No offense young fellows but.....
Whitetail Deer
Contributors to this thread:
I really do long for the days when i first got into bowhunting sometimes. The simplicity of the 80s and early 90s. Technology is great and i use it but i miss some of the novelty of a time when i was 14 and really stupid in the woods. I miss those old school videos we rented every friday night during deer season to get us jacked. You guys in your 20s sure missed out some awesome times. I feel like today people are so saturated with tv hunting and these shows that the youger boys are in such competition with all the scoring and aging and what not. Sometimes it is ok to just a deer... Any deer. Imo i think it does one good to get back to that feeling once in a while.
I wouldn't call myself an old fella, but I totally agree. I miss the old days hunting with dad when it was OK to shoot a deer that didn't have a name. Some of this nonsense has really gone too far. You could actually knock on a door and get permission too. People won't let you hunt squirrels any more. They're afraid you might scare away "Ol magnum nine" or "war hammer".
Im 26. I enjoyed the tail end of what you are speaking of. I do enjoy a few of the new hunting shows but to this day nothing is better than going back to the old vhs collection of old Primos and Knight and Hale videos. I don't exactly miss the days when I was "stupid" in the woods but I get where your coming from.
One thing I realized over the past two seasons that I wished I had discovered a long time ago is this:
The sooner you stop caring about what other people think about the deer you shoot and caring more about your own experience the happier you will be.
This is supposed to be fun.
I remember when I first started. 1990. I would sit for hours day after day and barely see deer even though we had a healthy population. I feel where you coming from but as I get older and the new generation is coming up it does seem a bit odd. I am trying to teach my daughter that it's not just about shooting deer. There is so much more to hunting then the shooting.
Simple
I'm still having the time of my life bow hunting - always have, and always will.
But, I must be blessed, because I think it's gonna get even better: I have a 3-year-old boy……can't wait!!
I really enjoy "these days".
:-)
Every now and then I pop in "Hunting October Whitetails" with Gene and Barry Wenzel just to remember the era when I started at age 12. I hope to pass on that same sense of awe and wonder of deer and deer hunting to my four children as they come of age.
I started bow hunting in 1987. I miss those times. But I also wish I knew then what I know now about deer hunting.
I think back to skipping either football or hockey practice to go deer hunting after school.
Then the good ol getting 6 tardies in a 9 week period and getting suspended from school for the day. All I did was go hunting then.
Bow hunting October whitetails was one of my all time favorite videos to watch at that time.
Yep ,ain't what it used to be, deer were called deer, does were called does,kill is called killed,bucks were called bucks.Some things have changed, I haven't.
I don't miss my beginning days. I started in 1997, at 16 years old. My bow was my birthday present.
No idea about deer movement. Mis-guided thoughts and theories. Freezing in cotton clothes, and not enough of them. Gear was scrounged together. No money to even think about hunting anywhere but in my backyard. Heavy clunky Summit climber.
The only thing I miss from those early days of bowhunting while in school and college, until about 2005, was the time I had to hunt. Lots of time to hunt, especially in college with long winter breaks.
I like and enjoy trail cams and naming bucks. Being concerned about age, etc.
And I also agree wholeheartedly with Brotsky. He said it very well
Bake
Your still mostly pups. Took my first deer in 1966. What a challenge. And no infernal "Allen" invention either.
I started bowhunting in '73 when I was 16. I didn't know anyone that hunted with a bow, I just thought it would be more fair to the animal to meet him close in his environment for a tougher challenge. I read everything I could on bowhunting and dreamed everyday of getting a deer "like the Indians did it". Took me 5 years before I did but it was magic when it happened. No noise, didn't disturb the woods except for the tree I was in was shaking from all the excitement I had flowing.
I still feel the same today.
Amen Brotsky and good thread. I remember those days. I also remember looking up to every decent local hunter like he was a god. I would spend hours on end probably bugging the heck out of my neighbor and the owner of the local general store.
Unfortunately, I feel like I'm running into more entitled young guys in the woods as well. Alot-not all- of them act like the own a spot and they deserve a big buck/bull.
We are certainly in the golden age of deer hunting. More deer than ever and bigger bucks... But i also realize that with comes a few things that get lost. The learning curve is different now than it was 20 30 yrs ago. I did some dumb stuff in the woods and i learned from it. I worked harder and as the years went by my success rate rose. It was a natural progression just like many on here went through. The younger guys on tv especially, have been spoiled. Its not their fault. Its just what it is. So many deer now its hard not to see one even if your stupid. Gosh i remember going so many site and never seeing a thing. I didnt kill my deer with a bow until 5 yrs after my first hunt. Wonder bow many of the younger generation will be willing to do that. Well, they probably wont have too. But it certainly made my first bow kill an unreal experience.
I agree with Brotsky as well. I try to hold out for a good one until the end of my hunt when I'll shoot anything. Shot this obese spike in the last hours of my hunt this year and I'm very happy with him
My bow kill was A small 7 pt. man i thought i had accomplished the impossible. It took 20 yrs of bowhunting to get to this and i wouldnt have it any other way!
When I was 5 in 1964, a resident of my hometown thought he saw a deer standing in the corner of a field where the where a creek flowed into the St. Mary's River. It made the lower right corner on front Page of the local paper the next day. First hunted along the that same river along with a handful of others in the early 70's. First two years, never saw a deer, only tracks. Seeing a deer was something, getting a shot opportunity or a shot itself, awesome. A deer taken, you were something. Over the years, we somehow went to, "Shoot your deer yet?" to "Shoot your buck yet?" To talk to a youngster who can't believe we made do with Gamegetters or XX75 Autumn Orange and Ranger WW2 camo is an eye opening experience.
