RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

I shoot all year because I like it....and I need time away from the wife. :);)
If I screw up a shot on a deer I don't want to go home knowing that I could have done more to improve my shooting.
I also bowfish in the spring and summer.

Currently I am blessed with the opportunity to shoot all year around in my basement and at a nearby outdoor range, but back when that wasn't the case, I still got out a month before the season started and shot about twice a week, and continued druing the season. It was not just to make sure my pins were set though, It takes practice and repetition to stay in good form.


I could live with a 6" group at 30 yards since that's current my self-imposed distance limit too.
...BUT, I've learned that the ability to shoot a 6" group on a 30 yard target at the range does not necessarily translate directly into being able to keep a 6" group in the field while hunting.

Bob, it sounds to me like you've been shooting and hunting long enough to be able to evaluate your own abilities and stay within your limitations. Only you know how many shots you've made that didn't hit where you wanted them to. It's strictly a personal thing. I would have to do more.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

[quote]ORIGINAL: stealthycat

I can take any tuned compound from any board member here and be deadly out to 30 yards with it in 10 minutes of shooting. Seriously guys, I can hold 4" groups with any tuned compound and most people who have shot any can do the same.

Stealth, can you shoot left handed? :D I know what ya mean though.
The snow finally left here last month so I've been shooting since then. From the end of hunting season through the end of winter I don't shoot but now, I am shooting a set of arrows just about every morning and evening as I have 3 targets set up at different ranges and shoot at them from my front porch. I even have a ladder going up to the roof on the porch and shoot from the roof also. The more you shoot the better you get. You just have too. Bobby;)

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

Well said Jerry. My side of the coin is that I do not practice to better my hunting. I shoot a bow year round because I like ARCHERY. I hunt a couple months out of the year because I like bowhunting and there isn't much else going on with bows at that time of year. I used to love hunting, then bowhunting. That's tempered a bit as I get older and a lot of my hunting places are now housing developements or warehouses. Frankly, to me, the process of deer hunting is absolutely boring most of the time. But the time spent in the field or the woods is time away from the cruel realities of everyday life. I'd like to have the old fire back, but even being retired doesn't leave enough time to get into it like I'd desire to.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

I shoot year round. I find that if I don't, bad habits come back fast. For me it is easier to maintain good shooting form. Even if that means shooting in the basement when there is a blizzard outside.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

You're a rather lippy little nubie aren't you. Dumb question, or dumb for posting this? I don't think so, Sport... this is a chat board with forums to chat on, or did you miss that at sign up? I am not offended at anything people say to me out here - again, it's called discussion, chat, debate, learning, whatever you want to call it. Bored? No. Wanting to learn what others do so I can learn as well. It's obvious my stance on this issue is shooting all year doesn't warrant me a better shot in the field come season and makes me no less of an ethical hunter for doing so. If I'm wrong or you think I'm wrong, state why - I'll listen, maybe even change my mind. Don't lip off to me like a sissy little school boy though, Sporto.;):D

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

I hear what you are saying, IBM. Honestly, if I had more time during the summer and a place to shoot, I probably would be shooting just for the fun of it - probably recurve though and not the compound.


Never said they were all deer that I shot. And yes, shots go bad. To assume no blood means I placed a bad shot isn't that smart. No disrespect, IBM, but think about the factors we face afield during that critical moment - twig we didn't see, deer jumps the string, deer is startled by another factor we can not control - other deer, other people, other animals, etc... So my point is, a shot will go south no matter how accurate or precise your shooting level. That is part of hunting. Part of hunting - the biggest part to me - is learning how to track an animal regardless of the circumstance. Say the arrow lodged in the shoulder after blowing through both lungs. This deer will leave very little blood on the ground after 30-50 yards. But the deer is running dead and will pile up after 80-100 yards or so. You gonna stop looking after finding no blood after a short track? No. Just something to think about. ;)

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

i dont start shooting until about a month or so before season starts i start out shooting from ground 20 25 30 yrds making sure bow and form and eyes are ok. my brother and i also go to the woods with 3d deer target and treestand. while one of us climbs tree with our bow the other moves deer around for different shots to take. we like to practice the way we hunt. to each his own.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

You tell me?

