Flatlander had me pegged as a rocket scientist/brain surgeon/physicist type. Well he was close~(8o)
So what's yer life?? What burns yer body everyday aside from bow hunting?? Tell us about YOU!!
I'm 48 yrs immature. I have a wonderful wife and 3 kids, 4 countin Shiloh, the beagle. I been hunting for 35 years now- bow slingin for 20 some years. I live in Latrobe, SW near Pittsburgh.
I used to do all kinds of stuff, softball 17 years, bowled for over 20- (197 avg), season ticket holder for the Pens. My BIG passion was race cars. I had every model of the 65 Mustang. Several others, ending finally with a 1967 Ford GTA Fairlane. The motor was a 454 Ford- yes a Ford 454. It had a Doug Nash alum. 5 Speed transmission, 12 Qt oil system, magneto, and FOUR Weber 2 barrel carbs. 750 HP runnin around here...~(8o) Here's a pic of my baby.
I used to do really stupid stuff but hunting kept me alive. Bowhunting became my juice. I kilt my 1st deer with a PSE Pulsar compound moved to an Alpine(When the Alpine Barks- start planning yer menu!!) Made a few selfbows and now I'm gonna make a whole pile more. I'll most likely die before I quit scratchin' wood. Hell maybe I'll make my own box!
I'm a steelworker, one of my most enjoyable jobs, and have been an underground coal miner- maybe the best job on/in earth!
Joined the UBP about 10 years ago, got involved in Bowhunter Ed and havent looked back since. I met alot of great folks on here and thru all my activities. Life is GRAND!!
Hope to see alot of ya'll post. I know there's lot's of lurkers out there some come on in!! Sit a spell!
Phil Magistro's Link
I'm 54 but act 15. I'm a thoughtless, insensitive....oh wait, this isn't counseling. :)
I am 54. I like sunsets, red wine, good conversation, and long walks....... Wait a minute. Wrong website. :)
I had a construction business through the 70's. Then in 1980 I got into healthcare and have been there since. I worked on the surgical side of the business and have been on the information technology side for the last 15 years. Today I'm a consultant working in the Baltimore area but that should change soon.
I've always had a lot of hobbies. Used to bowl, played a lot of golf, was heavy into shooting and reloading for handguns and rifles, been a flintlock shooter since the early 70's. My grandfather started me in the woods when I was 8 running beagles. Started hunting and bowhunting when I was 12. Bowhunting is my primary hunting interest and photography is my primary hobby and shooting weddings helps bring in some additional money.
I've been married for 29 years. With luck we'll make 30 this August but who knows. We have two kids, a son 25 who is married and lives in Colorado and a daughter who is 21 next month and should be at college but busted up her leg pretty badly last summer in a car wreck and has been here at home recuperating.
I've been a member of the UBP and PBS for a long time. Don't recall when I joined the UBP but I got into PBS in the mid-80's.
I've hunted with all types of bows but, as time passed I found myself going back to the style I shot in my youth, recurves. Don't know if it was sentimental or nostalgia but for now the longbows and selfbows are put away.
www.pmagistro.com
I'm superfical except when it comes to archery and then you will find depth. Been told I was abrasive a time or two, but to know me is to love me.
I served in the US Navy (Corpsman) now for 19 yrs 2 months. Yep that makes me 37, and I'll retire this Oct.
All the interestes in my life faded with the birth of my son almost three years ago, and the marriage to his mother along the same timeframe:) Only other interest I got outside of them is the bow.
Got active in archery when I was 5 or 6. Bill Polaski of Charleroi gave me an old 35# target recurve and some fiberglass arrows. I shot it ever chance I got and was into punching holes in paper at 20yds every sat in a different club.
Killed my first deer at 12 with a .243. Killed my first buck with a PSE fireflight at the age of 28. Yeh I had some bad luck and deployments between those ages. In 99 I bought a Martin hatfield T/D, and shot both modern and trad equipment until just recently when I sold the wheels. I think I'
Dale what's your measurements. Yours kinda reads like the center pullout of playboy. You forgot to mention you hotdog fetish.
I'm 40 and work as a maintenance tech at AK Steel in Butler, 40-50 miles north of Pittsburgh. We're the nation's largest electrical flat-rolled steel manufacturer. The corporation has several plants that make various types of steel, but here in Butler we mostly make the steel that is used in electrical transformers and such... the big money stuff :^) Before that, I worked a lot of residential construction.
I'm married with a 16 year old daughter and a 12 year old son. Today is my wife's birthday.
I'm basically a redneck bowjunkie. My #1 gig has been bowhunting for as long as I can remember and I'm more preoccupied with it now than I've ever been. Been an associate member of the PBS for about 10 years, and recently rejoined the UBP.
