How accurate do I need to be to start bow hunting? The last thing I want is for there to be a bunch of animals running around with my arrows sticking out of their butts. I can consistently group my arrows in a 8" circle up to 25 yds. Is that good enough?
I'd say at 25 yards you want to be tighter than that. It might be good enough for a kill shot, but there are many other factors that come into play when hunting. Wind, the animals reaction and nerves can play a major part in every shot. How long have you been shooting?
I personally would not shoot at an animal any further than I can group the size of my fist. I want to be sure I do everything I can to ensure a quick and humane kill. You can still hunt with how you are currently shooting, but I'd keep it closer. Say, 15-20 yds. Keep practicing though, and learn as much as you can about properly tuning your rig to shoot efficiently. With continued practice your groups will shrink
I think you know your ready to start hunting when you don't have to ask the question "Am I ready to start bow hunting". Last year was my first bow season and my first time picking up a bow. I practiced once every week from basically June to October and by October I felt really comfortable with everything - I don't even think you need that much practice. That said, the best piece of advice I got last year was not to shoot anything for my first kill over 25 or 30 yards. This advice came after I attempted a difficult shot on a doe at approx. 37ish yards - a shot in practice that I felt comfortable enough with, totally different thing in the tree, when you factor in nerves and limbs and everything else. I clipped the bottom of the doe and made her bleed pretty good - she was never recovered and I believe that she lived. It was a good learning experience for me - I have no business taking that long of a shot to kill a doe. I had doe from 5 to 25 yards all season, I was just overly anxious to get that first kill under my belt...
Cut a 5inch circle out of a paper plate and pin it to your target, when you can consistently get your groupings inside the circle from 30 yards, you are ready to go hunting in my opinion.
Fitz you are probably talking about a heart shot. I instead shoot for the lungs. I want the animal to bleed out for me, and die within the hour. So a melon sized group (8 inches) would be good enough for me. The lungs and heart together are about 12 inches in diameter. Whatever distance I can group to within 8 inches would become my range limitation. Right now that is 40 yards for me. Target practice at 10 or 20 yards should certainly be within the size of your fist though, agreed.
8" under 25 = ummm, no, i don't think you're ready yet...you'll miss big time in the field....you should schedule in more practice rounds...when you're within 1-3" of your target at 25, or like someone else said above (size of a fist), you should almost be there...once you're at that level, your next step is factoring in deer fever thru experience...haha
I've only been shooting for a month or so with my boys (10 & 13), but I'm already itching to get out there. Once I get more accurate, what's the best way to go about my first hunt? None of my friends bow hunt, and my boys are not ready, so I'm on my own. How do I hook up with some other hunters that are willing to show a noob the ropes?
this being my second year, my first year i had a solid 10 and 20 yard pin, for where i am hunting that was all i needed ask yourself what kind of terrain your hunting (open fields, small clearings,big crp patches, ect) and then see what the farthest shot you would need to make in that area from that stand would be.
Just practice as much as you can all summer and keep solid form! Not only that practice how your going to hunt. If your going to be hunting from a treestand then practice elevated shots, blind- shoot from a blind, ect! You need to teach your body how to properly adjust to the elements your going to be hunting out of. Good luck and ask alot of questions
Start by filling out your profile so bowhunters can tell where you are. You might also try to find an archery club nearby. That is usually the very best thing. There are usually 3 kinds of archers at any given archery club -- - the target recurve crowd (a lot of kids shooting for college scholarships in archery) - the longbow purists (these are older guys who dress up like Robinhood and shoot longbows not very good but having a lot of fun and comraderie) - the compound bowhunters (the cutting edge in technology).
get yourself into some local leagues or tournaments, 3D Archery is fun. if you have some buddies to shoot with round them up and get together and just shoot. try different things, arrows, tips, fletchings, wraps. see what you like to shoot best out of your bow. i love the blazer vanes just for the fact that they are very durable and they are shorter so they will not get in the way as easy. plus they wont get wet like feathers. but most of all just have fun with it.
No, I'm not. I shoot for a dbl lung everytime. What I'm talking about is my choice for how accurate I should be. For me it's the size of my fist. I always try and err on the side of caution. There's a difference in being able to make a shot, and knowing you'll make a shot. You can drive down the highway if you can keep it between the ditches... but I like to be better than that
I read somewhere here the other day that if you can cover a grapefruit at whatever distance/circumstance you are going to hunt in that should be fine. (My interpretation of the wording) Sounds reasonable. RC
best advice i csn give you is keep practicing until you dont have to ask that question again. the reason i am saying that is you need to know that you are confident about your abilities not what anyone else feels. best of luck to ya
