Archery / Bowhunting- what got you started? …

[L.O.S.T.Arrow]

Archery / Bowhunting- what got you started? …

I was just writing one of my weekly outdoor columns for a couple local newspapers and was reminiscing about my youth and bowhunting…here is my story in part…added info for this post…

..Interested to hear your story!!!

************
As a youngster my father was a Forest Warden …much like Fish and Wildlife, police, judge and jury back then, and we were transferred and stationed in a lot of small Alberta Community’s, I learn a lot from the local natives in these communities.

We used to go camping for days on end…which if kids that young did that now everyone including the coast guard would be called in for the search and rescue…lol

We had at best a can of beans, knife, five feet of fishing line and a couple hooks… and whatever we could hunt or gather…fish was always on the menu…and they were plentiful then…but some reason I remember camps being nowhere near fish bearing lakes or rivers…just small creeks or ponds…there may have been fish there but we went for Rabbits and squirrels…which were always plentiful.

Course we were so young we probably should NOT even had knifes, but we all did…like youth today having cell phones…lol

Anyway once camp was set up and fire going… a bow and arrows was first thing on the list, we didn’t get too elaborate, survival style bows made of popular was easiest and worked actually the best for weeks, than once dried they were just firewood, arrows were made of Red Osier Dogwood Willows...shaved the arrows kept the bark for the natives...straightened with a stick and arrow size hole carved in it...head were nails pounded in tip and flattened with rocks, empty shell casings for blunts… or simply tips burnt hardened and scraped sharp.

Every time I think of the bare shaft test for tuning, I think of those days…the survival styles bows were just built bare shaft with no type of feathers or vanes…and we could nail squirrels 15 yards up a tree with deadly accuracy…weight forward was the key there!!!

I was so young I don’t even remember building my first bow or even for that matter who taught me…but the bow was as much lunch and survival as the cell phone and Mc Donald’s is now!

I don' remember for the life of me what we used for strings although I picture sinew ...however later on I remeber the best strings which was binder twine used to tie down every shipping box then...twisted perfect for poundage and tiller...lasted forever...[two weeks]

I remember having a store built …Im sure fiberglass …than a nice take down recurve in my teen years ...then left the archery scene for a while…girls n stuff.

Married young and had a family…than in the 70’s these new-fangled compounds started coming out …my first a Fred Bear… an amazing 30% let off…had about six wheels on it…a smoking 150-180 FPS…a short 56”... had to have one !

My first hunting animal with a compound ...a whitetail buck, [first actually was a Coyote, rabbits and small game] I was hooked and never looked back since, probably owned over 50 bows since that first one…

Watched the industry move very fast…An very innovative company- Golden Eagle Archery, were ahead of their time for the early 80’s…shot them until Mathews came on to the scene in the early 90’s.

Owned many/several different brands but Mathews dominated my arsenal until just several years ago, and am now a proud shooter of Canadian made APA bows, god willing I will have a bow in hand and will be shooting to the end.

Neil

[Lefty-Canuck]

My Dad....

LC

[L.O.S.T.Arrow]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

My Dad....

LC

Awesome Lefty...as with many...Grandpas also....

NOW ...A little long winded here ...think you can keep it down to one word next time!!!

lol

Neil

[Stinky Buffalo]

Had a good friend that showed me his compound bow in the early 80's. I thought he was nuts at the time. He is an inspiration to me as a hunter, but I couldn't help but think, "Why make hunting harder than it needs to be?"

Fast forward a few decades, and I found myself trying out some bows at the 3D range SPAL used to set up at the Sportsmens Show.

Big mistake.

Now the whole family is into it.

[jcrayford]

The year is 1989.... Last hour of last day of rifle season, and 3 of us are trying to knock down an old doe running for her life (my tag was the only one open)..

Well, she got knocked down and tagged and I felt so guilty at the way she was taken that I gave up all hunting for 6 years. Didn't even pick up any rifle for anything (yeah, the gophers over populated....)

Then was down at my older brothers one very nice spring day of 2006 and he's out practicing with his older Martin compound. I'm just watching and he bravely (foolishly?) states "You should give it a try!"

10 extremely long steps from the 4'x4' target and I can't hit the damn thing! After several groups of 3 arrows I finally luck out and hit an 8" circle. It was at this point the thought crossed my mind "This is certainly more fair to the game I would be chasing!"