I always really liked woodworking too, so I guess it was only a matter of time until I started whittlin' on bows. Stickbows, bowmakin', and the folks I've met through them have enhanced my life, and I'm grateful for them.
I don't do sports like golf, bowling, or watch football, baseball, nascar or any of that jazz.
Jazz? That reminds me, I like to play the guitar a little bit... rock though, not jazz:^) I ain't too good at it, but I enjoy it.
One day, I'd like to make my own guitar, and my own flintlock too.
I used to be big into fishing, trapping, reloading & bench shooting, skeet, black powder rendezvous', and would hunt anything, any time, anywhere, with practically any weapon. I lost much of my interest in that other stuff and mostly just want to bowhunt now. That's where I've realized the most challenge and enjoyment.
Two of the proudest things I've accomplish where small to others but large to me. First) Raising three great wonderful kids and giving them a solid base and the opportunity to choose what ever direction in life they wannted.
My second was getting sober in my mid life and giving back by helping other drug addicts and alcoholics. Turning my life over and doing the work necessary to continue my soboriety for 15 years and counting. Thanking the Almighty for blessing me with a woman who never faltered during the down time and a 26 yr. Marrage.
I've been in the construction industry all my life as my family was. Starting in 1972 after coming home from a two year military stint. I've ran the gamut in construction as a carpenter, contractor, superentendent, project manager. 27 of those years as a member of local 465 of the carpenter union.
I'm plaining on retiring in Aug of 08 at age 58 to do anything but construction. A new start at I don't know what. Possibly a small in house archery shop. I just moved into a new home so some project will fill some of my retirement. Other then That Life is beautiful. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it. Jerry
Dale your better suited for Bushmaster.
I'm 53, gawd I'm old. Live in Hollidaysburg.
Been married to my jr. high school sweetheart for 35 years, have 2 sons. Matt is 31 & Jon is 25.
Been a machinest all my life. Been a CNC machinest for 18 years. A CJ jeep could probably fit on my machines table. Obviously I machine big parts, some weighing tons. Worked at the same place for 34 years.
Started bowhunting at 17. Missed a bunch of deer with my Bear Grizzly(recurve). Killed my 1st one back in 1977 with a Jennings sidekick. Went to a Darton, then about 4 PSE's & now a Switchback.
Been elk hunting in Colorado 5 times, killed 3 bulls. That yanks my crank! One year our camp burnt down the day before the season came in, so didn't count that year. That sucked!
Was shot by a hunter for a squirrel in 1980, spent 3 days in the State College Hospital, that sucked too...! So, I became a hunter/safety instructor 20 years ago. Then became a bow ed intructor 9 years ago. Been S/C Regional coordinator since 2000.
UBP lifer, & Region #9 Director, which I don't do enough!
I ran an indoor archery league for 5 years at a local club, 135 shooters a week, it got old. I run the 3-d at another local club, it's getting old.
I try to play the guitar, pretend to sing. With enough Coor's lights, you can recogize most of the 200 songs I strum! Depends how many you had too!
Love big whitetails & sittin in treestands!
"He's got smoke from his stacks a blowin'... and he don't care where he's goin'.... The only time he feels right is when he's a rollllllin'."
My ol' man's been drivin' truck most of his life... still is. He fell too, a few times. Once, broke both wrists.
My present wife is my last one, as I am getting too old to break in another. She puts up with my bad temper, coarse language, Sunday sloth, and occasional sojourns down the neck of a bottle of sour mash bourbon. She is supportive of my bowhunting addiction, long term donation of service to the UBP, and my need to have various weapons within close reach, at all times. She is by all definition a saint of the first order, as can be attested by all those who know her, and me.
I have shot the bow for 53 years and hunted with one for 48 years, and prefer the to do it primitive and traditional, as this is all I have ever known or wanted to. I like big bore handguns, lever action rifles, side-by-side shotguns, and muzzleloading rifles that fit the pre-1850 period. And if I knew I was going to live this long I would have saved my money and taken better care of myself.
Currently I'm a Production and Lean Manufacturing Manager for a flexible packaging systems supplier running the operation in their Red Oak Iowa plant. I've been in the printing and laminating industry for 14 years and have worked for 3 different companies in 4 different states during that time.
My passion outside of my wife and my job is bowhunting. Whether it be shooting, scouting, preparing stand sites, looking for new property to hunt or just day dreaming about "The BIG ONE", it's my obsession!
I'm currently a UBP member and plan to join Iowa's state bowhunting organization next weekend at the deer classic.
