Bow Hunting In Wisconsin
Brandon Schmitz
Introduction
Bow hunting was world wide the most effective way to harvest meat in ancient times. Its popularity dropped off as the rifle was invented. As new forms of bows are coming about, many more people picked up a bow again. Hunting with a rifle is to easy for some people so they hunt with a bow for more of a challenge. The new compound bows are lighter and more efficient and the carbon arrows fly better than ever. People travel around the world shooting competions and hunting large game animals. It is one of Americas past times.
History Of Hunting With A Bow
"Bows and arrows were used worldwide before the invention of the gun and gunpowder in the early 1500s"(Refcom 1). People shot for fun and it was the easiest way to kill at a long range. Bows and arrows were known to be used in every civilization in the world. The most common bow in ancient times was the long and short bow. Bow hunting was the only way to go and then gunpowder was invented. With the accuracy and speed of the rifle it was no match for the bow and arrow so it was pretty much abandoned. "The first known types of any bows or arrows were stone arrow heads"(Refcom 5). The compound bow and carbon arrows brought bow hunting back. Now many groups are popping up through out the world and hunting with a bow is a popular sport.
Bow Hunter
In the woods
Bow Hunter
Ready to Shoot
Deer
In the Woods
Animals to Hunt in Wisconsin
There are many opportunities to hunt with a Bow in Wisconsin. Many people take the challenge bow hunt. You can hunt deer with a bow. This is the most common animal hunted with a bow in Wisconsin. You can also hunt turkeys, they are very challenging to hunt because they don't like to come in very close. You can also hunt fish with your believe it or not. It is usually done at night with a flashlight because the fish are easier to see."Millions of dollars are spent each year by the state and federal agencies charged with controlling and removing Asian Carp or limit the impact these invasive fish can have" (Brunner 1).
Calls
Bow hunters use many calls to imitate their prey. They can make a fawn sound to draw a doe in closer. "Bucks, does, fawns, and even an occasional coyote have been known to come on the run to the sound of a fawn in distress" (Swisher 4). They use a grunting call to imitate a buck and that will make the mature buck come to it to see what the grunt is all about. There is a bleating call that bow hunters use to call in bucks. A bleating call is a sound that a hot doe makes.
Equipment
There are lots of things bow hunters need for bow hunting. First, they need a bow. There are many different types of bows. With bows you can change the draw length to suite yourself and the poundage of the draw, which is how hard the bow is to pull back. According to "Bow hunting Equipment," "The bow is very effective and capable of bringing down the largest game animals" (5) They also need arrows. The arrows have to be the right length for the bow. They need camouflage to stay unseen for the animals they are hunting. Game calls are another thing needed when hunting, which are mentioned in the paragraph above.
Hunting Land
Good hunting land requires a good food source year round and plenty of water. Many people plant a food plot to grow big deer, and they eat a lot of the farmers crops. Deer like young forest with lots of vegetation to feed on. Bow hunters put their tree stands high up in large trees with protection of branches and leaves so they are not visible to their prey. If you do not own any land, there is always the option to hunt on public land. "While the land is open for public uses, including hunting, it can often be difficult to find" says Raquel Rutledge (Rutledge 1).
Strategies
There are many hunting tactics used to bag the monster bucks! First, you wanna hang your stand were there is frequent deer movement. You can find out if the deer move through your area with a trail camera or scouting like Robert Streeter says "It is a good thing to just sit in your stand and watch the way the deer move" (Streeter 6). You also want to hunt when its cold out because the deer are moving to stay warm. When going to your stand you want to walk slow and quite as possible. Stop every once in a while and scrape at the ground to imitate the deer's feeding habits. When climbing in the stand eliminate all sounds like your release tinging against the metal of the latter, because deer have great hearing and can hear that from along ways away. Your scent is essential to bow hunting, a deer's best sense is its ability to smell. Most people hang their clothes outside a couple days before going to the woods to get an outdoor scent on them. Then right before heading to the woods, spray scent killer which stimulates all other scents that a deer could pick up on you. When leaving your stand you want to do the same thing you would do while going to your stand.
Work Cited
- "Bowhunting History." Bowhunting History - Bowhunting. Refcom, 23 Jan. 2007. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://refcom.wetpaint.com/page/Bowhunting History>
- N.d. Photograph. Dan's Hamptons. David Lion Rattiner, 15 May 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://danshamptons.com/2012/05/15/im-totally-in-favor-of-bowhunting-to-control-deer/>.
- Bowhunting Tips, Articles,and Strategies. Stick'em Archery, 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <https://www.stickemarchery.com/Bow%20Hunting%20Strategies.htm>.
- N.d. Photograph. Archery Deer Season Is Here! MyRussellville Community Portal, 2011. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://myrussellville.com/2011/09/30/archery-deer-season-is-here/>.
- N.d. Photograph. Field & Stream. Bonnier Corporation, 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/kentucky/2006/07/beginners-guide-bowhunting?photo=1>.
- "Deer Hunting Calls." Squidoo. Pradco, 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.squidoo.com/deer-hunting-calls>.
- "Bowhunting Equipment." Bowhunting Equipment. 3Dshoots, 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://www.3dshoots.com/bowhunting-equipment.html>.
- N.d. Photograph. State Symbols USA. Mathew Plauson, 2007. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/South_Carolina/DeerWhiteTailed.html>.