Bowhunting for Beginners
Choosing and fitting a first bow (dominant eye, draw length, draw weight), matched arrows, archery safety rules, practice, effective range, shot placement, and the course and rules to start with, following the Alaska Bowhunter Safety Course.
The Alaska Bowhunter Safety Course puts it simply: “There are no instant bowhunters.” This guide follows that course, published on bowhunter-ed.com, through choosing and fitting a bow, safety, practice, range and shot placement. Some states require a bowhunter education course before you can hunt with a bow; check your state’s rules, and the course is worth taking either way.
Choosing and fitting a bow
- Get help: the course suggests buying from a reputable archery retailer and trying different bows first.
- Dominant eye decides the hand: if your right eye is dominant, a right-handed bow (drawn with the right hand) usually suits you. To find your dominant eye: make a triangle with your thumbs and forefingers, stretch your arms out, look at a distant object through the triangle, and slowly bring your hands to your face; the opening comes to your dominant eye.
- Draw length (how far you pull the string, from about 23 inches for a short person to 30 for a tall one) must fit the bow; an archery shop can measure it.
- Draw weight: younger shooters may draw 25 to 35 pounds, adults 50 or more. Don’t overdo it: you should be able to draw comfortably with your bow arm parallel to the ground and pull straight back; if you have to raise your bow arm, it’s too heavy. In general, use the heaviest weight you can shoot comfortably and accurately in all weather and positions. Some states set minimum draw weights for big game.
- Compound bows are by far the most popular, the course says: wheels and cams cut the holding weight at full draw, often by 50% or more, and many adjust for draw length and weight, which helps a shooter who is growing stronger or, for young shooters, growing.
- Matched arrows: arrows must match the bow, or they may not fly accurately; arrows too light for the bow can amount to dry-firing it.
Archery safety (the course’s rules)
- Point the bow and arrow only in a safe direction, and nock an arrow only when it’s safe to shoot.
- Be sure of your target and what’s in front of, behind and beyond it; never shoot at a skylined animal.
- Shoot only where you have a safe backstop; never shoot straight up.
- Never dry-fire a bow (release the string without an arrow); it can damage the bow and injure you.
- Use an armguard and finger protection or a release aid, carry arrows in a covered quiver, and check the bow for cracks and other defects before each use.
- In some states bows and arrows fall under firearm rules; check your local laws.
Practise until it’s second nature
The course advises: practise in a safe area with a safe background; get help with form from an archery pro shop; start close and move back as you improve until you find your maximum accurate range; and practise regularly. Only after you become a competent archer should you move on to hunting.
Know your range
The course calls the bow a short-range hunting tool: depending on circumstances, 30 to 40 yards at most, with most shots taken at about 15 yards. It notes the average hunter’s maximum effective range is about 30 yards, and that wounding risk rises with distance, because the vital area is harder to hit, brush can deflect the arrow, and the animal has more time to move. Don’t shoot at a deer or other big game that is looking at you.
Shot placement
The course says the responsible hunter takes only a shot that can reliably strike the vital area and passes up anything less. Big game animals have two body cavities, chest and abdomen, separated by the diaphragm; the chest is the main vital area. Our shot placement tool and whitetail deer profile show where the vitals are; see our broadheads guide for the arrowhead.
Learn the rules
Read your state’s bowhunting regulations (seasons, legal equipment, minimum draw weights and broadhead rules) before you go, and see our big game pages for the species you’ll hunt.
Sources
- Alaska Bowhunter Safety Course (bowhunter-ed.com): Bow selection, Dominant or master eye, The compound bow, Matching arrows to your bow, Archery safety, Basic target practice, Bows are short-range hunting tools, Risks of long shots and Proper shot placement. Read 28 October 2026.
Recommended Gear on Amazon
- Beginner compound bow package - browse current options and reviews on Amazon.
- Carbon hunting arrows - browse current options and reviews on Amazon.
- Block archery target - browse current options and reviews on Amazon.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases - at no extra cost to you. This helps us keep producing free, in-depth guides.
