What is the story behind the reason you got into archery?

When I was a small child I got a Tarzan bow and arrow. The bow looked like horse bow and the arrows had stoppers on the end. I later got a yellow fiberglass bear youth bow for Christmas and loved it!! My dad and cousins were always shooting bows so I guess I have always been around them. There is just something about sending an arrow flying through the air and watching that arrow flight that I just love.

 

Growing up, I never hunted. I do look back now and wish it was something I had been able to grow up doing with my Dad, but it's definitely something I will do if I ever have kids. I didn't start hunting until I joined the Army and it wasn't even until I became a Warrant Officer. A friend at Ft. Campbell got me interested in rifle/shotgun hunting and got my first deer with him with my 12 gauge. Actually, only two deer I've ever taken were with the 12 gauge. I did have a PSE bow back in 2007 I got from Bass Pro but never really put time into it. So after this last deployment when I got home in Feb 2011 I decided I wanted to really get into bowhunting and found this website. The information and advice has been great on here and just recently got a good trade on a rifle I had for a Mathews Heli-m and as soon as I get it back from the shop (had to have a few things replaced/tweaked on it) I will be spending the majority of my free time sighting her in and practice, practice, practice. Ah, and of course on weekends I will be hitting the WMA I'll be hunting this year to scout out some areas for when season opens in October. Looking forward to being up in the tree in my Lone Wolf with my gear watching the world wake up, and hoping to come home with some meat for the table!

 

I grew up around hunting. My dad hunted deer, duck, pheasant, and bear. I went with him pheasant hunting once, other than that, hunting was generally something he did with his buddies.

Fast forward 20+ years and I meet this guy that LOVES deer hunting. We started dating in early September and had a few dates and then it was full on hunting season. Every weekend was at the cabin and he was gone the entire month of Novemeber. He managed to squeeze in some time during that first fall, but I understood. It was "normal" to me.

Then over time things started to get more serious and before I knew it I had a bow in my hand. I shot it a could times and I really enjoyed it. Next thing I knew, he was making plans for the hunting season, that included me. That was new and unexpected. I even said, isn't this something that you do with the guys? He said hunting was one of his passions and it consumes a good amount of time and if we were going to be together, he wanted to include me in that part of his life if I was willing. I was super excited and began shooting my bow every chance I got. He was just as excited for me.

Fall came and he put me on one of his favorite stands and a nice big buck came in and nobody ever explained to be about "Buck Fever". Well, I missed and lucky for me it was all caught on the camera. I got back and told everyone at camp I missed a huge buck and of course they were all giving me grief. Then we brought the chip back and they saw what I missed. Well, I missed "Hartford". Again, something new to me, they named their deer? It truns out Hartford was a 150+ class buck, which meant nothing to me at the time, but they just kept telling me that nobody ever gets a chance like that on their first shot ever. I was now even more excited. Fall passed by and I had nothing. I went out on New Years morning and it happened. I got my first deer with my bow. It was a doe, but I didn't care what it was, I was proud of myself and I knew at that point I was hooked for life. This past year was my 2nd season and I got my first buck. I love it!

So, that is how I got started in hunting and in 6 weeks I will be marrying the man that got me hooked!

 

My story almost mirrors Schuls. I never hunted big game before this year, have shot rabbits before. I had a good buddy (one of the only ones I still talk to) get me turned onto bowhunting while we were in Afghanistan. I came home, started a new job, bought a house and traded for my current bow and was hooked. I had taken a trip to Idaho to Sportsman's Warehouse where I shot the Bear Encounter and the Diamond Outlaw. Loved shooting the Encounter and decided that would be the bow that I save up for. Fast forward to last month when we told at work that the semi-annual bonus would be bigger than we expected and I have the money to buy my bow and a trip to Cabela's planned. A payroll issue threw the monkey wrench into that plan, so I ordered my Encounter last Friday and have been anxiously awaiting its arrival tomorrow.

Joined the forums last August when I picked my bow up so I could ask for advice on set ups, etc. I've found that this is one of my most frequented websites, next to facebook and espn.

 

During my second year hunting I went out for one day of archery to extend my season. When I got back I told my brother, I'm an archery hunter now. It's something about the mix of tranquil quiet with heart pumping up close and personal encounters. I was instantly hooked!

 

My Family is big into hunting and my grandparents gave me a bow when I was little. I kinda stopped caring about it then I moved to a small farm town and became interested again.

 

I was working at a VA hospital in 2003 doing HVAC work when I ran out of some parts. Down the road from the hospital was a new Bass Pro Shop that I had to check out on my way back. I walked in and stumbled upon the archery section and could not believe how advanced and cool looking bows were. After talking to a salesman about archery and places to hunt I decided I had to buy one. After about an hour and a half I was all geared up and $700 poorer. It took me 2 years of self teaching hunting public land by myself before I finally killed my first deer which was a 2 year old eight point. I have been hooked ever since and think about hunting in some way ever minute of the day.

 

My story...

