Secure hip quivers keep arrows close at hand at all times. If you aren't comfortable using a bow-mounted quiver, a hip or back quiver could be a good choice for you.

Here's an example from outside the box. A good friend of mine is in law enforcement. He's only had to pull and use his weapon once on the job, and he only fired one shot. Yet, part of his weapons routine practice once a month is making sure he can get to his backup clip quickly and effectively for his handgun. You may be thinking apples and oranges but similarly follow-ups count for everything. Second fiddle should always come into play. This never seems more fact than fiction when you're on an expensive out-of-state hunt for a "dream" animal.

Pick And Choose
Perhaps picking the proper shot is the single most important thing we do when an animal nears. While experience dictates how well this happens, it rarely works to perfection. Heck, even close shots aren't always easy. Stretching the shot can magnify the difficulty, making a potential follow- up arrow all the more useful. Picking and choosing a shot is more skill than guesswork.

"I had a nice bull elk walk in on me last September and start raking his massive crown. He breezed through a small opening at 35 yards but I didn't shoot. He was angling toward me so I expected a 20-yard chip shot momentarily. A minute later that is exactly what I got. But somehow the arrow was deflected not long after I let it go. He didn't spook badly, just running about 20 yards out. Fortunately, he stopped to turn back around and gawk. My second arrow was on its way. He is my best bull to date," said Greg Basket, a Colorado native.

Hog hunting is some of the most fun bowhunting out there. A guide I know in southern California not only loves his job, but he also loves to hunt the wily critters himself. Hogs are constant movers, and anyone who has hunted hogs quite a bit knows there's a good possibility to miss several times on any given hunt, particularly on those days when the action is thick. Hunting animals like this is not only great fun, but you also get great practice shooting arrows in a quick and unorthodox fashion. Notably some archery hunters are much better at this than others. Those hunters are particularly quick at pulling their backup arrows and making an accurate shot.

Savvy hunters pay attention to the broadhead foam inside the quiver. The author likes to remove the foam and trim down slightly so his heads will contact the foam less. This allows for quicker retrieval of the arrow as well as sharper broadheads.

Persevere
Like many, I know for years I never gave it much thought after chasing animals with aggression. What do I do if I need to shoot again quickly? Just how ready am I? Just this past season I quizzed numbers of hunters who said they take their quivers off in their deer stands and hang them around the back of the tree, sit them underneath the seat or stick them in their backpack. Whatever it takes to get them completely out of the way after they grab one arrow out. Usually this arrow is their "number one" arrow. I could only gather they've never needed another arrow during an important hunt. However, I can't relate.

Roll back the clock to last November. I had a buck walk in and hand me an easy shot. I missed. Yet, with the thud of the quiet bow the buck just lifted his head up and looked in my direction right at my stand tree. Thank goodness I was thinking ahead way before this buck ever walked in. My quiver was attached to my bow and my next arrow was right at my fingertips.

Also I think all of the arrows in your quiver should be your "number one" arrow. Why should the first arrow you shoot be more accurate than the second or third? Anyways, after a good minute the buck looked away. I eased my second arrow out of the quiver and took the shot. My broadhead severed his plumbing and he fell within sight. It was a great day.