Friday, July 14, 2006
Shooting A Deer Is Easy When Confident
On occasion, I have sold a person a new C.P. Oneida Eagle bow and then invited them to hunt and take a whitetail doe. Some have accepted the offer and others have refused.
Those that have accepted had already taken my course in drawing, aiming and shooting a bow. It’s incredible, but most of them end up shooting a doe the first night with their new bow from a strange stand.
It’s not nearly as difficult as some people would make it out to be. The first thing I do is get people shooting accurately, and praise them on their form, how they pay attention to my directions, and comment on how they have absorbed the lessons.
Confidence is the key ingredient when hunting whitetails and when shooting a deer. The hunter must execute all aspects of the shooting process with confidence and skill. Oddly enough, confidence is the greatest skill builder there is.
Each person is taught the proven methods that work, especially when using a red-dot sight. They are told that they must use the same anchor point, time after time. Shifting one’s anchor point a fraction of an inch can send an arrow somewhere we don’t want it to go.
Correcting old bad habits is difficult. Of course, they listen to me as I teach them to shoot their new bow, but when I’m not around, they tend to relax their training and go back to shooting the old way. Their old way, I demonstrate to them, is the wrong way to shoot a bow.
Hunters with a new bow must show a commitment to learning. My method isn’t difficult to absorb, and can easily be learned in five or 10 minutes. There is no hocus-pocus involved; it deals strictly with a constant anchor point, holding their head up straight, keeping both eyes open while aiming with the red-dot sight, and making a smooth release.
I tell them that a red-dot sight will help them correct any flaws in their shooting form. If they cant their bow, they won’t be able to see the sight. In fact, if they drop their head, cock it sideways, they won’t be able to see through the red-dot scope. If they see only a portion of the red dot, it means they must correct the error, whatever it may be.
Many bow hunters squeeze their bow like they are trying to choke the bow handle to death. A too-tight grip can torque the bow in one direction or another, and twist the red-dot sight just enough so it is impossible to shoot with it. The bow should rest gently between thumb and forefinger, and with just enough forefinger pressure to hold it in position. A clenched-fist grip isn’t needed.
The form should always be the same. Feet spread apart at shoulder width, head up and both eyes fixed on the target. Come to full draw, and if your head is properly positioned and your anchor point is firm, you will be looking straight through the red-dot sight at the target.
Many hunters close their other eye, and this robs them of proper vision. Having both eyes open enables you to see the target with both eyes, helps prevent torquing or canting the bow, and provides a better chance of seeing where the arrow hits.
Too many hunters have told me, after they’ve wounded a deer, that they hit it in the heart or lungs. Often, after a long trailing job, we find their deer with an arrow in the guts or the rump. Having both eyes open when a shot is taken eliminates the guess work.
One other thing I coach bow hunters to do is follow through. Continue holding the bow in place, and don’t lower it until the arrow disappears behind the animals front shoulder. Then, when you say it was hit in the heart and lungs, it is more than guess work and wishful thinking.
Shooting a bow isn’t difficult. Shooting a deer isn’t hard. If you don’t believe me, stop by my Buck Pole Archery Shop a half-mile north of the Marion blinker light on highway M-66, stop in and let me prove it to you.—The Whitetail Wizard