Hunting can be the most adventurous yet greatly dangerous outdoor sport. Therefore, making it as safe as possible for yourself as a hunter and the others in the locality is essential. This sport requires a set of weapons that, if not used with expertise and safety, can cause serious injury or even death.
Therefore, it is necessary to learn all the pre-requisites and method of safety rather than blindly heading out for it. There are even complete courses for hunters and even the people who live in the hunting areas.
Following are a few basic tips that will ensure a safe hunting experience for you:
Weapon Safety:
The safe use of weapons is extremely important to take care of. Taking this matter lightly can even cause a veteran hunter to hurt himself or others. Therefore, make sure you are well-informed about the rules and ways to use a weapon safely on the hunt.
Using the gun and putting your finger on the trigger just for the sake of a good laugh with other hunters can cost a life. Therefore, remember not to put your finger on the trigger until you are completely sure about the target you want to fire at. The same goes for the use of crossbows and other dangerous weapons you take along on the hunt.
Be Distinguishable:
If you are in the field, you must know that there are other hunters in there as well. They can easily mistake you with an animal, if you do not make yourself distinguishable. For this purpose, wearing a bright orange jacket and cap help you stay safe because it is what commonly hunters wear on the hunt. Different brands make special jackets and hat for hunters to serve the purpose.
Heavy-Duty Snake Proof Boots:
Hunting requires a lot of running and hiding in the woods and climbing trees as well. Not to forget, making such moves demand a pair of heavy duty boots. Moreover, if the boots are snake proof, that is even better as the field is mostly filled with snakes and harmful insects. Therefore, wearing such boots can ensure foot protection and keep you running for as long as you require.
Hunting in A Group:
Going out alone in the field can be greatly hazardous, especially if you are newbie. Hunting in a group is always preferable until you are completely ready for being on your own. You often need someone to provide immediate aid in case of injury or any mishap. Therefore, taking one or more hunters along with you can prevent you from feeling helpless in case of an injury or so.
Safety Course for Hunting:
If you are just getting started in the field of hunting, taking a safety course for it is essential. Moreover, it can also be helpful to refresh the concepts for those who have not been hunting for quite some time. Such courses include almost all the information and guidance you need for a safe hunting experience.
If you’re in shape, a nine-pound rifle shouldn’t be a problem. And if you’re out of shape “what the [hey] are you doing out there in the first place?”
So, deer rifles really shouldn’t be over ten pounds for those who plan on hiking in.
Distance
A longer barrel provides more accuracy over distance. Inside your barrel are grooves that add spin to your bullet.
The longer the barrel, the longer the grooves, the more the spin. Both the spin and speed of your bullet improve accuracy the higher they are. Which is why you’ll see really long barrels on sniper’s guns.
If you want to shoot distance, you’re going to need a good scope. A good scope will allow you to quickly line up the shot at 350 yards or more.
Standard scopes typically have some sort of adjustment nobs so you can adjust for elevation and wind. You’ll want this adjustment if you’re going to be anywhere but a tree stand.
Action
Action refers to the manner in which a round is chambered. In a hunting rifle, there are three methods. Bolt. Lever. And Semi-auto.
Most deer rifles are bolt action.
Bolt action is easier to maintain than either lever or semi-auto. It’s also the most reliable method to chamber a round.
Semi-auto has the possibility of getting jammed. And lever can get debris stuck in the mechanism too easily.
The sign of a good hunting rifle is its ability to eject cartridges and chamber a round without risk of jamming.
Chambering
Chambering, or better known as caliber, will either enhance or hinder your hunting.
The best deer hunting calibers include .423 Winchester, .25-06 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor, .270 Remington, 7mm Remington Magnums, and .308 Winchesters. And the best overall is the 7mm-08 Remington.
Anything less than this will require more shots to kill your buck. Don’t waste your time.
Recoil
This is probably the least important with a deer hunting rifle. You will most likely shoot one round at a time.
If you’re a new hunter, recoil might be intimidating. So you might want to find a rifle that compensates for recoil.
Conclusion:
A lot of what determines your loyal hunting rifle is personal preference. If you have friends with multiple rifles or have multiple hunters as your friends, have them take you out to the range to shoot their guns. Find out what you’re comfortable with.
Also, don’t go for the Walmart or sports store rifles. Get your rifles at a reputable place like Christensen Arms Guns. You’re going to be spending a lot of time with your gun. Don’t sell yourself short.
Every hunter out there who hunts regularly must have heard of or is familiar with Crossbows. Crossbows date back to medieval times, about two thousand years and still thrive well in today’s market, among hunters, artifact, relic and weapon collectors alike.
