A few years ago I wrote an small bot on practicing how you hunt. At the time I failed to listen to my own words in some ways. Sure I stump shoot a lot. I shoot from all positions and ups and downs.
I never really took the time to practice regularly out of a blind. It was not a typical part of my normal hunting, but in my trips to Texas I found it to become more and more important. I also found it to be more difficult than I thought.
Every year we read of fellow hunters missing from the blind. There is always a reason. I hit the window, I don't like the mesh, or I can't shoot through the mesh. We have all heard them. I have used them myself sometimes.
So how do we eliminate variables in shooting? We practice right. So how many of use dig the blind out in the off season sit in a chair and put arrows through the hole to the target?
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Not nearly enough, no, at least not for whitetails and turkeys. One the other hand, stump-shooting and varmint hunting are pretty seamlessly integrated for me; if a groundhog shows up, he's as good a target as a stump!
Ha!! I actually did hit the bottom of the window in my blind while shooting at a turkey. The arrow sailed right over his back.
You are so right. Shooting in all sorts of conditions... from a blind or not.
Thanks for the reminder.
More and more, i try to practice how i hunt. Whether from the ground or stand. I even find it a challenge to swirch from early fall clothes to winter gear.
I learned the hard way that practice should continue even after the season begins.
Arrows away!
Since I've made about every mistake one can make from inside a blind, hitting my bow tip on the top or side of the blind, catching the broad head on the side of the window, etc., I no longer need to practice to figure out what might go wrong if I'm not careful. (LOL)
I don't have trouble shooting through a screen or hitting what I'm aiming at (well some, but it's not the blind's fault) when hunting from a blind. I do practice a lot from a sitting position in advance of turkey season when I use a blind.
I occasionally hunt out of a commercial blind, and no, I don't practice enough out of it. I much prefer natural blinds or Big Jim's bush in a bag ghillie thing, so my stump shooting suffices for 90 percent of my hunting practice shoots. I know I should set up the blind, but sitting in that thing isn't that much fun. When I do hunt out of it, I take practice shots to make sure I'm not slapping the blind with my limb tips and that I can shoot through the mesh. My best solution is to use a commercial blind as little as possible. And, I have just about given up sitting in trees altogether.
I just spot and stalk; practice wearing a back pack, shooting around and through brush. And shoot lots of broad heads.
I also practice the way I plan on hunting. My first experience in a tree stand convinced me of doing that. Now I am ground person so I shoot from a sitting position whenever I can. The local to me range has benches on the range at each target. I can practice a lot.
I practiced quite a bit from my blind, prior to turkey season. However, I practiced without the shoot-through mesh in place.
While hunting, I used the mesh. When my opportunity came, I had a heck of a time focusing on a spot through the camo pattern on the mesh! Very distracting!
I carry practicing as I hunt somewhat to the extreme. When I go to The Archery Shop a couple of times a week to practice on the indoor range, I take my bow, my armguard, my glove and one arrow. My practice routine is shoot one arrow, hang up the bow, retrieve the arrow, even if I have to wait for others to shoot 3 to 6 arrows, and shoot my one arrow again. I vary the distance I shoot from 5 to 20 yards, the maximum safe distance on the indoor range. I could shoot up to 60 yards on the outdoor range, but it's too hot in the Lowcountry of SC for this old man shoot outdoors this time of year!
Bill
While hunting with a back pack out west or in Alaska is key, I practice with it on as well. I really feel it with tight shoulder straps.
FerretWYO, You really add presure to not miss with a stone wall behind target. Good idea. Mike
i try to but it looks a bit funny. a guy sneaking around the house and back yard with a bow in hand. as the police don't look to kindly on it down here as we have had a few killings in our area .
I usually hunt from elevated stands. I practice from my kids tree house in the back yard quite a bit. I take my bow with me to the stand several times before opening day and practice shooting at places I expect to have a shot opportunity, just to make sure my aim is good from the height of that particular stand, and to make sure my bow isn't going to hit. I also shoot all of the practice arrows in my quiver just before climbing down if it isn't dark. Leaves, pine cones, etc. make good targets for that. On the rare occasion that I hunt on the ground, I usually use natural blinds. I practice from a sitting position occasionally to allow for those situations. I don't own a store bought blind. I went full trad last year and haven't had it all come together yet with my recurve, but this is how I practiced when I was shooting a cheater bow and I always had good results then.
Matt Toms
I hunt spot and stalk because the shots I would expect are closest to the way I practice...I shot two arrows in a row before retrieving earlier this week...it has been a long time since I did that because I work hard to have a single shot opportunity mentality
DDave
I routinely shoot out of my blind and at my club we have a raised platform that I shoot exclusively at when there. Al my shots are either out of a blind or from a tree. I also shoot with BH's come AUG.
I too found this to be a problem when I went to Africa last year. I've hardly ever, if at all never shot out of a blind and had troubles with judging distances...
I try to practice how I'm going to hunt on a particular hunt ... if blind hunting I shoot sitting in a chair, tree stands I put one up or shoot off a stool from my second story. I stump shoot with a pack on.
Also one thing to practice is sneeking up on things, it always takes me a few days of the new season to get in sneek mode. I think its partly due to the fact I have been watching critters all summer as entertainment and not with my sneek and kill mentality.
Good luck this season and be safe .. good topic Randy, I see you have an aiming tool behind your bear target " a block wall " that will make you concentrate
Yea the brick wall has claimed a few over the years but it does add some encouragement to make every shot a good one.
I practice how I hunt 90% of the time. I don't practice from a stand because I live in an apartment and can't hang a stand to shoot from but I do occasionally deer hunt from a stand.
Most of my shooting is to practice form preventing my mind from wandering. But weeks before a hunt I always simulate the shots I expect to encounter, as best I can. I've gone so far as to research the kill-zone of a Canada moose, scribing it on black foam, and concentrate on picking a black spot on a black background.
I shoot from blinds if preparing for turkey. I shoot a lot from my deck which simulates a 17' high shot from a white-tail stand.
The thing I don't do (which is a weak point for me) is practice with the clothes I plan to hunt in. However, I do draw in these clothes and take a practice shot or two from my treestand.
oh how so right you are, randy!
the one and only time i used a blind was in wyoming for antelope and, yup, never had any practice time inside the tent and, yup, top limb smacked the blind top as i released on a speed goat. ack!!!