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How old ?

How old is everyone on here and how long have u been Bowhunting ?

I’m 62 and 50 yrs bowhunting

This fall made 45 years of bow hunting for me , and at the age of 66 i am still learning .

Wil be 63 on Dec. 6. I got a late start. Been Bowhunting since about 16.

Oh and I am still learning to.

62 , 45 yrs bowhunting.

65... bowhunting since I was 15... I’m a slow learner.

65, been shooting a bow since age 8; bowhunted for deer the first time at 15.... so.... 50 years.

I turn 36 next week and this is my 26th season bowhunting. I am thankful that I continue to learn each and every time I hunt as well.

67 and 61 years bowhunting.

57, kind of like a young guy, bow hunting 40 years

57 and got my first bow on Christmas Day when I was 8. About 3 days later got a rabbit with while I was out checking my box traps. It was a Bear Super Grizzly Recurve. Wish I still had that bow!

Kind of funny, when we all get to the point hunting becomes impossible for us, bow_hunter gets it all.

73 and still try to get out. Not as much as I used to and learn every year. Started bow hunting in 1969 so that makes 50 years. Not too smart still use a Hoyt Pro Medalist.

My names Harold Beatty and I got my first bow when I was 12, I am 49 now. Prefer archery over rifle.

46and been bowhunting for 31 years.

76 and have hunted with a bow for..I think about 47 years. Looks like I'm the oldest so I win, right???

56 and hunted with my Grandfathers bow from 16 until 18. Had a break for about 14 years although I Hunted with a gun. Started back around the age of 32.

65... bowhunting since I was 15

Dave, old is right. Keep on keeping on.

I thought this was another age the buck thread. 45 with 33 yrs bowhunting. Started with a Shakespeare Pecos recurve. Still use it from time to time.

64. Started shooting a bow at 8. Been bowhunting for 50 years.

60 years old, started bowhunting at 14.

You are still winning Dave. you have held up well. Keep moving and shooting

I hate that we are not seeing responses from young people , like 15 years old and have been flinging arrows since 4 years old.

Starting shooting a bow at age 4 , starting bowhunting at age 15. I turned 60 in October which makes 45 years bowhunting, still learning every day

Hookman, that’s why I made this post, to get a gauge . It falls right in line with what I was expecting. Mostly older guys and considering younger people use SM more than older people I think it’s more lopsided than it even looks .

For the last couple decades multiple hunting groups like NWTF, WVBA, etc have been focusing on increasing youth participation in the hunting sports. While that sounds like a reasonable approach the data coming back is showing us that it’s not working like we thought it would. Kids that do go on to hunt would have likely done so anyway because they come from a hunting family. The trouble with kids that don’t go on to hunt usually comes down to 3 things. Lack of disposable money, lack of mobility, and lack of a mentor to continue to take them hunting and teaching them how to hunt.

Nationally , a newer group to focus on which is at least initially is appearing to have a better payoff is adults, especially younger adults. Those that have finished school or college and have a job. They are more likely to have disposable income, usually have a vehicle for mobility. All they need is someone to be a mentor.

A couple of years ago I took a former colleague out to shoot a doe. She is in her 40s and had never hunted before. I didn’t really know what to expect but she got her deer and seemed to be interested. She called me this summer asking to go again. I said fine, you can use my rifle again. She said no, that if she hunted she wanted to do it with her own gun. I got her in touch with a friend that owns a gun store and she got a nice gun and scope combination. I took her first day of early doe gun season and she got a doe in the morning and a doe in the afternoon. I think she is hooked now and will be a long term license buyer plus provide DNR with money from PR from her gun, scope, and ammo purchases .

Looking thru the responses it looks like there is a bunch of older hunters with HUNDREDS of years of experience. Take a friend, coworker, family member, etc that has never hunted before and spend a little bit of time being a mentor and build a new hunter .it will pay off in the end

I’m not advocating giving up on kids just adding a new area of focus

I have taken a lot of younger people a introduced some older people also to our great sport. For some reasons it don’t interest them long enough to get hooked like we are. I sometimes think maybe our sport is dying but then I go to some of the big events around the country and it seems to be going strong. I know statistics say we are losing out, I sure hope not. We can only keep trying. WVBA does a great job with archery in the schools, we need that type of help and more.

I agree with you Hookman. Too many other things for people's attention. Most of us older guys got hooked on hunting at a young age. I see lots of people at the real big shoots but lots are spectators that dad dragged along. I really see the drop at the local level. It was nothing to have 150 shooters and 50 would be trad shooters at our local shoots years ago. Now there are 3 of us trad shooters left and maybe 25 total at the local shoots. I also see a big drop in the woods during the gun season. Don't hear as many shots. Don't see many cars at the little local stores. A lot of that is due to the electronic check in. And I would say that the biggest indicator of hunting being down would be in license sales. Not sure how that is statewide or nationwide but I woild say it's down

45 and 30 yrs of bowhunting.