My ambition in life is to someday be in a situation where hunting is my livelihood. Perhaps, lord willing, I'll be guiding bowhunters in the spring and fall in my "NEW" home state of Iowa and helping my wife in the off season run her restaurant. Only time will tell........8^)
My wife and I started dating when we were 15. Good thing I snagged her early, she's the only one who could put up with me. Our girls are 24 and 21, both cosmotologists, and live 1.5hrs from home. One to the north in Altoona and one to the south in Romney WV. These three women in my life have made me very happy and proud!
Past hobbies: HS football(screwed up knee for life), tennis, raquetball, karate, skiing, skating, fished a little, hunted a little.
Current hobbies: trad bowhunting/archery takes up 90% of my thoughts and activities, making arrows, doodling cartoons for Bowyers Journal, playing with my beagle "Shoe", camping, enjoying time with my wife again.
I picked up a bow (compound) for the first time at age 26. Within two years I switched to a recurve, then a longbow, then back again, then.........LOL Aw heck, I switch between my 4 stickbows all the time. I have found "the one" several times already. And I sold each one just as quickly. I love them all!
I used to work as a lab rat for a coal company, then a plant operator at a stone quarry, for the last 17yrs I worked at a truck and trailer mfg plant only 3 miles from home. You know those Penn DOT trucks plowing the roads as we speak? They came from our plant.
I really enjoy this site and the true friends I have made through it. Good stuff.
Dave
Growing up besides hunting, fishing, and trapping, i played football,baseball,and wrestled in school. I went to Allegeny jr. college in Cumberland Md. to play baseball. After college i played 1 year of pro ball in the Montreal Expos minor leauges in Braddington FL.(3rd base)
I've been bow hunting since the age of 12 and killed my first deer with the bow at the age of 14 (7pt) I use to hunt WV.,OH, and PA but only PA and OH now.
I've been married for a year and a half now, My wife and i just bought a new home a year ago. Shes a country girl from Ohio who dosent hunt but her parents do own 68 acers in Ohio:) I got married in my moms yard out in the country wearing rocky boots,jeans,and a camo shirt. She takes her vacation to go to the beach and i take all of mine for bow season and she dosent mind the 10 deer heads,bear head,bear rug,or the turkey mount hanging on the walls!
Life is good!!
I have been fishing since about age 7 or 8, and started hunting at age 16. I put the guns away 12 years ago and been hunting strictly bow ever since.
After serving 4 years in the Air Force, I landed a job as a surveyor with an small local engineering firm, and as the firm grew to be an international firm, I grew with it. I was downsized out after 22 years, and actually interviewed the next day for the job I have been holding for the past 14 years with the U.S. National Park Service.
I was also a Deputy for the Pa Fish Commission for 5 years & another 12 years with the Pa. Game commission. I have been involved with the Hunter/Trapper education program since 1981, and was involved with Bowhunter Ed for 5 years
My first car was a 64 Ply. Sport Fury W/ 383 that would turn high 14s in the 1/4 mile (O pure stock). #2 was a 69 Ply Cuda 340 Six-Pack
Norm's Link
Mens Dept my arse, ya'll always needed the Navy to hold your hand everywhere ya went.
Sissypants jarheads:)
Hey Chuck, post a pic of you wearing one of those dog bowls on your head. 8^)
Worked in residential construction for four years after High School. Thought Id be doing that for the rest of my life till i shot myself in the knee w/a 16 penny framer and the company i worked for shut the doors. Losing my job like that kinda freaked me out so I went back to school for a 2-year degree in civil engineering. Still do some side jobs and am always doing some kind of woodworking project. Now I work for Penndot doing safety studies in Armstrong,Indiana, Jefferson, Butler and Clarion Counties.
Besides Archery and Flintlock hunting... I spend allot of time Mountain Biking (Have a Cannondale M-1000)and backpacking. hiked allot of trails in PA..parts of the App. trail, Loyalsock trail, Girrad trail.... but my favorite trips have been on the Long trail in Vermont. The Long trail goes N & S the length of Vermont. Ive hiked about 3/4 of it now on several different trips. Another neat backpacking trip was in the Grand Teton national park in Wy., I could write a book about that but ill just say that it was pretty wild. Besides bowhunting not much beats spending a long weekend in the woods with a backpack plus after initial expenses you can do these trips pretty damn cheap.
Other than that I spend the rest of my time chasing my g-friend around the house and drinking at the local water hole.
That made me chuckle Red.
I'm 39 and have been married for 19 years this year. I have an 18 year old daughter and 16 year old son. I've worked since age 12 and currently oversee our corporations 4 maintenance departments. I've been fishing since I could walk with my Pap and hunting since 12. If any of you hot rodders have any connections, I'm looking for a 37-39 Ford F1 truck for Natalie for our 20th anniversary next year.
