If you are looking at trying you hand at bowhunting deer one of the most important things you will need to know is how to field dress a deer should you get the opportunity to shoot and kill one.  Properly field dressing a deer is very important as it helps to:

- Cool off the body temperature of the meat to slow the spoil rate
- Prevents surface bacteria from forming on the deer
- Maintains the overall quality of deer meat.

It is also important that you have everything you will need on your person, or close by so that you can ensure  your ability to field dress a deer as quickly after the kill as possible.  The following is a list if items you will need:

Deer Tag
Flashlight
Camera (take a picture of your trophy)
Sharp / Clean hunting knife
Small rag or towel to wipe the blood off your hands (can also use surgical gloves)
Rope to tie legs and/or drag the deer
Axe or Saw for quartering deer
Several small pieces of string or twine
Large zip-lock or self-sealing bag for the heart and liver.
Tarp – Optional if you want a clean surface to field dress your deer on

Below is a few videos on how to field dress a deer quickly and cleanly.  These videos offer great information and will help teach you how to properly field dress a deer. *Note – Graphic Content

It’s important to note that field dressing a deer takes time and practice in order to master.  You may need to watch these videos a few times in order to remember all of the steps of field dressing a deer but once you have to knowledge and skill to properly field dress a deer you will be able to greatly minimize the chances of spoil.

When it comes to broadheads for bowhunting, there are basically 2 types you’ll have to choose from – Mechanical or Fixed blade.  When asked most archers are unable to agree upon or answer the question “Which is better?”.  In this article I am going to explain the difference between the two and discuss the pros and cons to both the fixed and mechanical blade broadheads.

Fixed Blade:
A broadhead with blades that are constantly exposed.  These broadheads usually come with 2,3 or 4 blades and are the simplest form of broadhead that has been around since the beginning of archery.

Mechanical Blade:
A broadhead with blades that are hidden (folded into the broadhead housing) either held in with elastics, o-rings or pressure fittings.  These broadhead blades have tips that cause the blades to expand upon impact pushing the blades into a fully exposed cutting position.

Now that we have an understanding about the differences between mechanical and fixed blade broadheads, I would like to take the time  to go over some of the main pros and cons of each to give you a better idea of what each is capable of and to help you in deciding which to chose.

Fixed Blade:
Pros:
- More effective for steep angled shots.
- Less chance of mechanical failure (blades not opening/parts breaking).
- Increase in penetration at lower poundage.
- Efficient cutting ability(begins to cut on contact).

Cons:
- Decreased accuracy under certain conditions (windy.thick brush)
- Greater risk of personal injury.
- Flies differently than field points which means increased setup and tuning time.

Mechanical Blade:
Pros:
- Flies similar to field points which means less tuning.
- Less chance of accidental injury.
- Increase in accuracy as there are no blades to deflect off things or get grabbed by the wind.
- Better in thick bush(less chance of blades hitting brush while in flight).

Cons:
- Greater risk of deflection at steeper angled shots.
- Risk of mechanical failure to expand blades.
- Less efficient cutting ability(starts cutting only after blades have opened, this is getting better with newer mechanicals ie. Grim Reaper broadheads).

As you can see there are pros and cons to each and that is why most hunters are often unable to agree as to which broadheads are better. If you are hunting in thick bush or its a windy day you may want more slender, less obtrusive mechanical broadhead, whereas if you’re going to be making steep shots or shooting less weight you may want to go with a fixed blade.

When it comes down to the final decision its all about personal preference.  Personally I shoot a fixed blade because I like the increased penetration at any angle and the simplicity of the broadhead design that I feel cuts down on potential mechanical failures that can result in a lost and injured animal.  As long as your bow has been paper tuned and sighted in for broadheads the accuracy is very often not affected.

Grim Reaper broadheads have gathered a lot of attention since the release of their first mechanical broadhead in 2000. The reason for the positive attention is due to the fact that their broadheads feature their self invented “RazorTip” Technology which means that not only do Grim Reaper broadheads contain 3 normal blades, they also contain small blades within the tip of the broadhead. These small blades are meant to give these broadheads more penetration, bigger entrance wounds, and bigger blood trails.

