How and why did you choose Traditional Archery?

[Heydeerman]

Everyone likes to tell their story and I like to hear and read them. Give some detail and honor those who influenced you by telling their names. There is plenty of room here. A pic or 2 wouldn’t hurt either if you have them. Choosing the trad way to means you have chosen to do it the hard way on purpose and you are willing to take your lumps for the failures as well as the glory for the success. I’d really like to read your story.

 

[Blacksmith]

At 12 years old my dad took me to Roger Rothhaars home in Ohio, whom he worked with. Some may remember Roger was the inventor of the Rothhaar Snuffer broadhead, which is still in production today . His game room and stories were the epitome of success to any kid or adult. He gave me some of his broadhead stash and I still have it. Dad bought me a bow and I've spent most of my life w/a recurve in the woods across the states and Canada. Later in life I even got to spend some time w/Roger in camp from Canada to Colorado. Lots of awesome memories w/a stickbow. I certainly cannot shoot like some high tech boys but I wouldnt change a thing.

 

[DaWiz9578]

Wish my story was more romantic but I didnt recover a deer with my compound and really dug into form, arrow setup, broadheads all that jazz. Was talking with a guy at my archery club and he was really helping me get everything dialed in and was just a really nice guy offering his advice. Noticed he was shooting a recurve and I had one at home (sage) I played around with just because I thought it was cool to see someone shoot one accurately (I'm also a glutten for punishment so if theres a harder way to do something I tend to do it). He said he was/is a certified something archery instructor and recommended I start with my recurve because it's much easier to transition to compound once you have traditional form down. I was a little hesitant and I asked if he thought I would be proficient enough by next season to take it to the woods (this was in february haha) I remembered he kind of rolled his eyes and said yeah well get you dialed in. Anyways hes helped me all year and probably sacrificed +30-40 hrs this year getting my form down, arrow setup, string, knocking point all dialed in at the club and his house. By the end of summer I was grouping at 15 yds consistently and could tell when the light bulb went on and I could connect all the things he had been saying all year. He never accepted anything for his time and I was lucky enough to try and help him find some public land hunting spots when his typical hunting destination fell through. When he mentioned it I essentially opened up my book and said take your pick, no questions asked. His name is rick and he hasn't hunted any of the spots yet, but I hope he does. Was even thinking it would be cool to tag team a spot one afternoon/evening. I grew up without a dad so I've always had to latch on to other guys dads, guys from work, archery club whatever as mentors or teaching myself (how I learned to be the glutten for punishment). I setup my compound for this season just in case but can tell I'm hooked on traditional even with my one hunt ending in me watching a bunch of does stay just out of range.

Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk

 

[kenn1320]

got to the point if I got to anchor with the compound, I was already planning on dragging one out. I also got fed up with not seeing bucks over 100" and that was my min I wanted to shoot. I thought trad would up the challenge and shooting any buck would be exciting again. Well didn't work out that way for me. Still couldn't bring myself to shoot a little buck, but do get excited shooting a doe now and again. I found competitive archery and found i was pretty good at it. Im addicted to single string bows, and use modern technology for the accuracy. Im an ilf metal riser guy. Some say its not trad, others acknowledge metal bows have been around before most of us were born. People get hung up on what's trad and what's not, life's to short for that.

 

[Heydeerman]

At 12 years old my dad took me to Roger Rothhaars home in Ohio, whom he worked with. Some may remember Roger was the inventor of the Rothhaar Snuffer broadhead, which is still in production today . His game room and stories were the epitome of success to any kid or adult. He gave me some of his broadhead stash and I still have it. Dad bought me a bow and I've spent most of my life w/a recurve in the woods across the states and Canada. Later in life I even got to spend some time w/Roger in camp from Canada to Colorado. Lots of awesome memories w/a stickbow. I certainly cannot shoot like some high tech boys but I wouldnt change a thing.