I did a tour in the Army out of high school 85-87. Looking forward to early part time retirement as soon as the youngest gets out of the house. I like to work with wood but haven't been successful making my own bow yet. Not good with fine details, so I work with the whole log. I like to make furniture and this spring will construct a log work shop about 20 x 20 on our property in preparation for building our last house somewhere in the mountains.
Married with 6 kids...they keep me going. My wife puts up with me...God bless her:^) I'm an avid flytyer and when I'm not shooting a bow, I'm chasing trout.
Few years ago I was setback by Cancer...was an eye-opener. I thank God I'm still kicking and fortunate to be called a survivor. I'm in NJ now due to work and family...chasing swamp bucks and hitting the surf for Stripers:^)
Well, I'm a 41 y/o country boy (at heart!) Grew up in Lebanon County to a family of non-hunters. But spent a great deal of time in the outdoors fishing, hiking, biking and playing sports. Went to ALaska to visit my Uncle(who worked for the NPS) and family in '76 as a wee lad. One of the best experiences of my life! Was a "jock" in H.S.- Basketball, x-country and my best sport was Track and Field. Was 1983 AA state runner-up in the High Hurdles and 5th place in the 300 IH. Ran track and studied little in College at E. Stroudsburg U. where I met my wife. She was also on the T&F team. Graduated in '87, took some grad classes in 89/'90 and got a job as a Kinesiotherapist(like Physical Therapy, but we do more with therapeutic exercise) at a VA hospital in '91 and settled in the hills of Pike Co. In '93 married my college sweat-heart and knew I married the right women when she agreed to go camping on our Honeymoon! We skied for 3 days in SNowbird Utah, then got a Chevy Blazer and toured the canyon country hitting Zion and Bryce N.P.s and Lake Powell for a week. Was in the 20's at Bryce at nite, and she didn;t even complain once! After 4 or 5 years of prodding, my father-in-law got me to buy my hunting liscense and gun and hunt with the gang at his cabin in Monroe Co. That first day I wasn;t even sure I could shoot a deer, but figured worse come to worse, It would be a bonding experience with him. FIrst morning I had (2) forkies come out in front of my stand and I proceded to miss one and spook the other. I was HOOKED. I still blame him when the wife gets on me about hunting too much! :) ABout 3 years later, my best friend from college got me into bowhunting, and that became my passion. I still like to play B-ball, tennis, racquetball, volleyball, run, lift weights, mountain bike, hike, backpack and camp- but Archery/bowhunting is my passion. In addition to the wife, I have 2 beautiful kids- 8y/o boy and 2.5 y/o girl. Also involved in Church, bible study, Coach my son's B-Ball team at church and am on the Sportsmen's dinner Committee and run the 3D shoot there too. Been a member of UBP for many years and a few years ago got convinced to become the Pike Co. Rep. Also did a year as (emergency)Recording Secretary! :) Look forward to the UBP events every year. Last year at the campout thanks to Dan Zerbe, Muldoon, and Hogan, I started shooting a recurve again for the first time since college. Hope to learn how to shoot it and maybe even make one myself one day! ALmost forgot- LOVE country and Bluegrass music. Listening to the new song by Montgomery Gentry as I write this- LUCKY MAN- that's me! ALthough I like to look at it as BLESSED MAN! :) GOD IS GOOD!!!!
Perry
I started into an apprenticeship right out of high school as a power lineman. Worked several years traveling the country doing power line construction until I settled at Duquesne Light as a troubleshooter in Dec of 1998.
Been hunting since age 12 and started bowhunting at 16 with a borrowed recurve. Got into modern archery equipment when I was 20 and went back to trad. equipment about 5 years ago. Started making my own bows about 1-1/2 years ago.
Use to play baseball and softball and still do some golfing. Whatever time is left after all my archery addictions is spent wiht my family or working.
I have DIY archery hunt for elk and mule deer planned for this Sept. in Colorado. It will be my first trip out west for something other than working.
Now for "Harry Carry", well, I wish I could be more like him.....
Aloha & 73, de WHOMEVER!
NANCY HAS 3 ADULT SONS & I HAVE A SON & A DAUGHTER THAT ARE BOTH GROWN UP.
Oh Yea, my other hoby is outdoor & wildlife photography.
Nice looking family.
I see you all are fans of Wannstedt and the Panthers. :^)
We are !!
Thank you for your Service to the country!
Grew up in NJ near Trenton. One of 3 boys. My dad used to take us small game hunting and deer hunting. When I was about 16 I just decided to archery hunt all on my own. Nobody I knew archery hunted. I loved deer hunting and figured I would get a lot more time in the field.