Bought a used bow from my brother's friend and went to practicing until September. I shot the crap out of that bow in preparation for the upcoming season. But no one told me anything about how TOUGH it would be!!!!

First weekend out, spotted some Elk across a valley from us and booted downhill to get to the valley floor to try and intercept at some watering holes. Sure enough, a group of about 30 Elk came in, with a 6x6 Bull about halfway through. I couldn't move because a spiker had spotted me and was flinching with every movement I did. My hunting partner tried for the Bull at 30 yards, but missed. Then the chase was on. 8 hours later and we drug our butts back into camp, without getting anywhere closer than 200 yards to the Elk.

I was absolutely hooked on that first weekend! Kept with it and eventually (9 years later) managed to take my first big game animal with a bow - a small 2 point Mule buck.

Since then, I've had better and more consistent luck with the bow. And I've even picked up a rifle to finish out seasons in the past 6 years. But every time I've pulled a trigger (rifle or bow), I've made every attempt to be 100% sure of the shot - it's either a GO or NO-GO situation. And through that thought process, I've had the unfortunate result of not recovering only 1 animal - the rest have been tasty....

The best season so far? 2010 and didn't spill a drop of blood..... But that story is for another time....

Thanks for starting this thread L.O.S.T!!! Brings back some memories and re-enforces some ideas that I only think about as the season approaches...

J.

[waterninja]

Tried it in the 70's but never took to it. Had all the oppurtunities then that I wanted with a rifle that I could handle.
Fast foreward 40 years and I have to wait 10 years for a tag for some of the game I wanted to hunt, and all the old stomping grounds are gong shows. Started bow hunting 3 years ago for the extra season time, and more game to choose from.
Last year finally got a bow that I was comfortable shooting and bow hunted seriously. Really enjoyed my time in the field, and loved the completly different type of hunting where you must really be in tune with nature.
I'll never give up rifle hunting, but I will continue bow hunting as long as I can draw one.

[Bonescreek]

My brother.

What a great post Neil!

LC would be great to hear the details.

These are part of the things bow hunting is made of.

[edmhunter]

George Gruenefeld

He is an Outdoor Writer and editor in Canada. He gave me his Browning Bear Bow in 1984.

Thanks George!

[Koschenk]

Great stories guys!

I honestly have no friends or relatives who bowhunt. Grew up in a non-hunting, not even really outdoorsy family. Throughout my life I've always been drawn to the outdoors, hiking, camping and canoeing etc.

Always thought archery was cool, November 2013 curiosity got the better of me and I went into jim bows shop just to get educated. Loosed about ten arrows and decided I wanted to do this forever. Walked out with a last years model Bowtech.

Now I am hooked passionately and think about bowhunting 24/7. With one season under my belt of teaching myself, lots of lessons learned. Managed to harvest one grouse, and came PAINFULLY close to a whitetail doe. This season I intend to harvest my first big animal, and hopefully find someone with some experience to learn from.

[Lefty-Canuck]

I got into the archery game late...I was 17-18. My biological Dad and my Step Dad both hunted with archery tackle...one of them was left handed so I got a hand me down HCA Supreme 60-80lbs bow, set to 72 lbs and that what I used. My first year bow hunting I took a cow moose from a tree stand over a lick....after that there was no turning back.

LC

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

I got into the archery game late...I was 17-18.

You call 17-18 late?

I won't say how old I was when IncrediGirl bought me my (lefty) bow...

Better late than never, though!

[Hydro1]

When i was about 11 friends and i started spending days out in the bush. This slowly transformed to nights as well. Neither of us could shoot guns alone so we went out and both bought a 30lb compound bow for 60$ at canadian tire... I think.
Started hunting squirrel with my dog, then rabbit, then anything else we could legally shoot.
Got some pellet guns too.
Long story short, bows were the only weapon we could use without parents supervision.
Have been hooked ever since.

[SKSniper]

My dad as well. He hasn't rifle hunted in over 20 years so when I moved in with him at 17 years old he bought me a bow within the first week or two and I was on my way. It was either I learn to hunt with a bow or I don't hunt at all. I'm glad I started hunting with a bow as opposed to a rifle, it taught me to be patient and to really learn about the animals I was after.

