Hunting Archery Duck Deer

Full Draw The Moment of Truth By Michael Lee, Quaker Boy Pro Staff

With my Mathews bow at full draw, I steadied my 35-yard sight pin on the mental dot behind the shoulder of the buck. I KNEW the yardage from the evening before while helping my father track a doe that he had arrowed from the same stand. The buck was standing even with a small stump in the food plot filled with Iron Clay Peas. I stepped off the yardage from that exact stump the evening before just for this exact situation…

Mental preparation is a must when taking to the woods for a bow hunt. Usually here in the farms and fields of South Georgia, archery season opens to hot 80-90 degree weather that will test even the strongest hunter’s dedication. We have even dared to venture to South Carolina where the season opens on Aug. 15 each year. That will test anyone! Back to the mental preparation, though: you know the factors going in. You know that the weather is going to be very hot, very cold, or even just right for hunting. As long as you don’t get caught by surprise, the metal toughness can be limited to visualizing the shot placement, concentrating on the mental location of the “X-ring” on the side of the animal, and make the most of your yardage judgment.

Physical preparation is a must as well. It is a lot easier to draw your bow back on a warm September afternoon than it is on a cold November, December, or January day. Lots of hunters get into the “macho” contest of seeing who can pull the heaviest draw weight and who can make their bow the fastest. This is not all a bad thing, since the faster one’s bow, the less amount of guess work on yardage is required, but not being able to draw that bow back on a trophy can make even the toughest man cry like a baby. Everyone needs to shoot with their heavy clothes on if they are going to bow hunt in the cold. You might even need to reduce your poundage to help you become physically able to draw the bow when the time comes. The longer you site in the cold, the tighter your muscles become.

Knowing your equipment is imperative when archery hunting. If you have three sight pins on your bow or if you only have one pin, make sure you know without a doubt what your effective range is for each. The less guessing you have during the moment of truth, the better. Personally, I like to carry a rangefinder and range different “markers” like stumps, logs, particular trees or even weeds, if the case may be. KNOWING the yardage will help you dramatically when that animal presents an excellent shot opportunity.

Make sure to practice from ground level and out of a stand if you are hunting from one in a tree. If you hunt from a climber, take that climber and put it on a tree, position your target(s) and fine-tune your equipment to make sure that everything is ready to roll when the hunt comes.

… With a quick, soft grunt on my Hands-Free Hammer call, the buck stopped broadside. I squeezed the release softly. The arrow found its mark; the buck jolted and ran out of sight. After an excruciating 15-minute wait, I climbed down and found half of my arrow and an excellent blood trail.

I followed the trail directly to my buck, which had only gone about 75 yards. Taking a minute to thank the good Lord for this opportunity, I reflected on how taking the time to make sure my equipment, my setup and I were all prepared for the moment of truth while at full draw.

Good hunting and God bless,

Michael Lee, Quaker Boy Game Calls and Scent-Lok Technologies Pro Staff
For more information on Quaker Boy Game Calls and Scent-Lok’s fine product line, visit www.QuakerBoyGameCalls and www.ScentLok.com