My first day bowhunting I sat on the ground next to a pine thicket. A giant doe stepped out at 8 yards, never saw me. I was so freaked out I couldn't pull my bow back. I was hooked. Killed my first deer with a bow when I was 17, a spike buck.
Joined the Marine Corps after high school, served 3 years (Infantry, 0351 Dragon Gunner) then went to college and got my bachelors degree in construction management. Moved to Pittsburgh in 1994 while working for Turner Construction. My fiance moved here the following year and we got married in 95. We are no longer married, partly due to her resentment of my outdoor activities. I have 2 amazing kids (boy 5 and girl 7). They are my life.
I have worked for 4 different constrution companies in Pittsburgh, mostly doing estimating.
Oh yeah, my 1987 Buick Grand National would leave all those "muscle" cars in the dust!! Man, I miss that car.
Brent Barclay
Is it May yet? I need to get out there by the Sewickley Bridge. That record is going to fall again this year, to me.
~(8o)
I'm blessed to have met the perfect woman for me, and we've been married 28 years. She's my best friend, my favorite companion on a stroll in the woods, and the first one I ask when I feel like going fishing.
I have to admit, I'm not nearly as serious about archery as most here. My father didn't bowhunt, and it was something that just grabbed me and never let go. He thought I was just some knuckleheaded 14 year old when I hiked up into the mountains above Seward, wearing his old Air Force field jacket and a camo Jones hat and carrying a little Shakespeare Sierra recurve and a quiver full of Feline Archery fiberglass arrows, but he almost crapped his pants when I came home half carrying, half dragging a little button buck with half its hair missing from dragging it halfway across town.
I admire those like Jeff, RC, SS, and others who build, shoot, and hunt with their own handmade creations, and I admire their abilities. Although I really, really, really like bowhunting, and will kill a deer no other way, I'm also greatly enjoy other hobbies - tying flies and catching fish with those creations, getting my hands dirty in the garden, and sweating in the gym - but that's mostly so I can continue my other pasttimes.
You all may not agree, but I firmly believe that if you gathered up all the commonalities of those on this PA site, and compared them with the differences, the differences wouldn't amount to squat.
The fact is, the major difference would probably be what each of us had as a favorite Sunday meal while growing up; was it linguini and marinara, ham and cabbage, or kielbasa and sauerkraut. :^)
Bottom line is I enjoy y'all's company, and learning more about trad equipment.
I shot my first bow when I was about 6 years old, longbow I guess it was. When I was about 10, I got a recurve for x-mas. I had no idea how to string this funny looking bow, but dad did. Next day I shot the chit out of the plastic Frosty The Snowman in the front yard. Till this day I have no idea how Mom and Dad knew I did it. But it was one of the worst a$$ whoopens I ever got:)
I took my first deer with a bow in 1973.Then many more Bucks after that. Every-time I'd tell Dad I got another Buck with my bow, he would just shake his head in disbelief...
I love to work in the garden too, hot peppers are my favorite plant:) And just love mowing the field and tilling and planting corn fields, just to watch it grow and see the deer devour it..
This bugger winds my clock too, nutten like a good dog.. But he is sooo bad:) LOL Guess what goes around come around..
So anyway ya big sissypants from Mary-land. When ya move to Indiana, you will be about an hour from Ole Ropys homestead. Get yer butt down here and you will make a real bow:)
I'm a linguini/kielbasa boy:)
I'm 55 and live in Ligonier Twp. My Grandfather, then my Dad, and now me, have owed property up on Laurel ridge. I also spent the first half my life growing up on a dairy farm. Golly, how I miss those days now. I remember the day I decided to bowhunt like it was yesterday, but I couldn't tell you the date other than mid-70's. I shot a buck across a mountain hollow with a scoped .270 and thought "Now, that wasn't a whole lotta fun, was it?" I haven't shot a centerfire rifle at game since, other than groundhogs.
Most of my best hunting stories are the ones that have me coming back from a hunt with my game bag empty. Every time I go out, Mother Nature gives me a gift to bring home, so I have never had an unsuccessful hunt. A chipmunck that sits on the toe of my boot to eat an acorn; standing in a tree and having a Red Hawk fly directly under my feet so I can see from above; watching a Racoon's paw try and snatch a piece of apple from the other side of a log I was leaning against. These are some of my proudest trophies.
I might miss the days of the farm but I wouldn'trade all of my experiences to go back there. As Dave G. said, "The differences between us don't amount to squat." Best of luck to all of you, and be thankful every time you step outside.
Scott
But around 1974, give or take, I discovered Felines Archery over in the Carbon-area of Greensburg. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
And literally today, I'm finishing up a bamboo backed osage bow with the help of good friends....