My daughter never was interested until she went to college, came back went to air force boot camp and now loves to hunt. Keep trying to involve all ages of people you never know.

My daughter never was interested until she went to college, came back went to air force boot camp and now loves to hunt. Keep trying to involve all ages of people you never know.

Yes, Hookman, I think you hit the nail on the head. I introduced my son at age 12, which is the age he finally asked. Having said that, I've always wondered why he won't go unless I take him, he is 21 now. He killed his first deer when he was 12, put the first buck on the wall at 14 and has added 3 more mounts since and all with a bow. He was scared to hunt with a rifle up to last year when he took his first deer with a rifle at my place in Monroe County. None of his friends hunt and I often wonder if that's reason enough he never goes unless I take him. Currently he's in his junior year at Clemson University and the have 10K acres of archery only management land 1 minute from his front door and I see sign in the woods just behind his house. I used to hunt at Clemson and the hunting is darn good. The only time he goes now is when he needs burger meat, sustenance. My brother's son was the same whereas we hunted for sustenance yet we were passionate about the sport.

Gobbler is on point here - where he stated about someone needing disposable income and mobility to access hunting ground is spot on. Hate to admit it but when I was growing up the recurve I got for Christmas was a used one my parents got for $25. A deal like that for a nice piece of equipment is unheard of now. Right outside our door I had access to farm ground that family and friends owned that I could hunt and fish on when I got home from school. Not many kids or any age beginner outdoorsmen have that opportunity these days. Heck in the Panhandle those farms are developments now or getting access to one can be pretty pricey! Gosh as a kid I would dream of the days I could go for elk or bear! When I was either 19 or 20 I was able to go on an bear hunt in Canada and an elk hunt in Colorado for about $500 to $600! Now a days would $4500 even cover the cost? Let alone the points you apparently need to get now to hunt some areas. Lets face it not many young adults can afford that kind of stuff needless to say a kid could! So I would say that 30 to 50 year old age class would be the group to target to become hunters - they would have more of what is needed to get into the sport the now.

Yep, a lot different today. When I started deer hunting at 14, you wouldn't see maybe 4 deer a year. I hunted with an old sweet 16 loaded with buck shot. No camouflage was available, wore socks on my hands to keep them warm, steel toe brogans. Traded a motorcycle for a 30-30 at age 17, iron sites, good God saw 6 deer in 1978, phewee what a season. Brother and I and a friend named Kinsey made it happen though. Camping out every weekend after football season, laughing, playing poker for pringles potato chips and oreo cookies, freezing our patoots off, getting up early to sit out in the great outdoors to possibly see a deer. Ran out of gas smack in the middle of a damn cause Kinsey lost his stick so we couldn't check our gas level. We didn't know a darn thing about deer hunting, but by God we were gonna learn just like Grizzly Adams. Best days of my life, by far. No malls, no stores, no shopping, no videos, no phones, no cable, black and white TV 4 channels, cooking over a fire, hoboes we was.....happy little turds storming thru the woods.

But part of the problem is that kids expect that big game hunting and success.,If they start out with deer and elk and out west hunts local deer or small game hunts are no fun for them. I still say the way to get kids hunting is to just find some land, even public land and take them squirrel hunting. Let them have action. Then deer hunting will be a big deal to them. Man I know it was to me. And let them hunt deer. Any deer. Don't raise the bar too high. Maybe that is why I'm happy with just a deer. Lol. TV has a lot to do with that.

They say you have to learn to adapt to changes......I don't know about you guys, but every time I drive by a shopping center or golf course which used to be one of my old stomping grounds....it hurts and I cry inside. It's one of the reasons I wanted to come back to WV, somewhere time doesn't change too much.

I agree - I started by fishing my grandfather’s ponds and using a box trap for rabbits - right around my house. Now a days - kids don’t have that opportunity to do so right around their house. Like gobbler said it is about disposable income and mobility.

Doesn't cost anything go take a kid to Sleepy Creek to hunt squirrels.

I’m 23 and been bow hunting since I was 12. It has been a long learning process for me. I wish that I would have had someone to take me when I was younger, or at least give me some pointers. I’m sure I’m the youngest guy on here!

A little information for everyone here. The WVBA may be in the process of developing a mentor program that will introduce young people to hunting. I feel it is important, to our sport of hunting,that we make the effort to introduce young people to the outdoors. With out them our future is in serious jeopardy .

It would be a great idea

I'll sign up for it.

I'm 70 and been bow hunting for 40 yrs. Got a buck this year with my 40 lb Tiburon recurve,

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