BOW HUNTING

Through this blog we want to expose our experiences and sensations in waiting with bow. These ideas are not incompatible with any other, nor are they the perfect script of how things should be done, and much less to set the standard, but surely they contribute something or at least we hope so. We will develop each aspect in future blogs.

– The first thing to emphasize is that bow hunting is radically different from rifle hunting in many aspects:

– The main one, the proximity of the cast, which has to be at 15-30 m (waiting) and that makes it much more difficult for stealth, mimicry and general conditions that have to be given to bring to fruition the wait.

– As a consequence of this circumstance, comes the rest, that is to say, since it is much more difficult not to be detected by the animal at 20 m, it is normal to have much fewer sets. And we will also have unproductive casts (that we do not get the piece) that with the rifle would surely not happen to us.

– There is a very archer saying that says one of our references in Spain and in the World in bowhunting and we are very proud of it, as is Pedro Ampuero “To hunt less is to hunt more” and it is summarized, to do things well from the beginning will make us enjoy and culminate many more sets satisfactorily.

– To do this, and I am sure I am forgetting many things, the first thing to do once we have a complete bow equipment, and we are trained in a basic way is to PRACTICE. Do you remember Luis Aragonés (Soccer Coach) when he said “Win, win, win and win and win again”? Well, apply it to training.

– It is key as in all disciplines, but in archery if you do not train, frustration will surely appear sooner rather than later. And if you can get advice from someone who knows much better. There are so many variables that it is easy to get into vices that are difficult to get rid of.

– Once we already have some skill releasing arrows, comes into play, the environment and its circumstances. Here we will have to take into account where we are going to place the feeder, to know where we are going to place our stand (treestand, blind, saddle) and to know the prevailing winds of the area. Fundamental. Otherwise we waste time.

– And finally, when you have equipment, you have trained like the best, you have very good results even in the releases, ….. comes the most difficult component to manage. The ADRENALIN. That we never have it completely mastered and even less when we have a good pig just 15m, 10m or even below the treestand where we are located. But we will manage that with the passage of time and experience, but anyway, if you have managed to have a pig a few meters away and it has not detected you, you must feel a special satisfaction of having been able to win that battle against an animal with one of the best sense of smell in nature. For me, you have hunted!

– And when you put everything in the shaker and shake it up, ….. it’s your turn to release the arrow. Unlike hunting with a firearm, here you have to know the organs and vital areas of the animal to complete the shot or you won’t get it.

– There are hundreds of erratic casts that have caused the animal to lose its life or die over time due to septicemia. If the animal is not in the optimal position, DO NOT release. For me it is the law. If it leaves, there will be other occasions. Then there will come circumstances that make the animal move, hear the arrow and hit it in an area that was not the target, but at the beginning the animal has to be giving us the side where we can “guarantee” its death.

– Once you have been able to have enough mettle to wait for the animal to position itself, release as well as you have trained. And no, you will usually have good news. And from here begins a tremendously important period to collect the animal, so you should follow the following advice:

Leave a reasonable amount of time from the time you release until you go down to check the shot. If the animal does not hear strange noises, it is normal for it to lie down and cool down, losing its life. If you don’t leave that time, it is very common that the animal will get up from the baiting and instead of retrieving it at close range, you may not even retrieve it at all.
When you go down to see the anschuss, learn to identify the color of the blood and its origin, to know the lethality of the cast. In case you don’t know, turn to altruistic Associations of the Trail Dog as for example AEPES that will assist you for free and with certain guarantees of success and in any case they will make a good diagnosis of the set.