Who Bow Hunts?

Al Launier

Member
Messages
1,683
Location
Bedford, NH
I know Larry does, and I did until I gave up hunting this past year. So how many other FWW members bow hunt and what do you have for a bow?
 
Not in years and only smaller stuff... I had a small fiberglass longbow in the 20lb range that was my Dads and my first bow (dad still has that one). I shot the heck out of it for a long time at all sorts of hay bales and occasional small critters. As a teenager I upgraded to an oak wide belly self bow in the 50-55lb range that a friend of the family made, I recently got that one back into my hands late last year (although I don't think I'll probably ever shoot it now given its age its nice to have it back). Since then I acquired and read through the "traditional bowyers bible" series and have been giving the elm tree in my back yard the evil eye.
 
I started with a Walmart (I think?) 50# solid fiberglass "traditional" bow when I was 18 thinking I would quickly master archery. Well, soon after a couple of friends and me went to a gravel pit & set up a target at 40 yds. They each shot & missed the target completely. After harassing them on their poor performance I stepped up to the line & fired off. So help me God I hit dead center bulls eye & I mean dead center! Don't ask me to explain, but that is what really happened. I have never been able to do that again, even with other bows & I've had & lots of practice. I've had a Bear Kodiak Magnum 50#, A 2008 Bowtech Commander 60#, and now have a 2010 Elite GT500 60/50# (2 sets of limbs). I sold the otherbow, but kept the last one. It shoots well & every once in a while i get the urge to shoot it. It's fun, but I'm done with hunting in the cold up on a tree stand at 4 am & 10-20°F. i like my comfort more these days!
 
In high school I bought and shot a Fred Bear recurve bow.
My youngest daughter and her husband hunt with bows.
I bought a crossbow for last year as Indiana changed it's laws. Last year's heart problems and this year's arm situation have kept me out of deer hunting. Maybe next year.
 
Well my dad and I just got a bow last year and have done some hunting with it. It is a crossbow (Excalibur Equinox-right stuff package) so I'm not sure if some of you consider that "Cheating" :tantrum:;) In B.C. a crossbow is still considered a bow though:D Anyway I still look forward to hunting with it:thumb: So Al, if I may ask, why did you give up hunting?
 
Well my dad and I just got a bow last year and have done some hunting with it. It is a crossbow (Excalibur Equinox-right stuff package) so I'm not sure if some of you consider that "Cheating" :tantrum:;) In B.C. a crossbow is still considered a bow though:D Anyway I still look forward to hunting with it:thumb: So Al, if I may ask, why did you give up hunting?
Michael, after hunting for well over 50 years, it finally came down to:

  • Would get up at 4am to be on stand well before sunrise to get set up & settled in, and this became more difficult to do the last few years as I got older.
  • After hunting since I was 13, and at various states including Colorado, ended up hunting 300-400 yds. behind my home which was very convenient, but it was all downhill, literally.
  • So, getting a deer meant a severe, tough uphill drag, tougher at 70+ with no help.
  • Shooting a deer with a bow is different than with a rifle or shotgun: they don't drop as well & requires tracking; sometimes not so easy without snow. Never lost a deer & didn't want to.
  • Wife and I no longer eat venison.
  • Once the deer was dragged home, had to butcher & package it, and had trouble giving it away, so I would donate the food to a local Food Bank. Eventually found a local butcher that would take a whole, field dressed deer & prepare it for a NH Food Bank.
  • Finally, I found myself sitting up in a tree in the dark, cold, shivering, and wondering why I'm still doing this. Called it a day.

I still believe in the sport, but it's no longer fun for me.
 
I've been bow hunting 32 years. Crossbow. I have bad shoulders and back. Excal and tenpoint which are both excellent bows. I've taken a few deer in my time. Now I'm stepping back and letting Jarrod run the properties we hunt. I've taken a little over 600 deer over the years and seen just about any situation you can think of. In my shop I get a lot of places to hunt from customers who come in and say: You Hunt .....Da ! Come and hunt my place. Some we do and some we don't.

 
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well as Al mentioned i am a bowhunter, i started shooting a bow when i was a kid made my first one out of some hickory and shot many cowboys in the hay lofts and other small critters including my parents chickens,, then i upgraded to a 35lb fiberglass stick bow and tried for bigger game, got that for xmas from my grandmother, she feed my habit for the next few years with arrows and finally a real wood recurve.. then i was on my own and i never stopped.. i have hunted all over the country including canada and labrador. have been fortunate to see many things natures movie channel can provide us, but as Al said its differnt now days for me i am not as blood thirsty as i once was, just watching and out smarting them is rewarding enough, but i do eat everything i take and always have.i have been at at it for over 35yrs, shot with some big name archers, ron la clair, fred bear, dave powers, jerry simmons,, all of them were just like you and me common folk that respected the world we live in..
 
I haven't bow hunted since HS, grew up doing archery, got pretty good at it. Probably should get another and setup some bales behind the shop, neighbors pond dam would make a good secondary stop. I also had a crossbow in HS, one that I built from a kit, nothing like the ones today.
 
I can understand that. Actually we give all of our animals away too. We just keep one or two steaks. I have had one or two tough drags and I couldn't imagine having done them alone:eek:

mike i have got to ask is that avatar a picture of your home? if so you have a little bit of heaven each day for sure.. fishun in frnt yard and hunting out the back yard, let alone the veiw
 
I haven't bow hunted in 10 years, however, I did buy bow tags this year, but didn't use them... I still like shooting my bow, I have a Mathew MQ1 in pristine condition. A friend of mine used to manufacture a sight. It was called SmartSight and worked great.

Instead of bow hunting this year I have spent a lot of time bird hunting.

My dog, Ginger, the white pointer in the video has also have had lots and lots of fun this year.
 
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mike i have got to ask is that avatar a picture of your home? if so you have a little bit of heaven each day for sure.. fishun in frnt yard and hunting out the back yard, let alone the veiw
No I do not live in that house. Although I can see the cliffs in the picture every time I look out the window. Just across the river (towards where the photo was taken from) is the city of Enderby and I live on the outskirts of town. But still I don't have to go far to have good hunting or fishing!
 
I did up until my Dad passed a few years ago, we belonged to the same hunting club...'club' :rofl: a bunch of old geezers who gathered together for a drunken 'hey watch this' week or two.
I was actually the only one of 7 who bow-hunted though :huh:....really need to get back at it for the mental health aspect...the hunting, not the drunkenness{so much :D}
 
Just caught up to some of the latter posts that I hadn't seen before.

I'm curious how many hunt with traditional, or recurve bows for deer or bear. It's getting close to "practice time", if not already doing so.

Also, anyone hunt birds with a bow?

That reminds me. I have a whole set of upland bird hunting clothing still in good condition that I no longer use. I'll have to list that on CL before the season starts.
 
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