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Tips to Aim with bow

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Most of the targets in a practice round don't move when you're aiming at them, so the sensation of pressure going from practice target to shooting a live prey is very different. Many archers change the way they pull their bow, aim differently or just rush in to the shot when hunting a living animal. The purpose of this article is to see the differences between shooting a target and shooting a real animal, and thereby improve accuracy as you shoot your prey.

The problem of rushing

Many archers feel in a hurry when they have the deer in front and have pulled the bowstring, afraid that while they are waiting patiently, the deer will explode in flight and disappear at any time. Of course this is not entirely wrong, because when bowhunting nothing is certain. The opportunities to shoot the deer are finite, because at some point they will come to an end. But the possibilities to make a successful shot can increase if you are not consumed by panic or rush at the time of releasing the arrow. To avoid this reaction at the moment of truth, you have to learn how to respond to uncertainty and adrenaline.

The temptation to rush the shot comes down to a bad decision, and to do a retrospective of the shot, it will seem so simple: the neurons in our brain stop communicating when we have a deer at 20 yards in front of us. Dealing with these situations requires a good strategy for those difficult moments.

The right strategy

Use your head
Be aware that you will destroy all your chances to score if you rush the shot. Occasionally, a deer will step behind a bush unexpectedly, just before you fire and you will not see it again. You must accept these losses as part of the hunt with a bow. You will lose many more opportunities if you rush the shot and make poor decisions than the amount you are going to lose if a deer runs away from you just before you shoot.

Select the correct part to aim
Deciding where to target is very important and is a step that is often overlooked when rushing the shot. As the angle of the animal's body changes, or the height of your tree-stand changes, you should adjust your aim.

With shots from high Tree-stands, where the animal is completely on its side, divide the animal in two, lengthwise, and aim at the center of the lower half, several inches behind the front leg.

In shots where the animal begins to move away from you, pick a point so that the arrow comes out of the outside of the front leg, not on the outside of the shoulder, as this high up.

As you approach the trigger point
It does not really matter how you move your pin to the appropriate trigger point. If you are running your shot correctly, you will never feel the rush of shooting early as slowly tightening will force you to be at the right point in time for the arrow shot out. However, not everybody fires correctly. Some archers pull the trigger as soon as they see brown on the other side of the pin.

If you are one who releases too soon, resulting in many high shots or shots failed, consider pointing from below. This way you'll be in or near vital your pin as soon reach the deer. Still, it is good to make some quick shots, so you can still do clean shots when you bring the pin from below.

How long to aim
Do not reinvent the way you shoot a deer because it is near. Strive to do the same when you are practicing shooting. For most archers, this means the pin floating on or near the target for 2 to 5 seconds before firing. Do not try to use a new routine while hunting reserves such as testing for range.

Although targets on the range will never be the same as shooting a live animal, you should strive to behave the same way when you're shooting either. This requires a commitment to ignore the urge to rush the shot. Stick to your normal technique. And in the long run it will produce great results.