Keeping Your Archery Gear in Shape for Hunting

As bowhunting season emerges on the horizon, it becomes time to check your gear and get it up to speed if it's not already. Equipment failure is really a miserable experience, so you'll want to check and re-check your gear and equipment before you head out into the forest primeval in search of a buck.

Begin with an inspection of your bow, since it's with the bow itself that the major problems can occur. In addition to giving it a general once-over, also check some other things. Check your string for wear, replace it if necessary, and then wax it. Check your nock points, kisser, and peep. Replace any of these if it is necessary. Clean surface rust off of steel surfaces and use gun oil to wipe them down. Lubricate all of the bow's moving parts. Some archers have found that dry graphite lubricant works well for lubricating moving sights. If you have a pendulum or other sight with moving parts, you'll want to check its operation and apply dry graphite lubricant at the pivot points. Check your rest's adjustment and replace your heat-shrink if it is necessary to do so. Check your string silencers if you use them and once again replace them if it's necessary. If you use a bow quiver, check its mount. Make sure it's tight so that it won't vibrate and start humming when you shoot. Check your quiver to see if it still holds your arrows securely.

Make sure the the hooded area for your broadheads is in fine condition. Take a very good look at the guide slide and rod if it is so equipped. Replace or fix a bent or nicked guide rod or a worn slide. Take a look at your bow's finish to make sure that it's glare-free and well camoflaged I Some bow hunters apply matte camo tape over any surface that they think might end up glaring.

Take a look at the limbs and make sure you don't see cracks and fissures or anything else out of whack. Replace a limb entirely if it's necessary to do so. A limb that breaks at full draw not only wrecks your day, but it could cause you to be injured as well, so this is a vital checkup. After ensuring that your bow and all of its integrated equipment are okay, you can begin checking your accessories. Check your arm guard if you use one. It's a simple item can save you from weeping and gnashing your teeth if it's in good condition So check the strap, buckles, and so on and so forth. Check your release if you use one (and you should, it helps with accuracy by letting your hand relax more). Whichever release you choose, make certain that it's operating correctly and that there are no badly worn parts. A release that lets go too soon can be a real pain metaphorically and literally. A vital thing to check is the condition of your broadheads. Replace or sharpen dull blades no matter what. Razor-sharp blades are necessary to ensure the clean and quick kill, which any true hunting archer wants. Making animals suffer uselessly is not part of the sport of archery or bow hunting.

Finally give your arrows a good going-over, checking for things like warped or bent shafts, loose or damaged fletchings (these need to be replaced or repaired), and broken, badly worn, or cracked nocks, which you'll have to replace.