[Bonescreek]

It's pretty neat to read about how you all got started, like said above it
brings back a lot of memories, good ones.

Like killin' staw bales back in the day..



30" draw 45lb. peak 0 let off.
Next to the big game .. Ground hogs.
Spot and stalk.

[SCHOOCH]

My cousin refusing to give me anymore game meat. For years he would bring me sausage, chops, steaks and then 1 day he figured that he would cut me off unless i at least would try bow hunting with him. I always said the years before that i didn't have the heart to kill a animal and there was no way, bam cut off !!!

October im sitting in my 1st tree stand LOL.......25 minutes into my hunt i harvested my 1st doe with a 15 yd shot, that was 10 years ago and im happy to say my freezer remains full every year.

[Jetlee]

Can't remember exactly but somewhere around 30 years ago (wow) there was some yahoo driving a big lifted Toyota that played a big part of getting me into bowhunting. We didn't know each other but always camped in the same area and hunted the same ridge in the west country. He ended up being somewhat of a mentor to me in the field of general bush/survival skills and especially bowhunting.
Not sure if I ever said it but THANK YOU for showing me the ropes!
Here's to sharing a hunting camp again someday.

[SonofDixie]

Donnie Vincent.... Wasn't really till I started watching and reading about how he hunts and why he chose the bow that made me try it out. Never looking back!!! My first bow kill is going to be pretty special.

[hosmerunited]

My oldest daughter shown how to shoot a friends sons bow while we were camping 4 years ago. Next spring all 4 of us got bows (3 compounds and 1 traditional youngest wants nothing to do with a compoud). Since then these friends of ours have been great with us with helping us shoot better and going to 3 d tournaments around where we live. With some good practice this spring/summer will be bow hunting come this September.
On a side note gained so much information from this forum and the 2 main archery stores we keep going to kootenay archery and jim bows archery.
Mike

[edmhunter]

Originally Posted by SCHOOCH

My cousin refusing to give me anymore game meat. For years he would bring me sausage, chops, steaks and then 1 day he figured that he would cut me off unless i at least would try bow hunting with him. I always said the years before that i didn't have the heart to kill a animal and there was no way, bam cut off !!!

October im sitting in my 1st tree stand LOL.......25 minutes into my hunt i harvested my 1st doe with a 15 yd shot, that was 10 years ago and im happy to say my freezer remains full every year.

hahaha thats hilarious man!

[Scottmisfits]

One of the guys on the hockey team that I was on is a hunter. We had a team BBQ at his house and he brought out his bow and his target. After shooting it, totally forgetting about the peep sight and putting an arrow through his garden hose and his fence, I was hooked. Save up and got a bow a couple of months later. That guy has turned into one of my best friends. Now it's archery, birds, and so far it's only been one rifle trip. I foresee a lot more hunting together in our future.

[L.O.S.T.Arrow]

Outstanding reading there gang...great job!!!

Neil

[L.O.S.T.Arrow]

Originally Posted by Jetlee

Can't remember exactly but somewhere around 30 years ago (wow) there was some yahoo driving a big lifted Toyota that played a big part of getting me into bowhunting. We didn't know each other but always camped in the same area and hunted the same ridge in the west country. He ended up being somewhat of a mentor to me in the field of general bush/survival skills and especially bowhunting.
Not sure if I ever said it but THANK YOU for showing me the ropes!
Here's to sharing a hunting camp again someday.

Good to see you posting my friend...It was a honor to hunt by your side...something I miss and something that should be changed...proud to share a hunting camp with you anytime...IN FACT how about Elk camp up here this fall...we been threatening that for years...lets make it this year!!!!!!!!!

And Thank you...your one of the best bowhunters I know!!

Neil

[brendan's dad]

I shot recurve growing until about junior high. Just target practice and maybe the odd squirrel.

Fast forward 20 years.

Sitting around in garage smoking and drinking about a week before our 1st anniversary. My wife asks me "what is something I always wanted and never had?" After getting the dumb ass look slapped off my face, she says "item , not fantasy." So I say I always wanted a compound bow.

