead deer, and I do own a rangefinder now, so I won't call that a failure per say.

Failures: one rock kicked loose, a thunderstorm switched thermals at 40 yards, swirling winds on a hot day, bino harness caught a twig at 35 yards, wind switched at 45 yards, and the worst of them all, I picked the wrong high point to get to in a willow patch on a 180"+ buck. It's an awful thing to see nothing but antler tips at 20 yards, and then have said buck decide to run right as his chest clears the brush. The arrow went where I wanted it, but he was already gone. The other spot, 15 yards to my right had a clear view to where that buck originally stood up (and he even looked away from me initially).

 

[JV3220]

I have only hunted mule deer in prarrie/bad land areas. My ratio has been pretty good but once I’m with in 100 to 200 yards I just wait until things are right than go kill them.


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