I love bowhunting now more then when I started but I although my bow is high tech I still havent gotten on the trail cam bandwagon...yet. I still hunt for meat mostly. I dont have a "trophy" area to hunt and cant afford to hunt out of state in the trophy areas. I see a deer walking and I think back straps, not rack. I loved watching Bowhunting October Whitetails, and the second release. Those guys where great and to reference the worst shot thread - that Gene Bidlespacher or whatever his name was was BAD!!!!! I have no regrets. To me the game is still the same but I gotta say the stand are more comfortable and the safety equipment is way better! I will not go back to screw ins and just wont climb a tree without a safety harness. I still very much enjoy hunting on the ground at eye level. That hasnt changed!
Hey, bowhunting is many things to many people...though I agree with you and thus I'm doing much of my hunting with a recurve now....there is a danger to hunting in general with one group trying to dictate to another "what is right"
The real danger is the anti groups...and we cannot lose that fight.
I have never been a big trophy hunter and when I decide to shoot something I shoot. I have passed a bunch of small bucks over the years and I have shot a bunch of 100 inchers. I don't regret either. Normally now I just shoot does unless I see a real nice buck which means I eat a lot of buck tags anymore but I may decide to shoot pretty much anything when it trips my trigger. I just love to bowhunt and don't shoot animals to please others.
I agree completly, limb bender. I was 12 when I started noticing the deer in the forest at the end of my rural street. Im in my upper thirties now, and started out with a pse polaris in 1991. Saved and saved for that bow. We were poor and no one in my family was a hunter. To top it off we didnt have but one gun, a .22 and mom refused to let me have a rifle other than a pellet rifle. At thirteen I knew nothing of deer hunting nor was there anyone around to teach me about it. Rented a few Dan Fitzgerald and tom miranda hunting videos, and with the help of a few friends, built a stand (more like treehouse :) over a weekend back on a highline where I knew the deer traveled. That monday, just after school let out, a friend and I climbed up in the stand we built from plywood and 2x4s 2 days before, and I killed my very first deer. On the stand a total of 30 minutes. 10 yrd shot. Shook so hard I missed the body completly and hit her in the head. No corn. No trail. 2 weeks with a bow. Shear dumb luck.
24 seasons and many critters later, nothing in the woods has ever come close to that single experience or that deer.
Its funny because I kind of get the feeling that you may have started this thread after reading mine. I sincerely hope not, but in any event, I have those very same feelings myself.
At age 31 this is my 19th season bowhunting. I had my mom drag me to K's Merchandise to buy my first bow complete with 6 basic aluminum arrows and some cheapy no-name broadheads. Similar to Bake above I had no money, no resources, no decent gear, no mentor, no good places to go and no expectations, just the desire. I drove my 4-wheeler to the back forty for the first few years because I didn't have a drivers license. Bow shop, what the heck is a bow shop? You mean they actually have those?
I did many many things wrong and maybe even a few things right, but guess what it was all by my own doing. In high school I became friends with a couple guys my age who bowhunted. Wow, what a step up! I had someone to share ideas with.
What's interesting is that I too long for those days at times. For the most part I don't miss going through whole seasons without killing anything though.
Btw, I think I was in my 7th or maybe even 8th year when I actually killed and recovered a deer. It irks me when I get lumped into the entitlement group, which is all too often the case with the "older" crowd. It isn't so much that it has a large effect on me, but it can be dumbfounding that some people can be so ignorant.
Franzen i did know you had posted a similar thread. But at least we think alike!
So I'm a young guy. I killed my first deer with the bow when I was 15 way back in 2008-at the end of my 3rd year of bowhunting. The biggest thing I hate about all the shows and commercialization and hype about bowhunting and big bucks is the competition for decent hunting land. When I was 13 I could hunt 200 acres behind my parents house owned by a farmer and a guy who rifle hunted but didn't bow hunt. I'm 21 this year and half the land is posted, and the farmers son-in-law patrols the rest as his own and we hunt around him. I did most of my hunting this year on a small piece of public land just out of the local town that's been overlooked by most other bowhunters. Not all of us are huge rack crazed nimrods either.
You're not the only one. I'm about to turn 39. I killed my 1st deer when I was 15, a bow kill. In my 24 years of hunting I've experienced alot: Equipment changes, video evolution, invention of the trail cam, portable treestand evolution, the ground blind craze,etc. I've killed deer with everything from a 4 wheeled Bear to a Mathews and wearing everything from blue jeans to kuiu. The biggest thing i hate for the new guys is that they believe they have to have all this stuff to kill a deer. You don't have to be rich to have fun in the woods. I miss the old Dan Fitzgerald videos from the local video rental place. You'd have to reserve them weeks in advance. I agree, there's much more to it than what we see today. I'm all about getting better, but there's alot of learning that I experienced that today's up and coming hunters won't.
1969. I was sitting in a pine tree with my dad and watched my dad shoot this doe. I got to do the tracking.
Its been non-stop since then
Cnelk, that's pure gold right there.....
I like it all but mostly the present! These are the good ole days for me!
cnelk that's an awesome picture.
Simpl
I enjoyed my early years of bowhunting just like I enjoyed it when I started dating girls. Of course I knew nothing about either and those were good times. After bow hunting for 47 seasons I am most excited about next season and I think that my anticipations are much more justified. My 2014 buck tag is full which of course is bitter sweet. I certainly do not want to go back to how I started out. After being married for 34 years I do not want to go back to where I was when I started dating either. Though the details will be different each generation will develop their own experiences or learning curve. The biggest difference that I see is the larger population and loss of land to development has reduced individual hunting opportunities.
I'm 60 now and killed my first bow deer, a doe, in 1972. I have been bowhuntign ever since.
Some memories: - Herters Sitka bow (still have it, but don't use it) - Fiberglass arrows - Kwikee quiver (no protector on the broadheads!) - Circa 1974 or 1976 - Baker treestands (still have 3!) - WW 2 camo - Freezing my butt off! (still do sometimes!) - Fred Bear Razorheads, than Wasp, then Savora.... - No safety belt or harness - Treestands made using rope tied to trees (didn't build but used) - Limb socks - No TV shows - VCR not invented yet
It was the school,of hard knocks. Those that killed deer were heroes to those of us that wanted to do the same. Anything they said that worked was thought to be gospel coming from the Lord himself! :)
If anything today, with multiple channels of hunting (horn porn), technology. you tube, etc., we are in an information overload.
