Basing on experience, it is easy to say that bow hunting is more exciting than rifle hunting. Hence, if you have recently decided to give up on rifle hunting and give bow hunting a try, you definitely made a good decision. Bow hunting is exciting and would surely give you a novel experience. Despite the fact that there is a great discrepancy in the range of effectiveness between the rifle and the bow—the rifle hunter’s range of effectiveness being 200 yards or more, while the bow’s range of effectiveness is restricted to 2.3 yards to 42 yards—yet the experience of pulling off a great hit using a bow is far more rewarding than that of hitting your prey using a rifle.
Bow hunting is not an easy hobby, for there are definitely certain things that you should learn if you want to engage in it. Moreover, you should be cognizant of certain tips that may help you increase your effectiveness as a bow hunter, and here are ten valuable tips that you can learn by heart to ensure that you will be an effective and efficient bow hunter.
- Practice makes perfect:
You should practice your craft all summer so that when the hunting season comes in, you are well-prepared for hunting. Great hunters are not created instantaneously, and just like what the old adage would usually remind you that practice makes perfect, you should also hone your bow hunting skills even before you face the real hunting process. Remember that nothing is achieved without sacrifice. Hence, you should sacrifice some of your time and effort beforehand, perfecting the use of bow and arrow to ensure that you will never come out empty-handed during the hunting season. Practices will definitely allow you to figure out your weak points in your bow hunting skill. Hence, prior practices will allow you to correct whatever is erroneous and defective in your hunting style.
- Get the Best Hunting Tools and Accessories:
You should likewise ensure that you got the best hunting tools and accessories. If you want to feel good about your new outdoor hobby, you got to buy one of the best hunting bows at hand. However, whatever bow you choose, you should ensure that it is reliable and can be adjusted to fit your specific shooting needs. Moreover, aside from the right bow, you should also have the needed accessories for bow hunting. You may be needing tools such as knife and other tools that may be useful during your bow-hunting spree. You may also need a bow stand or a ladder if you are hunting on areas where there are many pine trees. Shooting sticks is the best hunting tool for hold a bow.
- Know the Place where you are going to hunt:
It is imperative that you scout the place where you are going to hunt prior to your hunting. Just like what every good hunter does, you need to know the terrain and the movement of your potential targets. This means that you should spend much time in the open field to familiarize yourself with the outside conditions. The more you engage in scouting, the more you become a better bow hunter. You need to know top best place for deer hunting if you wanna hunt a deer with bow
- Know your Effective Range:
You should also understand and know your effective kill range or EKR. This range is definitely the range wherein you can effectively hit your target. It is also the range where you can aim at your 9-inch circle. Many bow hunters place their EKR at around 40 yards. At this range, they are very effective in hitting their target. Others however place their EKR lower than that. EKR is definitely relative to your ability, and it depends on you to discover your effective kill range. Now once you have figured out your EKR, it behooves you to limit yourself within that range to ensure that you are within your effective range. However, if you want to increase your EKR, you can surely work on it by honing your skills further.
- Wind and Temperature: Hone Your Senses
The wind plays a big factor in your hit and miss. If you are quick to figure out the movement of the wind, you can definitely improve on your targeting skills. The wind readily shifts from one direction to another; hence, you should make the wind work in your favor, otherwise, you would be prone to missing your target.
- Be diligent in hunting:
Hence, you should condition your senses and body for the hunting process. Bow hunting is not for the weak of body and stamina. Hence, you should work out your body to improve your stamina and strength. Great hunters are patient. They sometimes sit and wait in one corner, waiting for their prey. For this reason, if you want to be successful in hunting, you need to be up to the rigor and challenge of bow hunting.
- Attract your target:
Deer are often attracted to scents, and if you know how to play with scents, you can easily draw your target closer to you. Scent control is necessary if you want to get closer to your target. Moreover, you can immediately drive away your target if your target smells your scent. You should therefor use scentless soap when showering before going for a hunt.
- Ask the Expert:
When you are not sure about what you are doing, you should ask someone who is more knowledgeable and more experienced in the field of bow hunting.
Moreover, you should also do your research on bow hunting to ensure that you are well-equipped good ideas on how to effectively hunt.
- The Value of Good Vantage Point:
Always bear in mind that your success as a bow hunter is determined more often by your correct stand or position. For this reason, you should set yourself in strategic position that allows you to get a closer look at your target.
- Know the behavior of your target:
Make sure that you read more about your target preys and learn their daily habits and behavior. With this knowledge at hand, you can definitely predict their behavior, and you will get good hits along the way.
