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bow hunting

Bow Hunting for Deer

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Bow hunting is an extremely interesting and fun activity, especially if you have deer as game. The whitetail deer is the most commonly hunted, so it is best that you understand the behavior and locations of these animals if you want to be successful. There are several tips and tactics that you can use to hit your target accurately. Knowing the escape routes, proper position and a vantage point are all needed for ultimate enjoyment.

About the Deer

The white-tailed deer is also called the Virginia deer or the whitetail. It is a medium-sized deer that is native to the United States, Mexico, Canada, Central and South America. There are also some existing species in Peru, Finland and New Zealand. There are several natural predators of the animal, such as cougars, alligators and gray wolves. Male deer usually fight for the opportunity of breeding females.

The males will spar to become the dominant entity. Bucks usually copulate with as many females as they can. The rutting season is determine by factors, such as air density and temperature. Males are usually prone to dehydration, malnutrition and overheating. If there are several males in a given area, they will compete more for the females. The selection process will not be as competitive if there are more females than males.

Heat Results

Although weather can delay the time and place where deer move, it will not completely take out the need of deer to move a short distance from where they forage. Deer usually have to move during morning and evening to look for food. Deer do not prefer very warm weather. Once the summer coats are shed, they start getting ready for the cold months, even if the weather is still warm. The more deer move, the less comfortable their situation is. They will try to arrange the patterns so that they do not necessarily have to move more than what is needed. During hot weather, deer usually bed very near sources of food.

Deer usually stream into the fields each evening. The deer were bedding down anywhere between 25 and 75 yards inside the woods from the fields. The precise distance usually depended on how distant the thick cover was from the fields. Hunters usually grab the opportunity where deer bed when the mast is scarce and the weather is hot. The deer has to bed in a secure spot just far away from your stand so you can stay invisible when entering the area.

About Scent

Deer can easily sense your scent when you are sneaking into the area. You can wash your clothes in unscented detergent and soda, as well as bathe using unscented soap. You can also spray odor reducers or eliminators. Hot weather can increase your scent because of sweat, making you very noticeable. You may wear a backpack with fresh hunting clothes packed inside. Once you arrive at the stand, change into clean outerwear. Mesh clothing can help fight the heat, but their body scent usually gives them away. Cotton is also not very useful at wicking moisture out of your skin.

More on Hot Weather

Deer calls can be made by hunters to lure deer into the area, especially during warm weather. The doe bleat call is very effective in bringing in whitetail deer. Bucks are less likely to go near the sound during early season, but does are usually responsive and will try to investigate more.

The Way You Shoot

Some expert hunters advise that you should aim your arrow lower than the level where you intend to hit the deer. It is because whitetail deer usually crawl down before jumping up, thereby causing several hunters to shoot over the deer’s back. The deer will respond as soon as you release the arrow. You can also try practicing your release in a subtler and smoother way. This allows you to stay unnoticeable or give the deer no time to respond.

Sex Attractants

There are a number of doe-in-heat mixtures that you may apply. These come in very handy when the weather is extra hot. Putting out scent trails or canisters can warn bucks that a number of items are not right. Estrous doe scent is not readily available in the woods during very hot season or early fall, so deer can become suspicious.

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Deer Hunting the Old Way

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Today rifles and shotguns are the more prominent way when it comes to hunting deer and other animals, consider the earlier settlers, where instead of a blunderbuss, the best way was using a bow.

Bow hunting is another way when it comes to hunting deer. Meant for the dexterous, bow hunting is a more delicate science and not just a sport, where the hunter must determine what sort of bow would be comfortable to use. This is nothing like Robin Hood and his longbows, I mean those were the only bows back then aside from crossbows. The difference here is to know where your draw length is, or the distance and strength on pulling the bow.

Several bow types like compound, stick types (the English longbows) or something like Rambo would use as long as there are no explosive heads. Never mind the brand for now since a lot of manufacturers have been making some of the best bows out there for hunting. And if a beginning bow hunter thinks it’s all about shooting arrows, guess again. Since most modern bows can be tuned according to the weight of drawing, it would be beneficial for those with weak arms or probably of advancing age. Just because a strong or heavy bow will kill just about anything, guess again. There’s science involved to know if the arrow’s trajectory is as flat as possible depending on the weight of the draw. For instance, killing a whitetail deer with an 80 lb. draw has a high risk of failure or the arrow falling off the rest comparing with a 60 lb. draw. Accuracy is the key when it comes to archery, and a sturdy and easy-to-use bow is the ticket for the perfect kill.

There are other things to consider, like what sort of shaft can be used. Similar to using a certain ammunition for a rifle, arrows can either be the cedar, aluminum, or carbon. Aluminum shafts are sturdy, lighter and much cheaper than carbon, and the best ammo to use for the hunt. In fact, it doesn’t stop there. Fletching or plastic type vanes are an integral part to make sure that any arrow shot will be flat and swift. Depending on the condition and user, vanes won’t be affected by cold or wet conditions in comparison to feathers, while the feathers offer a quieter shot once released.

It takes practice and being comfortable with a bow in order to hunt the old fashioned way, and it makes no difference if the person lives a modern lifestyle or deep into the woods.