Yup, those were much simpler times. But, our drive and desire was the same as it is in the new hunters of today. Difference being, they don't need US ol' guys as much, they can get a lot from all the media sources.
Times change....
>>>>-----hunt on!----->
I started bow hunting for deer in 1978. I loved it then, I love it now just as much. Now we have trail cameras, we plant food plots, we plant apple trees, we put in some rubbing posts, etc, etc, etc. I just take it all in, always have, always will. BC
I'm 51 and have been bowhunting a long time. IMO, most bowhunters are smart enough to know that what they see on TV and what they experience in their woods won't be the same thing. I think most guys are smart enough to know what a good deer is for their area. Bowhunting has changed no doubt, but I don't think it is as much as us old timers think it has. Big bucks are still very rare in most areas and the most common bucks shot (in my state anyways) are 1.5 and 2.5 years old. Rare is a 3.5 year old and 4.5s are basically non-existent. I remember I used to be tickled pink the earlier I got my deer. Now I look back and think about all the hunting I missed because I filled out early. I still enjoy my hunting equally as in the past, and I still think about it at least every day of the year. I'm a hopeless archery addict.
SO the good ole days for you included videos!
Wow I remember compounds coming on strong in the late 70's and if you say 8-10 deer you saw a boatload of deer!
The late 80's was the highest herd I saw.
What is gonna be cool is the new hunters today will look back 25-35 years from now and post exactly what you just posted!
I myself look at my life includes my hunting career like a bottle of red wine. The older I get, the longer I hunt the better it gets!!!
Brotsky did nail it. I get my chops busted for letting 130+ deer walk? It's my hunt no one elses why do you care what I let walk???
This is my favorite topic on bowsite.
I absolutely love coming on here and listening to the "old" guys telling me that I hunt differently than they do/did and that they wish I could experience the hunting style they had back in "the day."
SERIOUSLY????
Hunting hasn't changed. There are more options out there for gadgets but the act is the same. I'd try and talk to a couple "young fellows" before I made any judgements on what they do and don't do. Also generally speaking I'd venture to guess that when guys are young and starting out and have nothing their hunting style more relates to what you are talking about then ever.
Brotsky and Charlie, definitely two of the most level headed contributors to any thread on Bowsite.
Whether you are young or old, shooting modern or traditional, looking for meat or a trophy, asking for or giving advice, these guys always offer and deserve respect.
Having fun is what this hobby, passion or obsession is all about.
I'm 18 and I don't let hunting shows or the industry influence me. It's all corny anyway. I just enjoy sitting in the woods, watching, listening, and waiting. I don't ever expect to kill or even see a deer every trip. I'm just grateful for the experience. I don't think I've ever named a deer or not been happy with a deer that I've shot. It's all about sharing the experience with friends and family whether you gather around the VHS before a hunt or huddle in front of a 45 " flat screen. I don't feel like I've missed out on a single thing because I enjoy it to the fullest anyway
No offense means just that. There are many young bowhunters that are very enthusiastic and have learned a lot and continue to learn. My point was, there was a time before all this that was different. To most of us above 35 yrs old you probably understand what i mean. There was a time when seeing deer was a chore. Killing a deer with the bow was considered luck by most. Now, seeing 10-15 deer in a sit is nothing for many hunters. which is awesome and it speaks volumes about management. I just reminisce Bout the days when things were harder and antler size was a bonus. And i do think deep down any true bowhunter still feels a doe kill is a pure rush and accomplishment . I wouldnt trade those hard years for anything.
"My point was, there was a time before all this that was different. To most of us above 35 yrs old you probably understand what i mean."
Yep, I sure miss those days of turning the dial of my rangefinder until the two images lined up. I miss the days of painting the tips of my pins, hoping to be able to see them at least an hour AFTER sunrise. I most certainly miss those days of getting caught in a rainstorm wearing nothing but cotton. The list could go on and on.
I understand your point, to a point, but not all change is bad. It's called evolution.
I agree 100% with Brotsky. As long as it's legal, and it fulfills what YOU'RE looking for from a hunt, who gives a rip. If a doe satisfies your desire, so be it. If nothing less than a 150" buck will do, so be it as well. What brings each hunter a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction shouldn't be a democratic process. This is one instance where a dictatorship works quite well.
Brotsky and Charlie pegged it.
...and just something I've learned over the years, "no offense" really means "hold on, I'm going to offend you now"
I enjoy it as much now as when I started in 1965 at the age of fifteen. That was our first modern deer season in Kansas. I've harvested many deer over the years from button bucks to a really nice 190 o/8 monster. I still get just as much kick out of a doe as any buck. I think when my heart doesn't race at the expectation of a shot, I'll quit hunting. But not today.
Stuff died then...Stuff is dieing now...nothings changed for me!!!
Reading about all these guys that say it took them only 3 or 5 yrs. to kill their 1st deer with a bow makes me feel like I am the worst hunter on the planet. You fellas got it good. When I started bowhunting 39 yrs ago when I was 9 yrs. old. I didn't kill a deer with a bow until 1994. So, it took me 19 yrs to kill a deer with a bow. It took me 11 yrs to kill my 1st deer with any weapon (muzzleloader in 1986). Those early years were the kind if you even saw a deer it was a good hunt. If you got a shot, it was a great hunt and if you killed one you were some kind of super hero. Back then, Oklahoma did not have the deer population it has now. Also, we only had public land to hunt back then and it was overrun with hunters. When I started deer hunting with my Dad he had only been deer hunting a few years himself. So, he didn't know a whole lot and I knew nothing. We read lots of magazines and books and spoke with experienced hunters. The great thing about it was my Dad and I learned how to deer hunt together and did it in a way that worked for us. The memories of all our years hunting together will never be forgotten. Those were the golden years for me and I wouldn't trade them for anything. My Dad helped me track my 1st deer kill and I tracked his last deer kill. I count my blessings that I have a Dad that took the time to take me hunting and fishing.
