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    Advice for Trad Hunting Rookies

    I have noticed this year that there are a lot of folks who are going to be hunting with trad equipment for the very first time come October. I think that is freaking awesome!!!!

    I am by no means an expert when it comes to hunting with trad gear. I feel like I have only learned like 2% of what there is to learn. The majority of what I have learned, I have learned from the guys and gals on the trad forum and usually after making what I would consider "rookie" mistakes. Some things of course just have to be learned in the field... you have to see it, feel it, and watch yourself screw up before you can believe it.

    I'm hoping this thread can kick start a few words of wisdom about HUNTING with trad gear... or advice that can help the incoming crop of rookie trad hunters. We spend alot of the offseason talking about form, tuning, 3D shoots, spinkled with a little bit of hunting advise... but lets talk about what it is like HUNTING with a trad bow. I can predict that some of the experts on here will be humble and say they are still learning themselves... but I tell you, it is worth listening as they have likely put more time in a stand with a stickbow than most of us have been driving a car.

    I'll kick it off with a couple of things I learned right off the bat:

    1) Deer duck and duck quickly... so it is advisable to learn how to aim low on them. I watched last year as my arrow was headed towards the "12" ring on a deer 15 yards away... only to watch her duck so hard that it just clipped her back. I had to see it to believe it. I had seen deer spin and such shooting with a compound... but my vanes had seemed to reach their target in time... Not so much with my recurve. I went out and had to buy a 3D deer target after that and learn how to aim and shoot for the arm pit... or at least where the leg meets the brisket. It wasn't until after I posted about my experience did I find out that some folks on here literally aim down the leg below the body!!!

    2) 10 yards is CLOSE!!! I mean it is CLOSE! Okay, it isn't really that close, but boy does it feel CLOSE!!! I am a big fan of hand corning. I know that some folks don't dig the whole baiting thing... but if you hunt a feeder with existing sets... hand corning is going to be your friend in order to get those deer in CLOSE! I don't leave camp on my way out to a stand unless I got a small bag (ziplock or a small ditty bag) of corn with me to spread out about 10-15 yards in front of where I am sitting. Oh, and I remember looking at my son with a "WTH!" when he reached his hand into a bucket of corn to throw out. "You said it was HAND corn dad!!!" Well yes son... but you don't put your man smelling hands on the corn... it is figurative speech... Don't touch the corn Now I have seen Chunky throw out some corn in front of my stand once and had exotic does hanging out for nearly an hour 7 yards from me... while I don't think he was wearing gloves... I just assume not take the chance.

    3) If you are a range finder hunter like me (I have depth perception issues) then it is a good idea to just use that thing to range your ring of death. Find spots on the ground that mark off your 15 yard circle (maybe longer or shorter) and then tuck that thing away. This allows you to not have to pick that thing up anytime something walks in.

    4) Which brings me to my next point... shooting of out of a blind really can screw with your depth perception (even if you don't have any...) Small windows... only seeing parts of the landscape make animals look closer than they really are. Practice these if you can... but if you can't, bring a range finder, or take a hard look at the your setup from a different angle to see what those distances really look like. I will drop hand corn at 12 yards, sit down and think WHOA that has got to be like 12 feet away! No... it isn't... The reason I bring this up is because when folks go trad, they often times think that they don't need the range finder. Well you don't, but you need to mind your ranges no matter how you "find" them.

    5) I should have said it the first... but WIND WIND WIND WIND... this is true for any hunting... just like most of the stuff up top but if you are going from compound bow hunting to trad hunting, you are cutting your distance in half or even more (depending on what kinds of shots you took with your compound.) I really really really like those chalk puff things... They really help you see where your scent is drifting off to.

    6) Clearance and movement. You are carrying a bigger stick than you used to most likely. Swinging your bow around can get you busted pretty quick. In a ground blind, when I see deer coming in, I like to shift my bow from my lap, or off a hanging hook and rest my bottom limb on the ground and hold my bow out so that all I need to do when I am ready to take a shot is slowly lift my bow up and draw. Since I tend to draw up the leg, by the time I reach anchor, my bow hasn't had to move much at all. I don't know how the folks who shoot canted do it, but work out how you will sit for a couple of hours and get your bow into position to shoot without it looking like you are waving a flag around! CLEARANCE may be a problem now that you have doubled your limb length. Just be aware of it. A lot of my "need to build tall cattle panel" blind stuff came from the fact that a lot of our permanent box blinds didn't take into account that I'd need a roof just a tad higher than 6'

    7) Have fun... have lots of fun! Enjoy the fact that you are hunting with trad equipment. Don't be afraid to fail. It can be really easy to get caught up in the pressure of the task... but just think about what it is you are doing and that not a lot of folks would dare to trade in a rifle... or their rest, peeps, and pins for just a stick and string. The more relaxed you are about it, the more confident you will be, and the more likely things will go your way. I'm not saying be overconfident. Definitely know your limits... but many others have gone before you and they have proven that it can be done, so don't stress about it.

    I absolutely know I am missing alot of things... some things I am likely to repeat this season for sure. I know I'll second guess that I thew that corn to close or too far when I get into the blind and the sun comes up.

    #2
    Good info right there.

    The one thing I would add is don't get all worked up before the shot.

    If you spend a little time with the "Greats " among bow hunters, you will discover that the Chunky and Bisch's of the world are really nothing special.
    They may be a little prettier than your average sportsman but taken as a whole they are just regular guys who kill a lot of stuff with Trad bows.

