Bow Hunting Tips for Beginners

I get a lot of Facebook messages, a lot of email questions, get asked a lot of different trade shows, and just traveling at the grocery store sometimes about, hey, this happened or that happened, what advice do you have? And the one thing that I would pass on to people is you can't practice enough. Practice, I think, is the single most important thing in a bow hunting situation, having confidence in that gear. But then if I was to break down actual field things to keep in mind, pay attention to your clothing. Make sure you've got quiet clothing that is not gonna make a ton of noise when you're drawing. So many people come out with real loud, rustling clothing, and you have to move in bow hunting. When you draw, you're gonna move. The next thing I would say is pay attention to your safety harness setup while you're in there, what's gonna clang, bank, bing, bow, all the different noises that it can make while it hits your stands, whether it's a ladder stand, a tripod, or a lock-on. Those are really important. Wind direction and scent control are absolutely imperative in so many different situations out there. I'm a huge believer in cover scents and a huge believer in attractants when I'm in the field. Each one of them have their time to be applied, and understanding that is so key. But you can't ever underestimate the importance of that wind direction, trying to get it in your face where the deer are coming in from a different direction. But as we all know, deer are gonna come in from where they want, so that's always gonna be a big part of it. The final thing is spending that time preparing to understand where the deer are coming from, what they're feeding on, how they're feeding. You're hunting different patterns than what you are later in the season, especially during gun season, if it gets more into the rut. You're hunting trails, food, water, you gotta think more about that. When you get to the rut, you could see a buck anywhere chasing a doe, but early season bow hunting, it's more about focusing on food, water, and bedding. I mean, I've learned a lot, whether it's filming seasoned hunters or first-time hunters, being able to watch what they do. You know, whether it's little movements that they make that a deer pops his head up and you're thinking, well, they noticed that sound. Sometimes, you know, if somebody makes just like a quiet as they can deep cough, sometimes that don't alert deer, especially if you've got multiple deer out there, because deer make a lot of noise when they get grouped up together. They make a lot of different noises, and it seems like a deep, muffled cough don't alert them as much as somebody moving in a chair. You learn a lot, and it's like anything else, whether you're running a camera or you're just hunting on your own. The more time you spend in the woods, the more you learn about hunting yourself. Hunting with a camera, whether you're the cameraman or the hunter, it's a whole different challenge because now you have two people that have to see the deer. You have to have two sight lines. You got to make sure you get everything you need to build the story, and it just adds a whole lot more of a challenge to the hunt because, you know, if it was just you by yourself, the deer walks out, you pull back and shoot it, and it's done. But when you're the cameraman or you've got a cameraman, you've got to let that deer come out. You're talking back and forth. Hey, are you in focus? You got what you need? There's just a lot more that goes into the hunt. You know, I've learned you just, you can't mess around much. You just got to hunker down and stay on the same page because if you don't, the hunt can be ruined like that. I've been shooting outdoor TV shows for 28 years now. As we did more bow hunting, I kept messing up. I'd mess up as the camera guy. I'd move too much, and I thought, you know what? I better pick up a bow and learn how to be a hunter. Bow hunting is pretty difficult. I thought it would be pretty easy, right? There's a lot of technical stuff to it, a lot of muscle memory. You get your bow, you shoot, you learn how to do that. That's fine. That's one thing shooting at a target. When it gets to sitting in the stand and being a good hunter, there's a lot more to learn. You know, bow hunting, both in front of the camera and behind the camera, it's as nerve-wracking to me both ways. You want to make sure you get the shot as a camera guy. You want to make sure you do everything right as that bow hunter. When both happen, it makes for a great show. It makes for a great time, and it makes for great stories.