How long???
09-04-2008, 06:32 PM
#11
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: charlottesville, virginia
Posts: 1,732
RE: How long???
I agree with those of you who have said there is much more to it than just being able to hit the target. There's so much that needs to be learned other than just drawing back your bow and hitting the target. Do all the arrows fly the same? Do my broadheads and fieldtips fly exactly the same? etc. etc. Like has been said already, more than anything we owe to the deer to make sure we are as informed as possible about our weapon of choice.
p.s. being able to shoot 2 inch groups over and over and over and over again helps
p.s. being able to shoot 2 inch groups over and over and over and over again helps
09-05-2008, 06:03 AM
#13
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location:
Posts: 21,043
RE: How long???
I consider myself a quick study......and I still don't know how to answer your question, intelligently. "Ready to hunt" is very subjective. I started in October of 2005......and I KNOW I wasn't "ready to hunt" whenI hit the woods.
I think about whitetail hunting every day......shoot a lot.....read a lot....etc... . I STILL make mistakes I wish I knew better than to do. Learning from those will make you MORE ready to hunt.....and I don't know a way around living some of those (mistakes).
I think one could be proficient enough with his equipment in a month or so.....and proficient enough to go into the woods with confidence. From there.....discipline and woods savvy would just have to be learned (although I feel like a LARGE degree of woods savvy ......"killer instinct" is natural to some people). I try to make fewer mistakes each year.....and that's my goal again this year.
Know your limits. Know your level of competency (both in shooting and whitetail knowledge). Be honest with yourself. Make mistakes and learn from them.
I think about whitetail hunting every day......shoot a lot.....read a lot....etc... . I STILL make mistakes I wish I knew better than to do. Learning from those will make you MORE ready to hunt.....and I don't know a way around living some of those (mistakes).
I think one could be proficient enough with his equipment in a month or so.....and proficient enough to go into the woods with confidence. From there.....discipline and woods savvy would just have to be learned (although I feel like a LARGE degree of woods savvy ......"killer instinct" is natural to some people). I try to make fewer mistakes each year.....and that's my goal again this year.
Know your limits. Know your level of competency (both in shooting and whitetail knowledge). Be honest with yourself. Make mistakes and learn from them.
09-05-2008, 06:10 AM
#14
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Heaven is my home, temporarily residing in WNY :)
Posts: 6,679
RE: How long???
2-3 months is overkill if you ask me ... for MOST cases ...... It doesn't take long to get someone ready with a bow if they are willing to keep their shots close .... help them mark their distances, and if they are hitting consistantly, turn 'em loose.....it's not that difficult to hit the kill zone ...they WILL make mistakes .... that's how you learn ...
09-05-2008, 07:18 AM
#15
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Southeast, Va
Posts: 3,965
RE: How long???
GMATT is correct. And I will add that it is more than just shooting well, you have to be ready to "keep it together" so to speak when that moment comes. You can hit a nickle at 40 yds at home, but a deer any deer at 8 yds can make youturn into a pile of chewed bubble gum in a split second. Mentally, and emotionally, it is way harder to do than shooting well at home.
09-05-2008, 07:29 AM
#16
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Heaven is my home, temporarily residing in WNY :)
Posts: 6,679
RE: How long???
ORIGINAL: Vabowman
you have to be ready to "keep it together" so to speak when that moment comes. You can hit a nickle at 40 yds at home, but a deer any deer at 8 yds can make youturn into a pile of chewed bubble gum in a split second. Mentally, and emotionally, it is way harder to do than shooting well at home.
you have to be ready to "keep it together" so to speak when that moment comes. You can hit a nickle at 40 yds at home, but a deer any deer at 8 yds can make youturn into a pile of chewed bubble gum in a split second. Mentally, and emotionally, it is way harder to do than shooting well at home.
09-05-2008, 07:34 AM
#17
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location:
Posts: 21,043
RE: How long???
you have to get your bruises
What this site does for me, hopefully, is limit the mental mistakes made PRIOR to making the physical ones. We're all going to make those. Just like in baseball.....the mental mistakes hurt me a LOT more than the physical ones did.
09-05-2008, 07:35 AM
#18
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Heaven is my home, temporarily residing in WNY :)
Posts: 6,679
RE: How long???
ORIGINAL: GMMAT
This place has aved me a LOT of potential bruises, PT.....but your words are "gospel". We learn more from our mistakes than we do from doing things "right".
What this site does for me, hopefully, is limit the mental mistakes made PRIOR to making the physical ones. We're all going to make those. Just like in baseball.....the mental mistakes hurt me a LOT more than the physical ones did.
you have to get your bruises
What this site does for me, hopefully, is limit the mental mistakes made PRIOR to making the physical ones. We're all going to make those. Just like in baseball.....the mental mistakes hurt me a LOT more than the physical ones did.