My wife’s uncle and dad both knew the Rothars. They are from Nevada, Ohio. I made a few bow strings for Roger’s son over the years though I never met.

 

[MN_Bowhunter4]

I don’t have a story or legacy, I just really like archery. Shooting relaxes me. I’ve always shot a compound and just couldn’t stop thinking about shooting trad. It seemed like something simplistic that I’d enjoy, not that I don’t enjoy shooting a compound. Something about a bare bow just plain appealed to me, especially the single piece wood look.

My dad gave me his Bear Kodiak that he had as a teen hunter in the summer of 2019. My goal was to get proficient enough to hunt with it last fall. I was ok with it, but at 50# it was just too heavy.

Still with traditional in mind, this spring I bought a sage 40# and shot literally every day after receiving it. Perk of COVID I guess. At the correct poundage I quickly found that I really, really liked shooting it. My goal was to hunt with trad this fall, and I was determined to make it happen. As the summer progressed I felt really good. I started researching one piece bows, just for the aesthetics, and bought a Timberhawk that I received in August.

Fast forward to today, and I still shoot it most every day. I have hunted a handful of times and am prions to say that I’ve taken my recurve everu time, except on a park hunt where they’re not allowed. Mission accomplished on that end. Next goal is to take a deer with it and I’m working hard to make that happen!

 

[AppalachianArcher]

I don't have a cool story about someone that got me into traditional archery. I have always loved to bowhunt, and started with a compound. I used it for many years taking just a few deer with it in about 5 years. I had always been inspired by the way the old timers had to do things and the simplistic approach of traditional archery. I was unsure if I would like it, so I did some research and decided to make a board bow. It was cheap, something to pass my time while deer season was out, and would get me into traditional archery. My first attempt was a failure with the limb cracking during the tiller process. As stubborn and hard headed as I am (thanks Grandpa), I couldn't let that stop me and made another. It wasn't anything special and was only 37# @ 28". I shot that thing everyday for hours until I could hit a coke bottle at 10yds and took it small game hunting. Between shooting at the target and taking a squirrel, I knew I would like traditional archery and started looking for a real bow. After a year of no luck finding something that spoke to me, I started another deer season with my compound, but shot my board bow daily. There was an archery shop that I had found just outside the city I had just moved to, and on the wall sat a recurve. I wasn't too familiar with all the different bows, but this one was short and the look was intoxicating. I immediately asked if it was for sale because it looked like it was just hanging for display. The shop owner told me that it was not for sale and that he had bought that bow when he was younger. Discouraged, I left for home and thought about that unknown recurve that I had seen and I wanted it. A few weeks later I returned to the archery shop to get some things for the upcoming deer season that was fast approaching. I had been talking to the owner while I was there again and mentioned the recurve on the wall. He had remembered me from the last time I was there and wanted to buy it. He started telling me stories about past hunts with it and what the bow was. He then looked at me with this strange look and said, "If you're serious about it and going to hunt with it, I'll sell it to you under one condition. If you kill a deer with it you have to come tell me the story and share some pictures with me." I happily agreed and pulled out some money for the man. That moment I was the new owner of an older (shop owner forgot what year bow it was) Bear Kodiak Magnum 52# @ 28". After fooling around with different arrows and setups I finally had it shooting good about a month into season. After using both compound and recurve that season, I finally sealed the deal on a 5.5yo nanny doe at 8yds with the recurve. I made sure to ride to the archery shop and share the story with the man that sold me the bow and shared some pictures and some fine venison as gratitude. I continued to used both the compound and recurve throughout many deer seasons, but this summer I completely hung the compound up for good. I've already had some great memories made this deer season, and I have yet to take a deer. Something about the look and feel of the wood riser in your hand that truly speaks to the soul. Good luck to everyone out there this season!

