Bowhunting...Dedication and challenge

October 19, 2012
Over the years Ive gone from rifle to bow and using both. I use my rifle mainly for if we need meat and first time animals (ill be using it for my goat this year).  But bowhunting...takes dedication, it takes passion....and most of all patience. I have the dedication and passion, but the patience is a different scenario.

It's amazing going from a starter with a rifle to a broken in hunter trying to go all bow. We practice all year round, almost everyday. I don't believe in pulling it out a week before season, shooting a couple rounds and calling it good. For me, archery prepares me for bowhunting, it keeps my muscles in shape so I can pull back that 50lbs when a deer walks out, it helps me to know my bow so when I'm pulling back i have confidence that my arrow will hit where i want it too. This is my dedication.

You need a passion for hunting and for archery to be able to bowhunt. I have had a bow for over 5 years now and I have been hooked since the first arrow I sent flying. I have been bowhunting for 4 years and have yet to take anything with it. But I continue to shoot all year and hunt with it every season. I know it will be even sweeter once I do get my first bow kill and ill be even more obsessed. Until then I keep chuggin along, hoping before every outing and cursing after.  I am determined to kill my whitetail with my bow this year.

Bowhunting takes incredible patience. This I struggle with the most. I have a hard time seeing all these deer that I have to pull a spot and stalk on and try to get within 40 yards without getting busted. When before with my rifle, if it was within 200 yards it was dead. I've pulled stalk after stalk after stalk, every time with no success. You have to check the wind, take it slow but not too slow, and be quiet. I forget to check the wind all the time. One disadvantage I have is how short i am, I can barely see over a brush. But it also works in my advantage, I don't have to crouch down to hide behind the brush lol! I sometimes take it too slow and my animal will have moved on without me seeing it. Sometimes you end up sitting for hours without seeing an animal, or waiting for the perfect opportunities to pull back or shoot. I am still trying to find the happy medium that will work for me.

Bowhunting is a challenge...I know I will get my first kill, when is a different question. I keep at it anyways. If you are someone considering bowhunting, I do recommend it. There is no other feeling like that of a bull elk charging in at you through the brush, screaming or a whitetail walking underneath you while sitting in a tree stand. You get to see more animals up close and personal and it gives you a pretty good appreciation for the animals you do get.

Nikita