How important is it to pratice shooting your bow, before you hunt?
#21
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 2,568
RE: How important is it to pratice shooting your bow, before you hunt?
I shoot once or twice a month, January till July. August and September, I shoot 3 or 4 days a week. During the bow season, I turn the outside light on and shoot one arrow off my back deck at a 3d before I go hunting. If that one shot feels good and hits on, I take off for the woods. If it doesn' t feel good, I shoot some more until it does.
#22
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Jacksonville Fl USA
Posts: 533
RE: How important is it to pratice shooting your bow, before you hunt?
As said above :
Practice does not make perfect..........
Perfect practice makes perfect. You can only be fully confident when drawing on a deer when you have spent your time practing and know in your heart that you hit what you aim at at the distance you are shooting. I also would ask this of a bowhunter - why spend the money on a tree stand, camo clothing, scents, accesories, a bow, arrows, your tag, gas, etc, etc.... and not KNOW you can hit your target.
You can only KNOW you are going to hit the mark when you practice a lot period.
I admit I did not practice all year because I had an injury to my knuckle ( I cut the bone with a chopsaw ) and its still bothering me......
I shot all this weekend at 40 yards.... best group - 5 arrows, 3 inches... worst group, 5 arrows 8 inches..... mainly cause I was getting tired from shooting so much
Here is something I try to do as much as possible. I walk out in my back yard right before i go to work and shoot one arrow - ONLY ONE....... every morning... at 30 yards, and make it count. When you nail it every morning you are at the point you want to be - confident, and able..........
As also mentioned above - equipment comes into play. I am a pretty good ' natural' - I mean shooting a bow always came pretty easy to me.... however I had a fit this year because of my equipment. I had string stretch one.... and a contact problem.... Lets say I went out and only shot a few arrows and though ' ok - I hit ok,I am ready to deer hunt' well then when you shoot at a deer you find out the hard way your bow was not tuned well enough because your arrow windplanes downwards and slaps the ground...... My point again is you will only have FULL confidence when you know you can walk out - at any time, and drill a bullseye - period. When you can do that it also calms you down greatly because you know to say to yourself when drawn on the deer ' relax, center the pin, ok no torque, theres the spot, and watch the arrow fly' I have a quick mental list like that i run through on each shot - it takes 2-3 seconds and it works for me.....
Just my 2 cents.......
Practice does not make perfect..........
Perfect practice makes perfect. You can only be fully confident when drawing on a deer when you have spent your time practing and know in your heart that you hit what you aim at at the distance you are shooting. I also would ask this of a bowhunter - why spend the money on a tree stand, camo clothing, scents, accesories, a bow, arrows, your tag, gas, etc, etc.... and not KNOW you can hit your target.
You can only KNOW you are going to hit the mark when you practice a lot period.
I admit I did not practice all year because I had an injury to my knuckle ( I cut the bone with a chopsaw ) and its still bothering me......
I shot all this weekend at 40 yards.... best group - 5 arrows, 3 inches... worst group, 5 arrows 8 inches..... mainly cause I was getting tired from shooting so much
Here is something I try to do as much as possible. I walk out in my back yard right before i go to work and shoot one arrow - ONLY ONE....... every morning... at 30 yards, and make it count. When you nail it every morning you are at the point you want to be - confident, and able..........
As also mentioned above - equipment comes into play. I am a pretty good ' natural' - I mean shooting a bow always came pretty easy to me.... however I had a fit this year because of my equipment. I had string stretch one.... and a contact problem.... Lets say I went out and only shot a few arrows and though ' ok - I hit ok,I am ready to deer hunt' well then when you shoot at a deer you find out the hard way your bow was not tuned well enough because your arrow windplanes downwards and slaps the ground...... My point again is you will only have FULL confidence when you know you can walk out - at any time, and drill a bullseye - period. When you can do that it also calms you down greatly because you know to say to yourself when drawn on the deer ' relax, center the pin, ok no torque, theres the spot, and watch the arrow fly' I have a quick mental list like that i run through on each shot - it takes 2-3 seconds and it works for me.....
Just my 2 cents.......
#23
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Irwin PA USA
Posts: 486
RE: How important is it to pratice shooting your bow, before you hunt?
Being able to hit a bullseye, and being prepared to hunt are different things in my opinion. You may be able to hit the bullseye your first time out, but IMO that does not make you prepared for the hunt. It is more a state of mind, and running through your pre-shot routine over and over again that prepare you for the moment of truth.
#25
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 9,175
RE: How important is it to pratice shooting your bow, before you hunt?
Something we have failed to mention for those who choose to wait until the last minute is, what if your equipment fails.....if you start a little earlier chances are you will have all the " bugs" worked out of your gear.
#26
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Jacksonville Fl USA
Posts: 533
RE: How important is it to pratice shooting your bow, before you hunt?
ossy - you are right there also and thats a good point. Thats why I have my mental shot checklist I mentioned to help me mentaly prepare and focus on the shot - a good shot, not a chance shot, one that will quickly harvest the animal in your sights... so good point.
I think everyone summed up the anser - yes you need to practice.
1. You should start early - if not all year
2. Be familiar with your equipment
3. Know your true limitations
All of these will require practice - lots of it.
#27
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 259
RE: How important is it to pratice shooting your bow, before you hunt?
And if you wait to the last minute and find out you need repairs, you' re at the tail end of a very LONG line of other guys that have done the same thing. All the shops are backlogged this time of year because of that very thing. You might not even get to see your bow again until after opening day.
Like Arthur, there is stuff for me to shoot year round. I never really put the bow away anymore, and neither do my kids.
I am an archer first and a bowhunter as an extension of that.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
outdoor338
Whitetail Deer Hunting
20
09-13-2003 09:46 PM
outdoor338
Big Game Hunting
16
09-08-2003 08:51 PM