rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

hey all i just my first bow a Reflex Highlander. I wanted to hear all the tips and tricks that you all have for a new bow hunter. Let me know what tips you all havefor good form and gear and all that stuff.
Thanks for the help!

RE: rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

Tips and tricks??? Well..........be the consimate student. Never be afraid to learn more. Hang around your pro shop and talk to the guys there. Read everything you can get your hands on. Spend time on here, welcome to the forums by the way, and research the net. Practice, practice, practice, practice, and practice some more. Be patient. Don't get mad at yourself. Practice some more. Read some more. Practice some more. You get the idea.

ButchA just bought a Highlander as well. I think he's more in love w/ that thing than his wife!! And that's saying a lot. I'm also pretty sure he sleeps w/ his bow, but I can't be certain. :D

RE: rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

LOL!!!!

I love my Reflex Highlander.... It is the most amazing, well made bow, for the money I spent!


Take your Reflex Highlander and start shooting at 10 yards. Keep shooting it at 10 yards. Stay with this range for a few weeks while you get yourself in sync with the bow.

When you are comfortable with 10 yards, move out to 20 yards. Again, stay with 20 yards and shoot, shoot, shoot, and shoot some more arrows at that range.

What sights do you have on your Highlander? As you see in the picture of mine (yeah, I know.... it's all backwards - I'm a lefty! ;)) I have the Vital Bow Gear Camelback pendulum sight on mine. One single pin set at 20 yards and covers all the ranges from 5 yards to out to around 30 yards.

What is your Highlander's setup?

Butch A.

P.S. Welcome to HNI and the bowhunting forums... These guys on here have a wealth of knowledge and experience.

RE: rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

If you want to learn, from someone who lives near you, give rybohunter a PM message. You will learn alot of bowhunting tips from him. He's got alot of bow kills under his hat, and is a super tracker.

RE: rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

Hey all thanks for the warm welcome and the good advice. I plan on practicing as much as possible!
My bow is set up is 65 lb draw back, 29 draw length. I am not sure of the sights I forgot to ask what kind they are. It is a 3 pin sight.
I was wondering about the one pin sights because I am not shooting with my dominant eye.That is why I was thinking one pin sights might be better for me to shoot with. I am left eye dominant, but I am try to shoot with my right eye. The guy at the shop said that if I can not adjust with my right eye. I might need to switch and shoot left handed.
Any thoughts on this?

RE: rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

Wow.... Your Reflex Highlander is identical to mine (but they cranked it up to 68#). If you are absolutely positively left eye dominant, then by shooting righty, you are cross-shooting (I think that's the term for it). It is very difficult to train your right eye to overcome the power of the left eye.

For me, I can't hit the broadside of a barn righty... No matter what it is, archery, rifles, handguns, even shooting skeet with a shotgun. I'm one of those "weird" guys where I just HAVE to be lefty - ain't no way around it. ;)

Too bad your in Pittsburgh and I'm down here in Richmond, VA. I'd like to let you try out my left handed Highlander compared to your right handed one and see what you think. It's all based on feel. One way will feel incredibly better than the other. Look at me with the sport of golf. Remember where I said I'm lefty? But with golf, I play righty. I couldn't even imagine trying to swing a golf club left handed... [&:]

Anyway, what I would do is go back to the bow shop and ask to try a lefty model and see how that feels to your right handed model. I have a funny feeling that the lefty model might feel a little better because your natural left eye dominance will be able to relax and focus clearly on the target without interference from your right eye.

Good luck and enjoy your Highlander!!!! [8D]

RE: rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

Well, they say that to be as good as you can, you MUST shoot in conjunction w/ eye dominance. If you are left eye dominant, you must learn to shoot left handed. Yeah, ok......whatever. Another trick you can try it to put a patch over your left eye. You either have to go w/ the flow and take advantage of your eye dominance, or take it out of the equation completley.

RE: rookie needs shooting form technique
 

hey well today was my first day of practice. I loosed about 2 dozen arrows from about 15 yards. I for the main part hit what i was aiming for. I was more worried about form though. Question though how should my feet be? both pointing towards the target? Any thoughts on this question would be great! Thanks!