I have never been much for photo albums, but perhaps, it's time to rethink that..... Aloha & 73, de HC
I'm 49 years old, the youngest in a litter of 5 boys. I reside in the booming metropolis of Acme...(Wyle E Coyotee jokes aside) for the past 16 years. I have 2 children, a son 28 and a daughter 24....and 2 grandchildren. Still can't figure out how the kids / grandkids thingy happened. Oh well.
Currently working for the Manitowoc Crane group....working on their german manufactured (Krupp) hydraulic cranes as a field engineer. Usually by the time I get handed a problem everyone involved is highly pi$$ed and it's "go make the problem go away". Anyhow its' been a great job....I've been all over the U.S. & Canada, down into South American jungles of Brazil and up into the Andeas mountains, numerous countries in Europe, Russia, China & Austrailia. I've been up to the artic circle and down to the southern most tip of Tazmania. Probubly would have never seen those places otherwise.
I grew up fishing, hunting and camping with my parents and older brothers. Back during the fifties and early sixties my mother and father shot archery on what you might call a semi professional basis. There was a tournament circuit through Maryland, New York, PA, and Ohio they use to follow. My mother was womans state champion one year and my father was regional champion 2 years. I literally grew up walking around an archery field course somewhere. Now if I could just figure out why I can't shoot as good as my parents....oh right..this isn't counseling.
I started my hunting career at 12. That year (the first year I was old enough to hunt) I took my first deer, a doe, the first day of archery season with a Bear Kodiak recurve. Bowhunting has been my favorite way to hunt since then, follwed closely by my trusty flintlock, and with a rifle/shotgun as well. (Apologies for the blasphemy). My hunting exploits have taken me to several Canadian provinces, the Texas hill country, the outback of Australia, the velds of Africa, and the highlands of Scotland. All with the blessings of my wonderful wife.
Hopefully our travels and exploits will continue for a long many years to come. I'm looking forward to walking the forest with my grandkids and showing them the wilds, here and abroad.
All nice posts.... And I suspected as much
~(8o)
I rode a bicycle from Seattle, Washington to Williston, North Dakota for charity when I was 42 years old. Taught archery to about 2000 kids over about ten years at the Bedford School District's fifth grade summer camp. Served four years as school director for same and was on advisory board for the vo-tech school at Everett. I was also on the board of directors for the Pennsylvania State Archery Association for four years in the late 70's. I'm a life member of the UBP.
I got to spend a couple hours with Glenn and Margaret St.Charles several years back, on two different occasions, and that was a highlight for me. Margaret is gone now. Both treated us like family. I have some tape of his story telling.
New house - [IMG]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y214/SwitchbackShooter1/house3.jpg[/IMG]
Living room decoration - [IMG]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y214/SwitchbackShooter1/livingroomdecorations.jpg[/IMG]
C6 Corvette eater - [IMG]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y214/SwitchbackShooter1/hopefully.jpg[/IMG]
I live in Saxonburg, PA which is in Butler County, about 40 minutes North of Pittsburgh.
I work at UPMC Passavant hospital in the imaging file room, and have been at it here for 4 years.
Hobbies include hunting (of course, after all this is a hunting site), watching and participating in all sports. I played football, hockey, and baseball in high school. I am a huge Pittsburgh Penguins fan. I enjoy the outdoors and wish I had more time to do so.
I am new to archery, I got my first bow last year and just participated in my first year of archery. I have been hunting since I was 12, but have gone to observe and take it all in with my dad or grandfather for as long as I can remember.
I feel very blessed to have a close knit family. We do holidays all at once with both sides of the family all together at once. I am also blessed to be 22 years old and have all 4 of my grandparents still here, I don't know one person my age that can say the same thing.
I fear the first day of deer season once my grandfather is gone, I have sat with him every year since I was 12. He cried when I shot my first deer he was so excited.
The picture I attached was when I was 16 years old, it was my first deer. I am standing there with my dad and grandfather.
I turned 50 last August. I married (for 28 years) way above myself to a Monessen girl, Elissa. At 50 she still is one hot momma. She knew putting up with me was her ticket to heaven. I am a Reading Specialist at Rochester Area and help coach at Blackhawk High School and legion. I have been hunting since I was about 19. Just started bow hunting four seasons ago. I shoot every Sunday at Possum Hollow with George (LL). I am a member of the UBP and BVA. Although I am probably one of the worst, if not the worst shooters in Beaver County, I seem to shoot with some of the best. I believe this is due to my ethics. (Or maybe because I usually buy the first round.) I listen to most kinds of music, although I would classify myself as a rocker. We have a pet beast named Tyson, a shiatsu.