Limb bender- I agree there have been many advancements I'm modern day hunting technology and resources and I think a lot of youngsters who are just now getting into the "sport" have no idea just how different it really is because it's all they know. I grew up hunting with my Dad and grandfather who were primarily rifle hunters but I've been going with them since I was 6 and I can't help but remember just how different their mind set was. Like its already been said, they were simple times. Now we have great resource such as bowsite to refer to for tips, advice, tactics etc. These resources along with technology have drastically changed the game for many including myself. I am a self taught bowhunter who is greatful to have all this info at my fingertips. My Dad had a bow (think he still has the prehistoric thing) but rarely hunted with it. I know for a fact he only ever killed one deer with it and that was a hail mary. I'm only 30 yrs old but I do try to keep it as simple as possible and just enjoy my time in the woods and pass my knowledge on to my kids.
I'm 35 years old. This is my 25th year deer hunting (those first few years was firearm).
I killed my first deer (button buck) after 5 years of shotgun hunting. The next year I punched my bow tag with another button buck. My junior year of high school I shot a spikey from the ground with my bow. The next year I shot a 6 pt from the ground with my bow. In the fall of 1997, I shot my first PY. Back then, Pope & Young seemed to mean a lot more. It still does to me, but not most I guess.
The deer numbers have been climbing since the mid 1990's here in IL. Now they are going back the other way. It is still great fun to hunt, but it does seem different. It isn't the young guy's faults, it's is my generation (30 somethings) if it's anybody's fault. I have been filming my own hunts since the late 1990's. My generation became infatuated with video. (I think it is because we loved those oldest Drury videos and the Wenzel videos. One of my favorites was "Hunting the Gray Ghost" I think it was Dave Embry.) But really it is just the evolution of deer hunting. Everything changes, baseball, football, everything.
In 2005, I had a bit more time on my hands and I decided to hunt with a recurve. I shot a buck that would have been about 160" if it weren't for a couple broken tines. He still scored in the 150's, and that will be a hard one for me to top. (not scorewise, as I've already topped it, but it was really special).
I joke with friends sometimes how much I hate hunting. I don't, I love it. It is just that every woodlot has hunters in it now. And who can blame them, they are just doing the same thing I am, but it used to not be that way.
Sorry for the rambling. This should leave a smile on some faces though. How many ever used a "Trail Timer"?
I definitely wasn't offended. I was just saying how I don't feel like I've missed out on anything. Modern hunting is all I know, and while we may have better tools at our disposal to find and harvest deer, it is very much a challenge still. And I do agree with you on the fact that many young people worry too much about score. When it comes down to it, whatever makes you happy, go with it. I don't feel like I need to explain to someone why I shot at a deer. It's because it's a beautiful animal that I can look back on in a photo album or on the wall, smile, and reminisce.
Stinkbait, I would say you are right on about the deer in Oklahoma. Ive talked to several bowhunters in their 70s (one of which is my neighbor) who talk about the deer populations in oklahoma being next to non-existent. Although my great great great grandparents originally settled here in the late 1880s, I Im an implant, originally from the piney woods of east texas, and for the last 7 years I've been here, I've enjoyed some of the best bowhunting of whitetails of my life. Its hard to believe that 110 years ago the whitetail deer was nearly extinct in the state of Oklahoma. Today, it is right there at the top of the best whitetail hunting states in the country. A true management miracle.
If you get a chance, look it up. The story of the comeback of the whitetail in oklahoma is a good one.
Fellows let me say that im not fighting the evolution of bow hunting. By all means i have the latest bow and camera and stand etc... All i was saying was its a different time now. Not saying it was better or this is better. Just stating the fact that years ago there were things that made bowhunting very special. Things like treebark cAmo, metAl lock ons With the chain and cloth seat, 125 gr satellite broadheads, finger tabs, xx75 eastons, golden eagle bow, no scent lok....i enjoy it now just as much. But there times when the nastalga seeps through when i see alan altizer clips or dans fight for the right.... I digress
"was 14 and really stupid in the woods."
You mean you're supposed to get smarter???
Must have taken a wrong turn in Albuquerque....
"I really do long for the days when i first got into bowhunting sometimes"
"i enjoy it now just as much"
"All i was saying was its a different time now." The world is a different place now, but I'm having a difficult time trying to decipher what point you're trying to make. You say you long for the days, then say you enjoy it now just as much as "the good ole days". Not trying to be argumentative, just trying to understand where you're coming from.
I think he meant this...
nos·tal·gia - a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.
Nothing like sitting on a stand made with 2x4's and chained to a tree once temps are below freezing and there is snow on the plywood. Now shooting deer off THAT was tough!
A while ago I read an article whereas the author said hunting was a lot more fun before he knew what a G2 was.
Wyo, its kind of like high school. I miss those days, they were fun. I wouldnt want to go back but i do cherish those days. Thats all im saying.
Young hunters are definantly more influence by tv...but so are the wealthy hunters. If you use game cameras, deer scents, cover scents, scent proof cloths, plant seed that have deer on the bag...all is products of modern marketing.. useless and not needed.
Interesting thread for sure and many good points. Ill toss one thing out. If you can find a copy of "Bow Hunting October Whitetails"... GET IT.
THAT, is a great hunting video! I rented it from my high school fish and game club's video library in probably the 9th grade... and to this day, (25~ years or so) that video flashes in my head when I day dream about hunting. perhaps not the video, but the emotions I had watching it for sure. Awesome stuff.
I'm trying to figure out where you are coming from too since you look a whole 30-35 years old at best.
I'm wandering what my shop wall would look like today if I had been using my current setup in the 70's. I passed on a lot of big bucks at 20 yds. or so as my self imposed limit with my Bear Grizzly was 15 yds. Brad, the bow you are holding in the picture with your Dad doesn't happen to be a Grizzly does it?