 

[GCTerpfan]

I don't have a cool story about someone that got me into traditional archery. I have always loved to bowhunt, and started with a compound. I used it for many years taking just a few deer with it in about 5 years. I had always been inspired by the way the old timers had to do things and the simplistic approach of traditional archery. I was unsure if I would like it, so I did some research and decided to make a board bow. It was cheap, something to pass my time while deer season was out, and would get me into traditional archery. My first attempt was a failure with the limb cracking during the tiller process. As stubborn and hard headed as I am (thanks Grandpa), I couldn't let that stop me and made another. It wasn't anything special and was only 37# @ 28". I shot that thing everyday for hours until I could hit a coke bottle at 10yds and took it small game hunting. Between shooting at the target and taking a squirrel, I knew I would like traditional archery and started looking for a real bow. After a year of no luck finding something that spoke to me, I started another deer season with my compound, but shot my board bow daily. There was an archery shop that I had found just outside the city I had just moved to, and on the wall sat a recurve. I wasn't too familiar with all the different bows, but this one was short and the look was intoxicating. I immediately asked if it was for sale because it looked like it was just hanging for display. The shop owner told me that it was not for sale and that he had bought that bow when he was younger. Discouraged, I left for home and thought about that unknown recurve that I had seen and I wanted it. A few weeks later I returned to the archery shop to get some things for the upcoming deer season that was fast approaching. I had been talking to the owner while I was there again and mentioned the recurve on the wall. He had remembered me from the last time I was there and wanted to buy it. He started telling me stories about past hunts with it and what the bow was. He then looked at me with this strange look and said, "If you're serious about it and going to hunt with it, I'll sell it to you under one condition. If you kill a deer with it you have to come tell me the story and share some pictures with me." I happily agreed and pulled out some money for the man. That moment I was the new owner of an older (shop owner forgot what year bow it was) Bear Kodiak Magnum 52# @ 28". After fooling around with different arrows and setups I finally had it shooting good about a month into season. After using both compound and recurve that season, I finally sealed the deal on a 5.5yo nanny doe at 8yds with the recurve. I made sure to ride to the archery shop and share the story with the man that sold me the bow and shared some pictures and some fine venison as gratitude. I continued to used both the compound and recurve throughout many deer seasons, but this summer I completely hung the compound up for good. I've already had some great memories made this deer season, and I have yet to take a deer. Something about the look and feel of the wood riser in your hand that truly speaks to the soul. Good luck to everyone out there this season!

That seems like a pretty cool story about someone that helped get you into Traditional Archery

 

[kbetts]

At 12 years old my dad took me to Roger Rothhaars home in Ohio, whom he worked with. Some may remember Roger was the inventor of the Rothhaar Snuffer broadhead, which is still in production today . His game room and stories were the epitome of success to any kid or adult. He gave me some of his broadhead stash and I still have it. Dad bought me a bow and I've spent most of my life w/a recurve in the woods across the states and Canada. Later in life I even got to spend some time w/Roger in camp from Canada to Colorado. Lots of awesome memories w/a stickbow. I certainly cannot shoot like some high tech boys but I wouldnt change a thing.

Check out Roger's son Ryan on Tradgang. Crushing monster Midwest deer one after another. His Indiana deer from just recently is a stud.

 

[kbetts]

I've been shooting a bow since I could cut sticks and tie on a string. As an early teen I got an XI compound and shot it for awhile but it wasn't the same.

I picked up a used trad bow, practiced, and proceeded to empty my quiver the first time out. The doe never did run off. I was hooked but knew I wasn't ready.

Ten or so years later a gentleman offered me his old Black Widow. Shot my first Robin Hood the same week. That was all it took. I've gone back to a wheel bow occasionally. I shot a huge buck that I ended up finding months later......that really took the wind from my sail for awhile. Now I'm shooting trad the majority of the time again. Considering unloading the two Mathews I own.

