Chapter 5: Preparation Before the Hunt
Preparation Means Practice
There are no instant bowhunters. Learning to hit your target accurately with
a bow and arrow requires practice. The more you practice, the better you’ll
shoot.
 Basic Target Practice
- Safety: Make safety your first consideration when practicing
with your bow. Always make sure your target is in a safe practice area, which
includes a safe background. Don’t practice in a location if there is
even a remote possibility that your arrow could escape the area and endanger
people, pets, buildings, or property. For a nominal fee, many archery shops
offer indoor shooting, which is a great way to practice year-round.
- Proper Form: All the practice in the world won’t
help if you shoot with poor form. Seek professional assistance at your local
archery pro shop. It’s not too difficult to find an instructor to teach
you the correct shooting form.
- Shooting Distance: Start your practice sessions with
close-up bull’s-eye targets. As your skill improves with closer targets,
you can work farther away. Over time, you’ll determine your maximum
range for accurate shooting.
- Frequency: The quickest way to build accuracy and confidence
is with regular target practice. It’s only after you become a competent archer
that you can make the transition to bowhunter.
Bow-Shooting Errors
- Poor follow-through
- Inconsistent anchor point
- Poor release, such as jerking on the string, flinching, or twitching, often caused by “target panic” or “buck fever”
- Tight finger grip on the string
- Muscle fatigue from holding and drawing, or tension from nervousness
- Over-gripping, squeezing, or jerking the bow grip
- Bending the arm of the bow hand
- Seeing the wrong sight picture
- Lack of focus on the sight picture
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