On top of the small razor blades within the tip of the Grim Reaper broadheads, these mechanical broadheads also contain no o-rings, or elastics to hold the blades shut.  Each of the blades is independent of each other and have a locking system once open to make sure that the blades do not move once expanded.

Grim Reaper mechanical broadhead features:

- No rubber bands or o-rings.
- Small razor blades in tip.
- Blades rest on shock absorbing spring.
- Quick change blades.
- Blades open with 1 pound of pressure.
- Come in 75, 85, 100, and 125gr weights.
- 440 stainless steel blades.

Grim Reaper mechanical broadheads through this technology has given them the ability to:

- Make angled shots without deflection.
- Expand or Open Blades without kick on the arrow
- Create bigger more devastating entrance wounds
- Create bigger blood trails
- Drop your trophy animal quicker

Grim Reaper has re-written the design and functionality of mechanical broadheads to enhance penetration, blood trails, durability, and accuracy.   If you are a mechanical broadhead user, and would like a broadhead that has been designed for performance, give Grim Reaper broadheads a try.

First off I just want to take a bit of time to define what let-off is when it comes to the world of archery.  Basically put let-off is a number that is expressed as a percentage that measures the total amount of draw weight that is reduced from the original draw weight when the bow is at full draw.

I know that may sound a bit confusing so let me just explain this with a simple example. Let’s say you have a bow that has a 70lb draw weight with a 75% let-off. This means that at full draw the bow’s draw weight will be reduced by 75% .  So with simple math we can determine that it would take 70lbs of force to pull the bow back however once fully drawn the weight to continue holding at full draw would drop to roughly 17.5lbs.

So why is this important?

Let-off can be extremely useful especially if you are using the bow for hunting purposes.  Think about how much easier it would be to sit there in the cold and hold back 17.5lbs as compared to 70lbs while waiting for the perfect shot on that trophy animal.

Let-off can also help to increase concentration and accuracy during both shot placement and the release of the string because your body doesn’t have to divert extra energy to holding back strenuous amounts of weight.  This will allow you to tire less quickly and will allow you more time to focus and make that money shot whether it be on a target or an animal.

Which bows commonly have let-off?

The only bows that have let-off are compound style bows.  Over the years bows have come to offer adjustable let-off so you can choose how much let-off the bow has by adjusting a piece on the cam.

Let-off is an important part of archery whether you are a bowhunter or a competitive archer and should be one of the many key points looked at when buying a bow.

Whether you’re new to the sport of archery or you’re buy a new bow you will need to know how to sight in a bow properly and effectively in order to ensure you’re bow will hit where you’re aiming when you release the arrow.

*Note that before you start sighting in you should paper tune  your bow in order to make sure the arrow is shooting straight from the bow. Click here to see our “How to Paper Tune your Bow” article

In this article I will guide you through how to properly sight a bow.  In order to get started we will need the following tools/items:

-Allen wrenches
-Field point Target
-Measuring Tape
-3 arrows with field points
-Stake/Wooden Marker

We’re going to start by taking our tape measure and measuring out 4 distances of 10 yds from the target and placing a marker in the ground at each 10 yd increment.

Next take your gear and tools and set up so that you are about 5 yds. This will allow you to safely see where your initial arrow flies without missing the target and losing or breaking an arrow.

We are going to begin by taking care of the left to right changes first and then adjusting the sight for height later on.

When adjusting your sights keep 3 things in mind.

1. Adjust your sight in the same direction that your arrow is hitting.  So for example if your arrow hits too much to the right you will adjust your sight to the right a bit.

2. Adjust the whole sight first for 30 yds and then adjust your pins for the other yardages.

3. Keep your adjustments small, a slight adjustment to the sight can mean a huge change in where the arrow hits the target.

Using your 30 yard pin aim at the center of the target and take note of where your arrow goes.  If it is too far left move the sight left and shoot again until the arrow is hitting right on or within a half inch of where you are aiming it.

Once finished move back to 10 yds and repeat, fine tune the left to right based on where the arrow hits the target. At this point your left to right should be taken care of and we can begin dealing with the high and low of the arrow.