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

This 'no need to practice' baloney is the exact reason our archery club is 80% traditional for the first 6 months of the year, then 80% compound the last 6 months. It's been that way for the past 6 years.

Why do so many compound shooters hate shooting their bows? I say that because it's human nature. When people enjoy doing something, they make time available to do it. So, since these folks refuse to shoot, then they obviously hate shooting.

So, you folks that do not shoot archery but still bowhunt, I'd like to know three things:

1)What is it about compounds you hate so much that you refuse to shoot any more than you absolutely have to?

2) Since you dislike shooting a bow, why do you even mess with bowhunting to begin with?

3) What gives YOU the right to come on websites like this, where people who live and breathe archery hang out, and start whining about folks not seeing eye to eye with your attitude?

It's the folks that live and breathe archery who have the right make the rules, not part time, relunctant participants. Yes, that is the classic definition of elitism. I believe in it, wholeheartedly.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

I don't shoot year round, however, I wouldn't mind it. I'm a Patrons license holder in Wisconsin which allows me to hunt almost everything legal. I spend a lot of time pheasant hunting, duck and goose, turkey and grouse. It is more of a time issue with me. I start shooting on my property casually in June and get more serious every month up until the season starts in mid September. It defineltly wouldn't hurt to shoot even more however.

-Mathewsconquest2

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

1. It's not a matter of hate, so much as there are much more things I'd rather do than shoot my bow. I shoot until I feel comfortable to take a deer at my ranges, and typically that doesn't take too long. In the grand scheme of things I'd much rather sit and glass a field, shoot groundhogs, walk the dog, or go fishing than shoot my bow.

2. Come on man, do ya really need to ask why someone enjoys bowhunting? Depending on tags, I only need to shoot 2-5 times a season.


3.The same thing that gives YOU the right to come on here with people who live and breathe HUNTING and do the same.

The people who live and breathe ARCHERY can make all the stupid rules they want for your little games. The people who live and breathe HUNTING will make ours.

Go back to your elistist paper punching, I'll be out in the woods shooting dinner.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

I'm also a part-timer when it comes to practicing (can I use that word here?;)) with my bow. I consider myself to be a very good shot, despite only shooting for an hour or so about twice a week (on average) from a month prior to season through the end of November. It seems that I'm about middle-of-the-road in my amount of practicing. I have struggled greatly with target panic in recent years. The cure was due in no small part to simply limitting my shooting frequency and duration. If I shot 24/7/365, I would likely be at a MUCH lower level of skill than I am at today. Moderation has been the answer for me.

Also, this may not be the norm, but I actually feel much more focused and poised to make a perfect shot on an actual animal than I am at a target. This shoots a bit of a hole in the arguement "if you can't make a good shot on a target, then how can you hit the mark on a deer?" That's not to say I'm a poor shot at a target or that I condone hunting deer without the ability to hit broad sides of barns.

One more thing:
I disagree with the premise that one must have to have a love affair with shooting a bow in order to "mess with bowhunting". I enjoy shooting my bow. It's not the end-all for me, though. However, I LOVE bowhunting. Bowhunting for deer is what I love to do most of all. When I'm bowhunting I'm actually doing very little shooting. Bowhunting is not all about the shot. The shot is extremely important, and should not be taken lightly, but in the grand scheme of the hunt, the shot itself (IMHO) contributes only a mere instant to an experience that lasts an entire season. The memories last a lifetime. Try to gain that from shooting at targets in your back yard.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

Frankly, rybohunter, you're one of the ones I'd like to see forced to pass a proficiency test before being allowed to buy archery tags. In fact, I'd like to see states enforce a proficiency requirement. If you can't show proof of shooting in at least one 3D tournament each month for the previous 6 months, then you have to pass a proficiency test.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

g

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

Other than my general opposition to increased regulations of everything in life, I have no fear of taking a proficiency test. I will pass easily, and I wouldn't bother to worry about practicing any harder to do so. While we are at it can we impose a basic deer anatomy and tracking test as well? Those are just as important as being able to hit a deer, is knowing where to hit it and how to find it. I'll pass all of those easily as well.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

g

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

WTF :eek::eek::eek:

Some guys get good quick - and it ain't that hard to shoot em well.

