The term bow hunting, at times also spelled as ‘bowhunting’, refers to the practice of hunting game animals by archery, i.e. using bow and arrow. Bows have been used for hunting animals, since thousands of years. Initially, hunting was an important source of food, but today, it has become more of a sport, than a means to get food. Even though various weapons used for hunting have changed, use of bow for hunting still remains the same. In fact, many bow hunting enthusiasts feel that hunting with bow and arrow is altogether, a new adventure. Over the period of time, the tools as well the techniques of hunting have been improvised to near perfection. Inculcating these bow hunting tips in you hunt escapades will undoubtedly, increase your chances of getting a game or two with immense ease. Read more on bow and arrow history.
Bow Hunting Tips for Beginners
If you plan to take hunting as a hobby, you will have to take a note of few things. The foremost thing to keep in mind is the maintenance of your hunting gear. An ill-maintained bow will either come apart or injure somebody whilst hunting. In order to avoid such unnecessary hassles, you should take proper care of your bow as well as other hunting equipments. Given below are some more bow hunting tips which will help you to get accustomed to using your bow on a hunt, before you go for an actual outing.
- Choosing the right bow is important when it comes to bow hunting. A compound bow has an advantage over the traditional long bows, as it sports eccentric wheels or cams on the upper as well as lower limbs.
- You will require at least 45 lbs of draw weight, i.e. the maximum power required to pull the string of the bow to the full extent, to kill an animal by an arrow. Remember that draw weight and trajectory of the arrow have a direct relationship, i.e. the higher the draw weight the flatter will be the trajectory.
- Practicing will help you in determining your capacity to take down an animal. The range within which you can do so is referred to the as the effective kill range (EKR). Your EKR will increase only with time and experience.
- While practicing, make sure that you do it with entire hunting gear, including the clothes. If you are used to practicing in jeans and t-shirt, you will feel uncomfortable when you are on actual hunt, in proper hunting gear.
- Instead of going to the animal, it is always better to wait for it to come to you. This will ensure that you don’t alert the animal with the noise you may make while approaching it. Being a novice, there are significant chances that you will falter, and alert the animal which will take the hint and bolt for good. However, remember that you will become perfect with experience.
- The ideal distance between you and the prey when taking the shot should not exceed 40 yards. Although it is possible to take a successful shot from farther, the chances of hitting the target decrease as the distance increases. On the other hand, the chances of you alerting the animal increase when you get closer to the animal, so professional hunters suggest that a distance between 20 to 40 yards is ideal for bow hunting.
- Make sure that you are well versed with the anatomy of the animal you are hunting. The idea is to kill the animal with a single shot, and if you don’t hit the right spot the injured animal will flee, thus leaving you quite disappointed.
One of the most important bow hunting tips is to be patient. At times, you may come across several animals, and at other times, you may not even spot a single one. Don’t get disappoint if, a couple of outings go bad, it was just not meant to be your day. Keep practicing, as it will sharpen your hunting skills and increase your chances of getting a kill.
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The biggest advantage of bow hunting is that the hunting seasons for it are relatively longer when compared to rifle hunting seasons. Other than these bow hunting tips and tricks, you should also take hunting rules and regulations, stipulated by the local authorities, into consideration. Now that you are armed with some of the best bow hunting tips, you can go ahead and practice them. Put some hard work and soon enough, you will get well versed with all the technicalities, and thus, become a good hunter.