Nowadays, hunters around the globe could use a wide variety of state-of-the-art weapons to hunt their preys. However, a lot of people still prefer to test their knowledge of terrain and patience by hunting with a bow. In contrast with advanced firearms, you have to be close to your target to get a kill using a bow. If you are an experienced archer and plan to take up hunting, consider choosing your bow as your primary weapon. When you are good at handling a bow and arrow, there is little need to familiarize yourself with another weapon
That being said, things may get slightly difficult for novice hunters when they get used to various aspects of bowhunting. In fact, a couple of challenges associated with this style of hunting may be too great to overcome for some. Fortunately, if you are new to bowhunting and in need of guidance, you should able to find it right here. In this article, you would be provided with some tips and tricks that should offer considerable improvements your bowhunting experience. Take a look at them in order to have a good time on the field.
1/ Choose A Suitable Hunting Bow
“I already own a good bow so I don’t have to a get a new one” you may think. Well, you could technically use any bow you want but there are considerable differences between hunting bows and archery bows. In most of the case, hunting bows are optimized for speed, power, endurance and maneuverability while their archery counterparts mostly lean toward long range accuracy. Given the fact that you are hunting animals and not stationary targets, it’s strongly advised that you grab a quality purpose designed hunting bow.
There are 3 types of hunting bows on the market: Longbow, Compound bow and Recurve bow. All you have to do now is to select the bow type that suits your needs and requirements the most. For budget-minded hunters, it’s a good idea to buy a used bow instead to a brand new one. That would let you get to know the characteristics of a hunting bow, you could always upgrade your bow later. Needless to say, you must make sure that the bow you about to get is in working condition and stay away from worn out bows.
2/ Take The Arrows Into Account
Generally speaking, you have two choices when it comes to hunting arrows: Aluminum and Carbon. Aluminum arrows are available in numerous size and they tend to come at reasonable prices. On the other hand, arrows that are made from aluminum bend easily so their overall durability is not exactly good. Using modern manufacturing procedures, carbon hunting arrows are much lighter, more resilient and produce deeper penetration compare to aluminum ones. About their drawbacks, carbon arrows don’t offer a lot of sizes to choose from.
Aside from the arrow material, it’s important that you pay attention to the tip of the arrow as well. Multiple arrowhead designs are present on the market but if you want to be versatile and flexible, select broadhead arrows. For most of the time, broadhead arrows would enter the prey with relative ease and that guarantee a clean kill. Most people like to use arrows with broadhead tip while hunting deer but you could use them to good results on many other animals too
3/ Assemble A Field Dressing Kit
After you manage to put down your prey, the next thing to do is to quickly remove its internal organ. The task is commonly referred to as “dressing the game” and it may get quite messy from time to time. Therefore, it’s essential that you prepare yourself beforehand and put together a dressing kit. A good kit should include a pair of shoulder length gloves, a couple of razor-sharp knives, a coil of rope and some nylon bags. These dressing items would be enough to help you process the prey and then preserve the quality of its meat.
As you dress your prey, you are recommended to refrain from jerking the arrow because it could create a mess. Just cut deep into the animal and when the arrow become accessible, take it out. At any given time, you must not carry the animal on your shoulder or other hunters could accidentally shoot you. Wrap a piece of cloth around the animal carcass and drag it using a rope. In the case you are far from home, it’s a good idea to place several ice bags into the carcass to keep everything cool.
4/ Acquire Necessary Documents (license, permit, …)
Depending on where you live, you have to obtain a couple of important papers to legally hunt with a bow. You should take a look at the rules and regulation of the nearby reservation areas to get your application ready. After you manage to obtain the required documents, you may start chasing after your prey. Nonetheless, you should remember that your hunting privilege could be taken away if you violate the laws of the reservation. From the type of weapon to the limit of game, there are requirements for everything and you must obey them. Get familiar with the current hunting requirements so you don’t mess up by mistake.
5/ Scout The Area In Advance
Once you have chosen an appropriate hunting ground, you need to start scouting and get a feel of the terrain. Be thorough and you should be to locate places that your prey tend to visit. Keep an eye on signs like droppings, tracks, broken branches and so on since they usually indicate high traffic areas. As animals have a very keen sense of hearing, you have to be still and quiet while waiting for potential preys to come into view. It’s likely you only have one chance to shoot before the animal could notice you so make it count. In most of the case, you should prioritize important organs to quickly incapacitate your prey.