Then hit em in the head they won't go 1 yrd........THATS ETHICS:eek::eek:

LOL..........[&:]

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

g

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

BINGO!!!!

And if you can do it shooting 1 month or 12 months a year what the heck is the Difference??


Its doing what YOU can sleep at night with. If you can truely look in the mirror and anylize you actions and feel good about the decisions you made - thats fine by me. The bid hitch to the whole thing is that "ethics" are like opinions - what is right for you may not be right for me. Neither is more right or more wrong in the grand scheme of things.........just different.

Your way is not the only or even the best way, stop thinking it is.........

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

Well ewolf you've enlightened me. After I finish my steak, from one of my bowkills this past year, of which neither ran more than 50 yds, I'll head right out and practice. I want to be so so ethical. In fact I think I will keep practicing everyday all day thru the season and only hunt the last day, so as I can be sure to have the most ethical of practice under my belt when I take the field.

Thank you Rack, I didn't think this was a hard concept to grasp.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

ewolf and Arthur- sorry but your both wrong about rybo on this. Having known him and his family for several years, besides shooting with them, their is not a more ethical family I know of. It's true he doesn't shoot all year but would still pass an efficiency test, I know, I have shot several for the various parks around. Rybo is a hunter. He hunts and fishes constantly, knows the woods and the habits of all he pursues. He does it by HUNTING his quarry, not shooting long distances. Although many claim to be able to hit a tennis ball at 40yds with a bow, put living, breathing fur for a target and all goes haywire due to nerves, and "buck fever" . rybohunter keeps his shots close and practises enough to make the kill at his range. He's always in the woods, so buck fever doesn't enter into his shooting ability. He can share my campfire anytime. I shoot competition and have tried to get him to come over for fun at 3D, but he's always busy with scouting, or hunting some critter. If you needed a liscence for bowhunting pigeons, rybo would be first in line. By the way- a 30 yd. shot would be ethical for the way he shoots but I'll bet a dollar to a hole in a donut he would never take it- he'd say too far- and try to get closer. Sorry this is so long but this thread rubbed me the wrong way. By the way ewolf, don't ask rybo to get out of his chair too many times, he's built like a linebacker for the Green Bay Packers, LOL.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

I agree 100%. However, just because they can do it on the range, doesnt mean they can do it on a live animal, or in a treestand.

I, through personal preference, shoot everyday because I love it. Not because I dont trust my shooting abilities, but because I love it. If your doing it because you have to instead of wanting to, its not a hobby, its a job. ;)

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

Big John, thank you for your opinion, but I'll judge rybohunter by what HE says. What he's said on this thread and in a couple of PM's to me, the boy is not one of my favorite people right now.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

Not an opinion Arthur, it's FACT.

Judge a man by his actions Arthur, not by what he types on a message board after being called unethical. I just told you about his actions, and i'm not a relative of his, and i'm not paid to do this.LOL.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

Arthur
I don't know what's so hard to grasp. All I've told you is that I don't need to shoot all year round to be proficient with my bow. Before I set foot in the woods I am in full gear shooting broadheads and drilling the kill zone every time. Are you offended that I prefer to hunt groundhogs, scout, fish and go to the gun range during my summers rather than shoot my bow. I don't take shots I hope to make, I take shots I can't screw up. My farthest shot ever was 24 yds. Big John is right 30 is out of my live animal range.

I'm done with this, I don't know how many more ways I can type the same thing over, and if you still have problems with my ethics, then we'll agree to disagree.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

ewolf, who in the hell are you ranting to or about? You are not really serious are you? More ethical if I practice more? What some of you seem to be missing (yea, you to Arthur - I'll get to you in a minute), is the fact that shooting a compound bow is NOT HARD. It's a catch-22 though for sure - it is the single most important aspect of hunting - the shot. At the same time, it is the least important part of hunting because so much goes into hunting just to get to the shot. And BTW, ewolf, I can argue that a deliberate aim at the heart is probably one of the more riskier shots you could take in hunting, especially from a tree - so can I assume that you are actually NOT an ethical hunter?

