dave37

GMMAT you and me both brother - havin by far the most up and down season to date so far. almost gave up for the year. but after someencouragment from my bowhuntin buddys including some of you fellas i think once santa leaves town im gonna go back out with a vengence !

buckeye

That was a conversation that I enjoyed very much as well. I can just see many lessons I probably would not have ever learned if I had someone showing me along.....

Some people may say not to do something because someone else told them not to... I know not to do it from first hand experience

bloodcrick

Im not even sure there were computers when i started [&o]

Rick James

I agree Scott, and I get what your saying. I got more enjoyment out of chasing deer as a kid with only the knowledge I could gather fromtrial and error, supplemented by what I could read in the local library, a stack of my fathers old magazines, and watching Roger Raglin on Saturday mornings when I could convince the family to let me watch what I wanted [8D]. I don't know if the books, magazines, and occasional hunting show taught me much, but they certainly helped fuel the fire. I know the learning curve would have been much faster if I was on the net back then (assuming I applied what I read), but the difficult journey of learningon my own Ithink is what made my occasional success so sweet. Sometimes it's not always about the destination or getting there quickly........

drockw

I see where you are coming from Buckeye. I am a self learned guitar player and i am very proud of that fact. I have considered myself very successful with it b/c i completed my goals when i started learning, and like you, learned alot from trial and error. I have been in multiple bands, played live gigs etc... I wouldnt trade that for anything. I feel like the experienc I got and work ethic from learning/teaching myself was more valuable than just being good b/c i took lessons.

Archery on the other hand to me is different. IMO failure is failure and ignorance is no excuse for failure. If I were never taught that the optimal spot to shoot a deer is behind the shoulder, it would have taken much trial and error to figure out where to place an arrow/bullet. The failures would have caused dissappointment and grief for sure. People can use the web to learn what is the best way to approach certain situations and how to do things that wouldnt be as easy to learn without it.

Technology is a very valuable thing, and when used properly, can benefit you very much.

bigcountry

I am with ya. I didn't have the internet. I didn't have books. Just went out and learned it on my own. Didn't come on here everyday begging to be spoon fed. I made all the mistakes one can make. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I hunted in an area where you could only take one buck a year. Hunting was tough, but it made a hunter out of you. Land was vast, deer hard to pattern. Mountains steeper than I liked. Not like the enviroment we have in most places today where urban sprawe has created a severe over population problem and deer have no where to run but up hedgerows.

We live in an instant gratification world. Nobody wants to learn anything the hard way. I am not saying I blame them. But have learned my old Grandfather was right when he told me, "nothing worth a hoot is easy".

GMMAT

Anybody wanna spoon feed me a good spot for the AM?

And ROb, Matt, Frank, Will......I'll do a better job next year ofscouting that hedgerow! We'll practically have to beat 'em off us!

bigcountry

Ole Jeff, glory hound to the end. Name droppin every chance you get. Always have to take every post and make it about you. Have you ever stopped and looked how you do this? I am replying to buckeye here. Jeff, your really freakin sad.

mauser06

im glad i had it as a tool to help...

without this site, i honestly might not hunt with or shoot a flintlock or a bow...

if i did get into it on my own, i probably wouldnt be killing with either yet....maybe, but i doubt it...

ask buck magnet...i probably still have PMs saved from him from YEARS ago before i bought a bow...he helped me a TON and taught me alot of terminology and what to look for in my first bow...and kept me from buying junk...i would wasted a ton of money in bows and gear that werent right for me...

ask cayugad in the muzzleloader forum...i probably drove him nuts with 1000004 questions...

and everyone else that helped me over the years....heck, i just PMed Germ this season about scrape hunting how to's.....

its been a great tool for me....dad used to bowhunt back when i was a youngun but got out of it...he never shot a carbon arrow or mechanical release or fiberoptic pins or anything....he cannot believe how fast my bow is(which is slow compared to most these days!) and cant figure out how my drop away works...he shot fingers with a rest that looks like a bent paper clip lol...he never touched a flintlock and couldnt help me at all in that department either...taught me alot about hunting, but when i moved into new weapons, i was on my own....his buddy did take me to the range the first time with the flinter which was a HUGE help....

but i started shooting a flintlock when i was 16...started bowhunting when i was 19...im now 21 and have killed deer with both weapons.

when i take the plunge into a hunting pistol, i will use this site for more info....already started asking Rybo questions on it....

just helps me make smart purchases and learn the ropes quick...i still make my own errors...i just have somewhere to turn for help fixing them...and alot of help avoiding alot of minor stuff...just seems to really speed up the learning curve and i love it.

within a week or 2 of having my bow, i went to shoot at my buddys house who been bowhunting a few years....i was shooting circles around him....why? because of the internet. plain and simple.

BigJ71

Looking back on when I started to hunt and the information on the internet today, I still would take my own experiences of trial and error over the internet....but that's me. I think this is a subjective question Scott, good question though as I've often wondered the exact same thing. In fact I thought about it when I read some of the exact same threads that spurred this one.

Some folks learn better by reading then applying, others by doing, and either failing or succeeding, then applying what they just encountered. That's me, I'm a hands on guy and what may work for you won't for me. A couple other factors come to mind and they are as follows....

1. A lot of what you read here on the internet is pure crap....sorry guys but it's true, I laugh at the screen often when I read some of the "ideas' being passed around here. This may put some on the defensive but you can tell in a short period of time who's full of (you know what) and who is the real deal. I can't speak for all here but I don't have the time nor the inclination to rebut all the BS that's passed around so some of it goes unchecked and therefore many take it as gospel. In doing this some may actually need more time to figure out what works and what doesn't than they would have taken had they just "did it themselves".

2. What works in your area may not in mine so where is the useful information to be read? Now I'm not talking about general bow hunting strategies as most of that can and will apply pretty much anywhere but that won't arbitrarily get you closer to your kill in your neck of the woods. This can only be done by going out and seeing what will work where you hunt.

The bottom line is the internet can and (I'm sure) has helped folks greatly. It's a great place to learn basic bow hunting informationand if you stay away from the BS can be a useful tool. However that being said, I'm glad I started out without the aid of the internet, I feel that being able to do things "hands on" has given me a more solid base to work with...if that makes any sense.

The internet can be helpful no doubt but something can be said for the old "trial and error" method too.