Today I have a guest post from friend Robert Rice on archery hunting. It’s a subject I’m very interested in and have no had a chance to do yet. You can find more of Roberts work on his Facebook page Here and his website Here. So lets all go learn about it. -James
Archery Hunting :
New Age with an old age twist
Well the first thing I should tell you is I’m from Wyoming, I’m 30 years old and have been archery hunting for 8 years now, but I have been hunting since I was 4. I remember one of the keys to hunting, at least when I was a kid, is to always think ahead of your game. Whatever you might be hunting you have to be thinking ahead of him thinking about where he is going not where he is, thinking about what he is going to do not what he is doing.
Now that being said there are some components out there today that can make your day in the field a lot more productive than the days of old. First thing is if you have a bow made in the 5 years you have quite an advantage over an older bow, because the bows they make now are built almost entirely for speed, and if you practice right you can take advantage of that speed by not having to get as close and not having to think as far ahead of him, and make not as true shots and still do just as much damage.
You can still buy bows that are made for more kinetic energy but they are few and far between anymore, but they are out there. My biggest piece of advice to any archery hunter is ….. You need to know the animal you are hunting, Im not talking about the type simply I am talking about the specific animal, you need to learn his habits, his patterns where he sleeps, eats, where he hangs out with the boys, where he goes chasing women. All of that will make you more aware of what he is going to do next, and more able to make the shot you have been working towards.
This post will be broken into 3 more parts because this subject is very broad hopefully I can hit the main points and help you guys out on your adventure.
- Picking out equipment: In this part I will go through some tips and ideas for you to get the most bang for your buck. Equipment is expensive so making your dollar go as far as you can is important.
- Practice : In this section we will go through a variety ways you can practice. I will even include a couple ideas you might like for making your own archery target.
- Scouting : In this section we will visit some reasons why you cant beat a weeks worth of scouting when archery hunting. We will also visit how learning how to archery hunt could be one of your most vital preps!
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Though this article doesn’t recommend it, there is a lot to be said of older bows. The older all fiberglass bows with 40+ lb draw weights are capable hunters with practice. They are bulletproof tough as long as it hasn’t been completely abused, and cheap on the second hand market. I found an older compound bow, a Ben Pearson Mirage, at a flea market for $17 and it’s perfectly serviceable for hunting with its adjustable 45lb to 55lb draw weight.
I forgot to add having newer equipment is preferable, I would just hate to see anyone think they are priced out of learning the skill. I certainly can’t afford dropping a few hundred dollars on a new bow right now, and I’m sure there is a lot of others in the same boat. That could always change in the future for myself or others. In the meantime having some bow hunting capabilities is better than none.
You’ve got my attention! The wife and I have just recently gotten into archery as something we can both enjoy as well as we can practice right in our own backyard. We just got her a new bow but I’m using an old(er)compound bow called the Robin Hood Little John that I picked up for <$50. So far it's a blast and one of those skills that can put food on the table with enough practice.
Can’t agree with you more 😉 Thank you for sharing this. Please keep up the good work.