One of the great things about bow hunting is the actual comrodery you create amongst friends. People spend a lot of time shooting their bows and 3D targets in efforts to get more proficient at their sport. A lot of people spend a lot more time shooting then they actually do hunting. Hanging around with friends at a young age shooting your bows is not only fun, but it’s relatively cheap. We all know it’s just a matter of time before you start backing up and taking 40 yards shots. Then 50 yard shots, then a rabbit is noticed 70 yards away. This is part of being a youthful hunter and experimenting on what you can and can’t do. How many people have launched an arrow straight up in the air and lost site of it? I was a city kids, so I’ve done all sorts of things I’m not proud of. There is a learning curve to everything.
The range of the kill shot is what makes archery season so difficult. Not only do you have to hunt in an area where there is deer, maybe do a little baiting or food plot management, but now you have to get within 40 yards of a deer. This is no easy task and it can be frustrating; especially when you hear gunshots going off outside of bow season. Introduce a crossbow hunting into the equation, then you just added another 20 yards to whatever distance you were comfortable shooting your compound bow.
Scent control is imperative. We all know this, but there are a lot of young people that are still learning. My first time out, a friend at I grabbed a few apples and scraped them on the bottom of our boots to walk out to our un-hung tree stands. I want to say I got in a single tree in the middle of an open field that just had the corn harvested. Everyone goes through the gimmick stage trying to buy everything in site. That’s actually just fine when you really don’t have to account for your money. Again, it’s a learning curve for you to determine what works and what doesn’t.