Do you ever get that anxious feeling, like bow season is just around the corner and you’re not doing enough to get prepared? So do I, every year about this time, when the katydids start singing at night and the days are getting noticeably shorter. I fret about fall food plots, treestands and trail cameras, and maybe about archery practice most of all.

I enjoy shooting my bow, but through the years I’ve learned that purposeful practice is more helpful to my hunting success than repeated reps on a bag target in the yard. After all, most of the shooting scenarios that arise in the woods don’t match a 30-yard target sitting in a flat, mowed lawn. Before the season opens, here are five scenarios I specifically like to practice.

Image: steep_shot

Shooting from sharp downhill angles can wreck your form. Don’t forget to bend at the waist. Realtree Media Image.

1. SHOOTING WITH AN AUDIENCE

When I was learning to bowhunt (more than 30 years ago now), I’d join my dad and his buddies during their evening practice sessions. They shot at bag targets, but they always put a little money on the line, usually a quarter per shot. They’d encourage me to join them, and I would, and they’d always trounce me. Sometimes I’d end the practice session owing several dollars to my mentors — and I was expected to pay up. But as I got older and gained experience, I started holding my own on the range, and sometimes, the adults would have to pay me. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that friendly competition helped make me comfortable shooting under pressure from a very young age — a skill that’s helped me tenfold in the deer woods. It can’t be overstated how helpful it can be to shoot with some buddies, enter some local 3D competitions, talk some smack, and lay a few quarters on the line.

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2. SHOOT STEEP ANGLES

Many a whitetail’s life is spared by sharp angles and poor treestand shooting form. Steep angles can cause problems for Western hunters stalking mountain critters such as sheep and alpine mule deer, too. Learning to maintain proper upper body form while also bending at the waist to compensate for the angle is the key to making those steep shots. It’s awkward, though, and there’s no real good way to prepare for it other than by climbing into a treestand, putting some targets underneath at various ranges, and shooting them. This isn’t one that you need to repeat again and again, but do it enough to build a routine of drawing, anchoring, and then bending properly before settling in for the shot.

3. BEHIND THE TREE, WEAK SIDE

Let’s say you’re a right-handed shooter, standing on the platform of a lock-on stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. A big doe comes walking toward your stand from off your right shoulder. You’re clipped up and ready, just waiting for her to turn broadside. But instead, she keeps walking right at your tree and eventually, right underneath. With a few bold but easy movements, you can turn this into a chip-shot opportunity. The doe doesn’t have eyes in the top of her head, and so the time to move is actually when she’s right underneath.

I like to first lean against the tree for extra balance. Then I shift my feet around, to get in a good stance for shooting behind the tree, off my left shoulder. Check the location of your safety harness tether, to be sure it won’t interfere with your draw. If you’re using a LifeLine, adjusting it quickly and quietly is easy. Next, draw your bow, and then bend slightly forward to ensure your bottom cam doesn’t hit the tree. By this point, the doe should be walking away at about 12 yards. Bleat meh to stop her, and she’ll probably quarter slightly in your direction, giving you a wide-open chance at the vitals. This little bowhunter’s trick happens to work great on giant bucks, too.

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4. DRAW BETWEEN THE KNEES

Sometimes critters get in too close before we stand for a shot, or even adjust our bow to draw at a 90-degree angle to our hips. Maybe it’s raining, and you didn’t hear that buck walk in, and now he’s 15 yards away, right in front of you. In this instance, being able to draw with the bow pointed down and hidden between your knees is a huge tactical advantage — and perhaps the only way to get a shot. It requires a little extra upper body effort, and it’s one reason why I prefer a peak weight of just 60 pounds on my bow. Staying at full draw is uncomfortable from this position, so be prepared to shoot quickly. There’s no telling how many tags I’ve filled through the years from this unconventional shooting position simply because it allowed me to get drawn unseen.

5. FROM THE KNEES

You probably won’t be on your knees much in a treestand, but this stance can help you just about everywhere else you might find yourself with a bow in hand. I’ve used it in the elk woods, while turkey hunting, and while spot-and-stalk hunting mule deer, antelope, hogs, and whitetails, too. It’s my go-to shooting stance from a ground blind, if the window is low enough to allow for it. Shooting from your knees gives you just as much stability as a standing position (and maybe more), but with the simple hunting advantage of a lower profile. Learn to check your bottom cam to be sure it won’t hit the ground or brush before letting fly.

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