How long did it take you to get accurate enough to hunt?

1st trad shot I ever took, I was good enough to hunt.  At 5 yards that is!  

Only take hunting shots at the range you are comfortable you will hit the kill zone.  If that is 5 or 10 yards then hunt and get shaving close before launching the arrow.

The real key in trad is to get out there and work on your stalking and other hunting skills to get the shot as close as possible.

well put RF!

I think I had a bow when I was seven and shot my first deer with a longbow when I was sixteen.(1964)
Hope you are quicker...  

QuoteOriginally posted by Woodduck:
I think I had a bow when I was seven and shot my first deer with a longbow when I was sixteen.(1964)
Hope you are quicker...    

I hope it's quicker for me also.

I got my first recurve in feb. Of 08  and shot every day until  I was consistent at 20 yards. I has a hog hunt  batchalorparty to go to in a month. Got the bow in feb and killed a ram in march. Practice makes better

When I started it was a January and I shot all the time till I went hunting in october of the same year. Widow

I Agree 100% with what RF stated... Trad Hunting is a short range affair. Don't mean you aren't gonna have loads of fun shooting all sorts of ranges while you are learning the ropes.

What is most important is that you learn to shoot "The Right Way From The Start". This will keep your progress steady and enjoyable.

Best Of Luck!

... mike ...

PS... Get hold of a copy of J. Kidwells book, Instinctive Archery Insights. It' one of the best.

I was able to shoot confidently after the first shot also, but I knew I needed to practice as much as possible before hunting season.  Partly due to the respect I have for the animal I hunt and two it took me awhile finding an arrow setup that I was comfortable with.  That's what took time.

It's all a matter of confidence in yourself. Some people take to shooting trad gear and some have to work at it. I would just limit my shots to a good comfortable zone 5, 10 ,15 yards? Good Hunting, Jason

I got a Longbow in Jan 08', shot all spring, felt very confident and took the Longbow spring turkey hunting. didn't pan out for the turkeys in the spring but did kill a turkey and a buck later that fall! Keep shooting it will come!

After shooting rabbits an other small game over a two year period I finaly had the job that payed my way to join an archery club where I learnt 99% of what I know about shooting today.
All the old folks told me I wouldn't be ready to hunt big game until I'd shot such an such a score on an animal field round,,,an other such rubbish.
I did belive a word of that because I was already a hunter an the only thing holding me back was finaces and other peoples opinions.
The day I could pay for it I took my bow and a few other things,jumped on a buss an headed for the hills.
I shot my first wild goat about two years before the old farts said I should.
That was over 35 years ago an I'm still going strong.
If your a hunter,,,you hunt,,,end of story.

I guess it would depend on the person and if you have already been bowhunting with a c-bow.It should be no problem to be shooting well enough for the shots most of us take in a few weeks if you are already shooting bows.Might take a bit longer if you are new to archery altogether however. jmo

I think it depends on your knowledge base to some degree. I never bow hunted (just gun for a couple years)and had no one to teach me about hunting at all. Everything I did was on my own and slowly at that.

For instance I didn't know that arrows had to be spined for a certain weight bow. I thought you could shoot any arrow. As a result I was never very accurate with my longbow for a couple years. My first bow came from a bowyer that wasn't very helpful. I bought a bow from him at the Columbus Deer and Turkey expo because I thought trad bows looked cool and wanted to give it a try.

Then several years later.... I was told about Tradgang.....I had no idea there was so much to be learned. I am finally comfortable hunting and shooting at about 15 yards, but I still have a lot to work on even now!

I am also still trying to get my first trad deer. I killed a groundhog last year, but he made it to the hole before I could get to him. I guess that means I am still working on my first trad harvest too.....

-Charlie

5 to 7 years w/ at least 3 days a week practice to get hunting accurate out to 35yrds.It took 1 year of layoff to loss it .
You get out of it what you put it to it!

Started shooting trad last March and 1 month later i took some lessons from Rod Jenkins.

After about 3 weeks of practicing everyday and working a lot on nothing but form and my release my groups got very tight out to 20yds.

I killed 2 deer this fall and missed 2.

If you purchased a bow by mid summer, you should be able to hunt by the fall.  By that time with practice you should be able to hit a deer in the kill zone consistantly at 15 yards.  Just be patient and wait for a shot in your comfort zone.  After all, it's called hunting, not killing.

Hunted rabbits & small game daily at 12 with a 35# LB. My first real hunting LB was 32 years ago. I killed a javelina running at 15 yards 2 weeks later.  

Like BH above, I found TG just over 2 years ago. It's more hunter related with less elitist pissin for attention contests. Good place to be. IMO, hunting is a lifetime learning experience PTL! That's why I dig it.

First 6 months I quit 3 times. I was over bowed and that was a huge mistake. Got a bow with a draw weight I could handle and purchased a few videos and thing came around after that. I practiced at least 3 to 4 times a week. It is very challenging but that is  what makes it so fun for me. Limit your distance to very short range to start with, enjoy the hunt and realize what your effective range is. It will all come around in time.

As a kid at age 10 or 11, I started archery at the base where my military dad was stationed. I had a good instructor and was reasonably proficient for a kid but did not have the opportunity to hunt. I was there for a couple of years. Then I stayed away from the bow until college, when I bought a recurve of acceptable hunting weight (45 #). I practiced diligently from spring to fall, and was accurate to about 15 yards. By the next season I was good to go out to about 22 yards. That was about 40 years ago. I am still o.k. out to about 22 yards.