Thanks, Guys!! I had a blast writing this book and I hope everyone has just as much fun reading it.
Below are a few excerpts from the book’s Foreword, which was written by Don Thomas.
Hunting books generally fall into two categories: how-to material intended to instruct and campfire stories meant to entertain. Ron busts this traditional dichotomy wide open by doing both, a decision that increases the value of the text to novice bowhunter and experienced veteran alike.
The book’s Part 1 covers a wide range of topics in the first category. His chapter on shooting methods in hunting situations outlines a style that differs considerably from my own, and I found it fascinating and thought-provoking. Had I read this material fifty years ago, I might be shooting bows differently today--and shooting them better.
To his credit, Ron also laces this section with less frequently visited--and occasionally more controversial--subjects ranging from deer biology to the ethics of hunting over bait.
The tone of the text changes completely in Part 2, where chapters reflect the author’s ability for telling a hunting story with the best of them. The venues in these tales range widely, from Ron’s home state of New York to southern Africa. A personal favorite anecdote describes a Wyoming antelope hunt Ron makes with a special latecomer to bowhunting: his own father.
Scattered among these instructive and entertaining chapters lie what I consider the lyrical heart of the book: erudite and remarkably successful efforts to explain the spirit--the ever elusive why--that motivates a small minority of hunters to voluntarily limit their means of take to simple stick and string. That’s a tall order (I’ve been wrestling with it myself for decades), but Ron Rohrbaugh handles it capably with lucid and evocative prose that flow from the page as effortlessly as Eugen Herrigel’s description of a proper arrow release in Zen in the Art of Archery. The book’s final chapter, a summary of the ethical and political challenges today’s bowhunters face in their obligation to continue America’s tradition of the ethical hunter-conservationist, could easily serve as a standalone guide to the subject.
E. Donnall Thomas, Jr.
Lewistown, Montana
Topic: Book Giveaway:A Traditional Bowhunter’s Path (Read 791 times)
