Killing Deer with a Bow

[Vince 49]

 Since I started playing Stalker+ (see below) games, I found that killing deer with a bow was more challenging because I can't shoot the bow from the crouched position.  I took some time examining exactly what happens when you stand up near a deer.  The deer runs away, but not instantly.  There is a slight pause, on the order of a second, between the time you stand and when the deer becomes aware of your presence and physically begins to move.  So I practiced standing from the crouched position and instantly firing the bow.  After about a half hour of practice, my speed and accuracy improved substantially.  After that, I could reliably kill deer with a bow, even on beginner level.  This is one case where the skill of the player is more important than the in-game skill.

* Stalker+ is identical to Stalker, except no rifle.  It substantially increases the difficulty and changes the way you play the game.  If you feel you've pretty much mastered Stalker, but are not ready for the rather big jump to Interloper, I highly recommend Stalker+. Go to Custom Mode and step forward to Stalker, then scroll down and change Rifle Availability from "Yes" to "No"--that's it.

[Spakerman]

Deer detection drastically dips if you are directly behind the deer.  You can sneak around behind the deer and get quite close and not have it detect you when you stand up... but it takes longer.  

[Sito]

The aiming dot helps. Aim it just above the hoof as you sneak up from behind, then stand and shoot in one motion. The aim when standing will be right on its butt. Usually I get an instakill from this method.

[Vince 49]

@Spakerman and @Sito,  I noticed that.  However, as Spakerman pointed out, it takes a good bit longer.  It takes time to get behind the deer, also the crouched player can only move very slowly and the deer is moving away.  That's why I looked for an alternate approach.  The most recent deer I shot was walking directly toward me.  Just the same, the popup and shoot does take a good bit of practice.  I'm still working on that.  See the attached video for an example.

QuickFire_Bow_Shot1.mp4

[MrWolf]

I approach the deer from the front, at a bit of an angle.  The deer tends to stop and graze, then the next stop just stands there, then those are repeated.  I wait for the cycle when the deer grazes, then stand up and shoot the arrow toward the base of the neck/shoulder area (larger target than the head) while the deer's head is still down.  I'll get an instant kill more often than not that way.

[JAFO]

On 9/4/2018 at 10:10 PM, MrWolf said:

I'll get an instant kill more often than not that way.

When behind a deer, hitting him right in the pooper will insta-kill as well..

(Which is probably just as well, because I imagine it would hurt like hell...)

[Naia]

You can use a stone.

Place yourself in front of the deer. Throw a stone in a high arc so it lands behind the deer. It will get startled and run forward. Switch to your bow and stand up.

If done correctly, the deer will pass you at 5 - 10 m distance and you get a clean side shoot. Usually it drops right on the spot.

[JAFO]

21 minutes ago, Naia said:

You can use a stone.

Place yourself in front of the deer. Throw a stone in a high arc so it lands behind the deer. It will get startled and run forward. Switch to your bow and stand up.

If done correctly, the deer will pass you at 5 - 10 m distance and you get a clean side shoot. Usually it drops right on the spot.

Damn.. nice idea!  Don't think I've ever seen that particular tactic suggested before.

[Spakerman]

4 hours ago, Naia said:

You can use a stone.

Place yourself in front of the deer. Throw a stone in a high arc so it lands behind the deer. It will get startled and run forward. Switch to your bow and stand up.

If done correctly, the deer will pass you at 5 - 10 m distance and you get a clean side shoot. Usually it drops right on the spot.

That is something I will need to test out.  Love the concept.