FormerlyHemlock
Hero
The DM had a golden opportunity to allow something awesome to happen in the game you know one of those moments players talk about later. And a chance to reward a player for being patient and not complaining about the bow.
As a DM I think that allowing what is cinematic moment to stand in spite of what you have written is more important than being a slave to the rules or you written encounter.
To me that looks more like an opportunity to cheapen every other awesome moment ever by inflating them with near-misses. It's not awesome unless it genuinely works.