Hunting can for sure be a fun and exciting activity. However, facing accidents is a common incident, especially if you don’t take precautions and go hunting with proper knowledge.
So, how can you hunt safely and avoid accidents? There are various safety tips that you should follow when it comes to your gear and shooting.
In this article, we have discussed twelve essential tips you can use while bow hunting so that you can hunt safely and avoid injuring yourself and other hunters.
Gear Safety Tips
Ensuring that your gear is in excellent condition is the first thing you should keep in mind when you’re planning to hunt. Here’s how you can ensure gear safety.
1. Check Your Gear Properly
The moment you plan a hunting session, check your gear immediately to see if it’s in good condition and if everything is in tune.
Check for any sign of wear and tear, and see if the arrows are sharp enough to hunt properly. Check how tight or loose the string is and if it’s in the proper position to optimize your draw length and draw strength.
If you’re confused about what gears you’ll need to use or how to know when to upgrade them, you can check bowaddicted for instructions and other help.
2. Replace if Anything Needs Replacement
If you see that your arrows have nicks and dents, replace them immediately with fresh ones. Check your string to see if it’s still taut or if it feels frayed. Replace the string if you need to.
If you’re using a string silencer, which you should, then check if it still works well or if you need to replace it. Check your bow to see if there is any flaking or not, and see if the stabilizer is firm or wobbly.
Or, if you want, you can get the perfect hunting crossbow for you after thorough research and ensure better accuracy.
3. Sharpen Your Bowheads Carefully
When checking the arrows, you should check the sharpness of the arrowheads thoroughly. Sharpen them if they’re blunt, but do it carefully.
Sharp arrows will cut you easily, which you definitely don’t want before going on a hunting trip.
Also, be cautious when inserting the arrowhead into the shafts. You can injure yourself very badly if you’re being careless with it. If you can, wrap a layer of cloth on your hand and fingers to prevent possible injuries.
4. Keep Your Arrows Covered in the Quiver
Keep your arrows in the quiver, not only during transportation but also when you’re hunting and carrying the quiver with you.
Keep the arrowheads covered until the moment you’re about to shoot so that they don’t poke you accidentally or you don’t get badly injured.
5. Avoid Being Overbowed
If your draw weight is heavier than your capacity, then you won’t be able to shoot effectively. You’ll be off-balance and your shots will be very inaccurate. You will also tire out much too quickly.
Make sure that the draw weight resonates well with the capacity you can take so that you can make accurate shots.
Crossbows have quickly become the youth’s favorite bow for hunting. And for good reasons too!
If you haven’t tried crossbows yet, you can give it a try, as there are various sizes you can choose from depending on what fits you.
6. Invest in a High-Quality Safety Harness
Even if you’ve fixed your harness correctly while climbing and don’t move around as much after settling, your safety harness can still become loose, although unlikely. A high-quality safety harness will reduce the chances of this unlikely event.
Shooting Safety Tips
Now that you’ve ensured your gear’s safety, let’s look at the shooting safety tips. Let’s just say for now, that it’s more than just your bow and arrow.
1. Choose a Strong Tree or Hunting Tower
You may have chosen an area with good hunting chances already, but the trees or the hunting tower may not look good enough to climb. In that case, don’t climb them at all. It’ll break when you climb it, and you’ll injure yourself badly.
Choose a spot where the hunting tower is new and well built. Or, you can choose an area with trees strong enough to hold your weight. You’ll succeed in hunting the animal you had been targeting.
2. Wear Hunter’s Orange
You may be inclined to wear a camouflage suit in the wild to ensure that animals can’t detect you, but it may put you at risk of being accidentally shot by another hunter. Whatever location you choose to hunt, always assume that you’re not the only one there.
Animals you’d typically want to hunt can’t detect reds and oranges, which is why hunter’s orange is the perfect color to wear. Other hunters can see you from afar so that they don’t misfire in your direction, and you can also hunt safely and avoid hurting someone else.
3. Know What You’re Hunting
Always research thoroughly the animal you’re planning to hunt. Understand their movements, how they eat, when they come out, where they sleep, if they’re secluded or move in herds, etc.
4. Know the Area Surrounding Your Target
Before you shoot at your target, know what’s beyond, behind, above, or in front of your target. Sometimes, even when you shoot them, your arrow can be so fast that it can travel beyond your target.
And even if you miss your shot, there can be other hunters beyond or animals that can be ferocious and extremely reactive. Talking about ferocious animals, don’t make skyline shots from behind any ridge. You never know what’s on the other side.
5. Point Your Bow and Arrow Only at the Target
Take your arrow out only when you’ve spotted your target, and point your bow and arrow only at the target. Avoid targeting it anywhere else, as you can misfire and may end up injuring someone else.
6. Know Your Hunting Area Thoroughly
Know the nooks and crannies of your hunting area very thoroughly. This will help you make a better estimate for shooting your target in a place where things are difficult to see. You’ll also understand your target’s behavior if you know the area well enough,
Avoid choosing an area near farmland or roads. And if you do, assume that there are people nearby, so you have to be careful with your shooting range.
Conclusion
As a bowhunter, you need to keep a lot of things in mind, from your gear to the animal you want to hunt to the area where you’re hunting. You must keep your reflexes and coordination in check as well to avoid any mishaps.
If you follow the tips that we have discussed to avoid accidents while bowhunting, you’ll hunt safely, and will love the entire experience.