Joe
http://eteamz.active.com/bhhs/
Big Beatle fan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq5ItFCyg9E
The pic our 2007 wpial finalist.
Now you all can rest a little easier knowing this.
Joe
Good thread keep'em coming!
Here is my boy!
Cute Kid!
Joe
It seems to me after reading down through these a FEW times we are more similar than different.
Joe
I had you pegged for someone much younger.
Cripes...you're almost as old as my dad! 8^)
Joe
Joe
By the looks of your daughter and the description of your wife, you are one of them thar OVER-achievers!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!! :)
Perry
Still getting used to the attitude down here toward hunting, don't know why, I should be used to it after being down here 10 years, but where I grew up everyone was very hunter friendly. My favorite story down here is one day after leaving the woods after a morning hunt I was walking down the road to my car a lady in her 50s slowed as she passed layed on the horn and gave the finger...Who in their right mind shoots the finger to an obviously armed person...I just waved and laughed my butt off.
Started hunting at 12 with my granfather. Spent a lot of time with him in the woods and in the stream. Fishing went to the wayside once I took up golf, although I'll go from time to time just to clear my head. At 82 Pap still wants to go hunting and fishing, but it's getting REALLY tough for him, as he can barely walk around the house let alone the woods. When I go up home, I just take him out sit him on a stump and walk around hoping something runs him over, cause that's probably the only way he'd see it. Quite a role reversal from the days he would do the same for me.
I'm hooked on bowhunting and have been since the day I shot my first deer with the bow. I could have missed that thing by a mile and I still would have been hooked, it was an entirely new perspective on hunting for me. I watched the deer milling aroun for an hour and a half before one ever got into range. Thank goodness for an overly horny y buck that chased that doe to a 30 yd braodside shot.
I try to get out as much as I can, but my time in the woods has been very limited the last two years. My wife was diagnosed with cancer in Oct 2006 at the ripe old age of 31, so we've been fighting that beast non stop since then. She's been the strongest anyone could imagine given the unbelievable odds stacked against her. I admire her and love her for her strength and courage. So if any of you prayers on here can spare an extra prayer at night, please feel free to add her to your list. That's why I don't post here that much, spend a lot of time with my fellow cancer caregivers on another site. I mean I would love to come on here and argue with you guys about wheelies vs. sticks and mechanicals vs. fixed blades, but I just have more important stuff to research. Hopefully One day soon I'll be able to join the fray.
I guess the best part about hunting is the escape for me, and the oneness I feel with nature when I'm out there. Never killed a buck in all my years hunting, missed two on the same day one year with the rifle, that's all I've ever shot at. Keep saying I wish I could see a legal one to get, but the reality is the chase is just as rewarding.
For those of you guys talking cars earlier. Pap has a 1926 Nash (original) and a 1952 packard (restored). I'm the only one left in the family who can still drive the Nash, and I try to get it out once or twice a year just for fun. Well I've bored you all long enough. I enjoy the site, and find many interesting things on here. My favorite threads are always the trail cams so keep them coming.
Joe
"By the looks of your daughter and the description of your wife, you are one of them thar OVER-achievers!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!! :)"- Perry
No doubt about it!
Concerning the daughter, thank God my wife cheats on me :)
Joe
Joe by the 3 rivers's Link
Joe
Hey Andy I personally know someone he struckout....from secondbase.... on three pitches....blindfolded!
Joe
Or worse yet, I tell them a story about me, and use your name! Remember the floating anchor!
Warmly,
Joe
"i really don't like family functions cause they are a waste of time and i could be doing something I want to do like hunt or scout for next season."
Stuff like hunting, fishing, and scouting are things you do when there isn't anything more important to do, like go to a family function, or otherwise spend time with relatives.
Take some advise from an "Old Phart" - there's not many things more important than family or friends. I know it may not seem that way now, but some day, when you're old and gray like RC, or mature and handsome like me, you'll understand what I'm trying to say.
BTW, good luck to you in your future years of bowhunting. Trust me, you seem like a bright young man, and so you'll have plenty of opportunities to put an arrow in a big buck. But over the years you'll wish you had even more time to spend with family and friends.
Very Much!
Joe
So was another famous Virginian, name escapes me:)
Enjoyed reading the post, Kemo's too.
Kemo- I thought my dad had no life also. That changed as I aged and realized ALL my parents did for me when I started doing it for my kids. I also learned that the world didn't revolve around me. Didn't learn it in science class either.
Joe
That got me to thinkin'... it's only been 7 years since this thread started, but since then I've sold that car, lost 2 dogs, 3 members of my immediate family, and moved twice. More time? You bet. If I was offered a chunk of time to do with as I saw fit, I surely wouldn't waste a second of it on my hunting.
