Hello Everyone, My name is Tom. I have been a long time reader of this forum. I am hoping for some of you to help me out with a research project I am doing for college. I am studying the ideology and techniques of the hunting subculture. I need to gather a wide variety of points of view from different hunters. All names will be changed and strictly confidential. Please write as much or as little as you want. Thanks again guys. 1. How do you maintain your skills under pressure? 2. How do you personally view archery hunting? 3. What special skills or techniques need to be developed to become an effective hunter? 4. What do you think is the biggest misconception you hear when talking with people who do not hunt? 5. How concerned are you with safety while archery hunting? 6. On a scale of 1 - 10, how important is your bow to you? 7. What is your reaction when you finally hit a deer with your arrow? 8. Who taught you how to archery hunt? 9. What do you think about while hunting in the woods? 10. How often do you practice and what do you do to maintain proficiency? 11. Do you view archery as a sport or an art?
Decide to stop relying on unknown butchers and farmers to supply you your food and pick up the bow yourself and all will be revealed to you. Or just ask a Masterhunter
1. How do you maintain your skills under pressure? Practice, preparation, and prayer. Although I don't always maintain my skills under pressure, I missed a doe earlier this year. 2. How do you personally view archery hunting? A year long challenge involving conservation, habitat and herd management, Deer knowledge, training, preparation, enjoying nature, and gathering meat. 3. What special skills or techniques need to be developed to become an effective hunter? A keen sense of sight, basic knowledge of wildlife biology and sociology, self control, and dedication. 4. What do you think is the biggest misconception you hear when talking with people who do not hunt? Viewing hunting as a sport centered around hanging trophies on the wall. 5. How concerned are you with safety while archery hunting? Extremely. Feet never leave the ground without being strapped in. 6. On a scale of 1 - 10, how important is your bow to you? 10 being the things most important to me? 2 10 being the things most important to me only considering hunting? 8 7. What is your reaction when you finally hit a deer with your arrow? Excitement, adrenaline, and focus on where the shot was and where the deer went. 8. Who taught you how to archery hunt? I taught myself, through resources. My Dad and Brother taught me how to deer hunt with a gun, I applied those techniques to archery hunting. 9. What do you think about while hunting in the woods? God, family, deer, food plots, wildlife, nature, and if I picked the right stand 10. How often do you practice and what do you do to maintain proficiency? I try to shoot every week all year long. I practice to 100 yds so that I feel confident at 40 11. Do you view archery as a sport or an art? Both. Basketball is a sport, but how Jordan played was an art.
1. You can only think about a few things at one time. I make sure my nose and wrists/fingers are positioned correctly. I repeat a "mantra" of "Fingertips & Follow-through" to remind myself how to position my bowhand fingers and to relax immediately after pulling the trigger in order to ensure an accurate shot. 2. I view it as a step above hunting with a rifle. No offense intended for those that do. Scent control, location, timing, etc. all become much more important if you are trying to close with an animal to 50 yards or less. 3. Patience, maturity, desire to constantly improve, and being ok with being bored for hours on end. 4. Non-hunters "see" deer all the time, or at least they think they do. "Deer are always in my backyard" etc. I guarantee you that if they started "trying" to see deer rather than seeing them just by chance, they would start to better understand how much work it takes to consistently see deer in an area. The biggest misconception in my opinion is how much work it takes to harvest any deer, let alone enough to fill the freezer. 5. I worry about 2 things in regards to safety. 1 if I'm in a treestand, I worry about making sure I'm wearing my harness. If I am, then I don't worry about it anymore. 2 I always worry about where my arrow is headed if I miss (the background) so I'm not shooting towards nearby homes/people. 6. 10 because it's the only bow I have, lol It's a tool, just like my treestand. 7. Excitement and adrenaline for all the time and effort paying off. 8. I taught myself for the first 3 years (and watching Bowhunt or Die religiously). Have a buddy that taught me some for the last few seasons. 9. How annoying squirrels are. How much battery my phone has left. Where the deer are because I don't see any. Am I calling too much, not enough? What should/could I be doing differently to improve my deer sightings. I think about missing my family, especially on days where I strike out. What the moon guide said today would be like. How many piss bottles I have left. How cold my feet currently are. ... ... ... 10. I practice on and off during the off season, ramp up to every day prior to opening day, and usually once a week or so during the season. 11. Shooting a bow qualifies as a sport. Hunting itself is an art that utilizes a sport.
