There is NO doubt that as far as equipment goes, the BROADHEAD does the actual killing part of the process. So why would a hunter leave ANY details about the broadhead to chance?
Sharpness
Accuracy
Blade diameter
CRITICAL stuff!
You practice ALL summer, (maybe longer), waiting and dreaming of that opportunity to make the shot. Why leave ANYTHING to chance?
To become EXTREMELY EFFICIENT at killing deer with GREAT regularity takes time, effort, and is a work in progress. Like ANYTHING from typing to playing golf, the amount of time varies dramatically from person to person.
The first step is becoming EXTREMELY EFFICIENT at being able to routinely place your arrow in the bullseye at your maximum EFFECTIVE range. NOT YOUR MAXIMUM RANGE. There is a HUGE difference between these two.
Your maximun range might be described as how far you can shoot your bow and HIT THE TARGET.
Your maximun EFFECTIVE range SHOULD be thought of as how far you SHOULD shoot at a live animal, and EXPECT to have CONSISTENT success with a LOW probability for a negative outcome.
Again, these two vary from person to person.
But I would venture an educated guess that foe MOST of us, the maximum EFFECTIVE range for our arrows (to insure highest probability for success) is a distance of NO GREATER THAN 25 yards. And probably more like 20 yards.
We once did a small survey within our 7 member group of archers. Our combined deer kill total was over 500 bow kills.
Our AVERAGE shot was 19 yards. NINTEEN!
Several of these guys use only ONE pin set at 25 yards. Any deer that gets within that range, that these guys decide to shoot, is in trouble.
THe funny thing is, that MOST of these guys couldn't win a 3 D shoot if their life depended on it.
But then 3-D shoots generally have longer shot scenarios and focus more on accuracy at unknown distances at nearly invisible x-rings. In actuality, many times 3-D shoots don't resemble hunting at all. (we RARELY guess distances in actual hunting conditions, either we KNOW the distance or we do NOT shoot).
Not to say that 3-D shooting won't help you prep for deer hunting, IT will. But KNOWING how your bow will shoot inside your EFFECTIVE maximum range is MUCH more important than slinging arrows at unknown distances hoping for a 12 ring.
ANd then expecting to be able to achieve similar (12 ring) results in the deer woods at these longer distances is going to be disappointing for MOST archers.
If I had to give a simple bit of advice for a bowhunter. Advice that would help more hunters achieve better results, it would be this;
Know how your bow shoots at 25 yards and in.
Know how it shoots with the quiver ON AND OFF the bow.
Know how your bow shoots a a 3-D target from 10 feet to 25 feet off the ground and out of your stand with your safety harness and ALL your gear on. DO this WITH a broadhead tipped arrow at distance from RIGHT under your stand to your MAX range.
Check and RE-CHECK all your equipment for squeaks and odors.
Shoot Sharp, accurate, dependable broadheads.
Wear rubber boots.
LEARN THE ANATOMY OF YOUR QUARRY like a DOCTOR.
Know what your arrow WILL look like after passing through ANY part of the deers body. (i.e.-lungs exit, heart exit, stomach exit, liver exit, intestine exit.
Learn what to look for in a deers reaction after the shot and
how YOU should react to that situation (go to lunch, bed, etc.)
LEARN HOW TO READ A DEERS BODY LANGUAGE.
AND MOST IMPORTANT...Become a STUDENT of bowhunting.
102
Sharpness
Accuracy
Blade diameter
CRITICAL stuff!
You practice ALL summer, (maybe longer), waiting and dreaming of that opportunity to make the shot. Why leave ANYTHING to chance?
To become EXTREMELY EFFICIENT at killing deer with GREAT regularity takes time, effort, and is a work in progress. Like ANYTHING from typing to playing golf, the amount of time varies dramatically from person to person.
The first step is becoming EXTREMELY EFFICIENT at being able to routinely place your arrow in the bullseye at your maximum EFFECTIVE range. NOT YOUR MAXIMUM RANGE. There is a HUGE difference between these two.
Your maximun range might be described as how far you can shoot your bow and HIT THE TARGET.
Your maximun EFFECTIVE range SHOULD be thought of as how far you SHOULD shoot at a live animal, and EXPECT to have CONSISTENT success with a LOW probability for a negative outcome.
Again, these two vary from person to person.
But I would venture an educated guess that foe MOST of us, the maximum EFFECTIVE range for our arrows (to insure highest probability for success) is a distance of NO GREATER THAN 25 yards. And probably more like 20 yards.
We once did a small survey within our 7 member group of archers. Our combined deer kill total was over 500 bow kills.
Our AVERAGE shot was 19 yards. NINTEEN!
Several of these guys use only ONE pin set at 25 yards. Any deer that gets within that range, that these guys decide to shoot, is in trouble.
THe funny thing is, that MOST of these guys couldn't win a 3 D shoot if their life depended on it.
But then 3-D shoots generally have longer shot scenarios and focus more on accuracy at unknown distances at nearly invisible x-rings. In actuality, many times 3-D shoots don't resemble hunting at all. (we RARELY guess distances in actual hunting conditions, either we KNOW the distance or we do NOT shoot).
Not to say that 3-D shooting won't help you prep for deer hunting, IT will. But KNOWING how your bow will shoot inside your EFFECTIVE maximum range is MUCH more important than slinging arrows at unknown distances hoping for a 12 ring.
ANd then expecting to be able to achieve similar (12 ring) results in the deer woods at these longer distances is going to be disappointing for MOST archers.
If I had to give a simple bit of advice for a bowhunter. Advice that would help more hunters achieve better results, it would be this;
Know how your bow shoots at 25 yards and in.
Know how it shoots with the quiver ON AND OFF the bow.
Know how your bow shoots a a 3-D target from 10 feet to 25 feet off the ground and out of your stand with your safety harness and ALL your gear on. DO this WITH a broadhead tipped arrow at distance from RIGHT under your stand to your MAX range.
Check and RE-CHECK all your equipment for squeaks and odors.
Shoot Sharp, accurate, dependable broadheads.
Wear rubber boots.
LEARN THE ANATOMY OF YOUR QUARRY like a DOCTOR.
Know what your arrow WILL look like after passing through ANY part of the deers body. (i.e.-lungs exit, heart exit, stomach exit, liver exit, intestine exit.
Learn what to look for in a deers reaction after the shot and
how YOU should react to that situation (go to lunch, bed, etc.)
LEARN HOW TO READ A DEERS BODY LANGUAGE.
AND MOST IMPORTANT...Become a STUDENT of bowhunting.
102
