Bow Hunting Lessons

[tvahunter]

Learn something new every day. Remember that thing tomorrow.

whether it is scouting, gear, shooting, equipment, woodsmanship, what not to do, rules and regs, strategy or whatever else you can think of. Just learn one thing every day and vet that out with tried and true hunters that are willing to pass on that information. Remember that thing you learned today when you are putting it to use tomorrow. It’s not about the kill it’s ALL about the h

 

[boyne bowhunter]

You need to learn woodsmanship first. Learn to move through the woods quietly. I can't believe how many people I've heard/seen that sound like an elephant coming through the woods.

I agree this is important. Getting in place without the deer knowing you're there is key. FWIW, this is also number one reason I made the switch to saddle hunting. No matter how carefully I tried I couldn't keep the brush from rattling off the climber as I walked to a spot in the morning.

I also think being mobile and changing up your spots is key. Deer will pattern you quickly if you're repeating your setups. I learned this early on in my hunting career sitting over bait. The deer would approach the area and actually look into the tree my stand was in to see if I was there before approaching the bait.

The positional changes I'm referring to could be as subtle as repositioning over a couple of trees or sitting at different times to more drastic as changing hunting areas altogether. Personally I try to never sit in the same 5-10 acre spot within any given 2 day period. I also will change up trees inside those 5-10 acres chunks whenever I do go back in there as much as possible. When I head out for a hunt I generally have an idea of an area I want to target given the conditions, but rarely do I have a specific tree in mind. I'll make that decision based in the specific conditions at the time I get there. During the course of 80 sits last year I only repeated in 4 trees, 2 of those I sat in twice, one I sat in three times and one (a hot spot with little other options) I sat in four times.

Also, the best advice has already been given, don't let the pressure to harvest something take away from the enjoyment of the hunt. I've been bow hunting whitetails over 45 years and that would be my number one piece of advice. Enjoy it. Treat every hunt as a learning experience. There's no better way to learn about whitetail behavior than bow hunting up close and personal. I still feel like I learn something new with every hunt.

 

[elk yinzer]

Say no to the temptation of trail cams. Counterproductive tool to virtually all new hunters and many seasoned ones.

 

[gameflogger]

Never pass up on the first day what you would take home on the last day!

 

[gameflogger]

Don’t get so caught up in horn hunting that you are disappointed at the opportunities that present themselves. I am prouder of my 130” deer that I kill in east TX than the 160” deer I can kill in del rio that come trotting into a corn feeder. Enjoy your time in the field, during the rut sit all day, even if you have to make a little noise to eat, or have to get down to sling a deuce, get back up in the tree, you cant kill them from the camp (usually). Make the hunt the Trophy!

 

[philsanchez76]

Scouting is the most important thing. Hunting is secondary. Hunting is only scouting with a weapon. I made this mistake spending all my time hunting. Now that I spend 3x as much time scouting, I kill a lot of deer.

 

[LoadedLimbs]

Bowhunting Lesson #1: Use your rangefinder to range everything around your tree ... all the way around it ... and commit those distances to memory ... because deer will surprise you and come in through cover or from a direction you didn't expect ... especially once the rut starts ... and you can't count on being able to range them in the moment.

 

[Sgt. Beardface]

Was just watching Meat Eater while I was on the treadmill and they had a quote on there that fits the thread I think; "Do not pass up on the first day what you would be happy to get on the last day".

As someone that hunts for the meat, this quote is perfect.

-Chuck

 

[elk yinzer]

Learn something new every day. Remember that thing tomorrow.

whether it is scouting, gear, shooting, equipment, woodsmanship, what not to do, rules and regs, strategy or whatever else you can think of. Just learn one thing every day and vet that out with tried and true hunters that are willing to pass on that information. Remember that thing you learned today when you are putting it to use tomorrow. It’s not about the kill it’s ALL about the h

This is my favorite of all the replies so far. Do we all screw the pooch routinely? If you aren't, you're lying. Did that entire canine debauchery teach you something? If yes, you have hunter DNA. If not, maybe whole foods is your jam.