outdoor338

I am asked this question by some of our viewers, and would like to hear what the bow hunters of this website have to say, your information will help shape and form a segment on bow hunting! Should you go out and shoot your bow a week before the season begins or several months, thanks for your help..

Dr. Mike

Matt / PA

If you ask me........and you have.

You should NEVER stop shooting your bow. Shoot year round even if its just a few arrows a week in the deep offseason. Shooting a bow is NOTHING like shooting a rifle. Good shooting depends upon repeatable form, muscle tone and famiarity with your equipment above and beyond any gun hunting, that only comes with many hours behind the string.
We as archers also need to learn range estimation, shooting from heights, tuning proper gear selection and so on and so on.......
The above average archer can and will be able to pull it together with minimal prep time before a hunt......sort of like riding a bike, but the true ARCHERS wouldn' t dream of picking the bow up a week before the season starts.
The average archer to beginner should begin WELL in advance of the season since they by definition need the most work.

And almost as important as preseason shooting practice is IN SEASON shooting practice. Too many guys forget to keep sharp after opening day........shoot a few arrows before or after each hunt and on off days and you won' t lose that edge.

Tazman

Matt summed it up pretty well, I think every one handles it differently, I like Matt feel there is a difference between between a true archer and an archer/hunter. I view myself as halfway between the two, I really back off on my practice once the season ends, I still shoot some throughout the year, but not a lot, just enough to keep the muscle tone up and the form close. About a month before the beginning of the season is when I make every effort to practice daily and really tweak my equipment in at 20 yards from about a 10 foot elevation, half way between a tree stand and the ground. Usually I have my set of " hunting" arrows identified in 2 weeks and have the bow dead on the money at 20 yards. At this point I set my " hunting" arrows aside and start to work at different yardages and how high or low depending upon range to hold my 20 yard pin. I shoot single pin and in no time I can be dead on out to 30 yards with a single pin, it does take some serious practice I' ll admit to shoot single pin, but the faster/flatter your bow shoots the easier it is to do.

To me the most important shot taken in every practice session is the first one!!!! That tells me how well I am really doing. If I am not where I want to be with that first shot I know it will be a long practice session, if it is on, it will be a normal to short session.

BTW to me dead-on is a 2 inch or less group at 20 yards.

jlott

I practice off and on year round.My brotherinlaw has a balcony about 12ft. High we practice off of it most of the time.

Angus74

I shoot year round, 300 league all winter and spring, then 3-D all summer, and whenever I can around home. I keep three or four 3-D targets set up at all times in my yard and even a treestand a lot of the time, and practice often. In my opinion you cant practice too much.

Kanga

Ditto on what Matt said


There is no such thing as an off season[][:-].

Deleted User

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wimp

You have to shoot at least some, some guys shoot tons. It is dependant upon hte individual. I could probably catch a lot of flack for how little shoot. BUT I can hit what I shoot at, so what' s it matter if it takes me 3 sessions the couple weeks before the season, or 1000' s of arrows all summer. It doesn' t matter how much it takes, just that you get to the required proficiency level.

HighBow

I agree with Matt for the most part, I shoot all year long this helps to keep my muscles in shape, my form correct and gives me relaxation and peace of mind. I suggest to any bowhunter the more you shoot the better prepared you become for that big moment.

CLOUD 9, MN

I also reccomend shooting year round. But for those of you who don' t, at least start 6 weeks early and shoot alot, unil you have 100% confidence in your rig and your 100% kill range. Then you must keep shooting during the season!! Its very easy for something to get knocked out of kilter, you don' t want to find that out with a deer in front of you!!

Good Luck!