There are some disadvantages to a mechanical release. For one thing, it is mechanical and therefore, can break. But you can decide on the switch to finger shooting later, after you've mastered the release.

Once your bow is set up properly and you've had some instruction on shooting technique, there's the simple matter of practice. Of course, it depends on the individual, but with sights and a mechanical release, it takes only a modest amount of target time to learn to shoot.

If you can put three arrows inside of a circle the size of a CD at 30 yards, you're on your way. That is adequate for hitting the vitals on a deer or elk.

LOW SUCCESS RATE?
A second misconception is that the success rates with a bow are very low. Nonsense! There are a number of actual advantages to bowhunting, beyond the rewards of a clean kill at close range with an ancient tool.

First, the timing benefits hunters. Many archery seasons precede rifle seasons so hunters get first shots at game. For elk, bow seasons in many states coincide with the rut, which makes calling a very effective method of luring bulls into archery range. Some states allow archers to hunt during the mule deer, whitetail, or blacktail rut as well.

I was thrilled to finally have the chance to hunt antelope again in my home state, nearly 15 years after pulling my first rifle tag. However, there was a catch.

The tag I had drawn was a muzzleloader permit.

Also, archery hunters are afforded much longer seasons than the gun-toting crowd. In general, fewer hunters take to the woods during archery season, and that makes for a more pleasant outdoors experience.

Many successful bowhunters use strategically placed tree stands to get within bow range of deer. They map out well-used game trails leading to and from food and water sources. Then for their stand, they pick a tree 20 yards from the trail and wait for the game to come to them.

This is the preferred method of bowhunting whitetails in the Southern states, and it works equally well for whitetails out West.

Blacktail deer hunters are also finding out the advantages of tree stands for hunting these elusive deer in the rain forests of the Pacific Northwest.

Another whitetail tactic that is now successfully employed by blacktail hunters is grunting and rattling during the rut. In Oregon and Washington, the general archery seasons reopen and extend late into the fall and through the blacktail rut.

One of hunting's biggest challenges is taking a mature trophy mule deer with a bow, especially in the open high desert of Eastern Washington, Oregon and Northern California.

True, I've tried for years to take a big mulie with my bow. Three times I've come close, but have never succeeded. This is the ultimate challenge in spot-and-stalk hunting, and I don't regret not using a gun.

The fun here is to locate a buck moving to his bed at first light and watch him until he beds down. The hunter then sneaks into range and waits the deer out, until he gets up to re-bed or go for a midday drink. When the buck stands, the hunter can take his shot.

Sounds easy? But the winds of the high desert usually alert the deer well before a bow can be drawn. Clothing that controls your scent is a huge advantage.