29 Bow Hunting Tips You Must Know
Hunting is more than just having all the types of equipment it takes to be called a hunter. There are some tips people need to know to make a successful hunter. It is possible for starters to get frustrated and think hunting is impossible for them. You might have been trying hunting for several days and it seems that all you do is enter the bush and come out empty-handed. You don’t even know why it is happening and you don’t seem to know what to do next. Then this article is for you, I am sure that your hunting story will change after reading this article.
Bow hunting Tips
1. ESSENTIALS FOR HUNTING
Before we go into the hunting tips, let us first check if you have been going into the bush with the right materials. There are some things you will never think you need for survival but you will need them when you are in action. One of those would, of course, be a great crossbow combined with a crossbow scope or a bow, but let’s check some other essentials.
2. WATER
Yes, this is the most important thing you need in your backpack. Hunters tend to get thirsty after a long hike in the bush and drinking from any source is not ideal. Water is very important that you need to keep it as the major weight in your bag.
3. HEADLAMP
Another important pack for the bush is a headlamp. There are times that you need your hands free from holding a flashlight and you still need light to see what you are doing. A headlight is a solution to this problem if you have no one to hold the light for you. You need to buy one with a very long runtime.
4. FIRST AID KIT
You can get yourself injured on your heel, get yourself a cut from sharp woods, or get stung by a scorpion. All I want you to know is that you need a first aid kit to treat wounds even if you will need a doctor after you leave the bush. It can only contain a methylated spirit, antibacterial, anti-itch gel, medium band-aids.
5. MYLAR BLANKETS
This is also important to carry along and it weighs up to nothing in the backpack. Hunting can be intense at times; you can find yourself tracking an animal until it gets late. This is why you need a mylar blanket to post up camp, you will be grateful you packed it.
6. WET WIPE
It is important to carry a wet wipe with you as you may want to ease yourself in the woods, you want to clean off the mud from your hand before you eat, or wipe off blood and stains from your body.
7. LIGHTER
You don’t want to sleep in the dark after you have decided to post-camp in the woods. That is why it is a smart idea to carry a fire-lighter. You may be lost and you need attention in the woods, you will need a lighter to call it.
8. RUBBER GLOVES
It is also a smart choice to have rubber gloves packed in your bag because you may need them when you are dressing an animal. You don’t what bacteria or parasite is on the animal’s body. You can get sick from getting a slight cut on your hand while dressing an affected animal.
9. GAME BAGS
Okay, you’ve got the game down, now all you need is a bag to put it in, this is where the importance of packing game bags in the backpack enters. Game bags add only little to the weight of your backpack and it can be used again many times over.
10. Hunting Binoculars
A good pair of hunting binoculars is essential when you are going to hunt as well. That is why we have constructed a list of the best hunting binoculars which you can check out here!
HUNTING TIPS
Here are some hunting tips to make your journey through the woods a success. We bet that you will add some tips to your belt after reading this.
10. GET SOME CONFIDENCE
The first and the most important skill a hunter should never lack is confidence. It is one thing to have some games in the bush, it is another thing to have enough confidence to enter the bush to take the games down. It is also one thing to know how to shoot, it is another thing to shoot with confidence. Confidence is very important and it is also built on experience. To be a successful hunter, you need to get some confidence.
11. REMEMBER YOUR SUCCESS
Another way to be a good hunter is by never forgetting all the kills you have made in the bush. If possible, record your success in a book and never forget the things you did to make it. Becoming a great hunter requires gathering experience gradually. And a hunter can’t enter the bush every day without making little successes, it all counts. Remembering these things helps a hunter and it gingers the mind.
12. TAKE HUNTING SERIOUS
This is a very important tip to make hunting more successful. No matter what you do, taking things serious gives the best result. Hunting requires seriousness and devotion to succeed in it. A way of being a serious hunter is by entering the bush first before other hunters do. There are some restricted areas where vehicles are not allowed to pass and hunters go hunting, always try to be the first hunter to enter these areas as early as possible. The more serious you get about it, the better result you get.
13. BUY THE BEST MATERIALS
Remember that you need the best hunting materials to be the best hunter. Always try as much as possible to avoid inferior hunting materials like bows, arrows, GPS, rangefinder, and rifles. Try as much as possible to spend extra money on buying the best equipment for the best result. It is better for more accuracy, power, and durability.
14. TAKE IT SLOW
Hunters make a mistake of going too fast in the bush at times and this makes possible games run away at the sound of footsteps. Try giving yourself time by walking slowly while hunting. You can decide to time yourself on when you walk and also when to stay put. This helps to reduce footstep sounds and reduces spooks on games.
15. WALK TO THE CALLING POINT
This helps to avoid alerting the animals that you are around the bush even before you start hunting. If you live in a remote area, some animals can hear the sound of your vehicle long before you even get near the bush. It is better to park far away from your calling point and walk to it to avoid making noise.