Wow! These are great responses guys. This is definitely what I was looking for. Keep'm coming guys I am hoping for at least 7 - 10 responses. Thank you very for your help. Good luck in the woods this season!
1. How do you maintain your skills under pressure? Practicing under as close to real situations as you can, shooting from a tree stand all of your gear on things like that. 2. How do you personally view archery hunting? As a hobby and a way of life I enjoy it to no end and could not see my self a part of this world with out it. 3. What special skills or techniques need to be developed to become an effective hunter? Patience and the ability to maintain composer when something goes wrong because it will. 4. What do you think is the biggest misconception you hear when talking with people who do not hunt? The biggest is that people think we harvest something every time or that we are killing just for fun. 5. How concerned are you with safety while archery hunting? Very I always wear a harness in the tree and always make sure i have a clear safe shot before i shoot. 6. On a scale of 1 - 10, how important is your bow to you? 8 7. What is your reaction when you finally hit a deer with your arrow? Depends on where i hit the deer, if it is a good shot than relief and excitement, if it is a bad shot than sadness and fear 8. Who taught you how to archery hunt? My father 9. What do you think about while hunting in the woods? Everything, people places i have been things i have to do anything to keep my mind occupied while i scan the woods 10. How often do you practice and what do you do to maintain proficiency? During season three times a week for at least an hour and during the off season 5 to 6 days a week and i constantly pt my self in different situations that would mimic a hunting situation i could face in the woods 11. Do you view archery as a sport or an art? Both its a sport that anybody can do it but its an art because it is a chess mass between us and the animals we hunt.
1. How do you maintain your skills under pressure? At this point, I can maintain breathing and rely on my muscle memory. This doesn't happen without years of practice 2. How do you personally view archery hunting? Therapy. I can flush out 11 months of real-world BS with 14 days in the stand 3. What special skills or techniques need to be developed to become an effective hunter? There are many different ways to skin a cat. But learning how to see with your ears is my biggest hunting asset. That and being a really good judge of distance. I'm pretty much dead on guessing out to 50 yards. 4. What do you think is the biggest misconception you hear when talking with people who do not hunt? That it's cruel. Usually an opinion held by people who eat store bought meat and wear leather. 5. How concerned are you with safety while archery hunting? Not much any more. I have good equipment and wear a harness. I have owned some climbers that scared the hell out of me, though. (I'm talking to you, Ameristep!) 6. On a scale of 1 - 10, how important is your bow to you? Hard to quantify without knowing what criteria to base "importance". I mean would I hawk my bow if times were rough? Maybe; but I do own 2 so that makes the decision a little easier. I'm not a slave to brands but I shoot Mathews and Mission. They're both great bows. 7. What is your reaction when you finally hit a deer with your arrow? Depends. If I know I put one in the boiler room then I'm only focused on the place of impact and the last place I saw the deer. If I'm not sure then I start to feel nauseous. 8. Who taught you how to archery hunt? Dad. My cousin has been very helpful also. 9. What do you think about while hunting in the woods? Where the heck are the deer? Was that a squirrel? I hate squirrels. Shut up squirrel. You too, bluejay. Wonder if I can get that granola bar out without spooking anything. Did I remember to lock my truck? Why does my wife choose to pick a text fight when I'm in a treestand? Women are stupid. I miss my wife. Wait, was that a squirrel? My feet are cold. I knew I should have gone to my other stand today. Meh, beats working! 10. How often do you practice and what do you do to maintain proficiency? I don't practice shooting nearly as much as I could, but I used to practice hundreds of shots per week. It's pretty much all muscle memory now so I usually shoot a couple hours in the month prior to season, then 1-3 arrows per day when I'm at deer camp. Not to be immodest but I am a really good shot and don't need much practice. Just enough to make sure my equipment is locked in. Now, something that I need to practice much more is getting my stands and equipment up and down the tree smooth, easy, and quick. It's usually the end of season before I get my routine/technique down. 11. Do you view archery as a sport or an art? Archery is a sport. Hunting is an art. Lucky for me, because if hunting was a sport I'd be losing like 18-10.