A crossbow is a type of bow that consists of horizontal bow-like assembly mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles called bows or quarrels. If you can handle a rifle or a bow, then you probably can handle a crossbow with some practice, but before you shoot a crossbow keep in mind that, as with most weapons, safety measures are necessary.
How to Cock a Crossbow
To use a crossbow, you will cock the bow before you load your arrow, then pull the string back by exerting even pressure on both sides of the barrel. Be careful not to misalign the string even by as little as half an inch as this will shift the arrows point of impact, and you will most likely miss your target.
You can decide to cock with tools or do it by hand although cocking by hand is quite a chore. It is a much better idea to invest in a cocking rope which is a featherweight device that reduces the amount of effort exerted in pulling the string. There are also other cocking aids such as the crank operated cocking aid which may come with the crossbow.
How to Shoot a Crossbow
1. To shoot your crossbow, load the arrow into the barrel. The arrows use either flat nocks or moon nocks. Make sure that the arrow is safely in place.
2. Aim for a target. Crossbows come with either a mounted scope or a sight pin arrangement created for getting a clear aim before shooting. Make sure there are no obstructions that could get in your way before you shoot. Also, don’t wrap your thumb around the crossbow forearm.
3. Let it fly. Once you have your target in sight, squeeze the trigger as you would when firing a gun, keeping the target in view as you shoot.
Crossbows are better than Guns
Any seasoned hunter will have a crossbow in his arsenal, for not only is it easy to use, it also has great hunting benefits. Compared to guns, it requires little or no practice to handle a crossbow.
Ammunition Used
Most hunters who hunt with rifles find it easy to switch to a crossbow because the same concept and technique that we use for crossbows applies to firing a gun. The only real difference is the ammunition in each weapon; an arrow from a crossbow and a bullet from a rifle. Also, there’s a kick back when you fire a gun, called recoil. That does not happen when you shoot a crossbow.
Crossbows and Stealth
Gun shots are also quite loud compared to crossbows. When you fire a rifle and miss your shot, chances are the target will escape. A hunter using a crossbow, on the other hand, has the advantage of stealth.
An arrow from a crossbow will not alert the target of your presence, and in the unlikely event that it does, the other game in that area would not notice. Crossbows are also more accurate than rifles, create less damage and they create little to no mess when it hits a target.
State Legislation for Hunting
Most states view crossbows as a part of archery, so hunters that wield crossbows enjoy an extended season of hunting compared to gun hunters, also, bowhunting is much more challenging and exciting and sporting than rifle hunting. This gives the crossbow hunting more leeway when it comes to hunting in most states compared to hunters who use rifles.
Crossbows and Longbows
A hand-drawn bow or longbow on the hand is entirely different from using a gun to hunt. In fact, the crossbow is more similar to the rifle than the longbow.
Using a longbow requires skill, practice, and precision. The archer has to be physically involved in shooting a hand drawn bow.
Your whole body becomes part of the weapon, and if it not aligned at the right angle, you are most likely to miss your target by a long shot.
Crossbows, on the other hand, require less upper body strength to fire a bow. One can use both arms to span a bow into the heart of a game.
Accuracy in shooting a longbow means that each time, the weapon must be the same shape and at the right angle and position. If the parts of the hunter’s body controlling the bow or the bow itself is at a slightly different angle, the entire weapon changes shape, and the shooter will most probably miss the target.
Crossbows are not difficult to use
The only real similarity between both weapons is that they both produce a fast moving projectile launched from a string.
Compared to the Crossbow, the longbow is quite cumbersome and has draw weights although it is also powerful and has an excellent range.
Modern technology has recreated a lot of weapons, including crossbows. Crossbows have evolved over time into sleeker, stronger and much better versions of their medieval counterparts and utilized the compound mechanisms from traditional bows.
Non-bowhunters can quickly master the use of crossbows within a short period. Obviously, a crossbows remains an asset to hunters, as it is a very useful weapon to have in your arsenal for your next hunting expedition.
Bow hunting is a difficult form of hunting and many turn to it because of that. If you care about becoming a better bow hunter then you need to push youtself, learn your limits, and fight to be successful.
There are many things that can go wrong in every scenario, but hopefully these 9 tips to becoming a better bow hunter will help prevent some common mistakes while bow hunting.
1. Practice
Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Jerry Rice: these three individuals have the same thing in common — their work ethics and practices. These men gave majority of their lives to their sport.
Understandably, not everyone can go and dedicate their entire life to shooting a bow. But one can spend a little time each day or at least each week shooting a bow depending on how accessible a range or pro shop is.
