We’re talking today about your two most important allies in hunting — your abilities and your hunting weapons. You need to know how your weapon performs at certain distances; whether it’s a bow or a rifle. You might think it doesn’t matter much about the different grains of bullets that you shoot, but choosing the right one can make all the difference. Shots can be fired and hogs missed if you don’t pay attention to this important piece of the hunting puzzle. So let’s go over a little bit of that…

Rifle Hunting

In order to get the same performance out of a weapon, you have to shoot the same ammo, the same brand, and the same grain. I just can’t tell you how important it is, especially at a great distance, how much difference it makes in the weapon’s ability to perform at its optimal level.

Hunting With Bow & Arrow

Bow hunting is the same thing. Bow hunters seem to be a little bit more particular on everything being the same. We’re always taught to have the same anchor point, grip the bow the same, hold it the same, look through it the same, and everything on the bow needs to stay the same. One little change will cause that arrow to fly a lot differently. And everybody shoots the same arrows. It’s very important to shoot the same brand, the same broad head, and the same grain. I just can’t tell you how important that is in order to harvest a wild hog here in Texas. It’s all about taking the hog quickly and cleanly. Nobody wants to put a poor shot on an animal. If we practice a certain way, we hunt the same way. You see articles about this in different magazines. It may be the same topics but it’s worded just a little bit differently to try to get the point across of how important it is.

Next you need to know your abilities. A person really needs to stay within his abilities. If you have never tried a 300 yard shot and you’ve been successful at 200, don’t go past those abilities unless you’ve practiced at that distance. You owe it to the animal to take him as quickly and cleanly as possible. A bow hunter, especially, will practice at 20, 30, and 40 yards and a person needs to know what his abilities are and don’t go outside of those. It does not do anyone any good to try to extend beyond your capabilities. I can’t tell you how frustrated I’ve seen people that have tried to stretch their abilities out, put a poor hit on an animal, and then they track it as far as they possibly can and then they lose the animal.

So, know your abilities and your weapons. If you do, you’ll have a much greater chance of harvesting the animal you want. See you during hunting season at Hidden Hills Ranch, Texas