Bowhunting Equipment

Bowhunting Tips FAQ


A good rule of thumb is thatif you can hear your fingernail scraping against the clothing then it is toonoisy.Above all else....Practice, Practice, Practice. A lost trail always extends beyond the evidence.>From Bruce Conner: I've decided to take up Bowhunting. Be sure not toput any strips that will interfere with your shooting!This is a section of the FAQ for alt.archery. Be sure tobathe thouroughly in a non-scent type soap each time you plan to hit thewoods. Comments on the specifics of the section can be addressed to eitherme or the person responsible for this section. Cut as few branches as possible to allow for a clean shot.In a 40 acre timbered area, I place 2-5 stands. Deer use differenttrails to go to and from bedding areas. During the middle of the day go to thesespots and find the entrance trail. Evening stands are placed along trails leading to the foodsource. First, it is really important becuase you may needto stop instantly when you see game. For the most part itis made up of large tracts of farm land mixed with small timbered lots. Get your patterns down to as small aspossible ( if you can't get consistent patterns under 4" at a certain rangethen you have no business taking the shot at that range). I cover every part of my bodyincluding hands and face. I don't have all the answers, but I can give you some of the methodsthat have worked for me.Here in central Illinois, the land is basically flat. I don't like to use a stand more than once a week, two weeks isbetter. I hang it between 12 and 20 feet offthe ground. I have only been hunting for the last four years yet thesetactics have enabled me to harvest three whitetail deer.>From L. I read every thing I can inthe hunting magazines. I shoot 31 inch long Easton camo hunters. If addressed to me, Iwill forward them to the author of the section. If you can,simulate real situations with foam targets partially hidden or in tightquarters. If you wish to see thissection cross-posted to another group, please e-mail me a request to doso. It is equiped with pin sights, flipper rest, stabilizer, stringsilencers, and quiver. It is illegal to carry a weapon after dark.If at all possible, don't track at night. It is impossible to keep yourbearings once the woods have turned black.Leave your bow or gun at camp. It MUST be as sharp as possible.Multi-blade broadheads cut bigger holes than single blade models.The best practice a bowhunter can get is by helping someone else track adeer. It seems that what one expert says is the opposite ofanother. It willbe very frustrating going for that shot of a lifetime only to find out thatthe headnet you just bought has a wire that covers your sight line at fulldraw, or the jacket has buttons that catch the string on release! Iuse a commercial folding platform stand. Judgingrange also seems to be one of the biggest problems that Bowhunters have in thefield. Keep inmind that some if not all that follows is personal preference type stuff andtherefore eligible for dispute by any number of people!When tree stand hunting cut and attach branches of the local greenery tothe lower areas of your stand. Know your target, knowyour abilities and ranges. Last but certianly not least, practice in full gear. Lookfordeer sign such as droppings, tracks, bedding areas, and rub marks on trees.Find a spot about fity to one hundred yards from the edge of the field. Lower than that and the deer see me, higher and the shot anglegets too steep. Make sure that you are smooth on the draw and that the anchorpoint and release are consistent. Moleskin placed anywhere that may come into contactwith an arrow works wonders. Morning stands are placedalong trails that lead from the food source, corn, beans, acorns, to thebedding area. MostWhitetail hunters use some kind of sights, camo clothing, and a portable treestand. My bow is a Jennings Sonic XL set at70lbs. My favorite trees are oak with multiple branches at my standheight. Noise is also a bigger factor in Bowhunting than othermethods simply because of the effective range. Once you are comfortable at the distances you plan to huntthen start shooting out of the your stand from the height you plan on beingopening morning. Only sit a stand when the wind isblowing from the direction you expect the deer to approach. Other common mistakes are cooking/standing near a the fire/coming intocontact with anything that has a strong odor while wearing the gear that youplan to hunt in. Other equipment includes binoculars, deer scents, and calling devices.My personal preference is a compound. Others may disputethe 4" size up and down but the bottom line is that any animal that youwound and do not recover is wasted and as such it becomes fuel for theanti-hunting fires! Pick atree 15-20 yards off the trail and place a plateform stand 12-18 feet off theground. Practice range estimation in terrain like that which you intend tohunt. Practice with as much realism as possible. Practice with your bow and shootwithin your range. Removing human scent from your clothing and body is much more effectivethan a cover scent will ever be. Second, and even more important ingeneral, is that when you place your front foot down slowly and carefully, youwon't tend to break twigs and put your foot down hard on the ground. Simulate the terrain where you hunt, whether it is wide open plainsor thick cover. Some of the best places to hunt are water ways. StehrAFTER THE SHOTA shot deer knows that something has happened, but he usually doesn't knowwhat, where or why.He has nothing to fear or flee from unless you provide the noise or themotion to send him on his way.An arrow kills by bleeding the animal. Takeeach piece of equipment that you have and do everything possible to eliminateany noise that it makes. The first time you sit a stand is your best chance for getting ashot.While on the stand be alert. The fletch is off set slightly to rotate the arrow in flight.My broadheads are three bladed Thunderhead 125's. The type of camo depends on the surroundings. These are placed as close to the bedding area as you can withoutspooking the deer. These have three removablevented razor blades and a chisel point.Clothing consists of head to toe camo. These stands are placed closer to the field edges. Thetimbered area that I hunt contains a mix of White Oak, Hickory, and Walnuttrees. They bed during the day in the timber and feed at night inthe open fields. This allows me to shoot finger style without getting pinched.The wheels are modified cams. This area will be behind the shoulder blade anddown midway of the body.If the animal seems extremely cautious then it may have picked up scent ormovement coming from the hunter. This does not imply that cover scents areuseless but if you are sweaty or spilled gas on your boots filling up thetruck then all the doe pee in the world won't fool that Big Buck! This has recurve limbs with a wheel to wheel distanceof 43 inches. This serves two purposes:it provides natural Camouflage andit provides some natural scent to use as cover.Be sure to attach in such a way as to not hinder your firing lanesThe preferred shot placement is a heart/lung shot with the animalquartering *away* from you. This translates into a smoother more powerful pattern with abetter ability to hold the pull for long periods of time.Noise and scent are by far the two worst enemies that a Bowhunter canhave. This willlessen its ability to crouch and jump before the arrow hits.Always pull to full draw with the bow sighted above your target because ittakes less energy to lower the sight to the target than it does to bring it upto the target. When preparing for the season the first project isto work on form. When snow is on the ground I wear whitecoveralls. When the heart stops pumping, he won'ttravel much farther.He may abandon any trail he has been following and head for heavy brush.Check out dense thickets and blow downs.If still no luck, sweep the surrounding terrain.Sometimes other animals may tell you where your game is. While many people will boastthat they have accurate ranges comparable to that of Robin Hood lore, the factis that most successful kills with a bow are taken with 5-30 yard shots. While the crops are high enough to hide them, they may stayin the fields all the time.By watching the edges of fields, you can determine where the deer areentering and leaving the timber. Yes, Iknow it sounds kinda dumb, but hear me out. You can use a long bow, recurve or compound. You haven'tgiven the animal enough to bleed out.Try to get your animal when it first lays down. You might needto back track.If your deer has laid down and you jump it, STOP TRACKING. You will gain valuable experience and some day, when you need a hand,they just might return the favor.Something to think about.The place where you loose the trail is not necessarily the place where itends.