By BEN NEARY
NMWF Conservation Director
ALBUQUERQUE — For bowhunters, achieving success typically requires paying attention to a seemingly endless series of details in the months of painstaking preparation that lead up to that single, exhilarating shot at game.
Archery instructor Johnathan Borg will detail important elements of how to prepare for the coming hunting season in the New Mexico Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Wednesday event for August.
Borg’s online presentation will start at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 12. Register in advance HERE. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Hunting season kicks off in August with antelope, followed by the start of elk bow season in September.
Borg, an instructor at Hit or Miss Archery in Albuquerque, says this is typically the shop’s busiest time of year. This year, with many hunters staying home from their jobs because of the pandemic, Borg said the shop started getting busier in July because hunters started getting prepped even earlier than usual.
“This has probably been our busiest year so far, especially with people just getting into shooting a bow,” Borg said. He said a lot of people are coming in to get arrows fletched, get their bows tuned up and otherwise ready to go.
In his Wildlife Wednesday presentation, Borg said he will address that bowhunters not only need to have their gear in top shape, but need to be physically prepared as well.
“Getting ready for my own hunts is mainly the physical preparation, as well as making sure your equipment is ready to go as far as making sure everything’s tuned up,” Borg said. “Making sure everything’s flying comfortably, making sure you’re physically ready for the mountains. Whether you’re hunting some really big back country or if you’re hunting flat lands, you just want to make sure you’re prepared all around.”
Tuning up the bow itself is the first step in getting prepared, Borg said. “That’s pretty much the part that we strive to make sure we have taken care of is, one, making sure that your bow is pretty much tightened up, timing, tuning,” he said. “Every little detail on the bow itself is going to matter, as well as correlating with the arrow itself. You want to make sure that the arrow is tuned to your set up, you want to make sure that the bow is 100 percent fitted for you. There are definitely a few variables that go into it.”
A bow must fit the hunter properly, Borg said. Hunters with longer arms need bows with a greater draw length. “We want to make sure that the bow that they’re handling, or that they’ve purchased or before they’ve purchased, is going to fit them correctly so we definitely get that perfect from start to finish,” he said.
Each hunter needs to set their personal limit on what constitutes an ethical shot, Borg said. “Me personally, I generally like to close the distance when I’m hunting. So my max distance when I’m hunting is 50 yards. But I like to prepare at least 20 yards farther,” he said.
For hunting elk, a hunter generally should be prepared to shoot from 40 to 60 yards, Borg said. Preparing to shoot a little farther can prove valuable in the field.
Bowhunters are almost handicapping themselves if they don’t carry a rangefinder, Borg said.
It’s hard to judge distance in different terrains, especially when there’s heavy timber and on steep inclines, Borg said. “So having a rangefinder, definitely something that has angle compensation, definitely helps,” he said.
“Now you do have some archers that are really really knowledgeable at judging distance,” Borg said. “If they happen to be in situations where they can’t pull that rangefinder out, they have that ability on judging yardage. Definitely having the ability to judge yardage is going to go a long way for you. It’s just an extra thing to have out in the field for that situation.”
Determining what constitutes an adequate group size is another decision that varies depending on the type of animal being hunted, Borg said. While some shooters can only achieve a 5-inch group at 50 yards, he said others can keep their arrows within a 2-inch cluster or smaller.
“That’s when you get into making sure that your setup is tuned, ready to go,” Borg said of the quest to achieve greater accuracy. “Because if you’re a shooter who’s definitely put in a lot of work making sure that your form’s correct, making sure that everything is comfortable, and you’re putting the arrow right where it needs to go, and you’re having issues grouping, a lot of times we have to make tweaks in the setup itself, whether it’s the arrow, whether it’s the form, whether it’s the bow.”
Larger animals obviously present a larger target for a killing shot. “A lot of it can just depend on the body structure of what you’re hunting and how tight you want to practice with your groups,” Borg said. “Although you do want to make sure you’re getting as tight of a group as possible, because that’s going to give you a lot of feedback on what you’re doing.”
Many hunters find it difficult to find a place where they can practice at a full 60 to 80 yards, Borg said. He said working at shorter ranges is still beneficial.
“Especially with the times that we live in now, a lot of people have had a lot of time to shoot, to get comfortable, stay consistent,” Borg said. “And a lot of times, a lot of people are working quite a bit, so even getting 20 arrows in a day even if it’s at 5 yards, or 10 yards is just practicing form.”
Shooting even 10 yards into a bale of hay can have real benefits, if that’s the longest range that’s available, Borg said. “In terms of practicing that you’re holding the physical weight of the bow, making sure you’re practicing form, technique. So it really depends on the shooter’s situation how much they can shoot, but I would say at least maybe two or three days out of the week would be enough to make sure you’re prepared.”
Every year, Borg said, archery shops see people who have never hunted with a bow before turning up just before the start of the season looking to buy one. He said they’re commonly rifle hunters who’ve become frustrated over their inability to draw rifle tags.
“They’re going to have a little bit of an advantage to maybe others who have never shot anything because they’re used to the discipline of form, breathing techniques, and the whole shooting perspective,” Borg said of rifle hunters moving over to archery. “As far as in that situation, we generally do our best to get the shooter understanding as much as they can, as far as getting ready for hunts. “
Borg said he sees a huge difference in the physical preparation required to hunt with a bow versus a rifle. “Your average bowhunter is going to be shooting max anywhere from 40 yards to 80 yards, versus with a rifle, you’re taking shots ethically at 100-plus yards with a rifle,” he said. “So you’re not having to walk and stalk in as much, you’re not having to close the distance as much.”
Bowhunters need to be prepared for different terrain and rocky situations, Borg said. They need to make sure they’re physically prepared for the stalking and prepared to carry food and water as well as to pack the animal out.
“You’re going to have a heavy pack, anywhere from at least a 6- to 9-pound bow in your hands,” Borg said. “So there’s definitely a huge difference in physically getting ready. Especially when you’re 100-plus yards away with a rifle, all you’ve got to do is pretty much point and shoot, make sure your breathing’s good.
“There’s definitely a lot more form and technique that goes into shooting a bow, so when you’re walking and hiking in four or five miles to get to where you want to get to, you’re definitely breathing hard, and you want to make sure that you’re well prepared in drawing your bow back and making that ethical shot,” Borg said.
Borg said bowhunting is increasing in popularity as many high-level athletes enter the sport.
“So just the marketing’s definitely been a big thing for archery itself, whether you’re hunting or just getting into recreational shooting,” he said. “It’s grown definitely as a sport and it’s getting harder to draw bow hunts because of how many people are getting into it.”
Preparation for a hunt means making sure that the hunter is heading out with the right equipment, Borg said.
“Making sure you have the right tools, making sure you’re taking stuff for backup situations, like an extra release, and extra set of arrows, and extra set of broadheads, so that’s definitely one thing that I want to make sure that we for sure cover,” Borg said of his Wildlife Wednesday talk. “That’s one of the biggest things I’ve been in hunting is not having a backup release, because I broke mine, or I accidentally lost it in the woods.
Borg and Joshua Urban have started a hunting apparel company called Triumph Outdoors dedicated to getting people to focus on being successful and getting outdoors.
“Being successful is definitely one of the biggest things, especially in my book,” Borg said. “It’s definitely one thing that’s motivated us to get ready for a hunt, it’s motivated me. We just wanted to throw that on some apparel and just kind of show some support. And kind of motivate people to get outside more, especially with the world we live in right now.”