16. AVOID OBSTACLES IN THE SHOOTING LANE
This is an important habit a hunter can cultivate for a better chance of success. Get the idea of directions in which an animal can show up. Then take your time to clear branches around the shooting lanes for a clean shot at your targets. And get yourself a position that won’t call for much movement from directions of animals. All of these are to avoid getting frustrated by seeing a game without being able to take it down.
17. ALWAYS USE BINOCULARS
We don’t mean you have bad eyesight. It is also sure that there will be a need to see yards away from where you are to see animals. Never forget the importance of binoculars as a hunter. And most importantly, learn to use it from time to time. Don’t assume you have checked an area before and it was empty so it will be forever empty. You need to believe that an animal just crawled out from the bush just after you finished checking the spot. So learn to check spots from time to time for a better chance.
18. SCOUTING BEFORE HUNTING
There is a common saying among soldiers that goes ‘train the way you will fight’. We will rephrase the saying to ‘scout the way you will hunt’. Scouting is not hunting but hunters need a complete predator’s mind to be a very good hunter. To find game trails, bedding areas and travel lanes of animals, you need a proper walk around the woods. Some hunters scout by just covering few grounds in the woods and this helps in discovering sites for hunting. For a better chance of success, get up early and stay out late to scout the woods.
19. DON’T THINK TOO LONG BEFORE SHOOTING
Some people waste so much time before they take shots after sighting a game from a blind. It is sure a good habit to be sure of what you are shooting before you have your shot. It is another thing and a bad idea to think too long after aiming your target. A hunter must avoid the frustration of losing games after aiming. This is why it is important to save yourself a long time thinking and just shoot before the game walks away from the aim.
20. STEALTH IS A HUNTER’S ABILITY
As a hunter, you need the maximum stealth you can ever get so you can’t be discovered in the woods. It is not easy to blend in the surroundings, not to talk of getting close enough without getting detected. Try as much as possible to blend in the bush by wearing camouflages. Also, hunters that practice more stationary hunting tend to get more stealth. Moving hunters cannot be aimed by ranged attacks but they reduce stealth. Don’t forget to practice safety while being indiscoverable by animals. Other hunters can sight you and think you are another animal; you need to avoid this mess. You can do this by wearing the hunter orange; this is discoverable by other hunters.
21. DON’T FOLLOW A HUNTER’S TRAIL
You may be so lucky to discover another hunter’s trail in the woods and that the hunter is also ahead of you. It doesn’t make any sense to keep following the hunter from behind. All you need to do in this case is to move back and change your direction. The hunter may be pushing an animal in the other direction so it makes sense to follow the opposite direction or make a big circle.
22. LEARN TO TAKE CLOSE AND ETHICAL SHOTS
Another way of improving as a predator is trying to get close to targets before trying to take a shot. It is often a very hard task to get close shots by moving closer. If you can practice this and you become perfect in it, it is a very good hunting skill. Taking close shots increases the chance of killing a game and tracking it easily. Always try to move closer to games without being discovered for easier kills.
23. DON’T GIVE UP
Many hunters give up easily after tracking animals they have shot. It is possible for an animal to still run a long way after being fatally shot. What you should never do is giving up after a long time blood trail following.
24. DEER TRACKING TIPS
Here are some deer hunting tips to make deer hunting more successful this season. We recommend you to purchase a deer attractant as well, we have seen great success with using it!
25. AVOID SHINY MATERIALS
If you are an expert in the woods, you will know that deer always get spooked at the slightest strange reflection they notice in the woods. Apart from a wet rock, they know that nothing else can be shiny. So it is best to avoid shiny or reflective hunting materials while hunting for a deer, so hide your bone saw when you can.
26. AVOID SCENTS OR HUMAN ODOR
It is best to know if you didn’t know before that human odor, perfumes, or any form of scents spooks deer quickly. It is better to bath with scent-free soaps, use scent-free creams and even avoid contaminating your hunting clothes to avoid strange smells on your way to the woods. Try keeping your cloth in a sealed container. You can also try keeping it with ground debris and dirt. This helps to maintain natural scents to improve deer hunting.
27. BE QUIET AND SLOW
Hunting deer requires great patience and slow movements in the woods. Slight noise or grass rustle sounds always spook deer easily. It is nice to move slowly and quietly while tracking a deer. Another thing you should know is that it is easy for a hunter to forget the noise, but the deer won’t forget easily. It is better to stop moving after making noise to leave the deer confused about what is coming towards it.
28. BEDDING AND FEEDING AREA
This is why scouting the wood before hunting is very important because that’s how you can know of these areas. It is good to target the bedding area if you already have an idea of where bucks and does sleep when it is late in the night. Try as much as possible to get to the bedding area before the deer gets there and stay low minutes before the dark set in. You will discover that you won’t be able to count the number of deer that will parade minutes after the light goes in. This requires staying late in the woods hunting, I mean late like 3 P.M in the night. Also, try checking areas where you’ve noticed a pack of deer feed the most; they like to feed in some spots.