RE: rookie needs shooting form technique
 

Feet should be pointing 90 degrees to the target, not facing it. As should your body. Turn your head about 80 degrees and pick up the target. Stare at the center of the target, draw, and release. Well, that's the simplified version. Oh, your stance. Feet shoulder width apart, if you find that you are hitting your bow arm w/ the string, try taking your back foot and moving it away from your body a few inches, creating an open stance.

RE: rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

Since you said bowhunter, I'm going to throw this in. Buy yourself a 3d target of the animal you intend to hunt. I missed several deer when I first started because all I had ever shot at was "spot" or "bullseye" targets. Now, most of my practice is on 3d targets.

RE: rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

practice not only with your bow but with your equipment so your very familiar getting into your stand and shooting from real life scenarios

RE: rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

hey rookie, pratice makes perfect. if your going to be stand hunting then get a range finder and practice from a stand as much as possible

RE: rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

Another trick I've seen trap-shooters use, who were "opposite eye" dominant, is to wear a pair of shooting glasses while you practice, with a 1"X1" piece of black tape at about the 10 o'clock position on the dominant eye lense. It supposedly helps to train your other eye to take over as the dominant one. Just a thought.

RE: rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

Remember it's always foam season!!!!!!!

RE: rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

Find that consistant anchor piont on your chin near your ear or where ever your right hand stops at the let off. When you get a deer in your sights and your breathing hard (you will be breathing hard) remember this and shot placement. Aim at a small spot on the kill zone. Some newbees will tend to see brown when drawing back and release too soon. When I practice I count. I make it a piont to knock hook realease draw and trigger release with in 8seconds. Make sure youre hitting the target consistantly before trying this. good luck. (just my routine, there are alot of different ways to practice out there.)

RE: rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

Some tips:
Pick a spot. Don't aim at the whole target but rather pick a small aiming point, an arrow hole, arrow nock from a previous shot, etc...


Follow through. Keep your pin on the spot you want to hit until after you hear the arrow hit. Dont look around the bow after the shot. Don't drop your bow arm to look at the target. Just keep your pin on the target until you hear it hit. Just moving a small amount at release to "LOOK FOR THE ARROW" will throw the arrow off coarse. Just hold steady and and listen for the hit. Then look.

Practice at long distance. Once you are sighted in, practice at 40 or 50 yds. Make sure you have a big backstop. Practicing at long distance teaches you to follow through. If you don't, you will miss, sometimes by alot. It is very important to keep the pin on the target until the arrow hits. If you drop the bow or try to look around to see where you hit, you will miss and it will show moreat longer shots. Up close you may not notice how not following through has thrown off your arrow. You will definitely notice at long distance. Try practicing for a solid week at 50yds and then move up to 20. Be careful not to shoot too many arrows at 20yds, you may bust a few nocks. I think practicing at longer distances really makes those close up shots a cinch.


Hunting Tips:


Listen to the birds and small animals. Birds, squirrels, and chipmunks have warning calls. Learn them by listening to the sounds they make when they see you walking in the woods. When you are waiting on stand and hear them sounding off, they see something. It might be another hunter, a fox, another squirrel or maybe a deer. The sound of Chick-a-dees and chipmunks sounding their warning calls has helped me get ready for a shot many times on deer.

Hope these help

RE: rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

hey all thanks so much for all these tips on hunting and on form. I have been practicing for the last week now and not doing to bad with all your tips. This may be more of a technical question but i wanted to keep it on the same forum.

I have noticed the last two days that my shots are a little high and to the right. How do I properly adjust my sights. The sights I use are a 3 pin sight (not sure of the brand). The guy at the proshop told me how, but i forget. If I want to bring the shot down i need to bring the site down right and if I want to bring the shot to left i move the sight to the left, correct? or do i have this opposite?

Thanks again for your help. I am so excited for this season to start!!!

RE: rookie bowhunter needs tips
 

When sighting in remember the phrase "follow the arrow". If you're shooting high, move the pin up. If shooting to the right, move sight right, etc.