Paul L Mohr

Depends on how well you get instructed from the get go, if your equipment fits you and how much you actually shoot in that year. If you have no direction, ill fitting equipment and you only shoot 4 or 5 times in a year, then no it's no where near enough time. However if someone helps you that knows what they are doing, you get your equipment from a good shop and you shoot every week or so a year should be plenty of time to get good enough to hunt with a bow.

My advise though is to hunt with whatever you want to hunt with. If you don't want to hunt with a bow, or can't afford to get one then don't do it. Take your gun and have a good hunt. Don't hunt for your buddies, hunt for you.

What if you decide to take the bow just to appease your buddies and you miss out on a nice bear because it is was just out of range, or worse yet you wound one because your confidence was shaken at the last minute or something? You are going to regret that for the rest of your life. Now if you want to hunt with a bow, then by all means do it. If you don't though don't invest that much time and money into something you really are not passionate about. Especially just to keep from getting ribbed by your "buddies". Might be easier to get new buddies in my opinion.

Paul

GMMAT

03:

Best advice I could give you (other than what you've already received.....which is great).....is put yourself in position to take animals with your bow.....if you can. I sat for 1/2my first season thinking I was ready and simply waiting for the right animal.

What I found out was.....I wasn't.

Shooting at targets and becoming a proficient "archer" can be done in relatively short order. You have plenty of time. "I" think .....if I could give you any advice.....I'd say to put yourself in position to take a game animal with your bow (even take a deer or two) before you go on your bear hunt. When I finally decided to take a deer with my bow.....I was ill-prepared for the psychological effect the shot had on me.....and I blew it.

Good luck to you.

racewayking

I would make sure that he shoots at targets from a stand if he will be hunting off the ground and make sure his shooting form is good. I do not see why he can't go out and be successful as long as he has practiced.
I shot my first deer with a bow less than a month after getting my first bow and it was my second day on stand. I knew the deer was 15 yards so I set the pin on it right behind the shoulder where I had practiced and double lunged it, only had to walk 50 yards to get it. I have also seen people that have hunted for years get psyched out and miss deer even though they are good shots, so it all comes down to mental preperation in my eyes.

MeanV2

Bears are made to Bowhunt!!

Good Luck with whatever you choose.

Dan

AR Bowhunter

The accuracy comes with practice. You just have to commit yourself until you are good with the bow. Experience will come with time in the tree or inhunting, that is the part that you need most anyou will have to wait for the oppurtunity to come along.