Traditional archery is a full on experience that consumes all of the senses. Give me a cool morning, wood bow, flannel shirt, feet on the ground, and a quiver full of arrows any day.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

I was raised in an outdoor family. My grandfather, my father, and uncles fed the family during the depression with game. Hunting and fishing was a way of life. My Uncle John was not only a world class taxidermist, he was also an accomplished bow hunter. He killed lots of critters with his 48# Bear recurve. My grandfather was actually anti bowhunting because he felt the task was to put the animal in the freezer in the most efficient way possible. He used to say "You can't kill deer with them sticks". But I admired my uncle and was always intrigued with the idea of bowhunting. When I was 14, I saw some neighbor kids fooling around with their kid's bows and I decided to try to string one of the hand-me-down Bear Kodiak Specials we had from my uncle. I was so scrawny that I could barely string the thing, but I seemed to be fairly competent shooting it. I killed a running rabbit at 40 yards that very 1st day I was shooting it. Pure luck, but I thought I was the next Fred Bear. I was hooked. Killed some small game with it for a few years and finally attempted to deer hunt with it when I was 16. I had no business in attempting that. I had no concept of what I was doing. My broad heads were dull and so was my brain. I shot a little 6 point that year and I hit it in the leg knuckle below the heart. I got almost no penetration. My buddy and I looked for that deer for 2 days. It obviously was not a fatal hit but we had no clue what we were doing. I was convinced that it was the bow's fault, so I saved up and bought a Jennings Compound around 1978. I had a higher performing bow but I was still clueless as to how to ethically use the thing.
Then I started to learn. I joined a club and started to get some little bit of advice and it fueled me to learn more. I started reading and studying everything I could about bowhunting and deer. I killed a few deer with that compound over about 10 years. I was hooked on bowhunting. I became a pretty good shot and started to question the "high tech" gear I was shooting. My uncle would occasionally tease me about my equipment. At that point I was pretty lethal with the compound and it just wasn't turning me on anymore. If a deer was with 25 yards, it was dead if I chose to shoot it. I wanted a challenge. I was already subscribing to a bunch of hunting magazines and some of the ads had me thinking hard about trying a new recurve. That was around the time that over draws were becoming popular along with a lot of other tech stuff. I was starting to dislike the direction "archery" was sliding. I even started to be turned off by just the sight of my compound. Something had to change.
I started reading books and articles by some guy named Gene Wensel. I also read the Rothhaar books. Those guys were all killing monster bucks with trad gear.
I joined the PBS and some other organizations and switching "back" to trad just seemed to be the natural progression. In 1992 I bought a Brackenbury recurve and proceeded to kill a beautiful 9 point with it. That was it. No more mechanical bows or devices for me.
When the inevitable day comes when I can no longer shoot my recurve, I will hang it up and just shoot some does with my slug gun for freezer meat. But that will be strictly business. Meanwhile...I need to go out now and hang from my Recon and shoot my recurve.

 

[MOBIGBUCKS]

I've been bowhunting for almost 25 years and started out with a compound like alot of guys. About 5 years ago, a buddy of mine pushed me to get a traditional bow and see if I liked it. I got the bow and started shooting it and was instantly hooked on traditional archery; it brought a lot of fun back into shooting and bowhunting in general. With that $140 Samick Journey I killed two turkeys, two big bucks and a doe! Of course the next progression was a custom bow.. LOL

Traditional bowhunting has changed me as a hunter and what defines my time afield. Recently just this early season, I killed my biggest buck ever with my recurve; I can't tell you how good it feels to top every other big buck I have shot with my traditional bow. A special feeling with all of the work I have put into it over the years. I'm not going to lie, It was a tough mental trial getting to this point, but I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.

It's great to read the inspiration that brought all of you guys into Traditional bowhunting!

Cheers to all of you guys!