I just read through all of this. Good stuff by everyone. I have been hunting about 32 years and so I guess I'm considered one of the old guys now. It was easy getting hunting permission because nobody believed that I was ever going to kill a deer with that bow contraption anyway. I wouldn't trade all of those hard knock learning experiences for nothing, but I really enjoy trail cameras, good hunting clothes and equipment, etc. Nothing beats good scouting, being proficient with your equipment and dogged persistence for success. I only hunt to please me. I have killed hundreds of bucks so I have my own standards. No button bucks, shoot little sister does for the freezer and hold off for a good buck and I don't care what anyone else thinks about my own choices. Have fun and shoot straight.
TBM-wealthy hunters? Come on, man... One post you're trying to figure out how to make more money to afford more hunting trips and next one you're providing the opine that wealthy hunters are more easily influenced... Now that is just rich. No further comment there.
Brotsky stated it best here... Been hunting 27 years and have seen some interesting changes in the sport and the perception of hunting by the general populous... Our proficiency as bow hunters in addition to marketing and advanced communications have changed the way many look at the picture today. I too sometimes miss the "old days", but realize that generations have been saying the same for far greater time and the hunting has become much better over time.
I remember freezing my butt off in the winter in the late 70's bow hunting deer with the poor clothes/boots we had then. Now I have much better clothes and boots and I still freeze. It sucks to get old !!!
While a lot of things have changed in those years since I started... the hunt itself hasn't. I still enjoying everything it has to offer and killing a deer is icing on the cake. Still love it as much as I did way back.
First bow deer at 13 with a walmart arrow and thunderheads. I was using a pse spider that was shooting about 220 with a tail wind. I had a belief that it was impossible to get a "big" buck into range until I missed a 150 in ten point at about ten steps.
The new bows are amazing but it really hasn't changed much in the last decade. Technology and television are a dime a dozen. Every time I see a rage broad head commercial I want to go knapp some more beer bottle arrowheads and pick up my longbow. My only worry is that bow hunting won't be or mean what it used to be for me when I get back home with all of the gun hunters crossing over to crossbows.
Sight pins rangefinders, the 80's and 90's were the " old" days? Started in 1958.... still pretty much the same equipment! In fact I shot this one with a '58 Kodiak!
For the record im about to turn 40. I began bowhunting in 1988. So to me anything from the late 80s and early 90s are the good ol days. I enjoyed them, even with alll the hard knocks and frustrations. I enjoy all the modern stuff, just miss the older way at times. How hard is that to understand?
I started hunting 50 years ago. I get down from time to time but the fever just comes backs stronger. Brotsky said it well. I still thrill at so many things. I also think I know have the maturity to see things as they are; some of the knew stuff is a gimmick or trend I see no need to have.
I love the hunt, scouting, preparation and never loose interest in watching the arrow fly.
Gulfcoast,
You are absolutely correct. The rebound of the Oklahoma deer herd and whitetail turkey is a true success story. That success is attributable to the efforts of the true conservationists: hunters.
Nowadays, I am fortunate enough to hunt on private land. We have several "greenhorns" that hunt with us. These are guys that didn't have someone to teach them how to hunt at an early age. What I have noticed is that all they know about hunting is what they pick up from the TV shows. They think they should be seeing 180" bucks every time they go out. They buy all the latest gadgets that they think they need because that's what they've been told from some hunting personality. They shake their head at me when they see me hunting with my recurve. I even had one kid try to tell me that an arrow shot out of a recurve would just "bounce off" a deer at 30 yds. When I told him to walk 30 yards away and let me shoot him to see if it bounces off him. He declined. But, when I kill a deer with it they are amazed that I was able to it with such "primitive gear". I just laugh and say "the weapon is only as good as the shooter". Just last week, I helped one of these guys (don't get me wrong, these greenhorns are good guys) trail a deer he shot with a crossbow. When I got to where his 4wheeler was parked I found his bolt lying across the back of his 4wheeler. It was covered with dark blood and white hair but the broadhead was so dull you couldn't cut melted butter with it. A good, sharp broadhead should still be somewhat sharp after it's been shot through a deer. This thing wasn't much better than a field point. He described the shot and the deer's reaction. He was certain the deer was dead. But, from the reaction he described it said gut shot to me. We tracked the deer for 2 hours, most of it was from following it's tracks. I found where the deer stood in one spot and found a small pool of blood. He said he waited an hour before he took up the trail. When he was trailing he said he could see the deer standing about 40 yds. away. So, he backed out and went back to his blind. It was 4 hours since the shot when the two of us got on the trail. We never found the deer and no more blood after the spot I described above. My assessment was he gut shot the deer with a VERY dull broadhead and the wound closed up fairly quickly. I'm sure the deer is dead by now. On the walk back to our 4wheelers we discussed things. I mentioned something about the dull broadhead. He made the comment that he thought it was sharp enough because all he did was practice shooting into one of those block targets. He showed me the other bolts he had. The broadheads on those were very dull as well. I calmly told him that those broadheads are not sufficiently sharp. I then took one of my broadheads and shaved hair off my arm. None of his were even close. I took the opportunity to educate him in the importance of a razor sharp broadhead. During this discussion, he gave me several "excuses" but I was having none of it. Then he made a comment that really kind of explained things. He said "Well, I watch these guys on TV and I've never heard them mention anything about sharp broadhead's etc. I just assumed they hunted with the heads they practiced with". I feel sorry for the guy because everything he knows he gleaned from watching hunting shows. I did not berate or belittle him. I know he felt bad enough as it was. I think he just didn't know any different. Now, this guys is a grown man, not some teenager or 20 yr. old. He paid his way onto our lease like the rest of us and we all assumed he had some idea of the basics. Is it our duty to check out and make sure everyone knows the basic stuff? I don't believe it is. But, in this case I witnessed a terrible mistake he made and hopefully got it corrected so it won't happen again. This is just one example and is not indicative of all the newbies that are hunting. I like seeing guys taking up hunting. It's good for hunting. But, they need to be properly educated and I don't think the TV shows are e necessarily the best way for them to get that education. I watch some of the archery hunting shows and do not ever recall one of them saying something as simple as "You should practice with your broadheads but be sure to sharpen them or replace the blades when you go to the field to hunt". All the shows do is heavily promote their products. But, they do not necessarily explain the proper way to use them.
