Posted by Stokerized on 2/10/2022 to
Bow hunting is one of the most popular outdoor recreational sports there is. One of the reasons it appeals to people so much is because of the primitive nature of the experience. You have to be more active and involved in the hunt. You cannot just sit around and wait for game to come to you because it will have to come a lot closer if you are a bow hunting and it's unlikely to happen.
Even fishing with a bow and arrow requires more movement as the fisherman needs to find fish that are close enough to the surface of the water to have a shot at getting them. However, while that all sounds like a lot of work, the truth is that this is one of the most exciting and enjoyable sports you can take part in.
Why People Love Bow Hunting
Think of the sport as a way of transporting back thousands of years. This is how people used to get their food and it required patience, endurance, stealth and accuracy. There is no experience like going on a hunt with a bow and arrow and it’s far more rewarding than almost any other type of hunt there is. In fact, it’s so rewarding that many experienced hunters refuse to use a firearm now when they head out.
Challenges Of Bow Hunting
Before you begin working on the skill of bow hunting you need to first understand the challenges that you will have to take on with this adventure. While it is a fun and rewarding experience there is a reason that many people do not take part in this challenge. Here are some of the best examples why:
- Closer range: The first and most important challenge that comes with bow hunting is that you have to be closer to the target. Depending on your accuracy with a firearm, you can be hundreds of feet away or further from the target then you would have to be with a bow and arrow.
- Need more accuracy: Because you have to be closer to the target you also need to be more accurate. While accuracy is important with a firearm as well, you do not have the reload capabilities when hunting with a bow that you would with a firearm.
- Stealth: In order to have an opportunity at the game you need to be able to get to a close distance from the target. This is extremely challenging when hunting any animal and requires you to learn how to be even stealthier when you are hunting. Stealth requires everything including taking notice of what you're wearing, your scent, any sounds you are making and more. Try getting all your gear on and walking from one side of the house to another without making a lot of noise and you can see just how difficult it can be.
- More active: If one of the things you love about hunting is to sit around and relax with your friends as game approaches then you probably are not going to love this style. Bow hunting requires an active strategy where you are constantly on your feet and moving around trying to find the best place for an ambush or trying to find the perfect location to target game.
It's important that you consider all of these challenges before you take an interest in the sport because you cannot take shortcuts when it comes to this type of hunt. It requires great dedication as you have to commit to learning a new skill that will make every adventure all the more challenging but also more rewarding.
Secret Tips
If you are still interested in getting started and you've actually enjoyed your experiences using these type of tools then the next thing you need to know are some of the secret tricks and tips to having more success. These tips may seem basic but there are things experienced hunters have learned and utilize for decades.
- Great shoes: One of the first and most important tips you are ever going to learn is to have great shoes and to take care of your feet. While that may seem obvious, there's a reason why it's the first and most important tip that you need to know. Quality socks and great shoes can be a major difference maker when you are hunting. Because you are out in the wilderness and you have to be active, you need the best possible footwear to protect your feet, keep them warm and minimize any noise you are making as you move around.
- Practice as much as possible: A great thing about going on a hunt is that you have to utilize dozens of skills in order to be successful. This is a rewarding challenge and one that you can practice quite often. Some hunters will even practice at home, using their yard for working on ways to hide better, improve positioning and so forth. Practice makes perfecting and learning to shoot a bow is going to take a lot of time and energy.
- Don’t use any gear for the first time: Practice is also important for getting comfortable in your gear. We always hear about baseball players with their gloves, or hockey goalies with their pads and needing to break them in. The reason is because brand new gear may not be as comfortable or work as well and breaking it in allows you to be more comfortable in the gear while using it for sport. Let’s go back to the shoes as an example. Do you think using the shoes for the first time ever in the wilderness when you will be wearing them all day is smart? Or should you wear them several times to break them in first?
- Don’t try to rough it at first: This sport is challenging enough without having to make it even tougher. Because it is a more primitive hunting style people prefer the idea of roughing the hunt and trying to make the adventure even tougher. This might include using less gear while out in the wilderness or excluding yourself from certain comforts back at camp. It's better to take everything in steps and get more comfortable with the sport then trying to do the extreme side of things.
If you are interested in trying bow hunting, the first thing you need to work on is getting as accurate as possible in as short an amount of time as possible. You cannot underestimate the challenge of trying to get set up and shoot an accurate arrow at a small target that will also probably be moving, even a little. It’s a true challenge and one that requires your full attention and effort.