 

[Heydeerman]

Good stuff. Keep it coming

 

[GCTerpfan]

My father was a pretty serious bow hunter for as long as I can remember. He went through the typical cycle of bow hunters his age. He started with a recurve, then he switched to compounds as they became popular. At some point he decided to switch back to a recurve and I can remember him getting a Black Widow when I was really young. My father is the type to go all in when he does something so it didn't take long until it became a family affair. Me and my sister helped him dip and crest wood arrows, chop feather's from turkey wings, etc. right up until we were old enough to shoot ourselves, and we shot A LOT. Most evenings you could find us kicking a partially deflated basketball around the yard and shooting it with rubber blunts but, we also shot aerial disks, rolled tires down the hill with balloons in the center, rabbit hunted, and shot in video archery leagues (we did pretty well if I remember correctly). One of the things we did a lot that most people didn't believe was shoot coins, and even aspirin out of the air, which isn't as hard as you would think after a little bit of practice. I became a pretty good shot but, suffered from target panic something fierce and shot over the backs of many deer before I connected and killed my first buck with a recurve, which was a little spike, when I was 15 or 16 years old. When I was a senior in high school my dad spent a week with Mike Fedora of Fedora bows and learned how to build recurves. This just added to our circle of traditional archers as over the next decade he built over 70 bows for friends and family. At this time he also got into self bows and built several self bows from Osage staves.

This is where my story takes a little bit of a turn from most. After High school I was in college and working full time. With the little bit of spare time I had I was usually chasing college girls around so I slowly got out of shooting bow and bow hunting in general. I would still come home and rifle and occasionally muzzleloader hunt but, I didn't make the time to shoot my bow enough to be proficient. At this same time a combination of a bad shoulder and tournament bass fishing changed my fathers interest and he quit shooting and building bows himself, and eventually our entire circle of friends fell part and most of them quit shooting and or hunting with trad bows. After college I got married and had kids, eventually my oldest son started tagging along rifle hunting with me. When he was 10 he passed the hunters safety course the same year that my grandfather passed away and somehow I ended up with my grandfathers xbow for my son. Over the next year or two he shot a couple of deer with the xbow. At some point we upgraded his xbow and as he got old enough to sit in a stand by himself I bought myself a xbow and would hunt a couple hundred yards from him. I killed a couple of nice bucks with a crossbow but, it just didn't do it for me. So last year I picked back up my recurve which happened to be the first bow my dad built in 1999 and started shooting it again. I ended up shooting a really small spike last year and had more fun doing it then I did shooting nice bucks with the xbow.

So this came full circle when I convinced my dad to build my oldest son a bow for his high school graduation present this spring. My dad not only started enjoying building bows again but, as he was repeatedly drawing my sons bow during the building process his shoulder miraculously stopped hurting. My dad ended up building five different recurves this spring and summer, including two for me, one for himself and one for my daughters boyfriend. I have also been talking to other friends and family who still have the original bows my dad built for them and many of them are thinking about getting back into shooting. Our circle of friends is slowly starting to grow again.

The pics attached are of my son and his graduation present, the spike I killed last year which was the first deer I shot with my dads first bow, my two boys shooting in the yard, my doe this year with one of the two bows dad built me this spring and my 13 yr old nephew with his first trad kill using a bow my dad built almost 20 years ago.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

Everyone likes to tell their story and I like to hear and read them. Give some detail and honor those who influenced you by telling their names. There is plenty of room here. A pic or 2 wouldn’t hurt either if you have them. Choosing the trad way to means you have chosen to do it the hard way on purpose and you are willing to take your lumps for the failures as well as the glory for the success. I’d really like to read your story.

Great thread! Thanks @Heydeerman.

