On hunting with less efficient weapons

[ianpadron]

I would venture to guess that practice time with a given weapon annually is a much stronger predictor of wounding than type of said weapon...

 

[Yoder]

If you are gonna be any good, you need to shoot year round. Plain and simple. Especially if you are just learning - OP has never shot a bow and has limited experience hunting. If you want to learn something, you either practice all the time or you go half-assed.

You seem to think that half-assed is the way to go.

I bow hunted from 1978-2013 and still do on occasion when the state forces me to either bow hunt or sit out the year. Not my preferred way anymore.

There's a big difference between a 20-30 yard shot out of a tree stand and shooting 50 yards after a long stalk. I also think it depends on your base skill. I've shot a bow, ever since I can remember. In my teens, I shot almost every day. I can start shooting a few months before the season no problem. I also don't shoot past 30 yards at an animal. If you are brand new, I think you should really take it seriously and shoot a lot. Even then, with modern bows and sights, it's almost like shooting a gun at this point once your sights are setup and your bow is tuned.

Traditional archery is completely different. There I agree you should shoot all year a couple times a week. That is extremely tough. I used to shoot instinctive with a compound when I was younger. Ted Nugent was the man back then and that's how I wanted to shoot. I even had an Oneida bow. I stopped shooting for about 7 years and when I started back up, I tried to shoot like I did when I was young. I lost a bunch of arrows, and I couldn't hit anything. I bought a sight and a peep within a week.