1 week later I had a Fred Bear compound from Canadian Tire. Had no idea what I was doing. Headed out to tower road, nocked an arrow and shot an old washing machine on the cutline. Arrow wet right thru and exploded on impact with the motor, thought that was cool... 2 arrows left. That was the end of the shoot as I didn't have a proper target and I had just witnessed the power compared to my old recurve. Also the shot was with fingers, no nock point, no peep, site just screwed on, and shooting right off the shelf,... funny I even hit the washer.

So knowing I needed help, the next time I was in Edmonton, I headed over to Trophy Book. They set me up and I been shooting ever since. It took several years before I felt confident enough to go hunting, but now its about a 90%/10% split on bow vs rifle and the rifle % is getting smaller each year.

[3blade]

Awesome stories guys. Here's mine:

Mom was a Bambi watching city girl, who didnt exactly encourage things. Fortunately nature overcame nurture, and just as soon as I could walk I started hunting things with a spear - a stick with the end ground sharp on the sidewalk. At 4 years old I attempted a stalk on a bull elk in banff, with a flint point tied to a stick, and got quite the lecture. I still remember where that bull was standing, but not a word of the lecture.

Gramps saw the instincts emerging, and made me a poplar bow with willow arrows, just like Neil described. Shortly followed by a fiberglass youth bow. I was introduced to a family friend who had harvested several moose with his bow (at the time I thought this somewhere between ninja and suicide, and really cool). Many hours of reading chuck Adams /watching Fred bear and later Ted Nugent, I got a youth compound. The gophers learned to be nocturnal. A severe quad crash days before highschool ended my dream of bowhunting big game for a while.

Fast forward a few years, I'm sick of civilization and head out for a 5 day hunt (only my second big game hunt ever and first solo). 5 hours later I had tracked a 10 pt whitetail into his bed and killed him with a rifle. Repeated the next year. Decided since I'm killing em within bow range anyway, I should get a bow. headed in and got my dxt. Spent all summer practicing. The season finally came around and I spent every evening and weekend hunting the same whitetail buck, getting busted more times than I care to remember. 8 weeks of on-the-ground, face to face hunting, he came in to a doe bleat and I arrowed him from behind a hay bale, at 30 yards. Biggest accomplishment of my life and the obsession began...or...continued

[Mike_W]

I started on my own accord at 18 (12 years ago) I had been hunting big game with my dad since about 11 and had several close encounters of my own over the years with a rifle at sub 30 yards. Once I learned that I could hunt deer with a bow in Sept and not have to wait until Nov I decided to buy my first bow. A Martin Saber.
I really enjoy shooting Archery and continue to pursue archery every fall I am not a die hard bowhunter however as I still like to shoot a rifle if I can.

[jval]

When i was 14 i was at a flee market in Nova Scotia and bought an old Fred Bear bow off a guy. It was set at 70 lbs I believe, and my friends and I would go out in my back yard and try and pull it back. Two of us couldn't even pull it back so on the shelf it went. Fast forward a few years and my folks had a friend that was into archery so he dropped it down to 60 lbs and set it up for me and I shot a little but never hunted with it because you have to do a hunter saftey coarse in Nova Scotia to hunt with a bow and every time I called to take the coarse the session was full. The bow season was only a week longer than the rifle season so I didn't have much incentive to get the coarse. I moved to Alberta about 10 years ago and realized that I didn't need to take a coarse to bow hunt and the season was 2 months longer than the rifle season in the zone I hunt. Nuff said. Next time I went home to visit my family I brought the old bow out and have been hooked ever since. Haven't picked up my rifle in 2 years and enjoy hunting more now than I ever did with my gun. Was lucky enough to harvest my first whitetail a couple years ago with my bow, a respectible 5x5 130 class buck and that feeling trumped any animal I ever shot with my gun. So now I get to spend way more time in the bush which is the best part of hunting IMO. My sucess rate has gone way down but I have learned more about hunting in the past 5 or 6 years than I would have in 20 years driving with my rifle in a pickup.

[H380]

My brother in law and I both started with a bow in 1985 because we could buy archery mule deer tags for our zone and not have to wait to be drawn to hunt them with a rifle . He tagged a bull elk that first year and me , a small whitetail buck . Lots of game has been bow killed since then , can't believe the difference in technology in that time .

[BigRackLover]

this is my story.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by BigRackLover

this is my story.

Awesome.

[fitzy17]

Originally Posted by BigRackLover

this is my story.

wow that gave me goosebumps!