 

[tyson12590]

After 13 years of compound hunting in Michigan I moved to South Carolina in 2017. I had always wanted to switch to trad but the fear of seeing a 150 incher at 35 yards kept me away. I met an older guy at church that made selfbows. We became instant friends and he worked to convince me to give traditional a try. Since my odds of having a P&Y buck encounter in SC were much less I decided to give it a try. On my very first sit with my recurve I double lunged a nice doe. It was a rush greater than most of my buck kills with a compound. I was hooked. I ended up killing three deer that season. two with a recurve and one with a longbow. I also missed a P&Y SC 12 pointer that year . Even though I could have easily killed that buck with a compound, my urge to go back was gone. This is my third trad season now and I don't think I will be going back to the training wheels. Shooting a trad bow makes me feel better about killing any deer I see (Which I pretty much did with a compound but got a lot of crap for shooting little bucks). I am moving back to Michigan next summer and I cant wait to hunt Michigan deer with my longbow. I know it sounds cheesy but there is something about the "magical flight of the arrow" as Uncle Ted would put it, that you cant experience as well when your arrow is flying so fast out of a compound. Plus, getting deer longbow close is such a rush. It is not for everybody but I am so glad I switched.

 

[JSEXTON23]

Well, for me it started when I was 4 years old. My dad bought me a 3 piece takedown Hoyt recurve. He would take me occasionally on his hunting trips to SE Ohio with Jerry Cole and James Blanton, two of my childhood heroes. Jerry was a lefty and shot trad, Jim was a righty and shot both trad and compound, and my dad had an Assenheimer that he would occasionally hunt with. I wish I still had that 3 piece Hoyt recurve because my wife is pregnant and it would have been cool to pass down my first bow to my child.

Well, fast forward to when I was 9, my dad put a compound in my hand. I really struggled with it, but eventually killed a few deer with it. Always in the back of my mind I wanted to shoot trad.

So, on and off again I've toyed with a recurve and longbows, even hunted 2017-2018 with a Bob Lee recurve, but never had any opportunities, so I put it back down convinced that I needed more "range". I wounded 2 deer the following 2 seasons with that compound. Terrible.

And that brings us to the present. When the pandemic started I could see the fragility of our world, our economy, and the ways technology couldn't solve all our problems. Friends were having to wait a long time to get into archery shops for repairs. I had a fancy bow press and all the gadgets, so it didn't affect me as bad, but there was a question hitting me. Do I need all this stuff just to hunt? Why not go to a more simple too? I can build my own strings, and I don't need a fancy bow press, or need to yolk tune my bows. So, I decided to sell all my compound gear. I bought a longbow and to this day I still use the bow square with "James Blanton" etched on the back that he passed down to me.

 

[Heydeerman]

About 25 years ago my father in law (ex wife) who is still a good friend of mine asked me to go deer hunting. My dad would never take me hunting and I would lay awake all night as a kid the night before he would leave to hunt hoping he would take me. He never did. But Ron Lester asked me so I went and killed my first deer at 30 years old. I loved it and everything about it except all the guns in the Woods made me nervous. A guy I knew from work killed a monster that made a magazine cover with a bow. His name is Steve Garverick. I asked so many questions he approached me and told me he would be willing to teach me if I would listen to him and only him. He wanted to mentor me. I accepted. He told me to get a compound so I got one. He showed me how to shoot, scout, pick trees for stands, how to get permission to hunt, how to sharpen heads...pretty much everything. He did everything with me and got me started in bow hunting.

A few years later I was at a Christian Bowhunters of America deer hunt in Tar Hollow State Forest in southern Ohio. I knew nobody there. I was out back shooting my compound into foam and there was a guy sitting on a picnic table watching me. He said something about my compound being quiet and we made small talk. He asked to shoot a few so I took a seat. He picked up a Recurve and after a couple shots I asked him how he was able to be so accurate without a sight. He explained and I couldn’t understand so he invited me to shoot. He handed me a glove and armguard and I didn’t know how to put them on so he put them on me. He walked me to the target and coached me through a couple shots. I was not impressed at all. When it was time to pull arrows I handed him his bow and he said “just drop it on the ground”. I wouldn’t so he took it from my hand and dropped it and said “ it’s just a piece of wood”. I told him if he dropped my bow to the ground we would be rolling on the ground and he said that’s why he won’t shoot one of those things.

