American Bow Hunting

Hunting has been a popular pastime in the United States since the first colonists landed. Indians were also very adroit with hunting adding to the history. Consequently, many Americans bow hunt each year. In order to properly shoot a bow one must work on their setup, stance, aim, and release. The first step in learning to shoot a bow accurately is the acquisition of such a weapon. There are many different brands to choose from including Matthews, Bear Archery, and Hoyt. Once one has boughten their bow they must prepare it for use. This process includes installing a peep sight, a small circle that will be looked through when aiming, by separating the separate strands of the string and placing it in between. A sight and arrow rest must also
be installed through screws. After all of these necessary accessories have been added, the bow must be personalized to the user’s strength and draw length. To adjust these, an alan wrench to loosen or tighten the bow until it is right. Now the bow is ready to be shot. In order to now shoot the bow with precision, one’s stance should follow this outline. The feet should be shoulder width apart and perpendicular to the target while the bow is held with the dominant hand pulling back the string. One then pulls the string back until it their bottom knuckle of their thumb rests behind the jaw bone and looks through the peep sight with the dominant eye. Now the bow is ready to be shot. Since every prerequisite to shoot a bow has been met the only thing left is to aim and release. Aiming is relatively simple. The shooter will look through the peep sight and look at the appropriate pin for the distance which is then lined up with the target. Then one must check the level on their sight to make sure the bow is not tilted to either side. After that, one should take a breath and slowly pull the release. If the release is snapped open, the shot will not be as accurate as possible. Once the string is released, one should not move suddenly, but they should wait until the arrow is away. Hopefully a thud will sound which means that the shot was successful, and the target was hit. Shooting a bow is an important skill if one is ever interested in hunting. A bow limits the distance for a shot which means that encounters with prey are close and exciting. These steps will help set the foundation for a good shooter, but practice is needed in order to refine the art.