Someone I met at work. I started a new job a few years ago, and after a few weeks I discovered one of my co workers was an avid hunter and into archery. We started talking and I mentioned something about getting a bow. I knew nothing about them but thought it would be an intresting challenge. He asked what kind I thought of getting, and I said I had now idea. Walmart had this kids bow for like 80 bucks and I thought it would be fun to play with. He choked for a minute and then begged me not to buy a bow from walmart. He said it would most likely not fit me, and would be a cheap piece of crap. I would lose interest fast and not stick with it. He said to go to a proshop and look at a bunch of bows to find one I liked. So I went to a gandermoutain and looked at bows one weekend. Much more expensive than I thought. I shot a Hoyt that was completely set up for like $219, and I thought that was expensive, LOL! I had no idea how to hold or shoot a bow and bounced the arrow off the side wall at the range when I shot it. I did hit the target after it bounced of the wall though. I thought man, I am not going to pay that kind of money for something I can't get within 5 feet of the target with.

I went back to work and told my coworker about the experience and he laughed and said at least I hit the target. He asked if I used a release or fingers and how I held the string to my face. I told him I used my fingers and I did not touch the string to my face because I was afraid it would rip my lips off or something. Plus I found out the bow was about 4 inches to long for my draw. Then I asked him what a release was. He said that is why I didn't come close to the target, I was holding the bow wrong and the guy should have told me that before I shot it. Then he said a release was something you hooked to the string with a trigger that released it. I thought wow, a trigger for a bow! I getting one if I get a bow.

I started reading about bows in magizines and visiting proshops to see how they worked and what was available. I walked into a bait shop one day that carries Dartons and prolines and started talking with the guy. He measured me for draw length, and showed me some releases and how they worked. I asked him what the cheapest bow he had in stock was and he laughed. He said he had a few bows that were around the 200 dollar range, but didn't think I should get any of them. I told him about my experience at gander moutain and said I didn't want to spend alot of money on something I did not know if I would enjoy or be good at. He said not to worry because if I bought a bow from him he would teach me how to shoot it. He said if you can't hit a 4 inch circle by the end of the day I will give you your money back. He said the cheaper bows he had were for kids and didn't have a lot of energy, plus they weren't made to last as long as the adult bows. I told him that was ok I did not have any intention of hunting with it, I just wanted a toy. He said if you buy a bow, you will hunt with it, especially if your friends do.

I looked at a darton yukon and really liked it, it was $350 bare. Way more than I wanted to spend, But I had him order it any way. I went back to work and told the guy I work with what I had done and he said he had a Darton also and thought I made a good choice. He said his was about 10 years old and still worked great. It took 3 weeks for my bow to come in and be set up. In that time my coworker and I talked alot about archery and hunting and became friends. Then they called to let me know my bow was ready and to come on Sunday morning to see what I thought. The total price with rest, sights, release, and arrows was $550 dollars. I had done some checking in those three weeks and found that was not a bad price for the newer single cam bows. I had now idea what the CPS cam was or what it did though. When I got there the old man gave me my release and a slingshot with a string on it and let me practice that way for a while to get used to while he helped some customers. Then we went out back to play with my new toy. The first two shots were not exactly were I aimed but not 5 feet off like before. He made some minor adjustments to the sight and corrected my form a little bit and the 3rd shot was dead on where I aimed at 10 yards or so. I was impressed and happy. We moved back to 20 yards and I practiced some more, then we set my other pins for 30 and 40 yards.

That little old man set my bow up perfect and spent the better part of a Sunday teaching me how to shoot and make small adjustments to my bow to fine tune it. Buy the end of the day I could not only hit a 4 inch circle at 20 yards, but I could do it at 40 the majority of the time. My friend was right, had I went to walmart and bought a cheap bow, I would have lost intrest in a while and put it away. But I think for the quality of bow I got and the service that came with it $500 dollars was a steal. I bet in the whole time I have owned my bow, going on 2 years, I have not missed more than a couple weeks of shooting. I pretty much shoot every day, sometimes all day long. I am absolutely addicted to it. When I was not shooting I was reading about archery and bow hunting so I could learn more about my new toy. After the first six months, my new friend said I had learned more than he had in 10 years. I was starting to ask questions he didn't have answers for. So he introduced me to friend of his that was a bow mechanic and an engineer at the factory we worked at. After a year of working side by side we became quite good friends and he offered to teach me how to bow hunt if I was interested. I said sure, I'll give it a try. I spent the summer learning about deer and shot placement and set my bow up to hunt with. My first time out on opening day I shot a seven point at 18 yards away. Now I am hooked, I guess that old man was right after all.

So I would like to thank my new best friend Paul Rittersbach, and the owner of Pine grove bait and tackle, whose name is also Paul. Thanks to them I have found a hobby I love and met many new people that share my passion like the guys on this board and others.

That's How it all started, sorry it was sooo long.

Paul Mohr

Edited by - biteme/paul mohr on 01/20/2002 18:49:46