Successful bowhunting comes down to that one pivotal moment, the shot. You might work and entire season just for that one opportunity. When it comes, you have to make that arrow count. I think the flaw of many bowhunters is they shoot a lot at a target, but when they get into the field they encounter a type of shot they have never had to make before. The goal of off season bow practice should be to not be surprised by the type of shot you will have to make in the field.

You should practice shots for scenarios you will most likely encounter for every hunt. With so many western big game species, I decided to breakdown the two best shots to practice for each animal based on common hunting scenarios. All these shots are a good idea to practice, then depending on the type of hunt I have coming up, I will ramp up my practice with these species based shots in preparation.      Elk

                Archery elk hunting scenarios can be unique as they are one of the animals that can be called in during the rut. This provides some interesting things to consider compared to other hunts. I like to practice for shots that involve timing and elk moving.

The long Hold:

With hunting scenarios, timing is everything. You must draw unnoticed, but you also must make a shot at the opportune time. Many real-world scenarios these events do not happen simultaneously. You may need to be at full draw for a while before shooting. As you hold at full draw the tension weakens your muscles causing the untrained to rush the shot, get shaky, or let down. The ones that are prepared will capitalize and be successful in these situations. This happens a lot especially on a bull coming into a call, looking for the elk that was calling.

 Luckily this can be practiced wherever you shoot.  Shoot a group of four arrows that will be your baseline. Remember the type of group you shot then do three sets of four long hold shots.

Set a timer for yourself for say 30--45 seconds draw back and hold at full draw, after the buzzer, shoot. See how this group compares to the base line. After enough practice this will start to match your baseline shots. As it gets better over time, practice increasing the length of holds and the distance to the target. You will want to continually increase the time of those holds in the set.

Once proficient at this, see how long you can maintain a full draw and still make an accurate shot. Hold for as long as you can and work on improving that time as it gets closer to the season.  Doing this you will learn ways to stay relaxed, hold longer and make good shots. If you can hold for a long time but are making bad shots that does not count. You need to have a combination of the two. The goal here is also to make the correct execution of the shot and learn to not make panic shots when fatigued.

Under aim: For those archers using a slider type pin, I suggest practicing a hold under shot. What I mean is imagine you have a bull coming out at 40 and you set your pin and draw back. The bull then continues to come in but does not offer a shot till he stops at 20. Well, you are set for 40 can’t draw down and have a shot at 20. Do you know where to hold it?

Holdover is a lot easier in our minds to calculate, but holding under if you don’t practice can be difficult guesswork. To practice this set your pin for a farther yardage and shoot a closer target. Do this at varying yardages with different pin sets. By practicing this, you will make the most of a great opportunity if a bull walks in closer than you were expecting.

Mule deer

                Most of the mule deer I have taken with a bow are from sneaking in on a buck while it was bedded, then having to wait for a shot. Most of the time if you were to fully stand for the shot it would leave you too exposed. Here are two shots that I practice often for muleys.

Kneeling- whether you are stalking from above or below it seems a lot of my shots on deer are on a slope and kneeling. Or at least drawing back kneeling and moving to a higher position or different type of kneel for the shot.

Remember for these shots to line your knees up in line with the target. If you were to put an arrow across your knees it should point at the target. I have seen a lot of people forget this, draw back kneeling, and have undue torque with bad shooting form.

You will want to practice these shots by setting up your target and shooting from various kneeling positions. Also practice drawing back then raising to one knee to get more height out of the shot. One thing to think of is to keep the knee of the hand that is holding the bow on the ground and lift the other knee to avoid the limb or string slapping your knee at the shot and making the arrow go wild. This happens more on angled down kneeling shots which should be added to this type of practice as well.

The squat shot- In a lot of mule deer hunting scenarios there is not enough height to kneel and shoot but to stand up fully would cause you to be skylined and alert the deer. An example of this would be drawing on the top of a ridge or behind some tall brush where you will need to shoot just as you can see the animal over the cover in front of you. This shot is one that I personally encounter a lot and missed a lot before I regularly practiced it.

To practice, you will want to draw in a low kneel then slowly raise yourself up until you are squat type position. Imagine sitting in a chair with no chair there. This one need practice as you are not very stable in this position and that instability is multiplied when on any kind of slope is involved.

Pronghorn

                Pronghorn whether from a blind or spot and stalk offer some unique shooting scenarios due to the open nature of where they live, the animals keen eyesight, and the difficulty in getting drawn unseen.

Sitting: very few times do people practice shooting seated, but it is one that you encounter more times than not on pronghorn. If you plan to sit water practice shooting in the chair and even the blind that you  will be hunting out of.

For those doing it spot and stalk many times you are in sparse low vegetation and may need to draw and shoot sitting on the ground. Practice this shot extensively before your hunt, so you are ready if it is encountered. Mix it into your regular shooting by just sitting down and taking shots on the target.

