So there i was last evening, sitting flat on my butt, legs extended, shooting my 70" Hill Panther, with an arrow in the target just off center of the spot that i picked at about 18 yrds, when my thoughts took me back more than 30 yrs, to an Old man, a longbow and apple flavored tobacco.
Kinda funny how something as simple as sitting on your butt in the wet grass can trigger your memory, but at that point in time my mind wandered back to the old gentleman that started me on this wonderful journey.
30 plus yrs ago, as usual i was at our local range, shooting, adjusting, shooting adjusting and trying to achieve perfection with my compound bow when an older gentleman drove down the lane in his station wagon to the range.
Upon arrival, he pulled out his gear which consisted of nothing more than a Hill style bow and an old back quiver full of arrows, which was in huge contrast to my bow, tool box, hard shell case, stabilizers, sights, release, ETC... and proceeded to absolutely impress the Hell! out of me with his shooting skills.
After shooting, and retrieving his arrows a few times he stated that it was time to take a break, and with that hung his gear on one of the bow hangers and took a seat on one of the benches behind the shooting line and fired up his pipe.
Never one to be bashful, or afraid of trying something different, i figured since he was taking a break, this might be a good opportunity to ask to try his longbow, and following my request came a very gracious, " help yourself, shoot it all you want".
Not knowing where this was going to lead, i grabbed the bow and arrows and marched to the shooting line, and with an old glove that i dug out of my tool box, and no clue what i was doing, I nocked an arrow, drew, never hit anchor and released, upon release, the arrow took flight as well as the bow! in shock and horror i watched as the bow bounced end over end and landed in the dirt.
Expecting the worst butt chewing of my life, but not getting it, the old man spoke up and said, go pick it up and try it again," this time, hang on to it", and with that, i picked it up and shot for nearly 2 hrs, with instruction from the kind old gentleman, sitting on the bench, smoking his pipe, filled with apple flavored tobacco.
After that encounter, i never saw him again, or learned his name, but the impact that he has made on me will last a lifetime, and i am forever grateful, and just in case he is reading this, i want to say Thank You! for the journey and many yrs. of pleasure that i have received from taking the traditional path and not the compound path that was and is, the more popular path in the archery community today.
A kind act from an Old man, with a longbow smoking a pipe with apple flavored tobacco, will never be forgotten, and someday i hope i can pass on this fine gift as he did, some 30 plus yrs ago.
Topic: An old man, a longbow, and apple flavored tobacco (Read 636 times)