When it comes to practicing, most people just grab a handful of arrows and their rangefinder and start flinging.
Every time you pull back, try to build muscle memory. In order to be sure that your anchor point is the same each time, draw your bow with your eyes closed (once confident) and then open your eyes. You should be looking right down your peep sight. This means that during crunch time, you won’t have to think one bit about drawing your bow and anchoring perfectly.
Another thing to practice is shooting a farther distance than you would hunt. The farther the distance is, the more extreme your flaws and inconsistencies are. This allows you to see and fix the problems you wouldn’t have seen at 20 or even 50 yards.
One thing that a lot of archery hunters don’t realize is that once your bow is sighted in just right, then it is wise to shoot in the exact gear you will be using during the hunt.
Learning the Hard Way
I unfortunately learned this the hard way when I went deer hunting in January. There were about 2inches of snow and a single digit on the thermometer so I was decked out in several layers of clothes, including my large coat. I had my binoculars in a case on my chest. I snuck within 60 yards of a buck and drew my bow.
As I released my arrow, I didn’t realize how far my binocular case stuck out and my bow string caught it. It ripped my case and broke one of the straps. It scared me to death! Needless to say, my arrow shot off into the trees and the buck bounded off.
2. Flight Path
A lot of hunters get buck fever or tunnel vision when they have an animal in their sights. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it is great to be focused on your goal. But for safety purposes you need to know what is beyond or in the vicinity of your target.
It is smart to take a second or two to glance around and beyond the animal to make sure that an erroneous shot with a rifle or bow won’t hurt another person or even a different animal.
When it comes to archery, it is wise to get rid of tunnel vision and make sure the flight path of your arrow will not clip any branches or hit any trees. Even if your 60-yard pin has an open path to the animal, the arc of the arrow when released may hit branches you didn’t notice before.
A great tactic to practice and use when shooting through some trees is to pull back and get your pin on your target, then glance up all the pins to your 20-yard pin and make sure none of them are on a branch. Of course your arrow is extremely flat shooting at 20 yards. But the farther out you go, the more arc it will have.
3. Hold Your Finish
Anyone who has ever played any sport out there understands the importance of “holding your finish.” It is only natural to want to watch your arrow in flight as soon as you release it. But if you start dropping your bow to watch the arrow, then there is a chance that as your bow is moved, it will cause the arrow to start out on a bad line.
If you watch any professional archery when they release their shot, their bow slowly rotates forward with their outstretched arm still held in the same position. So as you practice, keep in mind to hold your finish. Recently I have had to remind myself to do this, even after shooting for over 25 years.
4. Broad Heads
Something that not too many archers do is to practice shooting their broad heads, and this is completely understandable. It is hard to fling a brand new broad head into a practice target since a set is a bit pricey.
A lot of hunters have noticed that some broad heads will change your flight path even slightly. In some cases, such as my wife’s shooting, her fixed broad heads shot close to a foot right and one inch low to where her field tips shot at 70 yards.
I’m not sponsored and I don’t have an unlimited supply of broad heads, so we only use one arrow with one broad head and a lot of walking back and forth when we are trying to sight in a broad head.
Know Your Game
To be accurate as possible, you have to shoot at least one broad head to double check.
Also when thinking about broad heads, you must know the animal you intend to hunt. Some hunters swear by fixed blades and others only shoot mechanical broad heads.
I personally shoot both kinds. I have my favorite mechanical that I only use on deer, antelope and varmints. But when I am hunting elk, I prefer to use a fixed blade as a lot of kinetic energy is lost when a mechanical broad head opens. So when it comes to a large tough animal such as an elk, I want as much penetration as I can get without wasting energy.
5. Practice Range Estimation
Distance is an issue that slaps a lot of hunters in the face. Guessing yardages during crunch time is something that doesn’t come easy. Anytime you are out and about in the hills or even when driving around, it is a great idea to have your rangefinder with you. Try to guess the distances of trees, rocks or even buildings, and then verify it with your rangefinder.
This is also wise to do while out scouting or looking for the specific game you will be hunting. By doing this, you will in a way train your mind to judge the size of the animal at different yardages; like how big a deer is at 20 yards versus how big it is at 60 yards.
Practicing distance guessing is critical for archery hunters as there are times when it is not possible to range the animal before taking a shot. It’s handy if you need a second opinion if your rangefinder isn’t working correctly.
6. Wind/Thermals
Any hunter knows that the wind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. But a typical understanding of the wind is a great tool to have in your pocket.
Thermals are something that not everyone understands. As soon as the ground is warmer than the air (from the sun hitting it) regardless of the way the wind is blowing, heat rises which means the thermals are going to pull your scent up.
