Bowhunting

[9] The distance depends upon individual ability, the target animal, the bow strength, terrain, arrow and weather.

The bow hunter may walk along the ground slowly, looking for game and stalking it carefully in the final approach.

Hunters often wear camouflage clothing and walk upwind (with the wind in their face) so that game ahead of them cannot smell them.

Brush and other natural materials may be placed for cover, or a "ground blind" that looks like a camouflage tent may be used.

Bowfishing equipment usually adds a line attached to a spool or a reel as well as a specially designed, heavier, barbed arrow.

Regulations often address issues such as which area to hunt in, what time of year (season), and which sex and species of game may be taken.

[17] An annual 3 day field shoot tournament is held every Queen's Birthday Weekend at various locations throughout New Zealand.

[23] In July 2013 the New South Wales Government disbanded the Game Council, and temporarily suspended licensed hunting in NSW State forests.

[24] While both Victoria and New South Wales place licensing requirements on would-be bowhunters, the sport is self-regulated.

[25] Zimbabwe has legally permitted hunting with compound bows since 1989 as an exception, and since 1999 under formal legislation.

[31] In another study from Maryland, archers who had passed a pre-season accuracy test claimed that 82% of deer hit were recovered within 24 hours.

[32] Danish licensed bowhunters are required to complete a report every time that they kill a roe deer.

(To become a licensed bowhunter in Denmark it is necessary to pass a very demanding proficiency test, including a test of accuracy in which five of six arrows must hit within the vital area of game targets ranging from roe deer to pheasant in size at unknown distances up to 25 meters (27 yd).

In 5% of reports the deer was hit and wounded (as indicated by bodily fluids on the ground or on the arrow), but not recovered by the hunter.

The European Bowhunters Association states that "this percentage compares favorably with other means of harvesting roe deer in Europe.