If you’re looking to shoot a deer with a bow you have come to the right place. There are many key things to know before you go bow hunting. I made this article so you can find more success in the deer woods when you have a bow.
Get you tags and license
Before you hunt, you want to get your hunters’ safety card. To get this, you have to find a class and take it. The hunter safety course is free. Your state’s fish and game website should give you instructions on how to get this card. Next, get your hunting license at a store. After you get your license you want to get your tags for your deer, these are simply called deer tags. Check your state regulations before hunting so you know what is legal and what’s not.
Most, if not all, sporting stores have tags and licenses. Walk into the store, go to the counter and ask for a deer tag and hunting license.
Know where to shoot the deer
If you’re just starting, you need to know where to shoot the deer. When aiming, you want to hit the heart or lungs of the deer to kill it. You want to shoot the deer when it’s broadside. A broadside shot is the easiest shot you can take on a deer and it’s worth waiting for when there is a deer in front of you.
You want to draw an imaginary line 2-3 inches behind the leg of the deer that goes to its back. Next, draw another imaginary line through the middle of the deer’s body. Shoot right where the two lines meet, at the cross-hair is what it’s called.
If you are not super confident in your shooting skills, aim for the double lung shot this is the easiest shot to take. If you are good enough to hit your fist every time, aim for the heart. The heart is a fast kill, and it’s easier to track an animal hit in the heart. A heart shot will lead to lots of blood and easy tracking, so it’s worth the extra practice so you can take this shot.
This is what a broadside deer looks like. The hips and shoulders are in a straight line with each other. The lower blade dot is where the heart is, the upper black dot is where the double lung shot is.
How to find a spot to hunt
Go to your state’s fish and game website and go to where to hunt. Find either a walk-in access area, BLM land, corps of engineering, or national forest land. If it is walk-in access or corps of engineering, double-check that you can hunt that land. If your state’s website does not have info on where to hunt, you can search on something like onX maps, base map, or even google earth if it’s a national forest.
Find the deer
Next, go to the property you’re going to hunt and look for signs that the deer are there. Look for scat and track areas where deer have been chewing on the grass or have been rubbing on trees (a rub is where a deer has shredded the bark off a tree with its antlers). You may find food like soybeans, corn, milo, clover, plantains, and radishes on public land, and if you do, keep a note of where it’s at and look for signs.
If you find a food source like clover, young grass, or crops, look for signs that deer have been moving through the area or feeding. Deer will tend to congregate around crops and other food sources. Look for trails, whether it’s a game trail or a 4 wheeler trail, deer will tend to travel on them. Deer will also hang out around the edges of a field, especially if it’s a crop field.
If you find a standing cornfield, make a note because deer love to bed in and eat corn.
Deer like to feed in the last and first few minutes of daylight, so look for deer during those times. If you are driving in your car and see a deer or a group of deer, make a note. Your notes and other info will come in handy when picking a spot to hunt.
Setting up
If you find a spot with good food, lots of signs, and maybe you saw a deer there, then you want to hunt it. Find a spot to sit down this could be a tree to lean against, a blind you set up, or some natural cover. This spot should have a good backdrop. A backdrop is tree branches or other natural things that break up your outline. If possible, you want to use a treestand or ground blind if available; If these aren’t available you can still hunt and be successful, but they help a lot for a beginning hunter.
You want to find this spot before you go hunting so you know where to go and aren’t spooking deer right before you sit down. If you’re hunting on public land, make sure you find a spot where no one else is. When on public land deer are where no one else is.
When setting up, make sure you get close to the deer; you want to be under 40 paces from where you think the deer will be so you can make a good clean shot. Deer are most active in the last and first 1-2 hours of daylight. You want to get set up 2-3 hours before dark for evening hunts, and in the morning you want to set up 1 hour before it gets light. This may sound like a long time, but it goes super quick especially if you’re excited.
Make sure to bring the notes you made into consideration when choosing a spot.
Gear
When hunting you need gear. Below are some things you may need before hunting.
You want your bow [obviously], but your bow should have at least a 40-pound draw weight. You need to be able to hit a hand-size target at 30 yards before you go hunting. I would not recommend shooting past 30 yards if you’re a beginner.
You also need a rangefinder, so you know what distance you’re shooting. There are plenty of rangefinders out there. Look for one that is at least 100 bucks so it’s good to hunt with. Buy from trusted brands like Leupold, Vortex, Bushnell, and Sig.
You need camouflage before you hunt. If you don’t have camouflage you will be spotted by the deer before you can shoot. Walmart or any big box sporting store has camouflage that is cheap and works. Make sure you buy camo that blends in with where you’re sitting. If you wear desert camo in a forest, there will be no chance a deer comes close.
When you’re sitting for 3+ hours you need some things like food. You want water, energy bars, a knife, your hunting license, and a phone. If you want some entertainment, bring some birdseed and scatter it along the ground so you can watch the birds and squirrels.
What to do when you shoot a deer
So your hard work paid off, you shot one, but the work is not over yet.
If you hit the deer in the lungs or heart, you should see pink blood with bubbles, the deer will die in 30 seconds to 3 minutes. If you see dark red blood you hit the liver, and the deer will die in 2-3 hours. If you see a lot of hair and little to no blood, you grassed it this means you can keep hunting as the deer will be fine. If you see bits of grass or other greens in the blood, you hit it in the stomach or intestines, and the deer will take anywhere from 6 hours to 3 days to die.
You want to follow the blood and tell you to find the deer. If there is no more blood, look for a body. Animals will often stop bleeding right before they die. You want to get some buddies to help if possible so that you have as many eyes as possible. You also want to follow any trails the deer took or follow its tracks. If you don’t see a lot of blood you may try turning over leaves. Make sure to put in as much effort as possible to find the deer.
Next, when you find the deer, you want to put your tags on it as soon as possible so you don’t get in trouble with a game warden. Next, you want to get the amazing meat off the deer. The meat is the best part so don’t waste it. The easiest thing to do is to drop the deer off at a butcher. If you want to butcher it yourself, you can find a video on YouTube.
I hope his article has taught you how to hunt deer with a bow. Hunting is a very fun sport to partake in. If you follow the steps right you will find success in the deer woods. make sure to do a lot of research beforehand so you will be as proficient as possible.