Bow Hunting Partner/Mentor?

[jconn]

Hi everyone,

Another new HBC member here. This will be my first hunting season and it would be great to meet some folks on here to learn from as I don't know anyone else who hunts. Anyone willing to take a new bow hunter under their wing for a trip or two this season? I live in Vancouver, but am open to travelling anywhere in Reg 2, 3, 8 or possibly 5.

I'm 28 years old, in good shape and really interested in learning from some of the more experienced guys/gals. I'm mainly interested in deer as a starting point, but am open to any learning opportunity.

My original plan was to start with rifle hunting to increase my probability of success, but long PAL wait times etc. brought me to the decision to dive into bow hunting. I've been practicing with my bow a few times a week to develop my skills for ethical hunting and loving it so far. Done a couple of scouting trips in Region 3, seen a couple forkies and spikes in the subalpine.

I have some time off work this fall that I'm planning to dedicate to hunting. If anyone is interested in taking on a new hunting partner, shoot me a PM.

James

[walks with deer]

Practice lots with your bow first animal and arrow keep it real close adrenaline may be high.
Join a gun club if your in van go to Squamish valley archers they practice every we'd or Thursday lots of good guys there .

[jedimaster]

Best advice I can offer to a new bow hunter in general is whatever vitals you can hit on a target while practicing cut the distance in half when hunting. get comfortable from your bow in all positions you would hunt from in the clothes you will with. keep an eye on your zippers, hoods, sleeves etc..

[jconn]

Thanks guys, really appreciate the advice. Great point on halving the distance at the range when out in the field. I'm going to be doing some private lessons at a local range (Richmond Rod and Gun, close to my workplace) in addition to my current practice routine. Really want to get my technique dialed in and confidence up prior to considering a shot in the field.

I don't really have adequate scouting done to have an area well patterned out to set up a stand (also not that keen on the idea of being up in a stand all day tbh), so I'm thinking of hiking into some sub-alpine areas during the early bow season and taking a spot and stalk approach so that I'll have the opportunity to see more game and explore the area I'm hunting. Do most guys use their range finder during a stalk to gauge distances or is that likely not an option due to concealment issues? I've been working on range estimation, but I also don't want to make an irresponsible shot choice due to an error in judging distance.

[Brez]

Get deadly with your bow and go to all of the 3-D courses you can find (every day) and don't use a range finder on the course. Everywhere you walk, even at work , guess distances and pace them off till you are bang on almost all of the time. Sometimes you won't have the luxury of time to range a shot. you have a lot of work to do in very short time.
limit yourself to broadside or slightly quartering away shots only as this will give you the biggest targets. Having the comfort distance is good advice.

[Foxtail]

There are 2 3d shoots this weekend. One in Ridgedale in Abby and another at Semiahmoo in south surrey. I suggest you go to both. The Semiahmoo shoot is hunter scoring and really is the closest kind of scoring to real hunting. Plus it is super fun.

[knockturnal]

What did you get for a bow?

[jconn]

My budget didn't allow for an expensive bow this time around - this is my first season doing any sort of hunting so I've had to acquire a lot of other associated gear as well. I picked up a PSE Stinger X package (45# to 60#) on the recommendation of the pro shop staff. So far it seems great to me, but I do have very little basis for comparison.

[knockturnal]

Nice. That bow will get the job done for sure. I would concentrate on getting your form down first and not worry to much about hitting the bullseye right away. Once your form is consistent, bullseyes will come with practice. Shoot as much as you can, even if its only 10 yards in your yard. I shoot inside during the winter just to maintain my form. And try not to shoot more than 3 arrows at a time. Shoot 3, then retrieve. That will give your body time to rest and you wont get fatigued as fast.

[The Hermit]

You might want to re-think your notion about tree standing, they are killing machines! First, you will probably see MORE animals from the tree. Second, you can pre-range distances to likely shot opportunities. Third, you can always sit pre-dawn till 10am or so then go spot and stalking, and back into the stand for the evening sit.

[exv]

Right on! ... some great comments on here. I'm trying to arrow my first animal this fall aswell so I defenitly don't have much knowledge on the subject. I've been practicing various shots from my tree stand thou to adjust for the angle ... seems to help my confidence, as I plan on taking an animal from this stand. There was a few small details I learned the first couple trips out that I would have never accounted for otherwise and could have easly spoiled a hunt.

Best of luck James ... sounds like your putting the effort in to have a successful year.

[jconn]

You might want to re-think your notion about tree standing, they are killing machines! First, you will probably see MORE animals from the tree. Second, you can pre-range distances to likely shot opportunities. Third, you can always sit pre-dawn till 10am or so then go spot and stalking, and back into the stand for the evening sit.

Thanks for the tip on stand hunting. I hadn't really thought much about it before but that makes a lot of sense.

How does sitting in a natural ground blind compare with stand hunting? I'm planning on backpacking in as much as I can to try to lose the crowds, a bit hesitant to add more gear to my packing list.

[The Hermit]

Well ground blinds can work great too but the two biggest advantages that treestands have over them are: being up higher can help to keep your scent up and away from the immediate area ergo you see more animals; and being up higher will give you a much better view ergo you see more animals and see them sooner so you can better prepare, taking a few breaths and calming yourself down before the moment of truth.

It is important to set it up and practice shooting from the treestand, both sitting and standing.

Hope you have a great season and we are looking forward to the pictures and story of your first kill! Cheers

[jedimaster]

Tree stand is a must for bow hunting. Put your time in and be patient. If you only setup one stand try and pattern out a spot between where they bed down and feed, this will be a decent spot to increase your odds at one stand if you are there morning and night. Be very quiet and don't leave too much scent down and around. Also when practicing your first shot of your practice is the best one to judge your accuracy, not your 20th arrow. Only your first arrow counts when bow hunting.

[Brez]

spot & stalk and stillhunting = fun.
treestand = meat on the table
It is incredibly effective with good scouting.