When shooting at the target from 10 yrds with your 30yd pin you should expect the arrow to hit about 3 – 4 inches higher than where you aim. If this is the case then move back to 20 yds, if not then adjust the sight so the arrow hits higher and then move back to 20yds.

Repeat this process again at the 20yd pin and then move back to 30 yards.

At this point you will be able to fine tune your sight for up and down, left and right using your 30 yd pin.  At 30 yards your arrows should be nearly dead on or very close to it.

Once you have your 30 yrd pin shooting the way you want it to, you will be focusing on fine tuning your other yardages by making adjustments to the actual pins (10,20,40,50 etc) instead of the entire sight.

After completing these steps your bow should be properly and successfully sighted in and you will only need to further fine tuned if need be.

Below I have included a great video to give a visual representation of what I am explaining in this article

Compound bows have taken a turn to new technology that greatly reduces the amount of jump and hand shock the bow has when shot. This new technology is called vertical limb technology.

In previous versions of the compound bow the limbs where set so that when the bow was fired the limbs would shoot forward, this worked well except for the jump of the bow, as well as the hand shock within the riser of the bow. In order to correct for this a lot of different equipment was made in order to try and dampen the shock.

Bowtech was the first to come up with this new vertical force technology, in 2003 they released 3 compound bows featuring this new technology. The VFT Extreme, Patriot VFT, Patriot Dually VFT. This new technology was a huge hit, bow hunters and archers all over were amazed and fascinated at how much this new technology reduced bow jump and hand shock after the bow had been fired.

This new technology was such a hit that all of the other bow company’s started following suit, and started implementing the “Vertical Force Technology”. This new technology was implemented by angling the riser limb pockets at more of a horizontal plane, this allowed the limbs to sit at more of a horizontal plane. VFT works on the basis that when the bow is drawn the limbs are compressed in a downward motion instead of the old backwards motion.

When the bow is released instead of the limbs shooting forward, the upper limbs goes up and the lower limb goes down. Because these limbs are the same they both store the same energy, which makes them equal opposing forces which in terms of physics means that these two forces would cancel each other out. Because the forces are equal and cancel each other out your bow does not pull up or down, and no longer jumps forward. This is science is what keeps your bow still and reduces the amount of jump and hand shock you feel.

If you are still shooting the old style of compound bow, and you have not at least tried the difference that this VFT technology brings to the table I would encourage you to go and give one a try, I can assure you that you will not believe the difference that it makes. This is definitely something to keep in mind when purchasing a new or used bow.

A 3D archery course is basically a course in which a bunch of 3D animal targets are set up in bush, in real hunting scenario positions. Each target has a heart, lung and body section. In most cases a heart shot is 10pts, a lung shot is 8 pts and a body shot is 5pts. The goal is to stand at the specific marker that has been set for that animal, and guess the distance at which the animal is standing as well as where the vitals would be on the animal.

3D archery shooting is a really fun time and is even better when a group of people go and you make it a competition. In order to find a place near your area that offers 3D shooting events, you can go onto the internet and do a search of 3D shoots, when those results come up you will need to narrow it down to your state and city. Another good way to find out is to simply ask other archers, and bowhunters in your area.

Usually before entering onto the course there are target bags set up for practice shots. This is a great time to take a few shots just to make sure your bow equipment is working properly and to warm up your muscles. Make sure that if you have any questions at all make sure to ask around, other archers and the owners of the course are always more than happy to help out a fellow archer, especially if you’re new to archery or 3D shooting.

There are many different types of 3D animals you will be shooting at, the courses that I have seen I have shot at moose, bear, deer, alligators, beavers, raccoons, goats, and many others. Some of these animals are placed out to about 70 yards and can get pretty tricky to know where to shoot at but it is a whole lot of fun.

The best thing about 3D archery shoots however; is that fact that it’s almost like you’re hunting. There is no better way in my mind to practice for bow hunting than to shoot animal replicas set up in hunting like scenarios, with accurate vitals. 3D archery will teach you to judge distances quickly without the help of a range finder, it will help to teach you where the vitals are on the different animals you will be hunting, it will also teach you the kind of tricks the trees and shrubs can play on your eyes ex, the tunneling effect., and it will train you to be an overall better archer.

