If you plan on hunting with your quiver attached to your bow, practice with it attached as well. It is always a good idea to practice with your bow when it is set up exactly like it would be when you are actually hunting.

The fact that I had my quiver attached makes little difference if you take yours off. The trick is to find a place for it where you can grab a second arrow practically blindfolded with minimal movement. Again, this isn't an article to advocate what to do with your quiver; it's about making your quiver work for you. Once you realize how important this is you will make a conscious effort every time. You may not need a follow up arrow for five seasons. But what happens during the sixth season when that 150-inch whitetail buck or 350-inch bull elk is pivoting around, waiting for a second arrow? Don't be that guy who didn't think ahead. Boy scout's, remember?

Follow-Up Shots
Missed shots aren't the only reason for a follow-up shot. More important is the follow-up shot used to pick up slack where the first arrow fell short. Gut shots are not all that difficult to do if the arrow gets deflected, the animal moves, or you just plain pull the shot. Follow-up shots are definitely commonplace regardless of the animal you're hunting and no matter how good a shooter you are. No archery hunter can escape this.

Two seasons ago in North Carolina a buck walked into a soybean field and began to feed 30 minutes before dark. Immediately I knew I wanted this deer in the worst sort of way, so I began to pray for a little luck. Just as darkness began to set in, the buck turned broadside 30 yards out. I shot and struck the deer dead in the paunch. I yanked the shot upon release but was able to follow the bright fletching with my eyes. A shot like this will make your blood run cold instantly.

Luckily, he made a dash out into the field and did kind of a half circle, ending up even closer to me as he slowed down to a walk. I already had another arrow nocked and I was trying to keep some composure. I managed somehow, and the second arrow flew true. Without an accurate second arrow I may have never gotten that buck. That's simply not a good feeling. I thanked my lucky stars on that one.

More recently a few friends and I were watching a hunting video by a reputable call manufacturer that was hunting elk in Montana. As he scrunched down by a cluster of trees waiting on a bull elk that was bugling he detached his quiver, grabbed one arrow, and just tossed it aside. The bull eventually came in and he tanked the shot. The camera stays on the hunter as he's frantically fishing for another arrow with his right hand while trying to keep his eye on the bull. It was foolish looking, enough to make you never want to look like that. Consequently, the bull got away clean.

Even worse, quivers that you buy on short notice and don't take time to get accustomed to can cause problems. Once at an outdoor show in Pennsylvania I sat in on a seminar by a well-known archery hunter. When he got into talking about equipment he went into discussing a hunt he went on for mule deer where he took a new quiver along that a manufacturer had sent him to test.

It was a bow-mounted quiver and he liked the looks of it, but he found out too late he should have experimented with it a little more. He was stalking a mule deer in Wyoming and because of a steep downhill angle, he shot over a buck. He went to pull a second arrow hurriedly and had a devil of a time getting it out of the quiver. The arrow grippers that clench around the shaft were new and extremely tight, and it took him much needed seconds and too much motion to make it happen. The muley spun around and left nothing but dust. Ouch! That had to hurt.

Conclusion
So, is it worth the effort to be prepared for a second arrow? In general, I guess we should feel privileged to get even one arrow, one shot, at times. Archery hunting is almost explicitly a one-opportunity deal, but at times you will be handed two times the opportunity. For this reason determined hunters are conscious of this probability and take it to heart. Practice pulling a follow-up arrow at the target range, it can do no harm. The most successful hunters are more than prepared for a second shot should that ever surface. It only makes sense to keep your arrows in line and your thoughts on the task at hand. Your next arrow could just be seconds away!