I think stink ait gets what im saying. I used to be that greenhorn. I did dumb thi gs because i had nobody mentor me. Bowhunting was not a thing here in se va. This is deer hound country, most everybody grew hunti g with dogs and still do. I progressed through the years and through the disappointment and heartaches i became a proficient bowhunter self made. And when i think of those early days i miss the era of the time and the few precious bowhunting outlets back then. I just wanted the you ger guys to appreciate the early days and that it hasnt always been like it is now. Lots of men and women went through many trials and errors so they do t have to.
Think about this, Bender.... think about people like us in our mid to late thirties and the "changes" in bowhunting that we've experienced and compare it to what some of these guys in thier 60s that are chiming in have seen. 50 years? Thats no compounds. No sights. No rangefinder. The glass recurve was technology then. It has taken me a very long time to get a deer with my Longbow. Im addicticted to it now and thats all I have been taking to the woods here at home. Just bought a mathews chill r last year and have barley hunteded with it. Took it to nebraska last week but thats it. Its an awesome bow but taking deer traditionally really puts into perspective how its not completly necessary for archery hunting.
Stinkbait. Funny you mention turkeys here too, as I just heard one gobble a few minutes after reading your post. Didn't know they would gobble in the fall. Ok is deffinatly infested wth turkeys.
I think we need to separate the new guys from the old guys! LOL!
If your first set of hunting clothes included flannel or that brown blotchy camo in some type of coverall you're an old guy(before innovations such as Trebark).
If your first compound bow had as many wheels as your car you're an old guy.
If mechanical broadhead meant you could twist some little metal rings on it to replace the blades then you might be an old guy.
If a "Blazer" was something you wished you had to get to your stand instead of your vanes you might be an old guy.
If your sight pins were mounted onto a metal slotted plate and all the paint wore off after the first hunt you might be an old guy.
If your bow had an actual "cable" on it you're a border line old guy!
Feel free to add! Ha!
I like that. Yes my old is relative to me. Traditional archery hunting is the ultimate.
If you tied thread between two trees over a deer trail, you might be an old guy.
If you tree stand is made from 2x4's with 10 penny nails, and railroad tie spikes as the steps, you might be an old guy.
If your climber weighs more than 25lbs or you still use a Baker tree stand, you are definitely and old guy!
It's really easy to jump back in time if one chooses to do so. Pick up a recurve/longbow and back in time you go and the challenge increases dramatically. As for the young guys I think most will never experience what it was like back in the day, there is too much tech for them and I don't see many giving that up, their loss. I think most high tech guys couldn't handle the hit to their egos whe they go a whole season without any game. It would be interesting to see the pros hunt a full year with stick and string and see how many shows show a kill shot:)
I agree. I have always said that the guy who hunts with the traditional archery is doing it i. Its purest form.
Brotsky x 20!
You might an old guy if
The Cabelas catalog came out in the spring and fall,,,, only!
You bought and wore Treebark camo, and it is still in your tote because it isn't TOTALLY faded.
If carbon was something you learned about in school, because they used it to date fossils.
If you remember when a Baker stand first came out, and you saw it in the local sporting goods store,,, only! Because there wasn't an internet and other than Cabelas was your local sporting goods store!
You watched "Bowhunting October Whitetails" at your friends house on VHS. You had to switch the TV to CH 3 or 4 to view the tape player.
You remember when Dan Fitzgerald VHS videos were "cool".
Limb Bender, as far as deer numbers go, I saw more deer back in the 70's and 80's than I do now. There were tons of deer in MI in the 80s. Amazing numbers. Too many really. In MN, the heydays were in the 1990s and 2000s. Now the herd has been trimmed way back by too much antlerless harvest, tough winters and wolves. In that way, I liked the old days better. There were more deer back then it seemed to me.
I'm not that old, 33, but I really don't think there is any time in my life when the hunting was better or worse. I've always had fun and always will. It always seems like my last hunt is my best hunt and fresh on my mind until the next one. I don't dwell on how it used to be two years ago or twenty years ago. The guys I hunt with all have similar attitudes and we have a great time!
I totally agree. I grew up hunting primarily public land in MN, back before the hmong crowds and did some private land hunting during the gun season when nobody posted land.
One thing I have never done is pay several hundred dollars or more to hunt strictly whitetail. I've been on many out of state hunts for other species, including mule deer or whitetail, but never just whitetail. I have gone in on a couple leases, but it was just $250-$300 a year. To me the money I would spend on a whitetail hunt I would rather hunt something I cant hunt on a regular basis, plus I have a few whitetail mounts and along with all my other mounts, I'm about out of space.
I also continue to hunt public land for sole purpose of not having to answer to anyone else. I don't have the same feeling when I hunt private land owned by friends. There's sometimes stand choice conflicts and even though there's no set rules on what size bucks can be shot, there's always that feeling of being judged.
My personal goal is it has to be 2.5 year old or better. I've shot my fair share of yearlings and a few wall hangers, but if I waited for every +3.5 year old, I'd only get a chance about once every 5-7 years, and this includes gun season. I also quit shooting does because there aren't that many around anymore. Actually, most seasons I don't even get a shot opportunity at a doe older than a fawn.
I shot a buck last year that I couldn't find. I guessed him to be a 2.5 based on body size, but he was just a basket 7 or 8 with relatively long beams and tall G2s. He was narrow, but looked to have some mass. I decided to harvest him because he would've been my first deer killed over a decoy, as well as my first whitetail buck from a ground blind.
It's about the jouney, not the reward. Sometimes I pop in an old VHS hunting tape. I get more enjoyment out of seeing some of the old camo patterns and equipment they're using. I wish I would've kept my old North American Whitetail magazines for the same reason.
I always used to cringe when adults would say, back in my day...
