Reminiscing: How About You Old Timers?

[bear1336]

I am 63 and have been shooting since 1955 and bow hunting since 1957. Got my start with my Sunday school teacher being a bowhunter and taking me along. Killed my first deer in 1963, have hunted mainly in WV,OH,PA and Mi, now live in Ga and hutning mostly here and each fall in the Grayling,Mi area.  Most of my bows have been Bear bows with a few customs bows here and there along the way.

[bolong]

Im 57 and got my first real bow hen I was 9. My daddy bpoght it for me and it was a solid fiberglass 35 lb. Ben Pearson and some wood arrows. My first kill was a robin followed by a rabbit. My daddy died of cancer the following year and that old bow is still with me although with a splintered lower limb from getting tangled up in bycycle spokes. My mother got me a 45 lb. Ben Pearson Hunter when I was 15 and I killed my first archery deer with it in 1968, a yearling doe. I think I was more excited over that deer than all the others I've taken since. About 1972 I bought a Browning Nomad Stalker 60 lb. and took my first bow buck with it a small 6 pt. I've been in love with it ever since and still have those 3 bows along with many more.

[kung fu kid]

I'm 62 last week.  Began my archery experiences at the age of 10.  Broke my piggy bank, snuck down to the local dept store and bought a 50# glass bow and some arrows.  It must have been funny seeing two kids ages 10 & 8 leaning into the bow trying to string it.  Shot that bow for a few years (at half draw) before selling it and got a Pearson recurve.  I was a "one bow" shooter for the next eight years, and got pretty proficient with it.  Lost interest during college years and work.  Now that I'm retired, I started to shoot again, and collecting a few bows.  All this talk about FOC, single bevel, etc, etc, etc are new to me.  Makes me feel like a true beginner.  But it sure has been fun learnign on this site.  Picked up 2 BW PLX's - both 2-pc take downs 46# & 52#, a Morrison ILF with 40# & 50# limbs.

[elkken]

I'm 61 and have been shooting bows and arrows since I was about 11 ... first bow was a solid fibreglass bow, not sure of the maker. The part of Tacoma Washington I grew up in was still very rural for a city and we had lots of critters to chase. Rabbits, pheasants, frogs ... nothing was safe.

There was a long dry spell not shooting my bow when my brother David shot one of the neighbor kids in the center of the forehead with an arrow. Mom put them up for a long time ...

I was fortunate to have an uncle who had a big farm near Mt Rainier and we spent much of our summers there fishing in Wilkeson Creek and roaming the farm from one end to the other shooting our bows. There was a pretty good blacktail population. I hunted with a rifle until I was about 18 and got a Wing bow for my first hunting bow. When I showed up with my bow my uncle looked at me like I was crazy. I had many close encounters but never killed one with my bow on the farm, miss a few though. I shot my first bow kill deer at age 22 with my Wing bow and some arrows I bought from Glenn St Charles at NW Archery. I was now living in Seattle.

Archery has brought me many rewards in life,a love for the sport, a respect for nature and wildlife, and many many good friends.

[Onehair]

I am still a pup at 55. I had no exposure to archery from others but knew I had an instinct to shoot a bow. At 10 or so I wanted to build a bow and oddly enough my granddad turned me on to hickory. My first was just a dried hickory limb with arrows made from splitting a cedar board. No knowledge of cedar as arrows, just knew it split easy and we had a lot of scraps. My arrow heads were made from folding then hammering a coke bottle top on the end of the arrow. I shot most days but I can't recall ever hitting anything, it was more about who could shoot the furthest. After the past 30 years of fiberglass I believe now I was on the right track when I was 10. This will be my year to rediscover the self bow.

[Chris Shelton]

 Well I am only 18, but these are awesome!  I cant relate at all, but boy is it awesome to hear what it was really like!  Keep them coming!

[Scott Squires]

I just turned 59. In 1966 I bought a used Bear Grizzly for $45. I made my own wood arrows and purchased all my material from Herters. I live in SoCal and used to travel about 45 minutes from my house to shoot Rabbits, Quail and stump shoot. I spent 5 years trying to get a Deer in the coastal mountians and the Eastern Sierra. The closest I ever got to a shooter was 50 yards, too far for my recurve.

In 1980 I broke my wrist in a motorcycle accident and had to give up Archery. Last year I decided to try it again. So far so good and I am having a blast.

So many changes over my 30 year absence! Food plots, high fences, scent control, incredible camo, bowhunting TV shows everyday and so much better hunting with animal management through conservation.

I did buy a mathews compound bow (my first compound ever). Incredible accuracy and speed, but it just does not feel right for me, so I bought a Bear Grizzly and Bear Montana Longbow and got wonderful wood arrows from 3rivers.

All is good!

Scott