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.
IT IS OFTEN SAID that youth is wasted on the young, and as a “middle-aged” bowhunter rapidly approaching the half-century mark, I’d have to agree! You see, young bowhunters possess what is arguably the most crucial ingredient for success in the field — healthy bodies that can shoot bows, scale mountains and carry heavy packs with ease. The under-40 crowd will have to take my word for it, but it’s only once your body begins its long, slow decline — and the pain of yesterday’s hike is felt even more intensely today — that you truly appreciate the vigor of youth. In other words, you never know what you’ve got until it’s gone. While it’s no secret young bow-hunters can hunt circles around us “veterans,” most youngsters lack the wisdom…
THE ANTICIPATION I feel leading up to deer season is unbearable. I get so excited about chasing big bucks, I start scouting probably a little earlier than necessary. But to me, a person doesn’t need to be carrying a weapon to hunt. Maybe the part I enjoy most about hunting a big buck is the process of finding one, and there’s no better time to do that than summer. When I finally find a big, fancy buck, I sometimes quit looking in other country and toss all my eggs in his basket. That’s totally fine; if he’s the right buck for you, then he’s obviously worth all your attention. But you need to make sure he truly is what you think he is before investing your time and effort. Scouting…
THIS COLUMN MARKS the final installment of my three-part series on the science surrounding the anatomy and physiology of an arrow strike, tracking a wounded deer and recovering mortally wounded whitetails. In Part 1, I covered the different types of shock and organ failure that result in the demise of a bow-shot whitetail. I also discussed the body’s requirement for homeostasis between the circulatory and ventilation systems and discussed how an arrow can disrupt one or both of these systems. Part 2 was dedicated to the dreaded gut and single-lung shots and what they mean for you as a bowhunter. This month, I will highlight some recovery tips and tricks my friend and retired surgeon Dr. Joe Bumgardner and I have amassed over nearly a century of combined bowhunting experience.…
WHEN I STARTED WRITING for magazines, I wrote a lot of articles that profiled the biggest deer shot throughout the Midwest each season. I would make a loop from Iowa into Kansas, then down through Missouri into Illinois and back home again, interviewing successful hunters along the way. I learned a lot about deer hunting through those meetings. The No. 1 thing I learned was that these hunters often didn’t know why they killed their buck. The biggest deer back then seemed to go to the hunters with the least experience. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’d arrive at a person’s home for the interview only to find out that the buck that shocked my eyes was the bowhunter’s first. Maybe it was his first with…
ONE OF THE MOST COMMON reasons archers miss or wound deer is from the animal "jumping the string." This phenomenon may seem like a conscious effort on the deer’s part to duck the arrow, but it is merely an involuntary reaction to loud noise. The animal drops down to load its legs in order to sprint away from perceived danger. In my last column, I discussed ways to make your bow quieter to minimize the volume of sound a deer hears. The thought process goes like this — the quieter the bow, the less likely the deer is to react quickly and violently. In the next few columns, I will discuss whether making your bow faster will help in dealing with this issue. Obviously, the faster the arrow, the less…
WHEN MOST HUNTERS THINK of hunting the West, elk, mule deer, pronghorns and open-country whitetails come to mind. The region is a mecca for big-game hunters, with plenty of oppor-tunities and often low hunter densities. Wyoming, for example, is a state with more antelope than people. For many, a trip west is a chance to get out of a treestand or blind and wear out some boot leather. However, the biggest mistake is thinking you can approach animals like you would with a firearm — think "archery" for success and strive to be within 30 yards for any shot. Crossbows definitely open up opportunities, but users need to stay focused and hunt strategically to succeed. Know Before You Go When it comes to bowhunting, every big-game species has its allure.…