Let me just say that nothing will make you happier than when that 10 point buck comes out into that clearing in front of you and you will have seen that dozens of times before when shooting the 3D course, and you will know exactly how far he is and where to shoot.

Dry firing a bow is the act of shooting a bow without an arrow. While this may seem harmless to some of us who are just starting out I assure you that this can be one costly mistake. The fact of the matter is that it can happen to anyone beginner or expert for many different reasons. Whether it be from ignorance, distractions, or accidental misfire of a release it happens all the time. So the question is what do you do if you accidentally dry-fire your bow.

There are a few outcomes that could happen when a bow is dry-fired, the first is that your bowstring, and cables could snap resulting in your limbs breaking and potential debris flying all over the place. This is basically the worst case scenario. The second scenario is that your string breaks however everything else stays intact, and the third possibility is that it will appear that nothing has happened to the bow.

No matter what scenario your bow falls into after being dry-fired, the first thing you will need to do is to get a magnifying glass and a bright light and look over the limbs especially near the cams for any cracking, or splintering. If you find that one of both limbs have cracks or splinters in them then you will have to replace the limbs before you are able to shoot again.

After checking for cracks and splinters in the limbs, take a look at the cams/wheels to make sure that they have not been bent or cracked, again if they are you will need to replace them as soon as possible before you are able to shoot. Next if you were lucky enough to have your string still intact, you will need to check the whole thing for badly frayed portions, cut strands, and badly damaged areas, especially near the axles.

If everything checks out and you were unable to find anything wrong with your bow then you are lucky, and you have 2 options, your first option is to draw the bow(with an arrow) and shoot it. Make note of any weird noises, or vibrations. If you aren’t the risky type then you can bring it into a bow repair shop and they will have the tools and resources to be able to better inspect it for damages.

In any of the other cases where the string breaks and/or the bow limbs shatter, you will first go get medical attention if you need it and then you will need to bring your bow in to a bow repair shop and you will have to replace the limbs,string, and any other broken parts(axles,cams,wheels etc.).

Dry-firing your bow is something you will want to avoid at all costs. To help minimize your chances of dry-firing a bow you should always draw a bow with an arrow in it, and aim it at a target. This way if you do accidentally release the string there is an arrow in it and you have a target to stop the arrow. Also if you are just trying out a bow be sure to draw with a anti-dry-fire release. When in a group of people it is very easy to become side tracked and forget to load your bow with an arrow. Its always good to double check before you draw your bow.

Archery is a fun and addictive sport, that is enjoyed by countless people. What some people tend to forget however is that while archery is fun it can be deadly as well if you’re not careful and keep safety in mind.

Every year there are people injured from being careless or just not knowing about the “do not’s” of shooting a bow. This article will provide you with the knowledge you need in order to keep yourself from getting injured or injuring somebody else.

-A lot of people when they draw their bows back aim it way up in the air in order to make it easier for them to draw it. You tend to see this with a lot of beginners or especially individuals trying to pull too much weight. The problem with drawing the bow in this way is that the release that you use is mechanical and they have been known to let go randomly.

This means that if you’re in the middle of drawing your bow and your release misfires, your arrow is going to be launched off into the sky where there is no telling what and where it is going to hit when it comes down.

-This next point happens all the time and is one of the biggest causes of bow damage. It is very important that you NEVER NEVER dry fire (shoot a bow without an arrow loaded in it) a bow. When a bow is shot without the arrow, the limbs and axles/cams are thrown back much more violently and with a lot more force often causing damage such as cracked limbs, bent cams/axles, broken strings and cables, and more seriously potential broken parts that could come back and hit you.

-As I have stated before bows are not toys, they can cause serious injury and even death. That being re-stated, you should always be sure of your target as well as its ability to stop your arrow, before you fire your bow. This is especially true for hunters when in the early morning or late evening. If you are even a little uncertain as to your target DO NOT shoot, you can end up creating more problems for yourself than is necessary.

-When drawing back your bow, it is good to remember that releases are mechanical devices that could fail at anytime and without warning. It is because of this that you do not want to draw your bow back at face level as well as have your finger in front of the trigger.

