Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Best tip's for bow hunters

I was taught this little trick by a competition shooter.

If your right handed and draw back, stick your thumb out and put it on the back of your neck to rest your arm while your hand is up by your anchor point.

It'll keep your arm from getting tired and shakey...

Excellent tip, that enabled me to hold at full draw for a couple of minutes while the deer came in.

Awsome.

Spot

Only one I have is if you come to Idaho make sure your in shape, just dont think you are. I met a few guys last year that ended up road hunting because they couldnt handle it. 2 of the 3 admitted that they thought they would have no problem and were wrong

Pick a spot and follow through. I've been bowhunting over 20 years and killed a critter or two and I still have trouble remembering this sometimes in the heat of the moment.

Follow through has bit me once...

Practice - to do something, especially exercises, repeatedly in order to improve performance in a sport, art, or hobby

Do this�A LOT!

Pick a spot, a small spot, like a hair. Otherwise watch your arrow go high.

Just a couple:

Always practice with your hunting clothes on, at least a few times.

Have a friend stand with his back to you. Draw your bow and see if he can hear you draw. If he can, a deer can.

Always try shooting all of your broadheads at least a few times.

If in doubt of the shot, don't shoot.

Aim not where you want to hit, but where you want the arrow to exit.

A few seconds before letting her fly always check the flight path for twigs!

man they can make an arrow deflect.

Spot

And last but not least "buy a Matthews"!

+1

The twig one has bit me in the ass a few times.

Don't fidget in your stand...

______________________________

Spotshooter, That is a 60 year old target archer's gimmick and I personally never subscribed to it, preferring to use proper back tension to hold at full draw rather than the arm shoulder and also to effect a clean loose...
The back does the loosing when done well.

...........but then, I'm not shooting 35# target bows for hunting, nor compounds which I need to hold for two minutes either...:)
I'm an aging heavy longbow-recurve hunter and killer of much game, and also have more than a few NFAA & PAA trophies indicating that I can shoot 'groups' under controlled situations..:)


Best advice I have for HUNTERS is to KNOW where your arrow will be at any point in it's flight to the mark for your chosen killing zone.

That takes practice.

Next and no less important is know the game you are hunting, the land and cover and their habits and get in sync with those..including the small birds and game which live there full time and serve as 'junk yard dog sentinels' for all but the stealthiest or least invasive intruders into their little worlds.
.
And of course, you must hit consistently even when at unknown yardages, up, down, in dim or full light and use an arrow with sufficient speed/weight equipped with a cut on impact b head..:)
Beyond all that, archery hunting is cake..:)Jim

Some great tips on technique.

One more on the hunting side is get to your stand WAY early and stay as long as possible. We can shoot 1/2 hour before "official" sunrise here but I like to get to my stand at least an hour before that whenever possible to give everything a chance to settle down and me a chance to settle in....

Last one...well maybe....

By a Leica LRF and scan, scan, scan your surroundings until they become 2nd nature. I actually use my LRF 1200 more for bowhunting than anything else!!!

I scan and familiarize myself with a 15 yard perimeter first, then move out from there....

And last but not least, trade the new Matthews in on a new
Bowtech.

Toby Joe

Regardless of what tackle you use, learn. practice, and attend to all the small elements involved in good archery & hunting and the big moment will come together just fine..:) Jim

WHY?

That's a nice way to sum it all up!!

I just traded my 05 Switchback in for a new Guardian. The Guardian is a few fps faster and a bit quieter but I like them both and wonder if it was worth the trade up. Both companies make good bows.

Bb

I heard that some of the newer bows are getting as many FPS with less poundage as my old Mathews FX. When this one, or my arm, wears out I'll think about getting something like that.

......and for helllll sakes, sight in with your broadheads!!!! This is the biggest problem with archers today. They sight in with field points, then the day before the season starts they screw in their new broadheads and wonder why they miss or wound animals.

