The Aim of Archery: Deer Hunting in Ohio for Beginners

“I love the taste of venison but I don’t know where to start when deer hunting.” I hear this a lot serving in the outdoor education section for the Ohio Division of Wildlife. Bow hunting is at its peak in popularity, and more and more people are looking for a source of safe, hormone-free organic meat. Venison fits that bill.

The truth is learning archery, and even learning to hunt deer, is not an easy overnight process. I often think of my own journey, the struggles and failures that I had early on in my archery and hunting career, and the mentor who helped shape me into the hunter I am today.

My archery and deer hunting careers started at about the same time. I can vividly remember my first real bow. It was the week before my 14th birthday, and my grandmother took me to Hittle’s sporting goods to pick out the bow so I could hunt deer. Based on the advice of Mr. Hittle and my best buddy, I received a Bear White Tail. It was a compound bow with a 50-pound draw weight, large fiberglass limbs, an archaic string and pulley system, and a camouflage finish. There had to be millions of them sold in the ’80s and early ’90s. At the time, it was the bow to own. It was too heavy, too slow, and too large for me to shoot comfortably. I matched it with six brand new 32-inch Easton arrows, which were too large, plus some target points and hunting broad heads that were too small.

Mr. Hittle slapped me on the back and wished me luck. Man, I was ready to go. The deer in Northwest Ohio had some trouble coming their way.

My first target practice consisted of a paper plate stuck to a straw bale behind my buddy’s barn. I was anxious. My equipment didn’t fit me, so it scared me, plus I had no clue what I was doing. I nervously slid the arrow on the string, took aim, and shot my first arrow 100 yards into a standing cornfield never to be seen again. Not to be discouraged, I nocked my second arrow. This time I aimed harder and held it a little lower to make sure the arrow would make a hit on the target. Bam! I hit the steel drum below the bale bending my arrow into an S shape. Hey, at least I found it.

After just one year of frustration and poor archery, I gave up compound bows for a crossbow. It was state of the art, super fast, but most importantly it was fairly easy to shoot accurately. I learned deer hunting with my crossbow. Instead of worrying about missing, I could focus on learning the habits of whitetail deer. I had many successful hunts and brought home a lot of venison, but in the back of my mind I always knew I wanted to shoot a compound bow.