When I was 16 years old, I was hunting on my own, and pretty much as green as they come.  I had already been gripped quite firmly by the bow-hunting addiction, and shot all-summer-long in anticipation of the upcoming Michigan bow season.  I was hunting in a new area near White Cloud Michigan, and had placed my stand over my bait-pile (as that’s how everyone hunted back then), and was ready for my first morning on-post.

At about 8:30 in the morning, I caught some movement to my right, and sure enough, an adult doe became visible through the canopy.  It was opening morning, October 1^st, and I was once again feeling the rush that defines my life.  She was only about 15 yards away, and cautiously approaching my position.  She made her way towards one of my openings, and it was all coming together.  I planned my draw, and as soon as her head was blocked from view I came to full-draw.  As soon as I hit full draw I knew I was in-trouble.  I was wearing a face mask that I’d never practiced with!  At the time, I didn’t know any better, and my worst night-mare was soon coming true!  The doe was in my lane at 5 yards, and I could only see “green mask” where my pin was supposed to be.  Without thinking, I estimated where my pin was and let-er-rip!  My arrow passed under the doe and she was off to the races.  To this day, that is the only time I’ve ever clean missed a deer, and the last time I ever wore a head-net while hunting!

This early mistake taught me several very important lessons that I carry with me to this day.  Number one, just because you can shoot 2” groups in the back yard, when you’re in the woods, you’re in their environment!  The second lesson I learned was that I was never going to walk into the woods with any equipment or technique that I hadn’t mastered long before the hunting season.

I almost feel sorry for inexperienced hunters in today’s marketplace.  With the variety of products that are available to the beginner, going to a place like Cabela’s must make their head spin.  Now we also have the internet to research products, but this still brings it’s share of confusion to a person who doesn’t have any experience.  It is quite normal to find a topic on an internet site like HuntingNet.com, where an inexperienced hunter asks for opinions about a certain product, aka, sight, rest, bow, etc….  Within a few hours they have dozens of opinions, with just as many product recommendations.  I can only imagine how this make a guy feel when they can hardly find a consistency between any of the recommendations because everyone likes something different.

Now, 16 years of bowhunting experience later, I think back to those early days and I just can’t believe how far I’ve come.  One of the things that I believe has led to many of my successes in the bow hunters woods is my very “opinionated” personality.  I’ve always been a guy who’s done my own thing.  While some guys were more interested in shooting the “popular” stuff, I always looked at things from a different standpoint.  I never caved into buying something because it was the latest and greatest.  If I could see an advantage or a benefit in the product, I’d try it.  With that being said, I’ve bought my share of gimmicks, and “junk” in the past; probably several thousands of dollars worth of junk!

As I gained bowhunting experience I also continued my education and experience in the field of design and engineering.  I also became good friends with the owner of Lone Wolf Treestands, Andrae D’Acquisto.  I can still remember the first time I spoke with Andrae back about 4 years ago.  We must have talked for 2 hours, mostly about our mutual passion for bowhunting.  Soon after, I found myself doing design work for Andrae, and man, what a learning experience!  This guy looked at things from a different angle, and if you’ve seen the collection of bucks this guy has killed, I quickly learned when to shut up and listen, because he obviously knew more about killing big deer than anyone I had ever met.

In the last 4 years I’ve gained more knowledge about hunting and product design than some guys may ever get.  It has truly changed the way I look at hunting products and the techniques I now rely on to make things happen in the deer woods on a consistent basis.  Quite frankly, simplicity is KING!  I see some of the crap guys are toting into the woods and wonder how in the heck they actually manage to kill anything.  No. 1 rule, don’t make things any harder for you than bowhunting already is!

I use this rule for many of my hunting tactics, and most-importantly for my bow set-up.  I have fine-tuned my bow set-up to the point where my bow has truly become an extension of my body.  I will explain why I do what I do and the advantages that I feel give me the biggest advantage when I hit the woods.

The below picture is what I have developed as my “shooting form”.  I used to use a peep sight, but quickly learned that in low-light conditions, it did me way more harm than good.  I removed my peep sight and only use a kisser button.  I’ve illustrated the key aspects of my “anchor point”, which in my opinion is the most critical aspect to accuracy.

No. 1 – Eye Position.  When at full-draw, my view of the sight is directly to the side of my string.  I know when I’m in-form because my sting lines up with the sight window of my bow riser.  I no longer need a peep sight.

No. 2 – Nose Contact.  When in proper form, with the correct draw length, my nose makes contact with my string, again, establishing a rock-solid anchor point that will not change regardless of what I may “bump” while walking through the woods.

No. 3 – Kisser Button – If for any reason my kisser button were to move, I’d notice it because of the many “contact” points in my form.  I also serve my kisser button to my string to eliminate any possibility of movement.

No. 4 – Fletching Contact.  I shoot my “Cock Feather” out, which makes a slight contact on my chin at full draw.  Again, another point of reference that can’t change, become out-of-tune, or move on my way through the woods.

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No. 5 – Hand Contact.  This is something that is different for everyone, but for me, I have a specific “feel” that I know from shooting thousands of arrows each year.  Once again, this is a personal thing, and something you must figure out on your own.  Most importantly, you need to duplicate everything, every shot.

Here is a better view of my Fletching Contact, and Nose Contact.

The next picture shows my “Trigger Finger Contact” when at full draw.  I have found that only touching the release at one point, which is the trigger, I eliminate any “torque” on my release, which is transferred straight to my string.

This picture shows my grip, or lack-there-of, on my bow.  I have found I shoot much-better with very little contact on the bow grip itself.  When I come to full-draw, I twist my grip hand slightly, which positions the last knuckle of my thumb onto a point of my grip.  It is a consistency that I’ve found works for me, and doesn’t cause any “bow torque”.

The following picture is what I look like at full draw, with all points of contact established, and ready to shoot.

Here’s a picture of my relatively simple set-up.  It works for me, and you can see by the amount of “wear” on everything, I shoot A LOT.

The above techniques have led to my deadliest bow set-up to date.  Confidence is everything in bowhunting.  When I walk into the woods with this set-up, and after putting in the many hours of practice I do, I feel “deadly”.  You simply can’t buy this feeling.  It only comes from experience, knowing my limitations, and putting the time in before hunting season.   You can buy the most expensive gear in the world, but if you don’t feel “deadly”, you’re missing the point.

If a deer has a chance to see this perspective of my life, it’s not going to have a very good day!