Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

OK so I am going to try bowhunting this year. I have muzzleloader hunted the past 2 years and have been successfull but everyone tells me that bowhunting is a whole new beast. Any tips for a newbie bowhunter?
(sorry for long post, and prolly a very often asked question)

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

Other than the obvious things like practice, practice, practice....the 2 other pieces of advice, make that 3, are this. Find a mentor. Someone you know and trust that's an avid bow hunter that can show you the ropes. Second, read everything. Be the consimate student. Educate yourself.

And 3, keep spending time here. This place has a wealth of information I could only hope to understand.

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

MObowhuntr- thanks for the fast reply. I have been a "lurker" here for a while. I actually cant even practice yet because I havent decided on a bow! I am either going to geta reflex highlander or Fred Bear Instinct. I have to choose by tomorrow so i guess I better makre up my mind huh?Any good books you guys can recomend?

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

I agree with mobowhunter. I unfortunately was unable to find a mentor, but hopefully you can find one. I relied heavily on reading... lots of it. Read as many archery/bowhunting books and magazines you can get your hands on. I didn't find this website until later, so at least you're on the right track being on here.

Good Luck.

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

Sorry for double entries... make sure you buy a bow from an archery shop that can get you properly set up. This is important. Don't be fooled by cheap deals through mail-order or website. Also, as for books, I like the Field and Stream Bowhunting Handbook. It's a bit short and outdated, but I like it. General overview of equipment/techniques.You might the bookcheap on ebay (I did).

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

I am actually working partime at a sporting goods store this fall (well till oct.1) and there is one guy who seems to know his archery stuff, that said he would give me a hand on getting started, but he also might be full of it and just blowing wind up my you know what:D. But i always like to see what everyone else is trying. which is why I am posting here.

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

Hey slim, I just bought the Fred Bear Instinct 70# and I love it. My bro shoots a Mathews that is way more expensive and likes mine also. I got the combo from Cabelas for $550 and haven't looked back since.

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

1. Practise how you will shoot in the field. From a stand of ground blind sitting.

2. Remember the wind.

3. Have Fun!!!!

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

Since you don't have much time to get ready for the season, I would recommend limiting your shots this year to only what youare 100% confident with. This will vary with practice, but I would suggest not shooting at a deer at the longest range you practice at. For example, if you practice out to 40, maybe only shoot to 30 or maybe even only 20. It will save you a lot of heartache in the long run.

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

Quit while you are ahead, it will save you some time, money and disappointment, nah just kidding listen to these other guys and have fun, good luck......

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

I hear ya, killadoe.

Examples of why killadoe's right:

1 - When I lived in Charleston, SC...it was legal for us to "Bait" for shrimp. We could purchase our "tags".....and the way it worked.....we'd get PVC poles (we'd mark our poles with our tags)....make up bait balls (out of VARYING ingredients....lol)......and "bait" the poles we'd stick in the pluff mud in the tidal creeks and harbor. Then.....we'd wait about 30 minutes......and cruise by the poles in our boats.....and cast our throw nets over the baited poles (usually 10). Limit was one 48 qt cooler per boat. I figured it up......I could have bought a HUGE FREEZER.......and filled it up with shrimp from the seafood house.....for what I spent on my permit; fuel; wear and tear on boat; cast net and TIME!!...lol

2- I've bought: 4 wheeler; bow; feeders; game cameras; various equipment; etc...all in pursuit of an animal that a LOT of people around my home think is a PEST....and MANY people GIVE AWAY the meat.

Save your money......and take up gol.........nope. I forgot about that, too. Nevermind.

Jeff

In all honesty.....welcome to bow hunting. Come on in....the water's fine.

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

I figure you can either give that money to a sporting goods store and enjoy yourself or you can give it to a phsychiatrist like all those anti-hunters do.

Welcome to the world of bowhunting!!!

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

True story.....

A friend of mine won almost $1M (Yes....that's with an M....lol)..in a fishing tournament off of our coast. When I saw him to congratulate him......I told him he was the ONLY person I've ever known that had made money in fishing. He said....Jeff....the only way to assure yourself $1M in fishing.....is to start with TWO.

We aren't in it for the antlers or meat (Though both of those are important to individuals). They're a fringe benefit.

Jeff

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

Don't tell me he won the Big Rock?

Enjoy your hunting with a bow. Be careful you could give up end stuffing.;)

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

Yes.....he did.

He finished second.....2 years later.

