By Tim H. Martin
The Devil’s in the Details!
First time hunters often make small mistakes that lead to big failures. That’s all part of gaining experience and learning how to hunt.
When I first started bowhunting, I will never forget watching a doe approach at first light, drawing my bow, then having to let down when she stepped behind a hedge. Disappointed, I hung my bow back on a hook and sat down.
As the sun rose, I glanced at my bow and suddenly realized I’d loaded an arrow tipped with a field tip instead of a broadhead! In the dark, I’d somehow grabbed my practice arrow instead of a hunting arrow.
I thanked heaven above the doe had not presented a shot and realized I needed a mental checklist. Nowadays, my list includes an arrow inspection, checking to make sure my pins and cams don’t have weeds hung in them, seeing my peep sight isn’t twisted, as well as organizing my arrows in the quiver for follow up shots.
Over the years, I’ve developed this routine to eliminate potential problems and I go through the checklist as soon as I get into the stand.
Removing leaves and sticks from the stand floor is one of the first items on my list. I added it in 1987 after a shooter buck stood 14 yards away and I stepped forward to shoot, crushing a dry leaf with my toe. Game over.
Next, I systematically arrange my gear in such a way I can get to it noiselessly and with minimal movement. Are my water and pee bottles reachable? Does my stand creak when I shift my weight? Is my backpack out of the way? Did I untie my bow or rifle from the hoist rope? Did I dial my scope back down to 5X after using 9X on the range? Did I chamber a round?
It’s the details!
I’m amazed how many hunters have sob stories about forgetting to put a round in the chamber, only to hear a hollow SNAP when they pull the trigger. Been there; done that. It’s a biggie on my checklist now.
When rifle hunting in a new stand, I make sure I can shoot comfortably from the rails without having to strain and I create props with extra clothing if need be.
Next, I test aim in every possible direction, making sure I have clear shots and can avoid potentially awkward situations. Can I slide my fanny easily to the right if a deer appears on my left, and vice versa? Does my scope fog when I lower my face mask? Does the shooting rail have exposed metal that might clank?
With my bow routine, I draw several times to loosen my muscles, detect shooting lane obstructions and make sure the cams don’t contact tree limbs. This also helps me anticipate and eliminate potential problems with bulky clothing, facemasks or creaking stands. I check my pin lights to make sure they work and do all my range finding as soon as I get settled in.
Here’s another detail: always re-nock your arrow after drawing and letting down. Sometimes an arrow will fall off the string the next time you draw if you don’t snap it snugly back onto the string.
I learned this the hard way when another doe appeared the same morning I nearly used the field tip. When I pulled back on the string, my arrow fell to the ground, clanging off the treestand base and several steps on the way down. Again, game over.
The more you hunt, the more things you will add to your own setup checklist. Hopefully, some of these tips will prevent you from finding out the hard way like I always seem to do.