I'm 44 years old, with 3 adult children (daughter 25, son 23 and daughter 21) and a 7 year old daughter, along with several grandchildren and another on the way. I rifle hunted for many years, teaching my son how to hunt. About 12-15 years ago, I completely stopped hunting. I've accompanied my son when he hunts, carrying my camera, and we've really enjoyed spending time together. Well, my son and I have had a few conversations about me getting back into hunting. These conversations always went the way of "well, we'd not be able to hunt together because you now hunt archery..." We'd joked about me getting into archery but due to a neck injury I just didn't know if it was something I could do or not. Unfortunately, I'm left handed so couldn't even try my son's bow to see. We always just let the conversations end there...

Fast forward to a month ago. On Father's Day, we had a BBQ and all my monsters and grandmonsters were there, along with my girlfriend's dad and stepmom. Her dad lives in Montana and is an avid archer...

As I'm cooking up the grub, I see my son taking a bow and target from his vehicle. I figured he was setting up his target in my back yard and going to fling a couple arrows at it. Well, to my surprise, all of my kids had combined funds to purchase me a bow for Father's Day! I was the proud owner of a Matthews SQ2!

A week later my son took me to my first 3D Shoot in Priest River, ID. What a blast! I was hooked!!

The addiction has quickly taken hold. A few days ago I found a Hoyt Vectrix XT500, completely set up, on Craigslist for $200. It's now mine also!!

Years ago, I taught my son how to hunt and fish...

Now my son gets to teach me how to archery hunt!

 

Blame my dad...and a few of my buddies I was in Afghanistan with. They all got me hooked. Being older, it's fun to go with my dad using a bow instead of a shotgun or rifle. Still get really excited to hunt with my dad like I did when I was little.

 

Quite simply like a lot of people on her it was in my blood. Dad brought me out at a very young age and I picked up the crossbow early and switched to a compound years latter.

 

I grew up rabbit and pheasant hunting and shotgun hunting for deer. Our deer season was only 6 days long. My younger brother started bowhunting when he was 17 and I started around 20 or so. I have loved it ever since. That was 27 years and 75 or 80 some deer ago

 

When I was a kid there was always a fascination with getting up as close as I could to animals in the woods. Whole family gun hunted and dad said that all bows and arrows did was wound deer. Lots of lawn cutting allowed me to buy my first bow, a Ben Pearson recurve. All my buddies wanted to shoot it and the near by gravel pit was the backstop for all the arrows we shot. After getting married, I still had the urge to shoot bows and arrows. Hard to get by on $400 a month but the wife let me buy a Bear Polar LTD. Killed a doe after many hours in the stand and a miss on my first try. Next season was two bucks, nothing great but meat in the freezer. Many years passed with no chance to hunt, limited time to scout so gun hunting was it when hunting was available. Still shot when I could. About six years ago, got back into it and quit gun hunting. It's about being in the woods, out smarting the deer or whatever the hunt is for, getting up close or getting positioned so the deer crosses close. It's about the hunt now, not necessarily the kill. Meat in the freezer is a bonus. I guess its just in your blood to hunt the hard way.

 

I have hunter with the rifle for a while. wanted to extend the season so thought I would try bowhunting last year. loved the challenge. now I'm thinking of putting the rifle down and just bowhunting.

 

First off, its pretty cool to read everyones stories.

I got into archery when I rented a house on some acreage I worked on. They didn't want people shooting guns, unless it was at coyote's. So I decided to go out and buy a bow, that way I could shoot in my back yard and not have to really pay for ammo. Two years later I met someone at the church I was going to that got me into hunting, and then we decided to pursue bow hunting together. He got his bow, and then we started hunting together. Been a amazing and rewarding experience.

 

I guess for me it's all Dads fault . He started us at a young age hunting whatever was in season . At the age of 10 we got a bow to start shooting and got to go on our first rifle hunt . If we could prove ourselves as a good enough archer we got to start bow hunting at 11 years old .

I was really surprised later in life when I discovered that he never really cared for bowhunting but just wanted more time in the outdoors with us . As a father and grandfather I can understand where he was coming from but unlike him , I really enjoy bowhunting . Thanks Dad

 

Never Bow hunted tell i met my wife and everyone in her family bow hunted besides her lol. i went out one time with her dad shortly after we met and i didnt even have a bow and just sat. we saw 3 deer and thats all it took. i bought my first a couple weeks after that and now all i do is eat sleep and dream of bow hunting

 

Real simple for me...hunting pressure in SW Colorado during rifle seasons is horrible, complete circus out there and dangerous...A month to hunt with considerably less folks in the woods, during the most beautiful time of the year, relatively milder temps and conditions...and more of a challenge.

 

I got into archery for my one and only son. I have never hunted in my 30 yrs on this earth but my little boy has it in his blood to hunt and since his grandfather who put it there is not in good health anymore, I have made it my mission in life to nurture and groom that desire in him. So him and I will learn how to harvest what the good Lord has given us together. And so again thanks everyone for the advice.

 

I started when I saw an unstrung recurve bow in my Grandfather's basement. I was about 8 or 9, shooting it unstrung because it was easy to pull back. My parents then bought me a few youth bows but, I was a teenager and never really got back into it until I was in my mid 20s. Now I'm in my thirties and love it. I think it takes age to really appreciate what archery is.

 

I shot a bow for about a year when I was a kid in the Explorer Scouts and really enjoyed it. Then for reasons I cannot remember I stopped, probably had something to do with discovering girls. All these years later after being a modern firearm hunter I decided to pick it back up and will be trying to put an elk in my freezer next month.