Jeff

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

well i finally decided on a bow today, I got a Reflex Highlander. It felt better to me than the fred bear. You guys got any tips on how to sight this thing in I didnt have enough time today at the shop to stay there and shoot so i am going to go home and try my hand at it.

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

YEP!

START CLOSE!

Jeff

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

Holiday....

Rule of thumb is......"chase your arrows". If you're arrows are hitting left of your target......move your sight to the left. Same with high.low.

Jeff

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

That's why I'm working as hard as I am. I plan on retiring doing fishing tournaments. The two on the top of my list are the Big Rock and the White Marlin Open.

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

What he said!

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

OK I just got in from shooting about 150 arrows and I think Ive got it sighted in.....I think I can keep them in a pie plate group. I did have a weird thing happening though my fletching was hitting my sight. it was only when I shot it though, when i had the arrow stationary there was more than enough clearance.

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

Oooo... not good! Something is not set up right. Try moving the sight frame up and moving the pins down within the sight frame. You don't want those arrows hitting anything as they leave the bow. If you look at a nocked arrow on the rest from the side of the bow is the arrow at the same height as the rest mount hole or is the shaft sitting above that hole. Your rest may be set too high up. (If you move it down you'll have to adjust the nock point on the string down equally.)

"it was only when I shot it though, when i had the arrow stationary there was more than enough clearance." This leads me to believe that the arrow is kicking nock high as it leaves the string. If you're shooting a release, try moving the nock point down the string until the arrow is nearly level (perpendicular to the string).

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

This is the part about your situation that scares me most. It's really too late for you in my opinion to hunt this year unless you area really quick student. The best advice I can give is to practice as much as possible until the season opener with your broadheads and hunting clothes on. And I wouldn't shoot at any deer past 20 yards this first year.With bowhunting it's all about getting close.

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

Kodiak - I took the bow to the shop this afternoon and got the arrown hitting the sight figured out. You were actually dead on about the knocking point. and qzq I have been shooting both the instinct and the highlander ( i was using shop demos) for about 3 days a week for 2 months. So I have had some practice, but not alot.

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

I think you'll enjoy bow hunting and the reflex is a good piece of equipment. It's a little different than an ML but both often only afford you one shot. A lot of guys blow their first shot so the best advise I can give is be physically and mentally prepared to not only take a shot but make it count. Get yourself into as much of a routine as you can so when it's time you will be able to execute the shot calmly and focused on the job at hand.

The kill zone is different also with a bow. Piercing both lungs is best with a broadside shot being the best approach. The ML will drop them like a rock with a hit to the shoulder, an arrow will do little there and should not be taken. Best thing is just to wait for a broadside. Get to know the kill zone for an arrow.

It's also a good Idea to keep an extra release in your pack just in case you forget yours. Many guys have. It's also good to go out with all your gear before hunting starts so you can see how best to carry things, quivers fall off, pins break, things happen, noise is a kill joy. As with a ML pulling things up to a stand is best and it is different with a bow.

There's no 100-150 yrd pokes here, requires a much greater discipline all the way around, be prepared to move to a better location, maybe only 20-30 yrds but It maybe the difference between sight seeing and success. Even not getting a shotcan be good if something is learned.:D

A bow hunter is able to hunt many more places than a firearm shooter.

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

I am not sure I am doing it right, but I was hitting my sight pins also, and my neighbor said to make sure that the different colored fleching (in my case green as supposed to orange) was down. When I did that, it made all the difference in the world. Practice, Practice, Practice is all that I can say.

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

I want to thank everyone for their replies thus far, all the info has been great. I am going this morning to get the glendel full rut target today and take it out to an elevated platform I built to shoot from. Think is should also shoot from my stand in the woods too? I really didnt want to go out there since I like to give two months (give or take a few weeks) with no heavy activity before any opening days.

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

I wouldn't go out to your stand, simulate it some other way.

RE: Any info for a new bowhunter?
 

I would focus on a couple main things since you are rapidly approaching the season. First and foremost you absolutely have to figure out what range you are lethal at...........that means 99% you hit where you are aiming (no one's perfect) What range will that be?? Only you will know soon enough but just be honest with yourself and you will avoid heartache in the woods. You will see that once you step back to a certain range you will start to spray a little bit. Being new I would say with reasonable practice and some helping hints from someone who knows what to look for........I would say you will probably be pretty comfortable at around 20-25 yards by the time the season hits. Here comes the hard part. 25 yards on the ground in a T-shirt at a piece of paper is a joke compared to 25 yards at a live animal that is moving and on alert and not really in the mood to get killed. Sometimes you have only a small window of opportunity to shoot and it all can happen in the blink of an eye.......plus you are 20 feet up a tree. So many things can go wrong in that equation it is mind boggling. Point being your lethal range on the ground in summer clothes is NOT your lethal range from a tree with a heavy jacket on and your heart racing like a jackhammer.