It seems a few get what im saying and others dont. I love hunting in todays era. I love the tech. I love to see young people getting involved. My point was simply that i miss those early days sometimes when i was first starting out. I dont dwell on them i dont cry over them i just have fond memories of them. Its the same as having a treat childhood and remembering the good times. Thats it. Nothing more or less
Its simple if you are an old timer bowhunter you bow hunted before cell phones!
You are an old time bowhunter if you hunted and also listened to your music on a round object made of vinyl.
You are an old time hunter if you hunted when they actually played music on AM stations.
You are an old time hunter if you bow hunted and the only hunting catalogue was called Herters.
You are an old time hunter if you remember being at the local archery shop and guys bashing those new fangled bows called compounds like bowsiters bash crossbows.
you are an old time hunter if the only tree stand manufacture was Baker!
You are an old time hunter if you bought your new bow and the only way it was camoflauged was by using 2 to 3 cans of different flat color paints.
You might be an old time hunter if you had a good season because you saw 8-10 deer for an entire season.
You might be a old time hunter because you remember when bows (only had 80% letoff)
You might be an old time hunter because you could get live uplinks to your cell phone when the camera was triggered by movement.
You might be an old time hunter because you remember that thing that is now outdated whats it called? Oh yeh the internet!
You might be an old time hunter because your arrow was equipped with an rfid tracking device?
Its always in perspective to each persons era.
Just like my father tells me in every pro sport that athletes today could not have played back in the day!!!!
Older people relish on the good ole days and younger/newer folks engulf on todays technology!
What's scary is what will be out there 20 or 30 years from now.
Not sure what a Baker stand is, but my first stand was a wooden platform with a rope that fit snug around the tree and there was a 'v' that bit into the tree. You had to put faith in it that it would bight into the tree. I used to raise it up, put it in position, then grab onto the end of the stand to set it while dangling in mid air, then I'd swing back over to the tree steps.
I built a stand out of steel tubing that was a replica of the API stands that came out in the late 80s. It's still in the first tree I placed it during the mid 90s. The tree has consumed the entire back half.
Remember when there was no such thing as a safety harness, they were safety belts.
The only thing I miss is the free access to deer hunting I used to have. Times change...
I agree 100% with the original post.
You know you're an old timer when someone the age of your kids starts lamenting about the "good ole days"! LOL!!!
You know you you're an ol' timer when these were your broadheads
Knifetosharp - if you don't know what a baker stand is your not an old timer lmao
The important thing to remember about a Baker is no matter how big the platform is if you value your life only about 4" of it are safe to stand on. Ha!
If you ever painted your bow to camouflage it, you might be an Old Guy. If your hunting coat was also your only winter coat, you might be an Old Guy. If your long underwear had a flap in the back you might be an Old Guy. If you still hunt with that Baker tree stand, your certainly an Old Guy and a stupid one. LOL.
Im definatly not one of these "old guys" y'all keep speaking of by any stretch. Not yet. :). But I did use a contraption years ago that was more like a bowfishing rig than something used to track a hit animal. Designed to help track hit game without bloodtrailing. Do you remember?. Used it couple of times in middle school. A pig and a javalina.
Only two times i had an animal drop on the spot. Go figure. Oh well, its more fun when they run anyway.
cnelk those are fine, fine broadheads right there son. We used to chip the point off them figuring the chisel point bounced off ribs less. We would always be careful when field dressing our animals that we did not find the bleeder blade!
I bought my first bow in 1974 but had hunted with a lemon wood long bow my father made in the late 30's, a Pearson 100 that I thought was the fanciest bow out there till I went to a real archery shop. Wow! A bow with 4 wheels was top of the line and then the idler wheels started blowing up on them and guys got hurt from the ends of the cables whipping them. Sunday mornings when I was very young, me and Dad would be glued to the tv (black and white) watching Kurt Gowdy and the American Sporstman. That's where I fell in love dreaming of Tarpon, bowhunting like Fred Bear and some guy named Pope. I missed a bear the first year I hunted then shot my first big game animal...a timber wolf that fall. Treebark camo? I remember that shiney stuff that would tear off the guy wearing it when walking threw the forest. The first replaceable blade broadheads seemed to be rushed into the market. Those old green Wasps needed Vaseline on that carbon tip so it wouldn't rust and blades snapped in all ways and the tips would break off. Most of us back then field tested broadheads and equipment because the manufactures never did it back then it seemed. Equipment has changed but the theory hasn't. But man we had fun and I still do. In fact right now, my 32 year old son is on a stand I haven't hunted yet this year and is texting me the play by play! There were good old days, but those are great memories now and you young guys may not have the woodsmanship us grey heads do, but sites like this sure save on your field time. You're just bound to be better hunters with the technology.
Great and true post. I'm 32 and feel the same way.
This ^^ right there is what I mean!!!Nice Bloodtrail!!
"You know you you're an ol' timer when these were your broadheads"
you really know youre an old timer when you still use those broadheads ! ...... LOL
guess I'm older than dirt ..... 8^)
I joined organized archery in 1956 in my home state of Illinois. There was NO deer season so bowhunting was small game. 1957 was our 1st ever deer Season & I missed 4 shots & of course, all on the ground with wooden arrows & a recurve bow. 1958 I took 1 shot & killed my 1st biggame, a yearling Doe. I continued & shot an additional 37 Biggame animals (Whitetial, Black Bear, Hog & Elk) with mostly wood shafts, some Micro-flite 8s & forgewoods. MA3 blades my favorite broadhead but used a few others + the Bear Razorhead of course. I shot lots of Field back in my tourney days (mid 60s through 1980). I also owned/operated full time archery shop/lanes for 18 years back then. I've shot some pretty good indoor & outdoor tourney scores that put me in the winner circle a few times. Yes, I HAVE seen tons of changes & heard about every pro or con about something new OR the TYPE Bowhunter then & now. I've been blessed with an unbelievable journey that fortunately, I can still do. I have bowhunted biggame a total of 58 years now, taken a wide variety of Biggame & a couple years back, re-entered tourney shooting after nearly a 30 year layoff. 58 years an archer/bowhunter & it just happens to be my 73rd birthday today. I've not filled my Deer tag but I've had some awesome experiences in the woods this season. I always say, I have done in archery what most will only dream of. I was never a horn hunter but I've been blessed with a wide variety of Whitetails & no longer shoot Does & I have set a personal goal for a Buck that I "failed" to seal the deal on. Yea, EVERYONE misses no matter how good or experienced. ONLY Whitetail has a goal, anything else, beware.. I have evolved the same as our sport but I'm still that same archer. Changes, yes but the bowhunter is still pretty much the same, good, bad & ugly in every decade. ONE thing-WE definitely have MORE Deer
last one & me at the NFAA outdoor Field Nationals in Yankton, S.D. this year. A bucket list thing (my 1st Nationals). I managed to hold onto 2nd place & the experience of meeting Archers from all 50 states & 17 countries in attendance was AWESOME.. I was only 72 then.. ENJOY your sport fellas cause life passes in the blink of an eye when you look BACK. I'll be back in a tree stand in a couple days & thankful I'm able to be there. I got about 10 days b/4 the orange army.
