New Way To Sharpen Archery Skills Before Deer Season

Michigan's archery whitetail deer season kicks off October 1. Bow hunters usually practice, but if you really want to see how good your skills are try this method.

Most bow hunters set up a target behind the house or go to a range to make sure their bow is sighted in so they are ready for season. There is another way to practice once your bow is sighted in that will help you gain more confidence and success so there are no mistakes when that big buck walks up.

Get Your Archery Equipment Sighted In Before Deer Season

Over the Labor Day weekend, my sons and I did a lot of archery shooting in the barn and have been for weeks in preparation for the upcoming whitetail deer season. We have a target set up in my barn that allows us to shoot 10, 15, 20, and 25 yards. This is where we wood shed to get those bows sighted in.

My sons and I practice as much as we can in the barn to make sure our shots are good and that our bows are working properly.

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Once you get your bow sighted in, there is another way to practice that will allow you to know exactly what to expect when you fire an arrow from your tree stand.

Practice Archery Differently For Better Deer Season Prep

We use a Block target that has multiple sides to it, and two of those sides show the deer arteries. We take a stump of wood, a piece of wood to elevate the target to protect it and the arrows, and place the block in each stand's shooting lane, with the deer artery side of the target facing the shooter.

Note: You should use a safety strap while practicing from your stand and while you are hunting. 

The two guys on the ground step back out of the shooting area while the shooter in the tree fires a few arrows. We set this target up in multiple shooting lanes and a variety of distances to see if our arrows are going where they are supposed to.

The guys on the ground then retrieve the arrows for the shooter and move the target to the next shooting lane. My youngest son likes to hand his brother his arrows but we typically put the arrows in a service loop on the bow rope and pull the arrows up by hand.

We did this in multiple stands, in multiple shooting lanes, and at multiple distances. After doing this two different days, the confidence level of all three of us was high.

I have killed many deer over the years, but my sons have not shot at a deer yet, and this method of practice helps them prepare for the unknown. All three of us noticed little quirks in each blind that we need to watch out for. We all agreed it was much better to find out where are arrows would be going so that there would be no surprises or mistakes when that big buck walks by.

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We won't be going back out to our stands until its time to hunt to keep the scent down. I don't recommend doing this once season has started or if you have a stand where a really big deer is spending most of his time and its really thick trying to get there unless you do this early in the spring. You can always set up a tree stand near your house if you have the space to practice there or go to an area shooting range that has 3D targets set up where some are in tree stands.

👇BELOW: Northeast Outdoor Show 3D Archery Shoot👇