The reason being that if you’re pulling 50-60lbs and your release lets go, your hand and release are going to sky rocket back into your face. This is not a very pleasant experience at all, and has been known to even knock people out cold. Keeping your hand behind and pressed up against the back of the trigger can help reduce the chances of mis-firing.

-Although arrows are expensive,it is never a good idea to shoot an arrow that is damaged, no matter how insignificant the damage may look. When an arrow is shot out of a bow it has a huge amount of stress on it, and it bends back and forth.

If there are stress cracks, or splinters, or any other kind of structural damage to the arrow shaft, upon firing the arrow shaft could shatter and send hundreds of pieces of carbon fiber sailing into your arms and hands.

It is important to keep these warnings in mind each and every time you shoot your bow. Keeping these warnings in mind will help to ensure the safety of not only yourself but of the others around you as well.

Bows come in all shapes, sizes and colors but they all work on the same principle of potential and kinetic energy. When the bow is drawn the limbs are pulled inward creating energy that is stored in the limbs of the bow as potential energy. When the string is released the stored energy from the limbs are transferred to the arrow in the form of kinetic energy.

The compound bow is one of the most popular bows that archers use this is because it offers more accuracy, speed and distance than other bows. The compound bow also offers something called let off. This is where at full draw the weight that is needed to draw the bow is dropped by 60%-80% so the archer can hold the string back without having to fight a great amount of weight

The crossbow comes in as a close second to the compound bow for popularity. The crossbow is actually very close to a gun without the fire power. A crossbow takes the least amount of skill to operate as the string can be pulled back and locked into position and then fired using a trigger when the time arises. Crossbows because they have smaller limbs usually have a draw weight of 150+ pounds. This is a perfect transition bow for the avid gun hunter.

In today’s archery world speed is a huge marketing topic for a bow, the speed of any given bow is called the IBO speed. This is calculated by using a 350grain arrow at 60lb draw weight and a 30inch draw length. The speed of a bow is greatly affected by these three issues (draw weight, draw length, weight of the arrow).

Two common ways to shoot a bow are with what is called a release and fingers. Shooting with a release makes drawing a bow fairly simple because it puts less stress on your finger joints as well as providing a smooth release that will undoubtedly increasing the accuracy of the arrow.

Shooting fingers is tougher in that your fingers are holding the weight of the drawn string and when the string is released from your fingers it tends to rotate the string around causing a loss of accuracy.

When it comes to shooting a bow there are a couple of things you have to watch for so as to avoid serious injury.

1. Before shooting an arrow you must make sure to look it over for any potential cracks or splinters that may be in the shaft. Shooting an arrow with a crack or splintered area could end up shattering into a million pieces and more often than not end up embedding themselves into your arm.

2. Never under ANY circumstances shoot a bow which does not have an arrow loaded into it. Doing this will most definitely crack the limbs causing the bow to potentially shoot pieces of bow back in your face. Even if in the event that you’re lucky enough not to get injured your bow will be rendered useless.

3. When shooting in wooded areas make sure that branches and twigs don’t get under the string. If this happens when the string is released and wraps back around the cam if there is a branch under the string it could get caught and cause the string to fall off the cam track.

4. Not all arrows are compatible with your bow, if you shoot an arrow that is not stiff enough then when the arrow is shot it will bend too much and the arrow could shatter causing bodily harm.

5. Never under any circumstance shoot straight into the air. You never know where the wind will take it or will it will land and you could seriously injure somebody.

Today there are two main types of shooting in the sport of archery and those are competitive shooting and hunting.

With competitive shooting the archers goal is to shoot arrows at a given target aiming at the bull’s-eye of the target or as close as possible so as to beat the other competitors. In competitions accuracy is everything, even being off on your shot by a quarter inch could be disastrous, due to this the equipment needed for this type of shooting has to be very precise and accurate and therefore the price of competition shooting equipment is a little more than hunting.

Hunting has been around since the dawn of time and simply involves the archer shooting at animals for the purpose of food This type of archery needs less accurate equipment than target shooting as the as you are not trying to shoot for quarter sized bullseys.

Aside from the accuracy difference of the equipment hunting also requires the use of broadheads which are razor sharp blades the screw on to the front of the arrow. The reason for this is because the biggest goal when hunting is taking the animal down as quickly and painlessly as possible.