First of all-family comes 1st & I have been blessed with a GREAT Bowhunting/Archery journey. This is the start of my 52nd year of Bowhunting only biggame. I have never purchased a gun biggame tag but there is nothing wrong with those who choose to do so. I have experienced what MANY dream of & done almost all I have dreamed of in Bowhunting. I started when "compound" had not been thought of & took 36 Bigame animals with wood, forgwood & fiberglass arrows & recurves from 45# to 63# over those early years. I was also very active in the State & National assns., wrote a Archery column, gave talks to various groups on Archery & Bowhunting & owned 2 Archery shops & Lanes back when it was just getting started. I went from a instictive shooter of a recurve & fingers to a sight & release made of a wood dowel, slightly bent finishing nail & a nylon cord (real mouth buster). I saw the ground floor of plastic vanes & the NEW ideas for releases & the change of traditional to compounds-I know-I had about 100 recurves that started collecting dust & WISH I had them today-the $70 recurve in those days would bring a pretty penny today. I remember gluing injector blades to Broadheads for MORE sharpness AND killed a couple Deer with them. I have given back to a sport that has been good to me. I now bowhunt Whitetail & Hogs plus maybe something else thrown in on occassion. I have taken Whitetail, Mule Deer, Black Bears, Caribou, Elk, Buffalo, wild Hogs , Sheep & a few others along the way. I have been fortunate to have taken my oldest son on several trips & see him take Caribou & Deer.
I now have 2 girls getting into the sport & hope they do well this year. I have done nearly all I have ever wanted to do in Bowhuntiong & IF most of you have just half the fun I have-your in for a great ride. I have several animals that would qualify for P&Y but that IS NOT why I Bowhunt. When I draw my bow, it may just be a big fat Doe BUT "MY HEART" will be racing. That's a rush ONLY A BOWHUNTER understands. Good Luck in your trtavels as a Bowhunter. Yes, I have made MANY friends & unfortunaly, some have gone to the Bowhunting ground in the sky. I take them all with me when I go to the woods. Enjoy, it passes quickly. Family 1st though....