Hunters Corner

Successful Hunting Trips

Bill Sampson bags another great 3 pointer
Good job Bill

Rob Gravelle bags another big deer! Good job Rob.


Have a photo of you want to submit e-mail me at
john-lad@shaw.ca


Question: What is the best way to prepare for a bowhunt - Spot targets, or 3-D?

Answer: Yes!

There really is no substitute for either of them. Both are necessary. Let me elaborate.

Spot shooting at targets at prearranged distances does two things necessary for a successful bowhunt.

First, it allows the archer the opportunity to establish and their shooting form and make it consistent. Anyone can learn to shoot a bow reasonably well in a very short time. Perfecting that shooting is what spot shooting is all about. The goal is to make your technique second nature. Every time you draw the bow, the anchor point is the same, the grip on the bow is the same, the stance is the same, the breathing, the posture, the release, and follow through are the same. Practice, as they say, makes perfect. This is sooooo important for those hunting situations. Your shot technique should be automatic when that big buck steps out so you don't have to focus on every element of your technique. Shooting hundreds of arrows at spot targets will result in what many call muscle memory. Your body will KNOW if that draw is just right.

Secondly, spot shooting will allow you to get your equipment set up properly. Pre-measured distances will give you accurate settings for your bowsite's pin settings. Watching your arrows flight and how it impacts the target will tell you whether your bow is properly tuned, and allow you to make adjustments under controlled circumstances. You can determine the proper arrow, including spine, weight and length, tip weight and fletching, to pick the perfect arrow.

The combined gains of spot shooting will result in a honed archery form properly prepared equipment.

To stop there however, will be a disservice to the game you hunt. Judging distance on live game is not an easy task. Game come in all different shapes and sizes - even among the same species. Misjudging distance WILL result in missed and worse, crippled game. We owe it to the game we hunt to make every effort to be accurate in judging the shot distance. There is no substitute in this regard than 3-D shooting at unknown distances.

When practicing your archery at 3-D shoots, avoid the temptation to share your distance views with your shooting partners. You need to develop these skills independent of your hunting associates. It will not be very often that you will be able to query your hunting partner about the yardage of a closing Buck.

Make sure your 3-D practice includes all the kind of terrain you will be hunting as well. Uphill and downhill shots are very different from each other and simple horizontal shots. If you will be hunting from a tree stand, make sure you practice from an elevated platform.

Throwing lots of arrows at predetermined "spot targets" coupled with a bunch more arrows at good 3-D courses, will enhance your total outdoor experience and will certainly increase your success rate during the actual hunt.

SHOT PLACEMENT

Knowing which shot to take and when to take it will make you an ethical and successful deer hunter. Even more important is knowing when to pass and not take the shot at all. The following tips will help you in making accurate and humane judgments on which shots to take and which ones to pass on.

It can be very tough to make a good shot decision when your adrenaline levels are going off the charts. Sometimes the window of opportunity while bow hunting is very brief and knowing when to shoot and when not to ahead of time will hasten your ability to make the right choices when time is at a minimum.

The following are different scenarios that you may expect to encounter in bow hunting and the factors that you will have to take into consideration.

Screened by brush

Under no circumstance should a shot be made hoping to bust through the brush with a firearm or an arrow. One little branch will deflect an arrow or bullet and change your point of impact possibly resulting in a wounded animal.  This is a shot to pass and wait for the deer to walk into a clearing for a better-shot opportunity.  One helpful tip is to pre-scout your areas and cut clear shooting lanes for better shot opportunities.


Frontal shot

This shot is too risky. Yes you can kill a deer with a frontal shot with a bow, but the odds are against you. The chances of hitting the rib cage bone and deflecting the arrow are great and taking out enough vitals for a quick and humane kill are against you. This is a shot to wait on until the animal turns broadside for a better killing shot.

You can take this shot with a firearm but the target area is only the width of the deer and the shot must be dead on for a quick humane kill.

Straight Down Shot

An animal can be taken by a straight down shot but this is a marginal shot at best.  The best case scenario on a straight down shot is to hit the spine, or one lung. This however requires perfect shot placement and the target area is very small and very unforgiving of shot error. I would rather wait until the animal passes a short distance and turns somewhat for a better angle shot into the vitals.

Rear shot

This shot is most often referred to, as the Texas heart shot humorously, however there is nothing funny about taking this shot. It is an irresponsible shot that should never be taken with firearm or bow. Yes there are stories of hunters taking animals with this shot when the femoral artery has been severed with the animal dropping quickly after the shot but the norm for this shot is wounding the animal with a small chance for a quick recovery. I have always passed on this shot and so should any ethical hunter.

Moving shots

There is a saying that many things can happen on a moving shot and none of them are good. This is of course very true. Instead of trying to calculate a lead while your adrenaline surges through you like high voltage current it is best to try to stop the deer instead. This can be done by a grunt call, a whistle, or even yelling "Hey!".  This is often all that is needed to stop a deer but you will need to be at full draw or have your rifle sights on the deer to be able to take the shot when he stops.

Quartering away

Quartering away shots are good shot opportunities for taking deer in a quick and humane manner.  This is a shot of angles. Angle your shot so it enters in a straight line towards the opposite front leg of the side you're shooting on. When done right this shot will hit the vitals and dispatch the animal cleanly and quickly.  However, be careful not to place the shot too far forward.  At this angle you may only catch one lung and make for a difficult recovery.


Broadside

This is the shot that every deer hunter hopes for. A deer standing with an unobstructed broadside view is as good as it gets on potential shot placement on a whitetail deer. Make sure the deer is in range and center your shot just behind the front leg and below the shoulder.

This shot will humanely dispatch the animal and wastes very little meat in the process.

On an animal facing to the left if the shot is high it takes out more lung or hits the spine, if it is low it takes out more of the heart, if it is to the left it breaks the shoulder and if it is right it takes part of the lung and liver. This is the shot that every ethical deer hunter should strive for. The bowhunter should avoid hitting the shoulder while the firearms hunter will break the animal down quickly if he hits the shoulder, there will be some meat loss however.

Conclusion

Every ethical bow and firearm hunter owes it to the animal he hunts to exercise good judgment and knowledgeable shot placement. There is simply no second guessing or chance shooting when it comes to hunting. We owe it to the animal to dispatch it as quickly and humanely as we can and then utilize the animal once it is down.

Take the time to mentally imagine different shot situations and shot angles so that when it comes time in that brief time frame to make the shot on that buck of a lifetime or doe for the freezer you will know exactly when to shoot and where to shoot. It is all about shot placement.