Meaningful practice and drills for an archery hunter

[PennDude]

I'd like to have a discussion on what you archery hunters incorporate into your shooting routine to prepare for hunting season and to make yourself an overall more versatile shooter.  I'm sure we all square up to a target and shoot for practice, but I'm looking for other ideas.  Shooting while seated, shooting from an elevated position, things of that nature. 

[GCook]

Around September 1st my practice gets pretty focused on hunting.   I have a five gallon bucket with a lid I use to sit on and the vast majority of shots are 12 to 15 yards.  In September I usually go to my stands with a target and shoot several arrows at each set up to get the feel for shooting out of the blind/tripod/ladder.  Also at home I have an 8' step ladder I try to take a few shots a week sitting at the top of it.  I try to shoot all the bows I hunt with during the week and try to shoot at least five days a week even if it's just ten or twelve arrows. 
If I'm struggling some I'll shoot one arrow, go pull it, then go sit down and shoot again.  Sometimes I'll shoot half a dozen arrows before the day starts, and a couple dozen after the work day.  It just depends on how the days work out work and weather wise.  I pretty much hunt every weekend of hunting season.  Usually at least two weekends a month through June.
Fortunately it's hunting season year round in Texas and I hunt pigs all the time and exotic animals when I can afford to. 

[Bowguy67]

You need to practice anything you think you would do that includes simple things like shooting w gloves, a hat and bundled up. That’s what most guys don’t do.
Tree stand or ground blind shots from however you sit or kneel from all kinds of angles. If hunting from a tree shoot from a stand wearing a harness. It can limit you. All that needs to be known preseason not in season w game in range.

[1Arrow1Kill]

I agree with BowGuy67 - Practice any shot that you feel you might need to make under the conditions you will be hunting in.  I'm a ground hunter so I practice mainly from a seated position on the ground or low seat.  I shoot at various angles to see where arrows impact the target with less than a complete, full draw.  I usually shoot about 6 arrows, but when I shoot a bad shot, I stop, get up and retrieve my arrow(s) and start over.  It's an incentive to take each shot seriously and also provides good exercise to have to get my old butt off the seat, stand and walk to the target.  Gives me time to analyze what I did wrong and time to refocus on making the next shot better.  I really don't enjoy just shooting arrows, I enjoy practicing to improve.  I'm still a sequence shooter, but learning to become a natural shooter where drawing, anchoring, aiming, release and follow-through become natural, like breathing.  Might never get there, but I'm enjoying the journey.

[The Whittler]

I make sure I wear the clothes I'm going to hunt in and sometimes a wool sweater that my wife knitted for me. Also gloves sometimes it can be a bit brisk in the mornings.

[David Phillips]

I hunt a lot from a stand so I practice from a stand. Shooting groups on a target is fine but it’s that first shot that matters. You want to know how good you really are? Climb into a stand sit there a few minutes then stand up and make a shot at your target, one shot. That’s where your at not after 15 minutes of warmup and shooting multiple groups into your 3 D deer. I also stump shoot a lot one shot per target, really helps with distances and focus.

[elkken]

I liked to practice / shoot the same way i am going to hunt. Same bow ,same arrows, same clothing ect ect. I shot my bow all off season at 3D's and in the hunting woods. I ground hunted most of my hunting life but when I started hunting from stands, I set some up to practice from. Doing all these things helps you get rid of all those little gremlins that pop up when your actually hunting. Like noisy clothing, string hitting your arm guard, a limb hitting your stand. I can go on and on ... practice like you hunt.

 

[Bisch]

Most all of my stands are set up for a 13yd shot. Nearly 99% of all my practice from Sept thru deer season is sitting in a chair, and 10-15yds from my target.

Bisch

[Orion]

I attend a lot of 3-D shoots and do a lot of stump shooting.  Stump shooting in particular provides a lot of experience in shooting in uneven terrain, oftgen requiring uneven foot placement and sometimes upper body contortions. Of course, shot distance also varies alot.  I hunt from tree stands quite a bit and almost always shoot from the sitting position, so I practice that as much as I can, from elevated stands at 3-D shots and sitting on a chair in my basement range.  Regardless of where I shoot/practice, I work on ingraining, in thought and movement, my shot sequence.   

