Now is the time of year that most bowhunters are getting serious about preparation for the upcoming bow season. Given that I often get asked, “What one piece of advise can you give that will help me to be more successful this bowhunting season?” The thing is, there is not just “one” thing any of us could do differently or change, but that to consistently tag trophy animals a guy will need to do a couple dozen different things just right, or close to it. But, if I had to give just one tip it would come in two simple words, “Bow familiarity.”

See, it seems to me that too many guys are looking for a quick fix or a shortcut to success. Bowhunting doesn’t generally work that way. Whatever bow you decide to hunt with, outfitted with whatever rest, sight, arrows, etc., the bottom line is there need to be a “connection” by the time season roll around.

Dead on accuracy with a bow and arrow comes with repetition. Drawing, anchoring, picking a spot and a smooth release should all be part of the subconscious. In talking with Wayne Endicott from my local pro shop, The Bow Rack, he tells me, “Cam, for me, shooting a bow is just about like standing here talking to you. Pounding the target butt with arrows is as natural an act as talking or breathing as far as I am concerned.”

I guess this helps to his explain his extraordinary success both in the woods and on the target range. Just this last season he arrowed a big 6 x 6 bull and a 4-point buck here in Oregon and for years he has routinely finished near the top of virtually any 3-D shoot, marked yardage course or field archery tournament he enters.

Wayne shoots about a hundred arrows a day, nearly everyday of the year. While this type of commitment is hard for many guys to match, incredible bow and arrow accuracy can be achieved with less. Personally, I only shoot about 25 to 50 arrows a day, which takes at most a ½ and hour or as little as fifteen minutes. If successful bowhunting is a priority for you, this shouldn’t be too hard of an obligation to meet.

A natural transition will take place when finally, because of the daily practice and immersion in archery, your bow will become like an extension of your body. With this level of bow familiarity will come confidence.

For yet another slant on what it takes to achieve “Dead On” accuracy, I talked with one of the very best shooters bowhunting has ever known. I would venture to guess that all serious bowhunters who have followed the sport over the past 10 years or so have heard the name Randy Ulmer. His accomplishments really don’t need to be validated, but they were when he was elected into the prestigious Bowhunter Hall of Fame a few years back. Randy made his mark years ago by dominating the 3-D circuit and quickly built a reputation as a great competitor with an uncanny ability for accuracy. When he talks bow and arrow shooting, I listen.

When asking him about his preseason shooting routine, Randy referenced the old adage, “Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.”

To try and achieve shooting perfection, he shoots the first five arrows and the last five arrows of the day from a distance of five feet with his eyes closed. Many small muscles in our forearms and larger muscles in our upper arms and back must act harmoniously to make the perfect shot,” Randy says.

He goes on further by saying, “During a normal shot, aiming and concern over where the arrow is going to hit, completely occupies the conscious mind while the subconscious mind controls the shot process. In order to become more aware of what you are doing before, during and after the shot, you must remove the aiming process and the concern over where the arrow will hit from the conscious mind. Closing your eyes and standing a few feet away from the target will allow you to “feel” the shot. You will soon discover things you may have never known you were doing wrong and eventually you will discover what the “perfect” shot feels like.

Once you’ve experience this “perfect” shot with your eyes closed you can try to repeat it with your eyes open. If you can maintain this feeling, your shooting will rapidly improve. If you hit a slump, go back to shooting with your eyes closed until the feeling comes back.”

In general, for many of you I probably haven’t revealed any new or groundbreaking information here in this column. There is not too much cutting edge glamour involved with putting in practice time, but nothing is more necessary. Bowhunting is a challenge and to be successful you will need to punch the ol’ time clock when it comes to practice. Bowhunting trophy big game is probably one of the most difficult things to do consistently, and I realize that for the most part guys don’t want to hear how “hard” it is, they just want to know, “How can I arrow a monster.”

About time for your daily practice session isn’t it?

Bonus Q & A

Cameron,
I’m fascinated with your experience on “solo elk hunting” as you have described in EBJ. Although I have been bowhunting elk in Colorado and Idaho for the past 20 years, I have not attempted an extended solo hunt.

Generally, I am hunting from a base camp from my vehicle or from an established camp in the field. I have favored the convenience of returning to camp with all of my supplies and comforts at camp. I reasoned the challenge of lugging my gear and camp (50 lbs.?) with me for an extended time was not a productive means to hunt elk.

Are there other issues/concerns that you would recommend since you published that last article? Archery elk hunting is the most exciting experience that I have ever done. Your solo style certainly gives me another idea for expanding this endeavor. Thanks, Kurt Betker

Kurt,
Yes, I still am sold on hunting solo. Packing your camp can be tough for 8-10 days straight, but if you use light, quality, high performance gear and get in good enough shape to pack the weight, it can actually be easier on you physically because you are not wasting time and energy going back and forth to a base camp.

I believe with all things considered, when hunting the rugged mountains that I prefer, bivouac hunting is more efficient. I can sleep longer as when it gets dark I simply bed down. Before bivouacing out, I used to wake hours before sun up to get to the elk or mule deer I’d found the night before. Now I camp near the animals, get up at first light and start hunting. The biggest challenge in my opinion is mental. Just coming to grips with the fact that you will be hunting on your own, camping on your own, etc., is intimidating for a lot of guys.

The feeling of accomplishment after a successful bowhunt is indescribable. This feeling is accentuated even more after a solo, DIY hunt. Sincerely, Cameron

This entry was posted on Monday, October 31st, 2005 at 5:41 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.