Remember when

[longbowman]

Remember when you were either a gun hunter or a bowhunter?
Remember when all bows actually looked like bows?
Remember when everybody got excited because somebody actually killed a deer with a bow?
Remember when people looked up to you because you were a bowhunter and not just a hunter?
Remember when the Wensel Brothers were skinny? (Oops! I just had to throw that in.)

[jeff w]

Well, maybe 4 out of 5.............

[John3]

I remember not that many years ago just seeing  deer was a big deal.. You got home and called people to tell them about it...

[wapiti792]

I remember having a spike buck hanging in my yard when I was 14 and was the envy of the neighborhood. My friends wanted me to tell the story over and over...I bet now somebody would call the cops.

[Bluehawk]

I also remember  lost of places POSTED   NO BOW HUNTING  OR NO ARCHERY HUNTING    When it was considered cruel by a lot of farmers .

[Blackhawk]

I remember bow hunting before a patent was even granted for the compound.

[lpcjon2]

I remember when we had more deer.and less developments and more time

[weezy]

I remember in the early 70's not even knowing another bowhunter. I remember during gun season, not even hearing a shot unless it was mine.
It seem with each new invention making things easier, more people became hunters. I hunted 2 years before even seeing a deer and this is in southern Illinois. I remember letting some really nice bucks walk to grow another year or two. I remember in the 80's seeing as many as 10 good bucks in one day. There is a lot more pressure these days and mature bucks are harder to find unless you have some well protected property. Farmers use to welcome you to hunt and now they want people to pay; use to be about friendship.
Times have really changed as well as people. I also remember going to some really big 3d shoots in Evansville Il. and being the only one there shooting traditional; lot of the guys thought I was  crazy with all the new equipment available. One shoot they had blinds set up to shoot out of and I had to shoot outside the blind because my 62" recurve was too long.
Oh , well, I learned many years ago to take whatever life dishes out and deal with it as best I can.
Good luck to all;
Bob

[Spectre]

I remember when leather and fur was cool, when my friends and I would take our bows to school during hunting season so we could go walk the ditchbank after last bell. I remember when a boy just wasn't a complete boy unless he had a pocketknife with him. I remember when a boy could have blood on his jeans and nobody thought anything abnormal. I remember when "Coke" meant "soda", regardless of the flavor. Ahhh....the good old days.

[longbowman]

I noticed nobody remembers a skinny Wensel! When I was in high school my friends and I would take our shotguns to school so we could hunt small game afterwards.  I even took mine on the bus!  The other day I went to a dinner at the high school and the principle was setting at my table.  Somebody was having a hard time getting a bag open so I handed them my pocket knife and nearly everybody turned white!  I just said, "Oops!" and put it away.
     Our bus driver used to stop the bus so we could look at deer when he would see one along the road.  Man, times have really changed.

[Spectre]

Originally posted by longbowman:
I noticed nobody remembers a skinny Wensel! When I was in high school my friends and I would take our shotguns to school so we could hunt small game afterwards.  I even took mine on the bus!  The other day I went to a dinner at the high school and the principle was setting at my table.  Somebody was having a hard time getting a bag open so I handed them my pocket knife and nearly everybody turned white!  I just said, "Oops!" and put it away.
     Our bus driver used to stop the bus so we could look at deer when he would see one along the road.  Man, times have really changed.

Yup, they have. And not for the better. Its kind of alarming, really.

[BigStriper]

I remember the First Deer I shot was with a Bow,the first year I Deer Hunted (it had wheels),in 1978,Hunted with a Bow every year since,didn't see as many Deer back then,remember alot of the things others have posted also,but about them Wensel Brothers being Skinny,maybe a little trimmer,but i wouldn't go as far as Skinny,Been shooting Longbows and Recurves about 2 years now and LOVE it,and shoot every day instead of just during Hunting season with them Bows with Wheels,

Kurt

[Old York]

Remember when your arrow length was greater than your waist line?   :D

[Shad]

Remember being a member of the Baker treestand red chest club?

[Brian Krebs]

When Mr Tenner made the best hunting shoes?

[Bonebuster]

I remember when a kill brought a hunter to a higher status, but at the same time, actually killing a deer was much LESS important on a personal level.

I remember when most every hunter you met was alot like all the people you meet on Tradgang.

[bornagainbowhunter]

I remember when hunting was a family tradition.  You just met a Grandpa's house during hunting season on Saturday morning, no plans, you just did it.

I remember getting my first bow.  My kin thought I was never going to kill a deer with it.  Now, they all have one.

I remember setting on a stand when it was snowing so hard that all you could hear was snowflakes hitting the ground.

Guys, God is good.

[R.V.T.B.]

Remember the days before the intertnet... and folks actually wrote letters? Back in the 70's and early 80's whenever I was planning a hunt out of state I would put together a file folder for it, "Canada Bear hunt-1983". I would toss all of the information I complied into the folder along with the dozen or so letters back and forth with the guys who were going with me and our plans. I remember going to the library to photo copy the lists of who was bring what so I could mail them out to all of the guys. You wouldn't think of making a long distance phone call and paying the charges for it. I still pull out some of those old folders and read through them from time to time. My grand kids might get a kick out of them. Now, I just type out an e-mail and forward it to all of the guys or do a conference call on our cell phones.

[longbowman]

I still have my Baker Treestand in the safest place I could find.  The corner of my basement.  I'm glad to see that many of you can remember the same things that I do.  When I started hunting in the mid 60's it was just so different.  Some things have improved with time, like the deer herd, others have really sunk low but I too thank God everyday that I'm able to wlak the woods and shoot my bow.

[mrpenguin]

Honestly, I don't remember these things cause I'm a bit younger (born in '76! A true bicentennial baby!) It is sad to hear that there was such a time when people trusted each other more.  

But I even I have noticed a change in American attitudes during my life.  Today folks are much more concerned with themselves than other people or the greater good of the planet and society.  We are too wrapped up in our capitalistic ideologies and many too wrapped up in the mirror.  We are too damn busy with business... it reminds of Jacob Marley's speech to Scrouge: "Business? Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business.  Benevolence, charity, were all my business.  The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!"  I think if this country could think a little more about family, friends and community and a little less about hedgefunds, the DOW and NASDAC, we would all benefit.