Next-Level Bowhunting Practice
By Darron McDougal
Is your Backyard Practice Yielding Deadly Bowhunting Accuracy? If not, Incorporate These Tips.
Two spike bulls — clueless to my existence — ambled by 25 yards away as I hunkered in knee-high sagebrush. They’d seemingly appeared out of thin air. Both paused briefly to browse, then my peripheral vision suddenly picked up movement to my left. It was a third bull elk. The handsome 5x5 wasn’t a monster, but a fine public-land bull and one I’d be thrilled to take.
He took a trail farther out than the spikes had, and with the sparse cover, I didn’t dare attempt to range the bull. Once he was broadside, I slowly drew my bow. The spikes caught the movement and bolted. The 5x5 locked up the brakes and stared holes through me. Though I probably had several seconds to spare, I perceived it as a now-or-never opportunity, and as soon as my pin met lungs, my arrow launched.
It sailed harmlessly underneath his sternum and clanked through the sagebrush — a deafening sound I can still hear today every time I replay the encounter. The bull bolted, stopped to examine his surroundings, then slipped into the nearby timber. I’d inaccurately estimated the distance in the heat of the moment.
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I consider myself a skilled bowhunter. Not the best or even close, but skilled, for sure. I’ve taken dozens upon dozens of game animals with archery tackle in my 17 years of hunting. I’ve also missed more animals than I care to admit.
When I recount my many misses, I can attribute many to bad luck. One example is a giant mule deer buck I missed a few seasons ago. I slid downhill through the snow on my butt until I’d inched within 21 yards of the bedded buck. When he stood and looked away, I drew, aimed tight and shot. My broadhead clipped one, minute twig I hadn’t seen in the otherwise wide-open shooting window. The arrow deflected and missed the buck.
Now, some of my misses can be attributed to rushed shots or lack of preparation. And in my opinion, those two reasons are related. Understand: I’ve never gone into a season without practicing extensively. I always shoot a lot before each hunt. But, when life has gotten busy, I’ve occasionally fallen for mediocre training, and the results prove that mediocrity simply doesn’t cut it.
Let’s review several exercises every bowhunter must practice to achieve optimal, repeatable bowhunting accuracy.
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Create Lifelike Circumstances
Every bowhunter experiences mental and sometimes physical changes when an animal he/she wants to shoot presents an opportunity. The question is, do you practice under the influences of these changes? Once you ponder this for a few moments, many of you will conclude that it’s impossible to incite these changes side from a real-life bowhunting encounter. Wrong. Let’s break down the physical and mental changes, and how to incorporate them into your backyard practice.
First, let’s discuss the adrenaline rush. This effect sends your heart pounding and naturally causes shaking and tunnel vision. If you don’t practice under the influence of these changes, you’ll most likely perform like a second-string field-goal kicker attempting a 60-yarder in a sold-out stadium with only seconds on the play clock.
There are a couple of ways to create an adrenaline rush. First, you can sprint for 80-100 yards, pick up your bow and shoot. If you hit your mark, good. Do it again and again. If not, you’re probably unprepared for the real thing.
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The second method is to shoot under pressure. Bet your buddy $5 for whoever makes the better shot on a deer target placed 60 yards away. Or, shoot competitively. When money is on the line and people are watching you, you’ll inevitably feel pressure to perform. Exposing yourself to these challenges will prepare you for bowhunting. You’ll learn to buck tunnel vision and manage shaking and breathing.
If you fail, though, your mind will automatically trigger doubt, which will follow you to the woods. You can’t give up at this point. Instead, keep shooting under pressure — I don’t care how uncomfortable it feels — until you can hit your mark every time. And, keep your head in the game. Don’t stop challenging yourself. When you’ve mastered performing with mental and physical changes, your bowhunting accuracy will improve.
Practice Unknown Yardage and Various Angles
Like the bull elk I mentioned earlier, bowhunt long enough and you’ll face shot opportunities where you can’t use a rangefinder. It pays to train for such occasions. There are two ways to do this.
First, you can choose objects around the yard, guess the distance and then confirm your accuracy with a rangefinder. Another way is to place your 3-D target in an environment similar to where you hunt, then shoot it from random spots without using a rangefinder. The worst that can happen is you might lose an arrow or two. I find this approach to be the most effective method to bolster my distance-estimation skills.
Just as important, don’t stand on flat ground and incessantly pepper a broadside target from 20 yards away. Change it up. Move it around. Shoot it quartering-toward. Shoot it quartering-away. Shoot it from a treestand. Shoot it at an inclined angle. Don’t become complacent when your arrows always hit the 10-ring from 20 yards. Stack challenges on top of challenges. Only then will you truly be trained for whatever challenges wild game will present you.
Broadhead Practice
I’ve been preaching on the importance of broadhead practice since I was a 15-year-old bow technician at my family’s archery pro shop. It’s so crucial to know exactly how your equipment performs, and bowhunters who change outfield points for broadheads for the first time the night before opening morning simply don’t know their equipment.
Many folks are simply unaware that broadheads can fly differently than field points. They believe that so long as they buy the same weight broadheads as their field points that they’ll shoot the same. This isn’t always true. Other bowhunters are simply too lazy to get off the couch and shoot. Don’t be that guy/gal.
Now, when I say broadhead practice is important, I’m not merely referring to fixed-blade broadheads. Yes, fixed-blade broadheads commonly fly differently than field points, but so can mechanicals. I’ve seen it multiple times firsthand. While mechanicals flaunt a much lower in-flight profile than fixed-blade broadheads, their profile characteristics still differ from your field points, and this can produce a different flight pattern.
Buy yourself a good broadhead target, and practice extensively with broadheads before you hunt. If you identify erratic or irregular flight with your broadheads, you now have a chance to correct it before you hunt. If you hadn’t identified it prior to hunting, it could have cost you a miss, or worse yet, a marginally-wounded animal.
Options to correct broadhead flight are to go through your bow and make sure it’s properly tuned from top to bottom. If you don’t know how take it to a trusted bow technician at a pro shop and have them go through it. If the poor flight persists even after the bow has been tuned, you can try another brand of broadhead or move your sights to accommodate as a last resort.
Practice Before You Hunt a New Location
One of the most crucial things to do when you travel to bowhunt a faraway location, be it three or 23 hours away, is to shoot your bow when you arrive. Altitude and pressure changes can impact your sight’s zero. Plus, traveling with your equipment (especially if you fly) can also impart changes. Taking the time to practice with your equipment before and during a faraway hunt will help you identify problems and build your confidence for the hunt.
Time to Shine
There are so many ways to train and challenge your archery skills prior to hunting season, but the ones I’ve outlined here are the ones I go to season after season. Sure, I’ve had busy seasons of life where I didn’t practice them as religiously, but when I do practice them consistently, I make better shots on game. That’s a great feeling as opposed to pulling a blood-less arrow from the earth that missed its mark and reciting the coulda-shoulda-woulda nonsense.
Prepare to win, and you will.