NEVER HEARD OF GENE AND BARRY WENSEL??!!

[Bear Heart]

Most guys out here in WA don't know who Glen St Charles is either.

[jkm97]

I hunted with compounds for almost 20 years...and I can't remember a time I didn't know about the Wensels.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Who the heck are the Wensels???    :confused:    

I met Barry at Denton,  he made me feel like we were old friends.  I really appreciated that.

Good on you Sean. When they are done with the videos, I would like to have  ago at them too.      

See you in a couple weeks.

[Wudstix]

Now see what you done?    

[KAZ]

Well done.... I too learned of them in the 80s and watched their videos from the get-go!I was paying even more attention when I got my first Black Widow in 1987...  

[Friend]

You just might have to be quarantined.

[David Mitchell]

I am not really surprised.  There are two different worlds of archery and bow hunting.  We occupy one, the compounders occupy the other.  I have on a few occasions asked "Who is that?" when a guest speaker for our state bowhunting association is announced.  I get looks like "You don't now who he is?"  The reason I don't is that I don't read Bowhunter or other "archery" mags that promote the techie hunters and gear.  I don't watch their shows on TV.  So I don't have any idea what goes on in that other realm  or who their celebrities are.  Our niche in archery is even smaller.

[buckster]

Well done apostle Sean!

[Sean B]

I guess the point that I was trying to make was that when I started shooting (compounds)in the late 70's, I was familiar with most of the names in archery at the time, M.R James, the Wensels, Jim Daugherty and so on, from their writings in the Bowhunting magazines at the time. Heck, I got the book on Ishi for Christmas around '81.  I didn't start shooting a recurve till '90, but I still knew the names. The newer generation of bowhunter doesn't know what's what, other than what the get on TV.

It was kind of cool to see the interest build in this guy when I showed him pictures and talked about that could be done with the stick and string.  I think they realized that you can actually GET CLOSE to quality animals and that you don't need to shoot a mile to connect with one.

[ron w]

Now you have started something......don't tell them about Paul Schafer, Jay Massey or any number of other greats.........  

[Sean B]

Too late Ron, it was a quiet day at work, so I had lots of time to preach...er ah..talk!    

[ron w]

Oh noooooooooo!!!!!  

[kill shot]

I talked to a 23 year old that never head of Fred Bear. That was sad.

[JohnV]

Difference between heroes of the past and present is that the heroes of the past earned their respect. Over time through writing articles, speaking engagements, and hunting accomplishments, they showed they were deserving of the attention they received. Today's heroes are people you never heard of until they showed up on tv one day. Pretty boys, pretty gals, or dopey acting people. Not sure what credentials they have to be on tv other than they were able to come up with enough sponsors. Heroes from the past gave more than they took. People like M.R. James, Dave Samuel, Wensels, G. Fred Asbell never asked for more than expenses when invited to speak at non-profit gatherings. Contrast that to today's "heroes" who go nowhere without sticking out their hand for cash.

[arrowbuster]

I think I have heard of them, I believe they may be at a pig hunt in west texas Im going to in March. Lol this is ridiculous who has not heard of the Wensels. I admired these guys before I ever dreamed Id pick up a stick bow. Guys like this are the forefathers of modern deer hunting. Well maybe not so modern but they still know their stuff.

[Fattony77]

I just got re-introduced to hunting, and started in archery about 10 years ago. I started watching shows on the outdoor channel and watched Ted Nugent's show. He was the one who introduced me to Fred Bear. Since then, I have tried to learn about and from all of these legendary pioneers.

It's a shame that people don't do that more often. There's so much more to learn about the outdoors than what they put on most of those shows.

I talk to people (hunters and not-yet-hunters) all the time and do my best to teach them what I also didn't know, until recently.

That's one of the things I love most about the Trad community. The wealth of REAL knowledge to be had, and so many with not only the GIFT to skillfully share that info, but the WILLINGNESS and even an EAGERNESS (not sure if that's really a word, LOL) to pass on that knowledge to others.

So good for you,        Sean B, and all of the rest of you        who try to teach those of us who had not always had the opportunity to learn about those people that we SHOULD be learning from.

[ron w]

Funny thing happened tonight and I thought of this post. Our Trad club Mohawk-Hudson Traditional Archers had our meeting at a local bow shop that has an indoor 3-D set up with 25 targets. Anyway, I get there to pay for my round a young fella [late 20's] is buying a new bow. You know the one the 30" Wham-a-Dyan 3000, 355 fps with all the bells and what not. $900+ all ready to rock and roll. My friend and I have our recurves and this fella is stare'n in amazement.

[ron w]

So I said to him, ever try one of these. He says, no what's that thing hanging off the grip. I tell him that it's my tab, he says your what. I don't have to say any more, but when he found out the my friends Silvertip cost $300 more than his new Wham-a-Dyan 3000 he was speechless. Do you think he knew the Wensels.......  

[PaulDeadringer29]

I just watched "Bowhunting October Whitetails" part I and II, and I thought it was great! I had always heard of Barry, but had never watched any of his hunting videos. Seems like a guy I would wanna hunt with, and he's a great shot too. Love the part at the end where he talks about why he wears his hat sideways ......hilarious.

[Ibow]

Originally posted by JohnV:
Difference between heroes of the past and present is that the heroes of the past earned their respect. Over time through writing articles, speaking engagements, and hunting accomplishments, they showed they were deserving of the attention they received. Today's heroes are people you never heard of until they showed up on tv one day. Pretty boys, pretty gals, or dopey acting people. Not sure what credentials they have to be on tv other than they were able to come up with enough sponsors. Heroes from the past gave more than they took. People like M.R. James, Dave Samuel, Wensels, G. Fred Asbell never asked for more than expenses when invited to speak at non-profit gatherings. Contrast that to today's "heroes" who go nowhere without sticking out their hand for cash.

Ditto the above.  

While I don’t know if they’d be considered “traditional bowhunters" or heroes, at one point all these guys did use a recurve or longbow and I'd consider all of them to be pretty "traditional" to me: Russ Thornberry, Toad Smith, Jay Massey, Jim Dougherty, Bob McGuire, Roger Rothaar, Monty Moravec, Bob Foulkrod, Alan Altizer, Larry D. Jones, Judd Cooney, Dwight Schuh.

I’m missing a few but those were some of the guys who’s writing and early video work I just couldn't get enough of. Totally different than what we see now in video and TV. There's some exceptions but today seems more about personality and promotion. These guys wrote and videoed about the hunt itself and... it worked.