Wind shot- one thing about Pronghorn country is it is flat, and it is often windy. When shooting your bow, check the weather forecast and schedule practice sessions when it is windy. When you practice in the wind, you'll get a feel for how your arrows behave in different wind speeds and directions, and you'll be better prepared for the real thing.

                When practicing, make notes of the distance to the target and wind speed. Shoot at a target, aiming for the bullseye with a group of arrows, and record how far off your impacts are. This will help you better understand how your arrows behave in different winds. Practicing in the wind is mostly to help gauge how your arrow performs and where to hold when the time for a shot comes.

Whitetail

                Whitetails, the most widely hunted species in the North America can offer tough shots for archers that are not prepared for it. One of the common techniques that is effective is hunting from a stand and while this is common in most of the mid-west and east, it is probably less common out west.

Elevated - For those hunting from a tree stand you will want to practice this down angle shot. If you don’t have a lot of room or a stand to practice from, you can do this shot at close range by standing on a picnic table and shooing at a close target. The goal here is to practice shooting down and keeping your form and anchor point by bending at the waist.

Obstruction shot- Whitetails often live in thicker river bottom country so being able to thread the needle is important. Practice shots where your line of sight to the target may have some obstructions. I used to do this in my backyard by placing my target at 40 yards, wheeling my trash can to 20 yards then shooting where the trash can just starts to cover the target. This allowed me to understand the flight of my arrow and how to shoot with stuff in the way.

Moose

                Moose can live in some thicker willow country and are often called in for closer shots if everything goes right, but that presents a lot of shots in thick vegetation that you may not be ready for.

Close and brushy- I like to put my target behind brush and shoot my hunting arrow (arrow and broadhead set up) to see how it reacts. This is good to know what you can shoot through and what you can’t. You will notice with this practice that brush close to the animal has much less to little effect and a more drastic effect as the target gets farther from the obstructions.

When doing this make sure to continually flex your practice arrows and inspect for damage after each shot.

The follow up- Moose are large and they can take a pretty good hit well. I like to practice making quick follow up shots. To do this, I use two targets one at 20 one at 40. I then shoot the close target, reload as fast as possible, and make a quick precise shot on the 40-yard target. This is a fun one to practice and get you in the rhythm of a reload and acquiring the new spot quickly.

Sheep and goat

                Sheep and goats can live in some of the nastiest stuff in north America. And that is probably where you will get your chance at them, this means that the steep terrain is the factor you will want to practice for.

Cliff shot- cliffy country is what you want. This is a shot that I will travel to practice. The best way to do this is to get out and shoot at targets on a slope. You want to work on keeping your form as you angle down and up. Set the target on a steep slope, use an angle compensating range finder, and shoot for that distance. This is also a great way to make sure the 3^rd axis on your sight is set correct. If you are getting impacts left or right of your aimpoint with a level sight as you move out farther, this is a strong indication your 3^rd axis leveling is off.

The Long Line of Site- This shot relates to the cliff shot and can be practiced if you don’t have an actual cliff to shoot from. In step country your angle compensation will be much less than the line of sight shot but to your eye it is the same. My desert sheep last year I shot at a steep downhill. The line of sight was over 100 yards, but the actual distance was much shorter.

I like to practice shooting at farther ranges to get used to those steep shots where the line of sight is far but the angle compensated distance is within range. I regularly shoot 100-120 yards not to hunt at that distance but to train for a longer line of sight on a target that is within my ethical range when a steep slope is involved.

Bear

                Through all my years as a hunting guide, no animal gets missed more than bears. It is probably a combination of the adrenaline, excitement of a predator, or a lot of fur that distracts from picking a spot. Whatever it is, a bear is an animal that I want to make sure I make a perfect shot on. For that reason, there are a couple of things I focus on in the off season.

Precise shot- Get those groups tight, you will want to really get those shots exactly where you want. One of the ways I do this is by shooting at the target with tournament archery accuracy on my mind. Going for a perfect run of bull’s eyes. I start at 20 yards and try to shoot 5 perfect arrows. That is five arrows in the circle on my block or 10 ring on my target. After the set of 5 perfect arrows, I can move on to the next 10 yards and do the same. If I miss one 10 ring, it is back to the beginning to start over. I will try to complete these sets with the goal of finishing the field at 50 yards. It is a fun game that puts pressure on a perfect shot and a punishment for missing.

Adrenaline shot- Bears get most hunters blood pumping. To mimic this, incorporate increased heart rate with your shot. Do wind sprints, jumping jacks, sit ups, pushups, burpees, box jumps, whatever you want then grab your bow and shoot. Getting these types of shots is great for any hunt but it helps you learn to control the heart and the shot. Plus, it gives you an added element of fitness which never hurts.

Practice like you hunt

If you add realistic scenarios to your bowhunting practice, you will put in repetitions that will allow you to perform better when a scenario in the field arises. The last thing you want on any hunt is for the shot you take on an animal to be the first time you have done anything remotely close. By thinking about the scenarios you are likely to encounter, and putting in the time to practice them, you will become a lot more successful bowhunter.