The advice you wish you would've received

[Randy Strickland]

So, this is my first year as a tradition bowhunter. Back in February I purchased my first trad bow, a Shrew Classic Hunter. It's a beautiful bow purchased from a long time Trad Gang member. (I'm super grateful by the way)

Anyway, I'm curious what advice you might give someone who will be spending his first season in the woods as a trad hunter? The kind of advice you wished someone would've told you when you were starting.

I apologize if this kind of thread has been up here before. I searched and didn't find it. I sure appreciate the time.

[mcgroundstalker]

You must have your shooting form down right... Get out in the woods and stump shoot... Hunt the cover and keep your shots at deer close... Most of all, enjoy yourself.

... mike ...

[ChuckC]

There is a ton of stuff.  As above, I hope you don't listen to all the competitive crap out there and just go be a part of nature.  Enjoy yourself, don't compete to kill a deer ( or anything else), smell the roses and you will like it.  You don't need all the gear being offered today to make things easier, not at all.  Use the force...
ChuckC

[4runr]

If you hunt from an elevated stand, practice, practice, practice from an elevated stand. You will still probably shoot over the deer's back. Then practice , practice, practice from an elevated stand. Then, you'll probably shoot over the deer's back. Then, practice, practice, practice, etc, etc, etc. I know I'm not the only one this has happened to.

Then don't give up. Because when you make that first shot, seeing the arrow dissapear right where you were burning a hole with your eyes, the flood of emotion is better than any gun or compound kill you heve ever experienced.

Focus on a hair, not the deer.

[highlow]

No real advice for when you hit the woods. The advice I wish I had gotten a long time ago would be - "Hunt with traditional bows". I've wasted so many years hunting wheels. I know some of you will say those years weren't wasted, but in comparison to the experiences with a recurve or longbow, they feel like they were. I'm having so much fun these days, it's hard to describe.

Okay. I will offer some hunting advice after all. And it's "Don't take shots farther than your comfort range".

[Zradix]

Congrats on your choice!
it's a harder path...but so much more rewarding.

As said above...practice how you'll hunt. If using a stand..practice from a stand..or roof..lol

I hunt from the ground and shoot from my knees 95% of the time.
so..I practice shooting from my knees more than any other position.

Also...I don't know what your bow hunting experience is...but with compounds you can pull back to the let off and wait for a long time for that deer to come in.
...kinda hard to do that with trad gear.
So you find yourself having to pull back at the moment of truth..( WHAT A RUSH IT IS!)

I found myself letting good shots go by just because I was afraid to spook em when I drew.

Took me 2 years of walk by's to say "the heck with it..I'm pulling back come hell or high water"..lol

Now I wouldn't pull back if the deer is looking right at me..BUT..it's pretty surprising how you can pull back and not spook a deer when they're only 10-15 yds away.

Just keep it smooth.

Gotta draw if you're ever gonna shoot.

Have fun!  

[Zbone]

I misread the topic, deleted my post...

A thing to remember I've learned through the years nobody really advised me is - Archery is give and take, such as speed for stability, weight vs speed for penetration, etc....

Usually if you gain something in archery, you  loose something elsewhere...

[KentuckyTJ]

Welcome from Kentucky!

The advice I wished I would have had back would be get some diamond sharpening hones and don't try and use stones. For years I thought I was a complete idiot when coming to sharpening. Then after talking to Ron at KME (kmesharp.com) I got some diamond hones and after they arrived in a matter of minutes I realized that it was my equipment not me.

Most of us put a lot of time and effort into hunting and skimping on sharpening equipment is crazy. My broad heads are all now scary sharp and I can most definitely tell a difference in the leaves on the ground now.

Good shooting blunt arrows that you dare to lose, can be the most valuable arrows you own.

[Michael Arnette]

Good question! Apart from learning to shoot to shoot a traditional bow which is a journey in itself ! Here are a few things I wish I had paid more attention to:

1:Arrow tuning/Broadhead flight... I missed my first shot at a dandy buck at unmentionably close yardage due to the fact that I did not understand bare shaft and paper tuning.
2: timing the shot and draw sequence. This just takes time and effort but shooting at moving targets can be very helpful
3: don't start out overbowed...yea, start out with less than you would like to hunt with
4: and probably the most painful lesson I learned early on:
Pay attention to deer movement after the shot. Animals react to traditional bows, especially recurves and loud longbows and the slower speeds mean you have to anticipate this. The only deer I have lost with the traditional now have been those that reacted to the shot in my early years.
5: get a partner! It's much more fun that way, and let me know if you're interested in hunting with me.

[Michael Arnette]

Sorry double post

[Nook]

"DON"T SHOOT AT ALERT DEER".... They have won the first round.  Learn from it.  A bad wound and a lot of tracking is not fun for you, or your buddies giving you a hand.  Jeff

I used to wander around too much looking at all the deer sign , when you only need to see it once to know the deer are there.

  I wish someone would have told me to just pick a good spot and stay still and wait for the deer to come to me,..... I could have killed some monsters if I wasn't up walking around spooking them all the time.

            I have learned to hide and wait.

   good luck on your first trad year.

[Randy Strickland]

All this advice is so great. Thank you all for taking the time to write. I am really grateful.

[kbetts]

Highlow x2....

Don't overthink it.  It's meant to be simple, and it really is if you have properly tuned equipment, practice how you hunt, and believe in your abilities.  No piece of technology can take the place of the fluid sense of movement and intense concentration of a seasoned trad hunter.

[monk]

Live for JESUS in everything especially in your time in his creation.

[Mryan2176]

This goes along with practice how u hunt, but practice in your hunting clothes. Also, shoot some 3d, shooting a dot is different then picking a hair on a deer. Good luck !

[mec lineman]

Get a Century to begin with, that alone would have saved me THOUSANDS !

[mark Willoughby]

I guess if I had to pick one bit of advice that I wish I would have known sooner that would be a properly or poorly tuned arrow can make or break your hunt tune your bow and practice your form       have fun this fall stay safe and shoot straight where all rooting for Ya

[Sam McMichael]

In practicing: Back tension is one of the most important aspects of form.

In hunting: proper scouting and stand location, with particular attention to the wind. Or to put it another way, find a good place, put your nose in the wind, sit still, be quiet, and, when you shoot, PICK A SPOT.