[GCook]

I didn't see it mentioned but make sure you practice with your broadheads.  Either have heads you practice with only or resharpen after.  But they'll tell you if you're tuned well and that arrow looks different when it's got a blade vs a field point on it.

[howl]

All practice is from seated as that's how I hunt. I anchor off target, move in and release a good bit.

[Sam McMichael]

I spend most of my time close to deer season working on form, particularly my release. Most of my stands are set up so I won't have too many funky angles. This may sound counter-intuitive, but I spend some of my time shooting out to 25 or 30 yards. No, I don't hunt from those distances, but when I am doing O.K. at that range, the close shots are square on target.

 

[Kokopelli]

"...............overall more versatile shooter".
Now here's a man after my own heart !!!!
I have a number of drills slanted toward hunting, but I hold my own at 3d shoots too. Bear in mind that I shoot A LOT. Probably average 50 arrows a day, analyzing every shot made and planning the next.
Suggestions;
(1) Join an archery club. The exchange of ideas alone is worth the yearly dues.
(2) Go to some 3d shoots.  If you're concerned that the 'big boys' will see you making mistakes, keep in mind that the big boys have already made all of those mistakes.  I once told a newbie "I DEFY you to do something stupid that I haven't already done, probably more than once". The big boys all understood.
(3) Bales ............. are for working on form, by the numbers, marked yardage from where you're comfortable. Take your time and think about every shot. Don't just shoot a lot of arrows. Think about what you're doing.
(4) Paper plates....... with a square of hot pink duck tape in the center makes a great target. Before you're done shooting for the day, do the walk-back. Start at 5 yards & shoot one. If it hits, move back to 10 yards. If you hit the plate, go to 15 yards. So on until you miss one. Now you have a goal for the next session.
(5) Point on ............... is your friend.  Flaws in your form will show up at your point on distance. The point of your arrow is as good as a sight pin. (A fat sight pin, but still a pin.) Unless you change bow weight, arrow size or your string is getting ready to fail, your point on distance should remain the same. Shoot good form and shoot good groups.
(6) If you can shoot groups at point on distances, close range hunting distances should look like chip shots. Confidence is a big deal when it comes to hitting what you're aiming at.
(7) Roving !!!! Gotta love roving / stump shooting. Alone is good, with a couple of buddies is even gooder. Teaches distance estimation and shooting under pressure for bragging rights. If you can do your roving where there's grouse or cottontails so much the better !!!!
(7)  Stay hungry. In the August 1968 Archery World magazine, Jack Witt wrote, "An archer shoots as good as what he himself is satisfied with shooting." Once you decide that good enough is good enough, you ain't gonna get no better.

[Dave Lay]

Like others I practice off a stand , practice bending at the waist , and practice shooting to your “ off side” . For me being a LH shooter , the toughest shot is a steep shot to my hard left. Shoot with your hunting gear on, that’s your binos, safety harness and what coat you may wear to check to be sure things clear ok.

[Jock Whisky]

All good stuff.
 I hunt mostly from a tree stand. Rather than climbing up and down into a stand for practice I've located a spot where I can stay on the ground but shoot downhill at a target that is about 12 feet in elevation below me. I know it's not exactly the same as being tied in etc etc  but it helps with shooting downhill. When I am hunting I also take a couple of blunts with me and always shoot them before climbing out of the stand.
 And as others have said i stump shoot... a lot.

[Dave Pagel]

I am lucky.  Our house is on my wife's family farm so I have bale in the yard and can shoot out to 100 yards if I want.  I typically get 50-60 arrows in daily from 10 to 50 yards.  However, I am a member at a great archery club, Tomahawk Archers, and the club is only 4 miles from my house.  The club has a great outdoor course with elevated platforms and shots from all kinds of positions and distances.  The course is underutilized to say the least.  I shoot the course in the early morning often and rarely is anyone else there unless a couple buddies join me.  It makes it similar to stumping and really helps me with overall shooting.

D.P.