Practice, Practice, Practice.............but I am a firm believer in practice for hunting..........not target shooting. If I was gonna shoot paper targets in the woods with fieldpoints then that is what I would practice for. Get yourself confident and feeling good about your gear by shooting at paper and once you are comfortable and get your feet wet a little I would say start practicing for hunting........you will be amazed at the difference!! Throw on your jacket, a face mask, a hat and climb 20 feet up and take a few shots and it will feel like a totally different world. You will also learn that broadheads do not always fly like fieldtips. Some people are afraid of heights (ALWAYS WEAR A SAFETY HARNESS!!!!!!) so they have trouble focusing when drawing because they are afraid of falling........it's important to be comfortable at your hunting height.........heck you might even find out you CAN'T get comfortable at 20 feet and need to start lower.........ya never know until you do it. You have to remember to bend at the waist when you shoot from a tree or your shots will be off target..........lots of new things to learn when you get up that tree.

Which brings me to a topic I think many new people neglect..........becoming proficient with your gear means ALL your gear. Perhaps just as important as your bow is your treestand.......as I mentined already ALWAYS WEAR A SAFETY HARNESS!!!!!! that means always!! Climbing up and down is wear a high % of falls occur. Starpping yourself in when you reach the top is asking for trouble........no harness at all and you are just plain stupid IMO. When I first started I took my Summit out and climbed a few trees and got familiar with it and my harness........I learned how to set the harness up so it didn't interfere with me drawing my bow and I also learned how to judge a trees size so I set my base platform at the right angle to be comfortable and safe when I got to my desired height. I also learned how to be quiet and fast with it.......nothing messes up a hunt faster then clanking around the woods like the ghost of Christmas Past while you are trying to figure out how to get up your tree..........and don't forget when you climb it will be dark so keep that in mind when choosing a stand because messing with pins, hooks, and clamps gets pretty frustrating at 5 am ;) Most of all be sure you are safe.........really, nothing else matters.

So now you are all set to kill the beast and holy cow!!......there he is!!! All your practice and hours of hard work all come together when you settle that pin on him and make your shot........but now what?? If you don't know what to do next you are screwed........BIG TIME!!! You have to gather as much information as possible from the moment that arrow leaves and then use your brain to decide what to do next. They don't just fall over and everything you see and hear AFTER the shot will be the difference in finding him or not. Watch what the deer does when he gets hit.......did he hunch up or mule kick or jump straight up.......was his tail up or down as he ran.........did he stumble.........watch him until you can't see him anymore and make a mental note of something you can identify that is as close to the last point you saw him (tree, bush, log, etc) but don't stop there.......Now it's time to listen very closely.......do you hear him fall........can you hear something thrashing in the leaves.........or maybe you hear him just continue walking. Put all that information into your knowledge bank and sit down, relax (try to) and WAIT.......if you think he is hit PERFECTLY I would say get down in 1/2 hour and check your arrow if you can find it and examine the sign where the deer was hit. Decision time again..........if everything looks good.........follow the red brick road to your deer. If it doesn't or looks even a little iffy........then WAIT some more. I've never talked to anyone who said they waited too long to go get their deer............talked to PLENTY that said they didn't wait long enough.......and they lost their deer. When in doubt WAIT.

I am not gonna go into the details of what to do in certain situations based on what kind of hit you have on the deer.........or how to even know where you hit based on the signs (blood, hair, reaction, etc) That info is all here and elsewhere for you to read..........do yourself and the deer a favor and don't just read it......KNOW IT. There is nothing worse then being in the woods and saying to yourself "Now what?" If you don't know what to do next then you shouldn't be out there.

Oh yea,


HAVE FUN and take lots of pictures of the deer you get.........and join the contest.......your team mates will be a helpful audience I'm sure.

Don't be afraid to ask ANY questions here........you're in the right place. Everything you need to know is in this forum..........use the search engine and read, read, read.

Good Luck and Be Safe!!!!!