Are you interested in hunting or already a rifle hunter and thought to yourself that you really would like to try hunting with a bow? That was the scenario for me. I started hunting with a rifle and really enjoyed everything about it. Then I decided that archery looked pretty interesting and I had always heard that it is more “challenging” than hunting with a gun. But how do you get into archery when you might not know anything about it or know anyone who can help you. What do you do? I want to try to help out with that.
This is how I approached getting into hunting with a bow. First, a little bit about me…I took up hunting, rifle hunting, while I was dating someone. We broke up but I wanted to keep hunting. No one in my family hunts so I’ve kind of been on my own figuring things out bit by bit. It can be done!! I decided I wanted to give archery a try. My first step was to attend different Women it the Outdoor events with the National Wild Turkey Federation and Becoming an Outdoors Woman program. I gained knowledge from those programs and decided from there that I really did enjoy archery and wanted to try to hunt with a bow and arrow. However those programs only take you so far and you have to move on from there. That’s where groups like Babes Bullets and Broadheads comes in so keep that in mind!!
I had some knowledge and limited experience so I wanted to purchase my own bow. But there are so many bows out there…what do you get? How do I know what will work, what will fit, what you’ll like? The best thing you can do is just go to an archery shop and try all of the different bows that are available. Every bow is different and it is all personal preference. Have the technicians at the archery shop measure your drawl length. Figure out what weight you can pull back. They will do all of those thing for you. Ask. Shoot all the bows you possibly can. Have a price range in mind. Bows can get very expensive. For me…I started out with a very basic “starter” bow that did not cost a lot of money. My thoughts were that I didn’t want to spend a lot of money and then face the possibility that maybe I don’t like archery hunting after all. I hunted with that first bow for a few years. Even thought it was not a very expensive bow I was able to still harvested a deer. From there I decided I wanted to upgrade. At that point when I went back to an archery shop to buy another bow I knew what I wanted, knew the poundage I could draw my bow back with, knew my drawl length and basically sounded like a pro when I walked into the shop.
Besides all of that information the best advice I can give you is to practice practice practice!!! The more you pull a bow back the more comfortable you get with it, the more you gain the strength you need to shoot it and the more awesome you become. Go to 3D archery shoots in the summer time. There is a website (3Dshoots.com) that will tell you where 3D archery shoots are in your area. 3D shoots help you judge distance and help you determine what distance you can be confident shooting your bow at. Shoot in indoor archery leagues in the winter to help with consistency. Just practice in your backyard if you can, but practice. The only other thing you need in patience. It can take some time for an animal to come close enough for that perfect archery shot. And then when it is close enough you might have to wait for the angle to be right. Just be patient.
Archery season can be the best time of year to hunt. It’s so quiet and peaceful. And if it is something that you think you might have an interest in it can become addicting. For me…archery is my passion and rifle is my “back up” 🙂
