Melanie A. Howard - Bowhunting for Kids

For thousands of years, American Indians used bows and arrows to hunt buffalo and other animals.

Hunting with a bow and arrow is a challenge. Bowhunters work to improve their archery skills all year long. It takes strength to draw a bow. It takes even more strengthto hold a drawn bow steady. There can be more than 80 pounds (36 kilograms) of forcepulling against your muscles, depending on the bow.

Choosing a bow that works for you is the most important decision you will make inbowhunting. And there are many bows from which to choose.

TAKING AIM

When first learning archery, you need to know which eye is your aiming eye. To dothis, make a triangle with your pointer fingers and thumbs. Hold the triangle outin front of you, and stare at an object a distance away. Slowly bring the triangleback toward your face, keeping your eyes on the distant object. The triangle shouldcome to rest over your aiming eye.

archery the sport of shooting at targets with a bow and arrow
draw to pull back

Until the 1930s, hunters and archers used only longbows for their sports. A traditionallongbow is made of one piece of wood and is very tall. The English longbow is theaverage height of a man. Of all bows used today, the longbow requires the most strengthto draw.

Longbows need a lot of care. They must be stored unstrung. They should be storedat a constant temperature to protect the bow.

The recurve bow has a long history. It was used for fighting on horseback thousandsof years ago. But its history in modern hunting is much shorter. Around 1930 therecurve joined the longbow on the hunting scene.

A recurve is smaller than a longbow. The recurve gets its name from its ends, whichcurve out when the bow is drawn. Early recurves were made of animal sinew , animalhorns, and wood or bamboo.

sinew a strong piece of body tissuethat connects muscle to bone

The modern recurve is made of wood, plastic, and fiberglass. Fiberglass is a strong,lightweight material made from thin threads of glass. Unlike a longbow, a recurveis not affected much by temperature and humidity. A recurve also can shoot fartherand more accurately than a longbow, and it takes less effort to use.

recurve bow

A compound bow is the easiest bow to use. It was first used in the 1960s. Today morethan 90 percent of bowhunters use compound bows. Because it uses a system of wheelsand cables, a compound bow takes less strength to hold in the drawn position thanother bow types. It is more accurate and powerful than longbows and recurves.

compound bow

Some hunters use crossbows. But crossbow hunting often has different rules than othertypes of bowhunting. In some states, using crossbows is illegal. In many other states,crossbows can be used only by hunters who are disabled. A crossbows bowstring isdrawn back by a special device and locked into position. Shooting a crossbow is muchlike shooting a gun. That is why its often illegal to use a crossbow to bowhunt.

crossbow

Bowhunting keeps getting more popular. As a result, there is more equipment availableto help with your hunting trek. Gloves, finger tabs, and release aids are standardequipment for most bowhunters. Gloves and finger tabs protect your fingers from thebowstring. A release aid protects your fingers too, but it also helps you make asteady, more accurate shot. An arm guard is needed too. It protects your arm fromthe bowstring.

FACT

A powerful bow will make noise when the string is released. This sound couldscare game away. A string silencer is a good gadget to have to keep your bow silent.

Most bowhunters use a sight, a device that helps them aim better at their prey. Sightscome with pins or crosshairs. Most bowhunters use a fixed-pin sight because pinscan be added and removed as needed. Many hunters combine their mounted sight witha peep sight. A peep sight forces you to keep your head in one place, which makesyour shot more accurate. Bowhunters also use arrow rests to aid their shooting accuracy.