A mountain or hill is the same, except it will either pull your sent up or down the hill depending if the ground is warmer or cooler.
So if you are hiking a hill where there might be animals on top, make sure to go up on the shady side in order for the thermals to pull your scent down. Unfortunately during midday, most of the time, an animal will smell you regardless of what side you trek as everything is pulled up.
It would be best to wait for the game till you can see that the outside temperature is cooling off.
Familiarity is the Key
You have to know what the wind does on a “normal day” on the location that you plan to hunt on. Where I live, the wind blows west the first thing in the morning until around 10:00 AM, and then it shifts and blows east the rest of the day. So all of my morning stalks, I make sure to incorporate this to my plan.
Example if the deer is in my west, I check the time to guess how long it may take to get to the animal. If it is going to be after 10:00 AM, then I make sure to stay east of the animal.
7. Hold Steady or Float
The argument of which method between the 2 is better for archery:
Place the pin on your target and hold perfectly still as you aim and shoot, or
Float your pin and only release when you pass over the target.
If you have a surgeon’s hands and you are as steady as they come, the answer is obvious. But if you are anything like me who don’t have the steadiest shot, then floating the pin may be your best option. Or at least give it a try at the range.
Floating your pin means that you don’t hold perfectly still, you slowly move the pin around the target. This means that you are the one in control and you know when the pin should be dead center as you can anticipate your own movement.
But on the downside of this method, it could cause you to pull your trigger too soon, or jerk hard when you pull the trigger.
So practice both methods and see what works best for you.
8. Shoot Your Bow in the Field
Piggybacking on the practice tip is something that I do quite often but what helped me immensely is that I shoot my bow in the field. You can’t practice kicking a field goal in the Super Bowl while down by two with one second left in the game. That kind of pressure can only be felt when you are in that situation.
Just like the pressure from drawing on a trophy animal can only be replicated by doing it: drawing your bow back on a trophy animal. However, as soon as archery squirrel season opens up where I live, I take my filed tips off and toss on blunts and judo points.
Of course I lose and break quite a few arrows. But when I make a shot on a squirrel or rabbit, it sure makes deer and elk look a whole lot bigger.
9. Inspect Your Equipment
With the invention of carbon arrows, the speed of the current bows seems to put Robin Hood to shame. However with the use of these arrows, it is imperative that you flex and inspect them as often as possible.
I personally inspect them after every shot to my target. It is a little overkill I know, but if you ever feel like seeing some horrific images, try Googling “carbon arrow accident”. It seems to give a whole new meaning to the term “safety first”.
The amount of energy that a modern compound bow generates is unreal. And if there is any nick or flaw in the carbon arrows, then there is a chance that it could fail as soon as you trigger your release.
Along with inspecting your arrows, it is wise to inspect your bow too. During your regular maintenance of waxing your string, make sure to do an overall check and look for frays or cuts. Also remember to survey your cams for any dents or gashes.
Learning the Hard Way
As I was stalking an elk, I got within 40 yards of a decent 360-inch bull. I slowly stood up from the tall grass I was hiding in. As he looked over me I drew my bow; just as I hit the let off, I heard a pop and my bow string went limp.
I stood there in shock as the elk bugled my direction and slowly walked off down a hill. I looked at my bow and saw that the string had slipped off the top cam and cut into it which caused it to be stuck at full draw. Until now, I still don’t know what caused my bow to do that.
But if I inspected it before hunting that morning, there was a chance I may have prevented it from happening.
Luckily I wasn’t hurt. I sure got off lucky and since then, I make sure to check my arrows, my string and the rest of my bow before and after I shoot each session.
Chris Waters was born and raised in a small town in west Arizona of around 5,000 people. At a very young age, he was introduced to hunting by his father and since then he has hunted everything from muzzleloader to archery, including deer, elk, antelope, ducks and more. He loves every minute of being outdoors
Many studies have shown that students who are involved in extracurricular activities are far less likely to develop dangerous habits like smoking and drug abuse. Despite the heavy evidence supporting these facts, only 2.6 million of students from the ages 12-17 are actively enrolled in such activities.
If you are looking for a good after-school activity for your kids to get involved in, then archery is a fantastic option to consider. This article will briefly outline 10 Reasons Children Should Learn Archery.
It Is a Year-Round Sport
Archery is a great sport to get your children involved in as it is a year-round sport. In the warmer seasons, there are outdoor ranges that can be used, and in the colder months, indoor ranges are available. This means that your child will not have off-season times where idleness can result in getting involved in bad habits or negative groups of peers.
