Bow Hunting Tips and Tactics

Traditional bow hunting can be a very exciting and rewarding sport. It is often much more challenging than using a firearm and requires more strength, patience, and even skill on the part of the hunter. While many think it's all about the hunter's aim, a pro archer knows success comes from instinct. The best an archer can do is feel the bow, not just aim it.

For the first ten days, an archer will want to get a feel for the bow in his hands. Practice every day for as long as possible just shooting at a bale at chest level from ten to fifteen feet away. Draw your bow, pin the sights, then allow it to float and settle. Pull the bow steadily, applying pressure, but don't take aim! Just feel the shot if you can, allowing yourself to relax and your eyes to close.

For the remainder of the days, each day begin practice by shooting at a blank bale for the first ten minutes. Then shoot at a target for at least twenty minutes. As long as you can shoot smoothly, proceed to shoot at the target; if at any time you feel yourself starting to aim, go back to shooting just the blank bale for some few more minutes.

Some tips when shooting are to use good follow through and a nice release with no stops and starts; the goal to this is to have a shot feel natural to you. Weak or tight bow arms cause misses or might even break. Weak or tight bow arms cause misses. Apply steady pressure with feet planted firmly in the ground perpendicular to the target point.

A fun activity that allows the new archer to practice and master the art is by competing with other archers; try alternating shooting targets until someone misses the target. This will allow for healthy competition and teach the archer skill under pressure. Each archer should be able to shoot five arrows at a target from twenty yards away. Once you're both able to do this, add five feet each time. If you're unable to do this the problem is likely that you were unable to overcome the natural impulse to aim at the target.

If this is the case, start from square one and being practising with a blank bale. Following these few tips and tactics, an archer can master the art of bow hunting in a very short period.