First things first… Bows and Rifle are very different. With a modicum of training, a 12 year-old kid can be taught to punch tight groups at 500 yards with a scoped rifle. Yet that same person would likely not be able to draw a seventy-pound hunting bow. Given two days, I could take almost anyone and give them the skill to hit the vital zone of a deer inside a hundred yards from a field position with a scoped rifle. Most bowhunters spend months learning proper form and technique to hit a vital sized target from 30 yards away.
In short: Bow is hard.
Getting ready to hunt with bow for me means three things right now.
1) Rebuilding the strength in my shoulders (atrophied from several severe injuries and surgeries).
2) Gaining the mechanical skills possessed by most archers.
3) Getting the bow properly fitted and adjusted to fit me.
The first is pretty straightforward. I’m restarting the Diesel Crew modality. I’m firing the bow a few times in the morning and evening into my new block:
Lastly, I’m moving my diet from about 50% archevore to about 90% archevore. Archevore is a term coined by one of my favorite nutrition/scientist/diet people, Dr. Kurt Harris. Without going into excessive detail, it’s a diet that cuts out most of the neolithic agents of disease: Gluten, Fructose, and Plant Oils. It has much in common with the maligned “paleo” and “caveman” (oh how I hate that term) diets but has more solid science and reasoning behind it.
Why the focus on neolithic agents of disease?
Here’s a helpful venn diagram:
What to eat instead? Venison, sweet potatoes, ghee, coconut milk, spinach, Fage Total, wild salmon. Until I’m calibrated, I’ve been using Calorie Counter to track my kcal and macronutrients.
On the exercise front, I plan to start slow (starting every other day rather than 3-on-1-off. On diet, I started yesterday.
thenouveaujaeger 
resiliencesc
October 26, 2011
Loved the archevore terminology (I had heard it in passing but now I know where it originated from, so thanks!) and that you’re getting back on the bandwagon. I too have grown to hate the “Paleo/Caveman” verbage…
I’m quite interested to see where the Diesel Crew plan takes you combined with proper nutrition, especially how they both relate to getting more prepared for bow hunting.
Keep up the great work!
wearlon
December 2, 2011
Psyched I found your blog. Injured rotator cuff, working through StrongLifts 5×5, dedicated archevore/paleo, and thinking about getting into hunting as a skill and a food source despite never having fired a gun in my life. I’m going to look into Diesel Crow and follow this blog. Cheers.
thenouveaujaeger
December 2, 2011
I’ll make a wild guess and guess you live in Upstate New York. Great hunting opportunities upstate. How fancy do you want to get? If I were you I’d find a local range, take a basic rifle class, go to Gander Mountain, buy a ruger 10/22, take a Hunter’s Safety Class, get your license, read a book on deer hunting (the Jackson Lander’s book I’ve recommended is gold for this), practice practice practice, buy a deer rifle, and go for it.
That’s just the bare minimum. If you plan to be an ethical hunter, I’d strongly suggest you build skill at arms with a rifle. Check out NRA High Power (they’ll lend you a rifle and all your gear to get started) and/or the Appleseed organization, they will build your skill way faster than going to the range to “plink”.
Best of luck, and stay in touch.
TNJ
wearlon
December 3, 2011
Upstate NY is right. I actually have a house with about 10 acres of forest. Many deer, turkey, pass through. I may take the compound bow/crossbow approach in a tree stand on my own property. The silence of the weapons appeals to me.
A class or course with a rifle sounds like a great idea, though. If nothing else, to learn a new skill and become relatively comfortable (safe) with firearms.
Thanks for the advice – I will look into the NRA program.
thenouveaujaeger
December 5, 2011
One tricky issue with relatively small lots is that a deer can run a pretty incredible distance despite being mortally wounded, an even bigger problem with bow/crossbow. If you make a double lung-heart shot on a deer with a high-powered rifle, it will probably immediately enter shock, lay down, and expire. If you’re off by an inch or two with a bow, and your arrow pierces the buck through and through both lungs, you’ve killed it, but he might not realize it and you might have to track it onto other people’s property. If your neighbors are fine with that, that’s good, but otherwise, that’s a tough situation. Until New York State legalizes suppressors you’re sort of damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
TNJ