Archers are known to shoot arrows on a daily basis during the off-season. Sometimes we even go out to shoot more than once a day, when time permits. After shooting all summer long, we’re confident in our shooting abilities and in the tight groups of arrows we’re delivering. Now all that’s left to do is to wait for the deer we’ve been watching during the summer to arrive; hopefully all of our practice sessions during the summer will pay off.
Bowhunting is tough on our equipment. Sure, our bows are laid gently in our cases after each outing, but think about it: Limbs and vines constantly jump out and grab are bow and tug on it as we walk through the woods, a hunter with two left feet might fall from time to time and rattle the bow, bows are jostled with every bump while we drive, and they’re pulled up and lowered down from our treestand a few times a day. With all of this routine abuse, should we be confident that we’ll still have tight shot groups throughout the season?
I was fortunate to get a few shot opportunities early in the season before my gear was abused, but since then, saying that my opportunities have been few and far between would be putting it mildly. Would I be confident in taking a shot at a whitetail after all of this time away from releasing an arrow? The answer is a confident no.
This is the time of year in which every hunter wants to spend all their free time in a treestand. I like to be in the woods as much as possible too, but I also realize the importance of being confident in my shooting abilities when the moment of truth arrives.
At least once a week I will take my target out of the shed and set it up. The broadhead-tipped arrows are exchanged for my arrows with practice tips. If everything is till on target (no pun intended), it will be a quick practice session, and I’ll be confident in letting an arrow fly at a deer.
Let’s go back to one of the more successful hunts I had earlier this year. My bow was shooting tight groups at 30 yards when I left home before making an afternoon drive to the northern part of the state. Upon arriving at my destination, I took a few practice shots before heading to the woods where I’d be hunting. Even though my bow was dead-on when I left home, it was shooting almost a foot to the right at 20 yards when I shot some practice arrows. If I hadn’t practiced before heading out for the hunt, it was have resulted either in a missed deer, or in a wounded animal that I’d be unable to recover.
Not every situation will be as drastic as this, but whenever a hunter travels a long distance for a hunt it’s always a good idea to shoot a few arrows to see if anything has changed. It doesn’t matter how strong and secure your bow case is, as things can still get moved. Keep practicing.
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