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

Your 'fact' could be just so much hot air too. The fact that both of you have concealed your profiles says much to me. That does not foster a warm and fuzzy feeling of trust and goodwill after the insults I've endured this day.[>:]

Now, if you don't mind, how about letting the thread get back ON TOPIC?

badshotbob, I know todays bows are easy to shoot, but they're not THAT flippin' easy. The way some of these guys talk, they don't even shoot enough arrows to check their sights before they're off galavanting thru the woods!!

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

I practice year around either at 3D shoots or in my backyard. I consider myself a very good shot. I feel I owe it to the animal I'm hunting to do my best to make a clean ethical kill. I feel I can never be good enough. Everyone has room for improvement.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

g

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

Not exactly sure why this is relevant in any way to this conversation, but I agree with your point here about shooting trad vs. the easy way.

That's perhaps the stupidest off the cuff statement I've heard out here in a long time. I've read plenty of your stuff AP - you clearly seem to be a rational, good guy that can shoot trad well and is very knowledgable about hunting and bows. To hear you say something like this is just flat out wierd. Sure people make time for things when they enjoy it. Let's see: Ice-out pike fishing, steelie run, walleye run, bass on the beds, turkey hunting, golf, gardening, working out, cooking, flying RC planes, basketball, horses, golf, scuba diving, building model planes, writing and recording music, building things, working on the house, landscaping, camping, family, riding the hog, researching mind stimulating topics such as religion, the Bible, hunting, NWO, target shooting with the pistols/bows, scouting, building stands, planting crops, etc..... These are some of the things I love doing but rarely get to do them. I didn't even include the most important part in there - my kids, my wife, and my family, which I am blessed with the ability to spend a ton of time with. So to say that because I don't shoot all year I must hate it, is really absurd.

1. See explanation above.

2. Can't answer this question - I DO like to shoot a bow.

3. Last time I checked, I was still living in a fairly free Constitutional Republic with certain freedoms and rights. One of which is to come out here and chat with you fine folks about one of the many things I dearly love - HUNTING and all things associated with it.

Actually AP, that's more along the lines of socialism or communism.

I know that I am just as passionate about hunting as you or many out here with a great chance of being more passionate than most out here.

The only thing I can add to this AP, is that I do know where you are coming from, but I do not agree with your philosophy entirely. From a traditional shooting perspective based on my own skill level, I would have to love shooting a recurve way more in order to shoot it all year to be able to get good enough to hunt with it again. I don't have the time. But if I were madly in love with instinctive shooting, I would do something about it. That DOES NOT make me any less passionate about hunting deer with a bow though. Several years ago I hunted for two seasons with my recurve when I had a chance to stay current with it. Because of life pressures one year I did not have the time to shoot it, so I got my compound back out. After not shooting it for two years, the first shot was a bullseye. The next six arrows were in the bullseye as well. I can enjoy the sport I love with very little practice at the shooting portion of it all. ;)

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

I do not year round I'll put it away after hunting season than come april I'll be shooting it again then we shoot 3d's onthe weekends and I'll shoot a couple of hours a day during the week. And helping my kids shoot theirs too. Last year I started to start shooting at 60 yds. then I'll end up on the last few arrows at 20 yds. and that has hepled my confidence greatly and I can put them exactly where I want them to go. That's why I love the 3d's IMO it makes you better at judging yardage and increases your confidence in making those shots

(KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE):D

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

I'm sure it must be the moon. ;) Bobby

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

g

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

badshotbob, have you served a local club as an officer for 17 years? Have you kept track of club memberships and member demographics? Have you watched compound bows become increasingly efficient and easy to use while watching club memberships and member participation dwindle? Have you watched, at the same time, the growth in traditional archery and the core strength of your club switch from compound to traditional?

SOMETHING is going on. I don't think it's lack of time, because there are still 24 hours in every day. I know a lot of people that have way too many irons in the fire. Run themselves to death at work every day, then run themselves to death trying to keep up with all their hobbies. They don't like shooting their bows or they'd make it one of their main hobbies.