I totally agree I have taken the fun out of hunitng for myself since I started naming deer..... :-) Nice to just go out and shoot one once and a while!!
Aaron
I don't name deer, or age deer either. Not saying it's wrong, but I just don't have the time and energy to worry about it. If I shoot a 2.5 yr old buck so be it. I try not to shoot buttons and I usually don't shoot the smaller bucks, but it depends on my season. In the end, I want to shoot a deer and if the season has been tough I will take whatever God sends me!some of the guys i hunt with have darn near cried after shooting a a buck that was younger than thought or shot a button...geez, it's not the end of the world. I told them what difference does it make, none of are good enough to kill em when they reach maturity!!!
cnelk.. Those are STILL my broad heads!
Ahhh Brotsky that is funny :)
My first wheelie bow was a Browning Coyote in the late 80's or about 90 I think. So I'm on the borderline between old guy and not I guess :) I remember those old pin sights though. every pin had like 40 nuts and washers you had to deal with, and if you wanted to tinker with your left right, you had to loosen and then tighten them all.
If you were a lazy high school kid you could also just bend the sight plate a hair.
I remember wondering why my top pin was further to the right than my bottom pin... they looked like this: / ha ha ha!
I had fun though, and I got hooked on this whole bowhunting thing... so those "challenges" were worth it.
I used finger nail paint to paint my pins back then
Remember when ANY deer killed with a bow was considered a trophy ?
In 1976 I had people that I didnt even know knocking on my door and asking to see the doe I killed with a bow .
I ran a Deer Contest in 1964 & the winner was a 5 point in Illinois. In 1974 the winner was a 153 net.. Yes, things change. After ledges ect. in releases my 1st real mechanical in mid 70s was made by a tool & die maker friend (mid 70s) & I sold many for $20 back then. The local newspaper printed my 1st bow kill in 1958 & it was the ONLY one locally back then.
There are a pile of "young fellows" on here having the time of our lives...
As you young fellows should.
For us older fellows, we don't realize that a 'young fellow' could be hunting for 20 years or more. Everyone needs a refresher course it 'what used to be or what is was like before compounds. We should all take a trip back there now and then. Good thread. Shick
Is there more pressure on people starting out now to trophy hunt from the get go? Not so much the media, but the Fathers today are much different from the fathers that hunted when any legal deer was considered harvestable? The times have changed. There was no such word or words as 'food plot' when I stated hunting.
Do not want to ruin this thread, but for the ones that never hunted w/ a recurve/longbow should spend several seasons with one and come back here and tell their experience. Myself still using the traditional before it was called traditional and no-doubt have let some big boys live a little longer, but when on the ground going eye-eye their is no experience like it; killing them is just the frosting on the cake. Bowhunting is personal but w/ the increase of technology to stack the deck in killing is getting away from what bowhunting what was really meant to be. The only change that would make a difference in bowhunting is banning the release or trigger and that would level the killing field, after all we are all out to kill and not to harvest. (PC is really destroying). "Maybe to old to cut the mustard but never to old to lick the lid."
Anyone who has or does kill an animal with recurve/longbow is amazing to me.
I have had many occasions when someone during a conversation about some new age "trophy hunter" stated that he or she could kill just as many big bucks with trad equipment as they do with modern . They know how to get in range and thats what matters .Its not the equipment , modern equipment really isnt that big of an advantage .
When I hear this I first ROTFLMAO and then I offer to give our "expert" his choice of recurves from my collection of 30+ or I offer to build him one . I then ask him to come back in a year and tell be about all the trophy bucks he tagged .
I have never had one expert take me up on the offer .....Hmmmmmmm ....... I wonder why ...... LOL
I think killing one with a modern bow is difficult enough..let alone traditional archery..I couldn't fathom it..
Here is how a couple young fellows did it 24 years ago. So-called 'compounds', no releases, no sights. I took the neighbor kid on his first deer hunt. We got 2 that night
"I think killing one with a modern bow is difficult enough..let alone traditional archery..I couldn't fathom it.."
Limb bender, I felt the same way for a long time. It took me years to work up the nerve to even take a recurve to the woods. Im by no means an expert archer, just love the sport, and I promise you im no different than anyone else on the internet wth a bow.
I started with a compound like many others, and thought guys with longbows and cedar arrows were in a differnt league. I just lacked the confidence. That said... The biggest thing I have discovered so far, and I think some will back me up on this, is having confidence in yourself and your abllity to take down a wild deer without the need for wheels and sights. Once you take to the woods wth a trad bow and find confidence in yourself, you will be completly addicted!
Funny thing is i got my first bow when i was 12. Bear recurve. I wAs pretty darn good out to 20 yds. But its been years. I have often wonder if I would've stuck with it where i would be.
" Once you take to the woods wth a trad bow and find confidence in yourself, you will be completly addicted!"
that is EXACTLY right .