A friend of mine decided to trad hunt this yr and got himself a longbow. He still hasnt started shooting it yet and hes never shot one b4.

How much time do you guys think needs to be spent practicing before he decides to hit the woods?

Season opener is in 3 weeks and I do know for sure he's not planning on hitting opening day.

until he is proficient to hit a pie plate at the distance he chooses to hunt at and is confident shooting at an animal. Took me 2 years!

Depends on the person--I'd say that most folks wouldn't be ready to hunt this season.

IMO, you need more than just back yard practice. I've seen folks that could wear out a target in their back yard, but (even with wheels and sights) not be able to hit much at all in a different setting. Stump shooting and 3-D is great practice, a confidence builder, lets you learn more about your limitations, and is a lot of fun to boot.

Chad

If he sticks to his limits heshould to be OK, might only be 5 yards though. Hey I have deer 5 yards from me every year. But he needs to start right away.

Everyone proceeds at different speeds, heck I began back in february/march. I was probably shooting my best in may. Then I was horrible for months, but in the past 3-4 weeks I've gotten it straightened out again and am confident to 15 yds, preferably 8-10.

Some guys have to work at it really hard for quite a while before they're ready. Some guys are naturals and pick it up right off. Most of us are somewhere in between. It really depends on how far to either end of the scale your friend is.

Bobco pretty much summed my other thoughts on it.