how did everyone get into bowhunting?

[CutEm]

I thougt it would be interesting to see how everyone got into bowhunting. I started out a birdhunter at age 6. My dad found out real quick that he was in big trouble if he left me at home while going out pheasant hunting. From age 6 to 17 all I did was pheasant hunt. At age 17 I started turkey hunting on my own and at age 18 my buddy started taking me duck hunting. I always wanted to try deer hunting but my dad only hunted birds. Finally at age 22 I started working a summer parttime job at Dick's sporting goods and one of the guys there brought in his bow to shoot in the range. He let me shoot it and from the first shot I was hooked. I used christmas money to buy myself a bow in Jan 06. My very first deer hunt I was lucky enough to shoot a doe right out of the gate and the obsession began. I must say i enjoy this forum because I can discuss issues with guys who have the same passion I have. Most of my friends and family think I am crazy and don't understand it. But here I am just one amongst many like me. It's great.

[NY/Al]

My girlfriends dad got me into bowhunting quite a few years back...I took it up pretty quick and am now more hardcore than he ever was!

[ZachCL]

I bought an old york bow back in like 99-00, shot the heck out of that sucker with having set it up myself it sounded like an innertube stretched tight and plucked, arrows went every which way, oh yea and they were the already bent, after season, walmart sales arrows. Took an old ottoman and used it for a target in my back yard and shot it untill it was gone. Then I went out one day and killed a turkey with it, never thought it would be possible to kill a game animal with a bow untill then. From that point its a blur, saved money, found a pro shop, got a good bow, learned how to shoot, and have had the best time of my life since. I cant find a better place to be than in the presence of deer with a broadhead tipped arrow nocked. I LOVE IT.

[Mottz]

I have a buddy that has a bow. And after just rifle hunting and seeing how much more he got to hunt and hearing the excitement about his story of getting a deer, I just decided to go out and buy 1. Never shot one, no knowledge of them, but now I'm hooked and live for bowhunting!

[Rob/PA Bowyer]

I got myself into bowhunting. I grew up with a single mother and an older brother. I had a cousin who's older brother taught him to hunt and I'd tag along. It started with squirrels, rabbits and doves after I borrowed a single barrel 16 gauge from my grandfather. I then started hunting small game on my own at 13 (illegal). My cousin had a fiberglass bow and some field tip arrows and I decided to go deer hunting. (I didn't have the internet or supervision to know it wasn't right). Thank God I didn't hit anything. My experiences hooked me for life. At 15 I begged for a compound for my birthday which I received, A 50-60 lb Bear Black Bear II 50% let off. I bought some 2117's and 160 grain Thunderheads with my birthday money and went hunting. (My birthday is in Nov). I actually hunted with that bow into my early 20's. Since then I've owned nearly 20 different bows and have been at it for 27 seasons. The only gun I pick up anymore is my Mossberg for gobblers and even then, sometimes the bow gets toted to the woods.

[Arrowmaster]

I myself just had an intrest in bow hunting and learned everything on my own, and I love it...

[LouisianaTomkat]

A desire I had for a very long time. I decided at 38 (2 yrs ago), I was not getting any younger. I picked up the bow, practiced like crazy, lost one the first season, 3 does last year, and 1 this year (so far). I really do not see me going back to gun hunting.

LT

[buck spanker]

My Dad got me started when I was about 8 or 9 with the old recurve wood bow, wooden arrowsand no sites. After my brother and I took to the Bow hunting we would ride our bikes to an oldfarm place just outside of town we had permission to hunt on. We did take some deer back in those days but nobody ever thought of horn hunting. If it was brown it was down! Well that is if we got the chance. You see we did not have scent protection or tree stands or even good hunting clothing. We just stood on the edge of a corn field in the woods and hoped for best. Once in a great while if there was a good tree we would climb up and just stand on a branch.
Boy have things changed since thenbut I wouldn't trade them old memories for anything!! The good thing is that now after all this time (45 years or so) I'm still out there creating new memories for myself and my kids. Thanks Dad!!!

[Greg / MO]

I grew up with a Dad who introduced me to the outdoors as soon as he could, as I'm doing with my boys. We did a LOT of fishing, frogging, and rabbit hunting -- things that were easily accessible in the area I grew up. There MAY have been one deer in the surrounding six counties, so we didn't deer hunt.

When I moved off to college, I was attempting to supplement the grocery bill by going out and kicking up rabbits out of fencerows. Not having the benefit of our outstanding beagles from home, my return on investment wasn't nearly as good. I went home and pulled out the state's regulations (I was in college in another state from the one I grew up in...) and began thumbing liesurely through it -- and happened to come up on "deer hunting." I looked at their gun season and saw it was something like nine days long. Kept reading, and came upon their archery season: Oct. 1 - Jan 15. Hmmmm.... four months to kill a deer? Surely even I could do that with no experience. Drove to Wal-Mart that night and bought a used Bear bow package off their shelf (have never seen a used bow in Wal-Mart since) complete with brass pins and a rubber "flipper" rest and a 2"-too long draw length (I had no idea), but it got me started.

[early in]

I got into bowhunting on my own. Taught myself how to shoot as well. I just loved this part of it the most.