If they don't want archery as a prime hobby then they darn well need to quit bowhunting as well. That's just MY OPINION.

By the way... Elitism: 1) Practice of or belief in rule by an elite. 2) consciousness of or pride in belonging to a select or favored group.

I believe #1. If someone just thinks about bowhunting from one week before the season to the end of the season, as far as I'm concerned the bozo can keep his opinions to himself.

As for #2, I used to feel that bowhunters were a select, favored group because of the demands and challenges of hunting with a bow. Only the best hunters would take up the bow. I took pride in being a part of that brotherhood. Well, not any more. According to a scary number of folks on this thread, hunting with a bow is no harder than hunting with a rifle or handgun these days.

Modern bowhunting has absolutely no soul left to it. It's sterile, mechanical. Too much like work. Too little like fun.

Traditonal bowhunters aren't perfect, by a long shot (pun intended) but they're a darn sight closer to what bowhunting means to me.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

Arthur - that's interesting about the club membership.

I'm glad I don't fall into this bozo class you have. I started this thread on 4/12. That is 3-1/2 months past the season end. Why did I start this? Because I was genuinely interested in how others view this - to give me another perspective and possibly encourage me to shoot more often.

I agree. That is part of my point. Bowhunters these days tend to worship the bow and not the hunt. As I said before, making the shot in essence is what bow hunting is all about, accept it's not. Bowhunting consists of many things - all of which are hard work and time consuming - these things lead up to making the shot. To harvest a deer with a bow, you have to do many things right. Then by taking a patterned buck, you must do many more things right, all year. That is in my blood. That is why I bow hunt. NOT to shoot the dang bow all year. Bowhunting is so much more than just shooting your bow. I've met many compound shooters that are constantly messing with their bows all year long chaning this or that, re-aligning this or that. That's fine. But it does not make them better someone that can shoot a bow well, not fool with it, then pick it up 4-5 months apart and shoot it just as well. Not to get this thread on compound vs. traditional, but yes Arthur, traditional shooting is as close to bowhunting as you can get. I love bowhunting, not compounds. I love my recurve, but am smart enough not to step into the woods with it knowing I can't shoot it well. So I take the deadly, sighted in, screaming fast, quiet, easy to shoot Hoyt. Kills em dead everytime.;)

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

rcd567 - The answer is personal choice.

To a crossbow shooter who rarly practices, archery season might be very challenging.
To a compound shooter who practices a few weeks before season, archery might be very challenging.
To a longbow/recurve shooter who practice 5 nights a week archery might be very challenging.

See the trend there ? The challenge is in the view of the individual, not neccessarily in the equipment used. Of course, we all know and agree rifle hunting is "easier" than shooting a deer with a self bow - but compare a novice hunter with a rifle and a grizzled old timer bowhunter with his self bow and they both have huge challenges ahead of them, don't they ?

rybohunter
Ouch man .... really ? I guess I was naive to think that bowhunter actually loved the sport of archery instead of using it to extend their seasons. [:o] This is where I actually DO draw the lines and say, you know, the advance of the compound bow has made it so easy for guys like you to infiltrate archery season that the modern compound has become a negative to archery and bowhunting.

Arthur P - He would pass the proficiency test because the modern compound bow is that easy to shoot. With the increase ease in shooting them, so too has archery lost what might be more important than anything else - the love for archery that bowhunters is suppose to have.

You can read it right here in this thread ... don't have time to shoot, better things to do, great shot anyway, why practice ? etc etc. Bowhunters and archers aren't suppose to struggle with the thoughts of praciting with their equipment, are they ?

