Sunday, April 14, 2013

Important Facts You Need to Know when Using a Crossbow to Hunt Deer

By Jack Ford


There are a number of ways to hunt for deer using a crossbow. At the end of the day it's simply a form of archery and depending on how good of an archer you are will determine how good of a crossbow hunter you become. Hunting for deer is the summation of three things: science, art, and luck. []

There are five essential components to remember when hunting for deer:

The first ingredient is the bow itself. Equipment always matters. People who think of their crossbows as ancient rifles have it all wrong. These folks may toss their bow in the garage and drag it out a couple of days before the season starts to fire a few random shots. However, this is all wrong.

A deer sits in a clearance, you have a clear shot, you pull the trigger of your already cocked crossbow, it's stuck. Off trots the lovely deer, none the wiser. You need to maintain your crossbow, if you don't you'll run into missed opportunities due to a malfunction more often than your friends who are now busting you.

The second element is practice. Use your crossbow right before hunting season begins, when the weather is similar to what you will experience hunting for deer. Such environment changes can affect lighting conditions and shooting ranges. A crossbow is a short range weapon - 25 to 30 yards for a clean kill. This is partly because of the lighter arrow and partly because of the way a crossbow is designed. If you practice before hunting season, you can know how to position yourself when deer hunting.

Now you have to choose your arrow. Your crossbow and arrow are the two most critical factors when deer hunting. Hunters can argue until the cows come home about their favorite arrows and the best mixes and matches with crossbows. When faced with a decision you should simply choose the arrow that you're most comfortable with when you're hunting deer.

With experience behind you, head over to some of the online forums to discuss your crossbow package options with those in the know. Another option is to go to a retail store ie Dicks Sporting Goods or Cabela's for example and discuss various crossbow packages with workers in the hunting and outdoors department.

Cock it properly and keep it level. These are two important factors that greatly affect accuracy. Archery with a crossbow relies on an equal amount of string on each side of the rail. By marking the string "at rest" you can see that it is cocked evenly - which is essential when deer hunting.

Keeping it level has to do with how the arrow flies out of the crossbow. When Hunting for deer (or anything really), the bow must remain close to level, both so the arrow doesn't move unexpectedly and because one arm lower than the other will send the arrow left or right of the aiming point. []

What an unbelievable sport crossbow hunting is! Once you're able to take some time to practice and refine the skills outlined in this article you will have a blast once you get out into the wild. One last tip for all hunters, don't get frustrated, just have fun!




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