It Is a Very Safe Sport
You might think that letting your child learn how to use a deadly weapon could be dangerous, but the truth is that archery is one of the safest sports for children to learn. There is minimal contact with other people, meaning the risk of broken bones or sprained muscles is greatly reduced. The staff there to teach your children will all be very skilled and will train your child and all the other present participants to be safe while handling the bows and arrows.
Teaches Impressive Skills
There are a lot of great skills that are learned through archery. As your child learns to work with the best youth compound bow, they will also be learning other important things, some of which are as follows:
Aim: Your child will learn to aim well. This can be helpful in other sports and activities as well.
Patience: Archery teaches kids to wait patiently for the right time to shoot. Patience is something that can greatly benefit every facet of their life.
Strength: It takes a lot of strength to wield a youth compound bows. They are heavy and taut, and your child will develop strong muscles as they learn to work this machinery.
Control: Every part of the mind and body has to be in tune for someone to be successful with a bow and arrow. Learning to have such control can do wonders in and out of the archery range.
Increases Good Behavior in Children
Kids who learn all of the skills needed to be a good archer will be learning the skills needed to have good behavior wherever they are. All of the positive lessons they learn to better their archery game will follow them into the classroom and the home. This improved behavior will be a huge asset to them in all their present and future endeavors.
There Are Many Scholarship Opportunities
Archery is still as yet an under-utilized sport in the lower ages. This means that there are a lot of incredible scholarship opportunities available to a much smaller pool of participants than in other sports. Your child could gain some important funding for their future educational aspirations by learning archery. The cost of the lessons now often turns out to be a very wise investment in the future.
It Is Physically Challenging
With the rise of childhood obesity in the country, it is important to find fun ways to keep your children active. Archery is a very physically challenging sport that will help your child gain muscles and shed excess weight. It might not involve the traditional running and jumping found in other sports, but the skills needed to be a good archer require a strong and lean body. Your child will get excellent exercise as they learn to aim and shoot their bow and arrow.
Increases Confidence
Buy at Amazon
Children who learn the skill of archery will also learn to have confidence in themselves. A lot of depression and anxiety among teens has been found to be caused by a lack of confidence and self-esteem.
By getting your child involved in archery, you will be giving them something that they can truly be proud of.
They will have confidence in their ability to do hard things, and this will help them avoid some of the major pitfalls common to other kids their age.
Enhances Focus and Balance in Children
Focus and balance are two things that many adolescents are lacking. With all of the changes happening in the mind and body at these awkward ages, it makes sense that it would be hard for kids at this stage to have a lot of focus and balance. Fortunately, these are two things that are taught in abundance in archery courses.
Your child will learn how to have self-discipline as they control their changing mind and body. Their regular practice on the range will help them to navigate these changing waters of puberty with ease and grace.
Teaching Cultural Lessons
Archery is a very important aspect in many cultures. As your children learn this unique skill, they will also be taught about where the skills came from, and how it impacted those cultures. This information will instill in them a deeper respect for other lands and people.
Offers Them the Feeling of Achievement
One of the most important things you can teach your child is the feeling of setting goals and achieving them. This is a vital aspect of successful archery. Through this sport, your child will learn how to set goals and then work hard to achieve them. As they learn to enjoy this feeling of success, they will be gaining the necessary skills to set and achieve goals in other facets of their life as well. Learning to work hard for worthy goals is the main key for success in every area of life. Teaching your child this skill early on will have only good effects for them and you.
If you feel like your child could benefit from any of these attributes, then it is time to look into archery lessons in your area. This is a fun and challenging way for children to be physically fit and involved in positive activities.
Robert Gate was enthusiastic about hunting from the first shot. From then he decided to become a pro hunter. If you find something helpful in his blog, he would be proud to hear from you.
Hunting can be the most adventurous yet greatly dangerous outdoor sport. Therefore, making it as safe as possible for yourself as a hunter and the others in the locality is essential. This sport requires a set of weapons that, if not used with expertise and safety, can cause serious injury or even death.
If you are in the field, you must know that there are other hunters in there as well. They can easily mistake you with an animal, if you do not make yourself distinguishable. For this purpose, wearing a bright orange jacket and cap help you stay safe because it is what commonly hunters wear on the hunt. Different brands make special jackets and hat for hunters to serve the purpose.
Every hunter out there who hunts regularly must have heard of or is familiar with Crossbows. Crossbows date back to medieval times, about two thousand years and still thrive well in today’s market, among hunters, artifact, relic and weapon collectors alike.
Many studies have shown that students who are involved in extracurricular activities are far less likely to develop dangerous habits like smoking and drug abuse. Despite the heavy evidence supporting these facts, only 