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

I wouldn't mind seeing this done either Arthur. I remember back in my bowhunters safety course we all had to shoot a bow. The target was 8' by 8' with a bulls eye in the middle. I believe the distance was about 15 yards. There were people who completely missed the target as well as hitting the ceiling and floor. These people however still were able to get their certificate. Now is there something wrong there - I sure think so.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

Good points Stealthycat - maybe we are talking about or finding the line of hunter vs. archer? Never really thought of it that way too hard because I've always considered myself both. So can you be both, or one and not the other and still be an effective/ethical deer harvester? I got into bow hunting 24 years ago because I loved the bow. I didn't have the bug for hunting deer yet, but I really liked shooting the bow. I shot hundreds of arrows a day and got very proficient at the bow quickly. That has always stuck with me. 26 years later throw a little life on top of all that experience and what do you have? A guy that is passionate about hunting with bow hunting at the top of the list without too much time to shoot all year. So am I no longer an "archer", and just a hunter because I do not practice all year? Let me say that the desire is there, but the ability to shoot every day is not because of time and no place to shoot. I am going to join a hunt club this year that is 5 minutes from my house - they have indoor 35y range, outdoor to 60 yards, several 3-d courses, sporting clays, 200 yard rifle range, and a brand new pistol range 5 to 50 yards. Yes - it is an awesome place. Having access to this kind of facility would encourage me to shoot all my "toys" more often.

So again I ask, not shooting year round doesn't make me a true "archer" in your eyes, no? Does this make me less of a hunter in your eyes as well? Do I somehow not have the right to bowhunt because I'm not an archer? This is very interesting Stealth.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

Maybe atleast 3 shoots per summer maybe. Sorry guys, I love to shoot just as much as some the others, but I don't always have the time to go to shoots. I hit atleast 3 maybe more in the summers, but they are local. I don't always have the time to drive an hour, shoot for 2 and drive another hour back home.

And what exactly is a proficiency test going to prove? That I can shoot at a 3d target or the bullseye on a target. Wow, I can do that all day long. All that a profiecny test is going to do is say that somebody is capable of shooting a bow and hitting a target. And I don't have a doubt in my mind that every person responding to this thread will pass this test with flying colors. Like bob said earlier in response to my post, what about the twigs or the many numerous things that could happen in the moment of truth? There isn't a test in the world that would prove if one of us is ready to shoot at an animal.

If you shoot all year round and can hit thumbtacks all day long....good for you and I wish I had the time and resources to do this my self.

If you shoot just in the summer, good for you and I know you guys still like shooting your bow.

If you pull it out a week before season and make sure it is still in good shooting order, good for you.

My dad don't shoot very much at all and has been bow hunting for 20 some years. I would put his shooting abilities up against about anybody!! I could practice everyday for 3 months and then go to a 3d shoot with him and it will be a coin toss on who wins.

We all share a passion, the passion to bow hunt. We don't however share the passion of year round archery. Does that mean the guys that shoot all year are a better shot than anybody else.....NO. When affield, it is the hunter that will succeed. You can drive tacks all day long, but if you can't get set up in a good spot for a shot, it don't matter how much you practice....does it.

I am not even going to touch the ethics portion of these posts that are being posted.

But I do want to address this.

Now I know bab said that he prepares himself for the season, just as everybody else has. Just cuz it may only be once or twice compared to somebody else's 200 practice rounds don't mean he didn't prepare!!

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

Bob .......I don't know you ........haven't shot with you......can't make a judgement on how prepared you will be when a shot comes !

I can only go off of what I have seen with my friend's and it is disheartening sometimes........but what can you do ?

I practice all year and typically make good shots ! My friend's used to be glad to hit a paper plate at 20 yrds .......now , like ya'll say with bow advancements and accesories........and tips from guys like me ........they are shooting much better with less practice ! Can they hit a deer target in the vitals everytime @ 20......yes.......in perfect "backyard" conditions !!

The real difference lies in our kill records the last several years........they are wounding and making poor shots on a lot of animals ! There have been numerous liver hits , several gut shots, several shoulder hits, one lung , and one leg/brisket hit ........from the guys practicing right at season ! I guess what bothers me most........is where they used to miss.........now they hit (almost everytime.. but randomly) ! All of them are aiming for a double lung ........but a paunch hits/or shoulder hits keep happening to them anyway !

Maybe you and some others can do it Bob.......I really don't doubt it......but I don't think generally that bowhunters should practice so infrequently ! A profiecency test sounds good to me !!