    What makes them special is that they expect to kill, every time they head to the woods, every time they draw their bow they expect to kill what they are looking at.

    Dont over think it, when the time is right. just draw your bow and kill the darn thing.
    Afterwards you can get as excited as you want, I always do

    Comment


      #3
      not new but not an expert on trad hunting.

      i limit my self to 15 yards ( im deadly accurate ) 20 yards lets just say my arrows magically move.

      so i do hand corn but I strategically place my feeder and hand corn in a way that when i draw on a deer they wont see me. if the deer come really close is good but sometimes the only thing we have after an encounter like that is a big white flag running through the woods.

      is it October yet ????????

      Comment


        #4
        Swampie covered it pretty well. One thing I will emphasize is to PICK A SPOT, try to focus on an individual hair. Many times there will be a tuft of hair or a shadow or a crease where you want your arrow to go, use that for your aiming spot.

        Above all, have fun!

        Comment


          #5
          Good stuff here. Thanks for sharing.

          Comment


            #6
            All good advice. I agree with the recommendation that you practice shooting from your blind/stand if possible. As he said, distances can look different when looking out small windows or through mesh, which in turn can affect all-important depth perception. Before the season starts I like to set a bag target in my shooting lanes at various distances. I then get in the blind and go through my pre-shot routine then shoot - just like it was a deer. You may discover some things you need to change. eg: clearance, stool height, etc. It is also a good confidence builder. (assuming you hit the bag)

            Comment


              #7
              Great thread SwampRabbit! I'd say you hit most of the major things pretty well sir.

              I'd definitely have to reiterate the point Phillip made about picking a spot. I know in the heat of the moment, that has always been one of the hardest things for me to do as I'm always worried about or thinking of other things to make sure all is right and this one just slips my mind and has cost me more than anything while hunting with trad gear. Picking THAT SPOT and focusing in clears the mind of everything and autopilot kicks in from there.

              Buff is spot on as well. I still flip-flop weapons every now and then when the situation arises, but I'd say the biggest cause of that is not having that all out expectation of killing something every time I let go of the string on a critter. Once I broke down this barrier, it all changed for the better.

              Good luck to all this upcoming season!

              Comment


                #8
                The only thing I would add to all of this is:

                1. Stay with cut on impact broadheads and learn how to sharpen them!( they will penetrate much better than anything else out there)

                2. Practice like you hunt. ( If you are going to be hunting from an elevated position, then you should by all means practice from an elevated position! If possible, on 3D targets.

                3. Make sure you practice with the same style and size broadheads that you will be shooting at the game animal!

                4. I would suggest using feathers that you can see in flight. ( this allows you to know where your arrow hit, which will dictate how you will proceed with the recovery)

                Comment


                  #9
                  Just about the time you start to think your gettin' it down, you've got a couple of kills under your belt--there'll be one animal to come along to re-humble you. Never get careless in your execution.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Great write up.

                    I am a newbie here and I appreciate reading all of the tips from you guys.

                    I purchased some Zwickey 2 blade broadheads and would like to know any sharpening tips yall may have. I may should have went with another brand (magnus, etc) Thank you for your time.
                    Last edited by jdn79; 09-12-2016, 02:33 PM.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Awesome advice. Number one for me is don't get frustrated! Shot over my first one last season because he ducked it. Aimed low on the second and he never ducked at all. Missed under him. If I could just get them to tell me what they are gonna do it would be less stressful. There is nothing like the feeling of taking a deer with a trad bow. Can't wait for this season to start!

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by jdn79 View Post
                        Great write up.

                        I am a newbie here and I appreciate reading all of the tips from you guys.

                        I purchased some Zwickey 2 blade broadheads and would like to know any sharpening tips yall may have. I may should have went with another brand (magnus, etc) Thank you for your time.
                        I'll try to explain this as best as I can as I learned how to actually sharpen a zwickey this past spring.

                        Put the broadhead on your arrow.

                        Start off by holding the broadhead in your hand with the tip facing away from you.

                        Take a 12" or longer mill b-a-s-t-ard file (had to do that, the filter will get me) and file the edge parallel to it, not at 90 degree. Do this until you feel a burr along the entire edge. You will feel it when the file is actually making contact across the entire edge from back to point.

                        Spine the shaft and do the other side (point facing out)

                        When those two are done, you then have to do the other sides. You flip it so that the nock end of the arrow shaft is on top of you shoe/boot/foot and the arrow point is facing you. You then run the file down the edge again... again parallel to the edge.

                        I had never felt or seen a burr until I did it this way. You then take a ceramic or steel rod and work the burr off, leaving you with a razor sharp edge.


                        Before learning this way, I would sharpen sort of like how you sharpen a knife with a clamp and running up the edge 90 degrees to it. Problem is the edge gets concave really quick and it is hard to get those areas sharp.


                        I hope this makes sense. I am a picture/video kind of guy so....

                        Also, when I did sharpen it like a knife, I did kill critters... but it wasn't nearly as sharp as it could be.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          This is a good thread.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Shiloh View Post
                            This is a good thread.
                            Yup might need to be in the stickies

                            Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

                            Comment


                              #15
                              I only have a few seasons under my belt but one of the first things i figured out is that when hunting in a tree stand i had to draw slowly. The deer where i was hunting had a lot of pressure and were very jumpy. I got busted trying to draw 3 times before i learned my lesson. I now practice a slow draw

                              Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

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