Eight Bow Hunting Tips to Successfully Hunt Deer
In order to hunt deer, you should get a quality bow, practice shooting, use proper gear, lure the deer to a field with dummies, and study their patterns.
Hunting is always exciting. With deer hunting, it is even more exciting because they tend to be highly cautious. With bow hunting, you need to assess a lot of uncertainty, and you have to rely on your patience, skill, technique, and quick wit in order to be successful in hunting a buck or a doe.
There are many things associated with deer hunting. You need to have a good set of gear, know the hunting spot well, have good preparation, and most importantly, have good accuracy to land a kill.
The Bow Types
According to Deer and Bow Hunting by ArcheryTopic, the different bow types play a vital role in accuracy and speed. However, there are mainly four types of bows available to hunt deers:
1. The Traditional Bow.
This is the oldest type of bow, with just a string and the bow itself. It requires using a lot of muscle energy; however, the feeling is worth it if you successfully land a deer.
2. The Compound Bow.
You can hunt any size of buck or doe with a compound bow if you customize the draw weights to hunt effectively. Also, the compound bow offers sight pin facilities. With these, you can measure distance and be able to tell how much draw weight you should add.
3. The Recurve Bow.
Recurve bows are excellent for their quiet nature. However, the downside is that you don’t get any helpful features with such bows. When it comes to aiming, shooting, and accuracy – you need to manage everything.
4. The Crossbow
The crossbow is a modern type of bow that includes triggers like a gun to shoot the arrows. Also, you can adjust the aiming accuracy to suit you. Some crossbows are heavy, but you should prefer lightweight crossbows for deer hunting.
Hunting Seasons
You can’t hunt deer all year round. There are specific times for deer hunting. The main reason for these fixed seasons is due to the congregation of the deer. If they don’t gather in a certain place, it becomes very challenging to land a kill.
Deer hunting revolves around three particular seasons, namely:
1. The Early Season.
The early season starts around late September and ends in early October. Keep in mind to track the heavy traffic areas for bucks and does and develop a firm strategy to hunt the deer.
2. The Rutting Season.
Hunting in the rut is more difficult amid loud gunshots. It’s challenging to bag a big buck with a bow, but it’s not impossible to hunt deer during the rut. The rutting season is the time for breeding, and it starts from mid to late November. There are a couple of strategies that can help you land the perfect kill.
3. The Late Season.
The late-season starts in the winter and lasts the whole winter. Hunting deer in the late season requires an extreme set of skills. You need to be very skillful and experienced to hunt during this time.
The main reason for this unfavorable condition is the extreme cold and the snow as the deer hardly leave their comfort zone.
Effective Tips For Hunting Deer
1. Practice Your Accuracy.
The first and foremost rule for hunting deer is that you need to have good aim. If you can’t hit the target, then no matter how fancy of gear you use, you can’t land a kill.
Remember, with bow hunting, you only get to shoot once as you will be very close to the deer. Practice shooting at different ranges. First, try at 30 to 40 yards, then take a shot at 60 yards and see how you fare. Finally, try hitting the target at 100 yards in order to improve your accuracy.
2. Prioritize Your Gear.
Without the proper gear, it’s very tough to hunt deer. Remember, deer are very intelligent and they follow a pattern with everything. If they suspect something unusual, they will run away.
Therefore, use a natural smelling cream, lotion, spray, etc. Smell hider can also be a great option. Wear camouflage when going to hunt, so that the deer can’t detect your presence. Also, use good trail cameras for scouting.
3. Plan The Quietest Entry/Exit Route.
If you prefer to hunt in the early season, you need to find a better entry/exit point for scouting the deer. Finding a tree stand or ground blind is essential. Also, it’s important that you remain as stealthy and as silent as possible. That way, you can use the element of surprise. Remember, for perfect hunting, don’t disturb the surroundings.
4. Arrive At Your Spot Early.
It’s crucial to reach your stand spot at least two to three hours earlier than the deer. If you have found a suitable location and have decided to hunt in the morning, go there at least two to three hours before dawn and wait.
Either hunt in the early morning or at dusk. Getting there early gives you a better chance of being stealthy. You can wait around until many deer gather in the area.
5. Have Patience.
Hunting is very dependent on skill and luck. Even if you have good accuracy, you may come up empty-handed, but to land a successful kill, you need to be patient and persistent.
6. Track a Doe.
During the rutting season, it becomes tough to bow hunt a deer. However, the rutting time is also the mating period for deer, so an effective strategy is to track a doe.
If you find something to gather somewhere, then chances are that bucks will surely come to mate, and therefore, you can land the perfect kill.
7. Use Dummies.
This trick is often opted by professional hunters who are hunting in a cornfield. Does and bucks tend to breed and bed around a rich food source, namely a cornfield.
However, they remain skittish before entering the field. Therefore, you need to persuade them to follow some doe or buck to enter the area. In that case, using a dummy doe or buck will lead them right to your sweet spot for the kill.
8. Target Food Sources.
Using food sources to hunt deer is the most effective option. However, keep in mind that once the cornfield turns yellow, does and bucks will stop coming. So, quickly plan your strategy. If you find one field to be yellow, choose the next one quickly. Using a stool can also be of great help for hunting in cornfields.
Final Thoughts
Mastering the tips mentioned above is vital to hunt deer with bows. Keep on practicing your shots and follow the deers’ pattern to find your sweet spot and make the best out of your hunting trip.
via Gear Report at https://gear-report.com
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