Do you ever find yourself reading a magazine about some large game animal taken by a seasoned hunter and receive a feeling of frustration or anxiety. This is because you think that you will never be able to achieve such a goal.
This article is firmly directed toward such people and hopefully, through my experience you will be able to discover that the hunter in the magazine could soon be you.
I first shot a bow in February 2006 and completely missed the butt sending a 2117 Easton through the fence and into the neighbour’s chook yard. Luckily there was no need to purchase a replacement bird for the opposing property.
From that moment to June 2007 I have successfully hunted and taken five Billy Goats and two Rabbits with my ‘Golden Eagle Obsession’ and ‘2117 Easton’ combination. Some may think this is not possible due to my apparent lack of inexperience, however, with solid training and a few good mentors, dreams become reality very quickly. The rest of this article will explore how you can take your Bowhunting to the extreme no matter what your level of ability or experience.
The theory of this sport is simple; however, to get every ingredient to combine perfectly at the critical moment is difficult. Basically you take a bow, fix a broad head to your shaft find an animal and take it down with a well placed critical shot. However, did you know that animals are so sensitive they can see the small fragments of washing powder in your clothing, they can pick up your scent from a thermal wind gust and bolt in seconds and they can hear the release of your arrow and evade it before the impact?
Every mission needs a goal and subsequent resources and training to be effectively completed. Therefore, I recommend starting with a solid grounding in developing and mastering a technique that suits you. Shortly after visiting the range and hiring out a different bow every time you will find it hard to develop consistency with non consistent equipment. I thoroughly recommend purchasing a decent bow and the correct arrows to accompany. Then it is time to train hard and shoot until you can put three out of five arrows in or very close to the bullseye. Bowhunting requires a precision shot that destroys the vital arrangement in the animal, consequently disabling it. Therefore, you must become so consistent in your technique and focused on your target that every shot is released at, not just a piece of cardboard, but your future kills.
Bowhunting requires a mastery of two important skills. The first of these is mastering your equipment and the second is mastering your animal. Have you ever been walking through a bush and wondered why you don’t see any wild life. Well, this is because everything has disappeared well before you even arrived on the scene. Getting within 15 yards of a wild animal is going to take a whole bunch of patient, planning and training. The first animal I ever tried to hunt was a Rabbit. These small creatures are a perfect place to start as they are abundant and just as sensitive to human activities as anything else. My mentor always says, “Dave if you can hunt a Rabbit you can take a deer”. In my nine Rabbit hunts I have taken two bucks and my three Goat hunts I have taken five billies. This is a perfect example of how using Rabbits to hone your skills is a great start.
Bowhunting is about being consistent in your technique, having a well setup instrument and using the skills and techniques you have developed to finally take down that animal. Your first hunt will probably be frustrating as you tend to scare everything before getting in range. To avoid this I strongly recommend going with an experienced Bowhunter who can show you how to successfully approach that wild animal.
Concluding, I suggest that the new Bowhunter needs to be patient well disciplined and focused on achieving their goals no matter what hurdles present themselves.
‘From Cardboard to dead’
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