Bow Hunting Tips

I have personally slowed my hunting down. Age and hunting mindset are causes, but it's more from "learning the hard way".

Some bow hunting tips seem obvious, but they can easily be overlooked. My bow hunting tips are simple, and more about the approach and attitude than specifics. For more specific information visit the linked pages where I've already written about them. See the deer hunting tips page also.

Bow Hunting Tips: Before the hunt.

Make a list of what you need to take with you, take care of, and finish up before you go hunting. It's not just about hunting. If the wife, family, and business are neglected; can you concentrate, can you enjoy your hunt?

How about you? Are you in good condition, practiced, ready... and your equipment, are your broad-heads sharp... "Success is when opportunity and preparedness meet."

Have you thoroughly scouted , do you know how, when, where, and why you'll hunt an area? Do you have confidence in it, or does it need more scouting?

Conditions change! Wind and weather change, landowners make changes, livestock gets moved around... trees, plants, crops, grow and die... roads and trails can change... Do you have a couple of backup hunting places/plans?

Many things can happen so give yourself some extra time to get there, and to get ready. It is better to be sitting and waiting than to be rushing around making mistakes.

Bow Hunting Tips: Early in the hunt.

Your movement is important, any movement! Driving your vehicle into an area may announce your arrival. Deer, especially older deer are not stupid, and they are always alert.

Everything you do is a possible "deal-breaker". Again, that's why the best bow hunting tips are often to slow down and think before you make any moves.

More important than driving in, is walking on a hunt, or into your blind or stand. Plan where you'll walk. Your scent can linger where you walk for several hours. Don't leave your scent anywhere upwind close to known deer corridors. If the wind direction is unpredictable or changing this can get complicated. You may want to save a place/stand/hunt for a better wind/day.

Bow Hunting Tips: On how you hunt.

The more you move around your hunting area, the more you disturb it and spread your scent around. Wear rubber boots, don't touch or rub against anything you can avoid.

I've tried decoys, scents, remote calls... but you must move around to place these things. They sometimes work, but I now prefer more simple authentic hunting with less disturbance to my hunting area.

It may seem obvious, but when you get on stand, get organized. You'll make some noise and disturbance getting there anyway. You'll likely be earlier than when you expect any real action. When you first get on stand is the best time to move around and make sure everything is organized.

Later in the hunt something may be troubling you, but you don't want to move or make the noise necessary to fix it: "I should have trimmed that limb in my shooting lane."

Make sure you can turn and move silently. Draw your bow for all likely shots. Clip or move anything which could make noise or interfere with your movement or your draw.

Measure or estimate shot ranges, have extra arrows, calls... placed conveniently but not precariously. You don't want to be fumbling around for something with a big buck in front of you. Anything which can go wrong...

Bow Hunting Tips: Key essentials.

Enjoy your time, but never completely relax. I have relaxed, gone to sleep, given-up, called-it-quits... at exactly the wrong time. Deer are somewhat predictable, but they don't wear watches, use weather predictions, or read Score-Your-Hunting pages...

Some great athletes purposely imagine making their goal, finishing first... they go over and over such success in their mind long before competing in the actual event.

We can do the same. Sitting on stand or slipping through the woods. Imagine what a deer is likely to do, what you'll do, and how you'll make the shot. I've had is happen almost as scripted in my mind. It's also helps to pass the time as you wait for him.

The high pressure moment of when to draw, shoot or not shoot... is what we wait for. It's often a tough call for even for the best and most experienced bowhunter. Study deer movements, watch videos... deer are always alert, but you can quickly learn their basic body language.

The more you're around deer the better you'll be able to handle your nerves or "Buck Fever". When deer are close, in bow range, the best bow hunting tips are again most often to be slow, deliberate, and thinking before acting.

Having said that I can remember a few times when deer came charging in and surprised me. I had to act instantly, instinctively. I wish you the best, but you'll most likely still kick the dirt sometimes, "cause bowhunting ain't easy".

"Jumping or ducking the string. A deer which is already alerted is seldom a good shot to take. Deer can react to a bows sound or movement with surprising speed.

They can sometimes jump or squat to jump from the bow's sound or movement before your relatively slow arrow gets to them. This can cause an otherwise good shot to be off.

Bow Hunting Tips: After the shot!

Hopefully you'll be able to see where your arrow struck the deer. Arrowed deer seldom drop on the spot. Don't move or make any sound. Watch and listen intently to every detail, movement, and sound as the deer moves away. This may be all the information you have to find your deer.

A deer hit in the heart or lungs may jump wildly, and will most often run like crazy for for around 50 yards. They seldom go much more than 100 yards, but it depends on the hit. Even if you think your shot was good, see or hear the deer go down, it's still a good idea to wait for a half hour.

A gut shot deer may spread his legs and/or hunch his back. If you see this, or you think you made a gut shot, wait, wait, wait. If not pushed he will most likely bed down soon, but take a while to die.

If you go after him you'll push him and most likely loose him. Wait several hours, overnight is probably best, depending on the temperature, weather, and other factors.

The deer will lie down soon if he's hurt. If your shot put him down he's not going anywhere unless you push him. Given enough time he's more likely to die or be too stiff and hurt to get up.

When you finally decide to move mark the location where the deer was hit. Use tissue, ribbon, take a digital picture, use GPS...

Find your arrow if possible and examine it carefully. A lung shot may have tiny air bubbles in the blood. Dark hair indicates a high shot, light colored hair a lower hit. Green slimy material a gut shot.

If you find a good blood trail you'll likely find your deer quickly. Blood trails don't always start at the point of impact. It can start a good distance away, or it can disappear after some distance.

Finding little or no blood does not necessarily mean a poor hit. The deer is often bleeding internally. His lungs could be filling with blood. If so, he will die shortly.

If your not sure, once again the best bow hunting tips are to slow down. Go eat lunch, take a nap, wait until tomorrow, then bring a couple of friends to help search. Walk the expected path of departure and put a friend on each side gradually widening the search.

When you begin to search be methodical, use a system. Start walking where you think he went. Look for sign, blood on the ground, on higher leaves and limbs. Look for insects which quickly find and feed on the blood. Go as far as you think the deer would have gone.

Mark the place where you stop. Turn around and walk back to one side of your path. Carefully walk each side of your original path getting a little further away with each trip back and fourth. The terrain and foliage can make a search fairly easy or very difficult.

Bow Hunting Tips: Example!

I couldn't see the arrow's impact, didn't know how to "read" the body language of an arrowed deer, and I wasn't even sure I hit him.

I got up immediately and quietly searched for my arrow which was in him. Soon it was night, dark night. With my weak headlamp I continued to search for the arrow, looked for blood, and for any sigh.

He'd ran off down a tree row, and I expected to find something there. I found no sign even when I walked a fair distance to each side. Not prepared to stay the night, I finally gave up and drove the 50 miles home.

The next morning in a gentle rain I drove back wondering what to do. I found my deer without getting out of the truck. He was just off the trail I drove in on.

He was only about 100 yards from where I'd arrowed him. Evidently he had gone in a half circle probably less than 300 total yards. He died at the edge of the farm's road.

I'd probably been within 30 yards in the dark, but didn't go far enough over to that side. It was early October with the overnight temperatures in the 80's. He smelled, the meat was no good. :-(

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