Once you get finished farting around with a Bowtech, buy a PSE Flinch

Bingo on the broadheads! Don't take your buddy's word for it that "everyone says they fly like fieldpoints"...

Shoot em.

Can't agree with ya on the PSE (Pretty Schitty Equipment) there Flinch........*L*


(BTW, Flinch, before ya launch the nastygram, I'm just messin' with ya)

sk

If you can't draw comfortably while sitting flat on your butt on the ground, you're pulling too much weight.

Dick

aaaahhhh....Skane, you hurt my feel goods I love my [bleep] equipment. It always puts elk steaks on the grill and I sure can't complain about that. I hate to be brand loyal, but I have purchased a new PSE bow since I first started bow hunting when I was 16. I have owned a pile of PSE's and upgrade every 4 years or so. I always shoot all the other "new" bows to educate myself and get the look and feel of other bows. PSE always shoots and feels better to me. I don't like big ugly cams and stupid gadgets on bows. PSE has always kept it simply and their cams look good. I just like they way they look, feel and shoot. I have never broken a string, no defects, nothing! I shoot a lot year round and hunt horrible terrain, so I punish my equipment. Absolutely no failures of any kind. I just can't complain at all. Dozens of elk, deer, ducks, turkeys etc. haven't complained much either It is like the Ford and Chevy dabate, or my case, the Toyota vs. Nissan Toyota is better as well.....even better than Ford and Chevy by a long shot.....hee hee, that should fan the flames.
Oh, and another tip is, use hydrogen peroxide for blood tracker, instead of "blood hound" or any of those other blood finding gimicks. At wallmart, it is about $1 for a pint and a half. Put it in a spray bottle and you are good to go. Flinch

Flinchie, Ive seen you shoot, If you had a BowTech in hand, it would be alot better. . I have also shot a PSE(Pretty [bleep] Equipment), for years, and killed more with it then I have any other bow. The only reason Im shooting a Bow Tech, is I had a client give me a brand new in the box Bow Tech Guardian. I like it, but it is a tool, just like all the others that I have owned. It dont matter what you shoot, as long as you shoot it well. I just like giving Flinch a hard time.

Toby Joe

Concur. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
I used to buy a new bow every year, mostly Hoyts and Matthews, (even had a PSE Mach 6 that was pretty sweet) then I locked onto a Hoyt that i've had for 5 years - then a local archery shop was shutting its doors and happened to have a new one hanging on the rack - now I have a twin to it. I was even on a Pro Staff for a different company and didn't use their stuff until picture time....*L* I always say, I'll get a new one next year, every year...I'm not a speed freak - I like 'em dependable and quiet, 40 yards is tops.

My best advice is:

Make sure your equipment is 100% reliable and ready to go
Practice with it often
Use scary sharp broadheads
Know your limits and stick to them
Listen to the advice of previous members on this post
Go out and have fun

The best advice I have is DON'T JUMP UP AND CHASE YOUR DEER!!! I see it all the time on hunting shows they shoot a deer and don't tell you to wait before you go after it. In all actuality i'm sure it takes them time to get out of the tree, and get the camera and equipment down before they look for a deer. Unfortunatly I learned the hard way years ago, and I lost a nice deer because I did'nt let it lay long enough.

Toby, always making fun of my shooting. Just because I hit that prairie dog in the chest instead of the head, i will never live it down.

Where have you been? The big bull hunt is well into it's second week. I passed up 5 6x6 bulls yesterday and a pile of 5x5's. Not a bad day in the woods. Flinch

Sometimes even a double lung shot and 2-3 hours is not enough time..... 2 of the largest deer I"ve trailed were perfect double lungs(just over the heart) and both were alive just barely some 3 hours later when we took up the trails. One was just kicking his last and the other actually got up and walked about 50 yards out of sight(evidently falling down just as he got out of sight while walking...)

Jeff

Don't forget practicing the way you will hunt. Will you be elevated? Sitting? You'll shoot differently from these positions.