My friend Rick Byrd had made this bow out of cedar. He was dissapointed with it becasue for him it came out to light. I asked him what he planned to do with it. He asked me if I wanted it. I said yes but how much. He sold it to me for $50.00 I loved this bow and one day it finally broke but not before this harvest.
It was the month of October, my favorite time of the archery season. It was a cloudy and windy day in the heart of the hill country of Texas. We had just received a week of rain in Kerr County after a very long dry spell. The wind was out of the south and the hunting stand I was in (The Point) was perfect for this evening's hunt. It was not long before I saw some action. A doe entered the feeding area but left quietly. Within thirty minutes, two bucks came in, along with three other does. My eye was on this buck. I waited patiently for the perfect shot. That opportunity presented itself and I took the shot. The arrow hit exactly where I was looking. I knew it was a good hit as I heard the deer crashing through the woods. I waited only five minutes before I began to trail him. The blood trail was perfect and my buck was only thirty yards away. What makes this hunt so unique is that I was using a self bow that my friend Rick Byrd, a bowyer for Texas Longbows and Recurves, made from a cedar tree. Rick used two cedar billets he found in the very woods in which this buck roamed. The idea of harvesting this buck using this primitive bow made from cedar billets which were taken from the woods where this deer roamed, was for me one of my most satisfying and very special hunting experience. I will always cherish this one