Petersen's Bowhunting is the source for the tactics, tools, and techniques necessary for successful bowhunting. Get practical shooting tips and useful information on archery, equipment tests, clothing, and product evaluations.
IF YOU’VE NEVER used a blow dryer to fluff the feathers of a dead turkey in a motel bathtub, well, you probably aren’t much of a turkey hunter. You see, as any experienced turkey taker knows, there isn’t much in nature more beautiful than a mature gobbler at full strut, with his chest puffed, his tail fanned and the sunlight showing off the brilliant iridescence of his feathers. Take that very same bird, however, and roll him around in wet grass until his feathers are wet and you’ve got all the beauty of a drowned rat! Taking attractive photos of such a sorry specimen is impossible without a quick “style session.” Such was my predicament back in the spring of 2018, when my then 12-year-old son Timothy and I hunted…
EVERYONE IS AT LEAST a little bit competitive. It might be as simple as getting ahead of someone in the checkout line at the grocery store, or it may run much deeper. Some people are competitive in everything they do, which can be a good trait as long as it’s not taken too far. After all, there’s nothing wrong with always striving to be better. In my circle of friends, when we’re hunting, the competition is definitely on! Whether we’re looking for shed antlers, summer scouting or dragging a big, old buck out of the timber, we all crave and enjoy our turn as the “big dog” in town. When you’re lucky enough to knock one out of the park, it seems there’s always a period of time when your…
ONE THING I’ve learned during more than two decades of working closely with hunters is that they don’t like competition from other predators, regardless of whether they walk on two legs or four! Coyotes, foxes, bobcats, black bears and the like are often seen as direct competition for the same deer hunters pursue. But are predators really a threat to well-managed, huntable whitetail populations? In this column, we’ll take a look at what the scientific research reveals and how you can use that information to implement a sound and justified predator-management program where you hunt. It’s Complicated Although predators are often blamed for reducing deer numbers below the density deer hunters would prefer, the truth is that predator-prey interactions are far more complicated than they appear on the surface. For…
I’M SUPPOSED TO WRITE about valuable lessons I have learned through a lifetime of bowhunting. With that in mind, this month I’m hitting on the role of luck in our success. The longer I do this, the more I am convinced that luck plays a huge role in every bowhunting success. When I was younger, I thought I could beat luck by being a great hunter, smarter or maybe just hunting longer and harder. The years have humbled me, and the animals have humbled me. Hard work and skill are absolutely keys to success, but they are not enough. You can have them in spades and still carry your tag all season. So, let’s talk about the role luck plays and the things you can do to reduce that role.…
YOU WILL PROBABLY make many awkward shots during a lifetime of bowhunting. To be consistently successful, you must be able to shoot proficiently under all circumstances and in every type of habitat, terrain and weather. Because a very high percentage of big-game animals killed with a bow each year in North America is taken from treestands, you must be especially well prepared for these elevated shots. Some of the most awkward shots I’ve ever taken have been from a tree-stand. Unlike spot-and-stalk hunting, when you are in a stand you have very limited options when it comes to your movement and positioning. So, you must improvise and compromise. You will likely find yourself in a variety of shooting positions you never expected — and certainly never practiced. There will be…
TRENDS ARE COMMON in the archery world. They’re driven by manufacturers responding to consumer requests, advancements in new technology or a change in direction when the limits of existing technology or physics are reached. Often, it’s some combination thereof. A couple recent trends in crossbows involve speed and size. In this case, the challenge is increasing one while reducing the other; no easy task, as the two tend to be inversely correlated. The easiest way to boost speed is to increase power stroke and limb length. Consumers, however, have made it clear they want more compact crossbows, and the industry has gone to great lengths to make bows shorter and narrower while still increasing speeds. Neither trend is new; they’ve just been emphasized more recently. Rise of the Compact Crossbows…