Campfire 'n a small creek. Settin with folks ya love not necessarily blood neither... There or a back porch when it's raining. I'll most likely say that I wished I'd been able to hunt with somebody or wished I'd hunted more with someone. Fishin's a good judge of a fellers character too..... Seems I do best resuscitating in water or in front of a grilled backstrap:)
Sept 13 th I'm doin archery for a church in Greensburg, this'll be the 3rd one this year, and folks it'll be my last... I'm tired. My family has been through hayl this year, thank God for a remarkable 2013 hunting season.... It may have saved me again:) Daughter Jami will be able to hunt this year, so I'm quite excited! She's interning at the Westmoreland Cty. Coroners office until winter classes where she goes back to Miami to graduate. She can gut our deer :)
Someday whenere it happens I can hope I've done my best to see those folks I miss, at another fire ring.
Rut Nut's Link
I don;t want to hijack this thread, but I watched an awesome movie a few weeks ago. It has absolutely nothing to do with hunting, but it is one of the most powerful and thought provoking movies I have ever seen. And explores many of the topics mentioned above. THE WAY
My two daughters each had two daughters! Four grandaughters(two 5yr olds and two 2yr olds). They all live close so they are running around my house almost every day.
My beard was red, now it's white. I wonder why???
We just celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary!
I'm still at the same job, 24 years now. Although it's a long way off, I think about retirement all the time.
Pretty much the same person but most everything hurts now with no clue why.
This is the best thread this forum ever had. Thanks Dale.
Since then I've also started going to my daughter's swim meets(just turned 10 y/o)
Started taking my son to (league) bowling(16 y/o)
Did my first 50 miler on my mountain bike (railtrail)
Son just got his learner's permit.
We just recently lost my mother-in-law.
Still working same job 23+ years and like Red often day dream about retirement. (took my first retirement seminar- never can start too soon! ;-)
Celebrated 20 yrs of marriage.
Done much more backpacking, hiking and camping the last few years
Met a lot of good people who I now call my friends(many of whom are on this site ;-)
Shared a hunt, campfire, bike ride and/or beer with said friends ;-)
hair and beard is more grey, but thank God I still have most of my hair! :)
I never remember seeing that thread back in the day...
A LOT HAS CHANGED SINCE 2007, the Phillies went to the top of the world, and back down again.
I have 5 more grandkids, and one less stable back and two less stable legs.
I'm retired, became UBP president (a job I thought I'd never seek or take) and finished the term already.
Sold a home I never thought I'd leave (mostly health reasons) and bought another one that is more senior citizen friendly.
In 2007 I thought life was great, now after all these changes, it is even better!
I have been born and raised around Mopars and this one was the one I spent the most time (and money) with.Now you know what my handle is about. 1970 Dodge Challenger RT/SE 440 Six Pack (4406v) Custom Dana 60 with 4 wheel disc brakes.Built from a basket case over a 4 year period.
I killed my first deer with a shotgun at 16.My first deer with a bow was with a Bear recurve in 1991 a 7pt.Bowhunting has been my passion since I was 14 years old.Last year it all came together and I killed the biggest buck of my life.
I lost to many close friends and family members lately including last grandparent Lois Perry. If not for her I would never have known the outdoors, lived where I live or been a hunter. I grew up in a bad area in the city, Gram bought a farm when I was 4. Going there was my escape from the city when I was a kid. Gramp taught me how to hunt, I bought land from her and built a house there. I owe them everythin. Like Dale said Hunting saved me, no need to get into that with me either. Most of my close friends growing up in my neighborhood are either dead now or in prison or walking dead. Hunting brought me new friends years ago. Those guys are all still around and I love them like brothers.
Mike
Seems to me the one constant here is that we are all still passionate bow hunters, it gets in your blood!! I may even try to fling some arrows at some doves on Monday, at least try:)
Shoot straight, Andy
But this is what REALLY winds my clock-- this is the first time I have ever shared this on an open forum. Years ago in the county we live in three men, all veterans, went hunting. While they were out, they made a pact that they would find a way to hunt wounded vets, until the Iraq war ended. This snowballed into a huge event our whole little community participates in. What started as a BBQ at one man's house, has blossomed into a banquet held at the civic center. This past year there were 300 folks there. The wounded vets from 3 different hospitals around here are brought out to get to hunt on who ever's land is big enough to shoot a deer on !!! I have had the privilege of hosting men who have given arms, legs, and even successfully hunted one blind Korean vet. If you see a man get down on the ground and start stroking a deer and feeling all over it, because he can only see 12" it will bring a tear to your eye. Will send a couple of photos of what really winds my clock and makes me look forward to deer season.
This one "Really winds my clock"