Spring Archery Practice: Preparing for a Successful Hunting Season

Are You Ready for Opening Day?

It’s opening day of deer season. You’re in the stand, your bow is on the hanger with an arrow nocked and ready to go — in case you get that shot you’ve been anticipating for the past year. Do you feel prepared? Do you feel like you’ve put the work in, your equipment is on point, and the only thing that could prevent hitting your target is something that is out of your control?

If you sometimes think the answer to those questions is yes, that is why spring archery practice is so important. We owe it to ourselves — and more importantly, the animals we are trying to harvest — to be ready. If you start in the spring, you have time to work on both your shot process (mentally and physically) and your equipment.

Why Is Preparing Your Equipment in the Spring Important?

Our bodies are changing all the time. We are always growing or shrinking (unfortunately). We get stronger and sometimes weaker. Our face and hands change, and our shoulder muscles change. So if the last time you shot your bow was the end of bow season around the first of November, and the next time you pick it up is a week before opening day the following year — it is entirely possible that your bow is going to fit you differently.

What does that mean? It means:

• Your draw length could be shorter or longer
• The height of your peep sight could be different
• If you’re stronger, you may need to increase your poundage, which means your pin gap may have changed

Yes, it’s possible that you could get all of this corrected a week before opening day — but how comfortable would you feel not having practiced much if you had to change two or three of those things at once? That brings us to mental preparedness.

The 5 P’s of Archery Preparation

There’s a principle I use in my competition archery preparation — maybe you’ve heard of it: the 5 P’s.

Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.

This applies in all things shooting-related, whether competition or hunting. In my opinion, mental preparedness is the most important aspect of archery practice.

Archery is all about repetition — both mentally and physically. Repetition is what creates muscle memory and helps you feel comfortable, so when the time comes to harvest that big buck, the process is second nature. The only thing you have to concentrate on is which way he goes after your shot.

Why? Because:

• You started early and shot your bow regularly
• You are confident your equipment is dialed in
• You’ve mentally prepared for this moment so many times it feels automatic

Practice Is What We Owe the Animals We Hunt

Our time, our practice, and our dedication is what we owe to each animal we harvest. Starting early will lessen your chances of making a mistake when your moment comes. And you will have that trophy buck — and the memories to go with it — as your reward.