There’s never an easy hunting bow.
Animal behavior, hunting pressure, supplies of food and water, and weather can all alter and make things difficult at once.
But nothing is more frustrating than letting our attempts to hunt be spoiled by things under our control.
These are the sins of hunting for archery.
I’ve certainly made a lot of bowhunting errors over the years,
but I have to say the following are probably my weakest connections. I bet for most other bowhunters they are, too .
The Bow Hunt’s Sins
Buck fever
The main saboteur of bowhunting is the famous buck fever, and it is practically impossible to get rid of it completely.
We can, however, do a few things to help reduce it.
One thing that personally helps me to control one of the sins of bowhunting is to keep myself mentally busy while watching the deer.
I’m going through a pre-shooting list. To ensure a better shooting result, it is made up of a few simple but efficient steps .
Thinking through the list keeps my mind busy with more than just a large deer’s presence.
This calms my heartbeat somehow, so I can maintain my composure and get a good shot.
Your list may be different, so, based on your experience, experiment with what you think is most important .
It’s mine:
- Determine the distance for shooting.
- Pick a spot and place on the deer chest an imaginary golf ball (this is where I want the arrow to hit).
- Are there obstacles in my arrow’s path?
- Again visualize the golf ball.
- Normally breathe.
- Place your viewing pin on the golf ball.
- Relax, be patient, prepare.
- Tension back. Continue pulling. Purpose. Don’t get a trigger hit.
The moment of truth is also useful to be familiar with.
There are two ways to do this: take every chance of hunting and visualize your hunt mentally.
With this, you will hunt small prey, live shots that make your heart race and these experiences will make you feel more comfortable and used to handling the shots’ pressure.
Another tool that you can use to combat buck fever is also to visualize mental images.
This works because your mind has a difficult time distinguishing real-life circumstances from imagined ones.
These vivid mental details will make you think you are experiencing the hunt for real-life and buck fever, but you can repeat the scene over and over again only in your dream until you perfect the shot and achieve your goal .
It’ll become more natural and effective as you practice visualization over and over again.
Do not rule out this.
Early on in their careers, professional athletes practice this skill because it works.
Think of the first hunting day as a warm-up day
We like to take it easy as human beings and we often hunt in the same way.
Yes, it’s another of the sins of hunting for archery.
However, particularly when hunting white-tailed deer, this mindset rarely produces favorable outcomes.
The best is the first day at the spy house.
About why? Because the hunting area is still fresh and uncontaminated, and the chances are maximized of catching a big deer off guard and completely by surprise.
There are no days for warm-ups.
Teach yourself to think that the first day of hunting will be your only chance in the morning.
This is going to keep you alert and prepared for action. The same is true of the mule, elk, or pronghorn hunting.
Think of each opportunity for a shot as the only one.
Tell yourself:
There’s no tomorrow because there might be bad weather the next day, more pressure to hunt, no animals to see, etc.
And so what? Just control what you can.
When necessary, be patient, but when you can, be aggressive.
You are going to have more opportunities to do this.
Absence of stealth
Some of the bowhunters of today look like models strolling around in the bush.
Unfortunately, instead of real-life performance, many choose their clothing based on catalog descriptions and camouflage coordination,
which is a serious mistake.
The result can be noisy, voluminous, poorly functional, and missed opportunities for shooting.
Silence and bowhunting are related, so you will give away your position when it matters most if your clothing or equipment accessories creak or squeak.
Unless you’ve tried them at home or on small game hunts, you don’t hunt for new things.
Such tests are invaluable and you will be able to understand what will help you to hunt with a bow.
In many forms, the sins of bowhunting come.
As a general rule, unless effective in the worst type of weather, stay away from waterproof or windproof clothing.
Typically, these dresses are louder.
Use the one without coverage that is waterproof or windproof.
For backpacks, the same goes.
Make sure that the pockets, such as claims, allow you to organize your stuff and that the closures are quiet.
Bad control of odor
Your scent will further spread over the routes of entry and exit from your rookery as your hunting days go by.
The deer will cross this scent of the road and will be alarmed by your presence.
One more of the bowhunting sins.
The same goes for the drafts around which your scent blows.
There’s no consistent wind, and your stench will spread.
The chances of seeing a large deer decrease as the odor factor increases.
There is no such thing as doing your best with control of essence.
Either you’re doing it right, or it’s going to be useless.
The correct way to remove odors includes showering with odorless soaps and shampoos before hunting, using an odorless towel, and then washing, spraying or rubbing with odorless products to decontaminate all hunting equipment.
Then store them in odorless bags or containers once they’re odor-free, to keep them that way.
In this way, transport all your hunting items and expose them only to natural external elements.
When you return from the hunt, do the same.
You have not exercised with knives
It is common for hunters at the last minute to want to adjust their bow, another of the bow hunting sins.
The most common is that they are not grouped with razors and it is not always easy to solve them.
Be sure to do a knife shooting test three to four months before the opening day, for the best results.
This will give you plenty of time to experiment with knives and start practicing.
No exception is mechanical knives.
Compared to practice tips, nearly all have exposed blades and will strike differently.
In the arc, firing shape, etc.,
knives tend to amplify the slightest error, so the knives aren’t always at fault.
This is why you need sufficient time to diagnose and resolve the issue.
The Bad Practice
Once you have a group, keep in mind that regular practice is not enough.
In real life, you require hunting practice to maximize your potential in the bush.
Don’t trust yourself, don’t comment on those bow-hunting sins.
This implies wearing all your hunting gear, mask, gloves and boots, and climbing a tree from an elevated platform to shoot.
To make it even more realistic, use a white deer for the best results and try training in the early morning or late afternoon.
This will heighten your confidence.
Bad scan
You’ll be told by any experienced hunter: make sure you explore more than you hunt.
When the season starts, you probably have not explored enough if you are not confident about your hunting area.
The first day at the spy house, as I said before, is the most crucial. You’ve gotta make it count.
The importance of this is known to serious bowhunters, and they start exploring from the postseason through late summer and early fall.
This gives them a better perspective on the best areas to hunt, the movement of deer, and where the best places for stalking are.
Get off early
Nobody likes to sit for hours on end in a small seat, particularly when there is no movement.
Sitting still and hunting can, however, pay off during the late morning and midday.
Statistics have shown for years that during midday, a large percentage of deer are hunted.
You will have to be cold and comfortable to last longer.
This means wearing lots of clothing layers and the right footwear and, if necessary, extra-thick seat cushions and also having food and water.
Afraid of the dark
Walking to your booth with a lamp is certainly comforting, but it could scare away any deer in the area.
It’s better to tighten the seatbelt and go in the darkness.
Then consider using a lamp with a red or green filter if you have trouble moving around in the dark.
These colored filters make it hard for deer to see and find you in the light.
Waiting to shoot for too long
There is a very fine line with this rule, but when the opportunity presents itself, it is best to take the shot in general.
Don’t expect your shot to be perfect, because it rarely comes.
Do not waste your time if a deer walks within range and you see the opportunity; open the bow.
This also implies opening the bow well ahead of time, so at any moment you’re ready to fire.
When a deer is in sight, you shouldn’t get ready.
They are likely to see your move and you are going to ruin the opportunity.
In effective bowhunting, patience is a fundamental rule, but being too patient can be bad.
You’ve got to learn to move slowly but react quickly.
This may be the only chance you will have throughout the season.
To avoid them and be better prepared when you go out in the season, you need to be aware of these bowhunting sins.
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