The second half of that season I kept thinking about that. I killed 4 deer all on the ground and all under 10 yards. Every time I would think I could have done that with one of them recurves. Then I dropped my compound from a treestand and had to go home to fix it thinking I probable wouldn’t have to do this if I had one of them Recurve bows.

His name is Hoot Gibson and at that time he was president of the Ohio Society of Traditional Archers. I am also a former President now. I re met him on the Ohio Forums on the Bowsite after all this and he helped me get my first Recurve and longbow. He coached me over the phone on how to shoot. One time on the phone he told me if I don’t get rid of them compounds I’ll never get any good with a traditional bow because I would always have a crutch to fall back on. After some hard thinking I sold my 3 compounds, presses, and everything I had compound and bought my first custom longbow made by Dave Dwyer. Yes I sold it later...stupid.

Ron Lester got me into deer hunting.
Steve Garverick thought me how to hunt with a bow.
Hoot Gibson brought me into traditional archery.
Lee Cornelius taught me how to make Flemish twist strings and how to sharpen a two blade broadhead.
Jamie Miller, another past OSTA President taught me so many things about Traditional archery and hunting I don’t know where to begin.

Over the course of twenty years I have had the pleasure of meeting and even sharing a meal with the likes of Dean Torges, Dan Quillian, John Fazio. I did not realize who Dan was when I was talking to him. We talked for hours on the phone many times. I hunted Rabbits with Dean in Ohio. He invited me to the second Great Ohio Rabbit Hunt in Ohio. I later took it over when he stepped down. I sold John Fazio’s bows in my shop and became good long distant friends and almost made an Alaskan bear hunt with him. All of these men are gone and sadly missed.

Traditional archery and bow hunting has introduced me to a lot of people who are now dear friends. One is my best friend Dusty Steele of Louisiana who I introduced to traditional and watched him kill his first longbow buck. I also met and hunted with Jerry Gowins who owns a couple of my bows I would like to get back. He put Dusty and my backside on the cover of TBM a couple years ago. Mike Peters who is on the board of the Christian Bow Hunter of America has also been a big help many times and a good friend to share a hunting camp with.

This year is my 20th season with a stick and I’m 55. I wish I had started sooner but I’m glad I didn’t miss out on the last 20 years. I love this stuff.

This was a long one and if you made it this far I appreciate it.

 

[tyson12590]

My dad would never take me hunting and I would lay awake all night as a kid the night before he would leave to hunt hoping he would take me. He never did.

Holy Cow! That statement hit me hard. I think if we are not careful we can take our hunting so serious that we forget the things that matter more. I am planning to take a young man from my church hunting in a few weeks to try and get him his first deer. Ill be honest, I was hesitant to offer because I know it will impact my own chances negatively. The more I thought about it the more I realized that I will get more joy out of helping him than I will killing a deer for myself. A lot of people talk about taking young hunters to grow the sport. That is fine and dandy but to be honest I am not too concerned about growing the sport as much as I am the kid laying in bed dreaming about hunting and not having anybody to take him. Thanks for that reminder!

 

[Heydeerman]

Holy Cow! That statement hit me hard. I think if we are not careful we can take our hunting so serious that we forget the things that matter more. I am planning to take a young man from my church hunting in a few weeks to try and get him his first deer. Ill be honest, I was hesitant to offer because I know it will impact my own chances negatively. The more I thought about it the more I realized that I will get more joy out of helping him than I will killing a deer for myself. A lot of people talk about taking young hunters to grow the sport. That is fine and dandy but to be honest I am not too concerned about growing the sport as much as I am the kid laying in bed dreaming about hunting and not having anybody to take him. Thanks for that reminder!

You need to do that and I am glad you will.
My dad missed out. My kids had little interest in hunting but I started when they were a little older and they did go with me from time to time. My grandkids all love the outdoors and they all get longbows as soon as they can walk. Last weekend my 3 year old granddaughter shot a Longbow for the first time and she loved it.