just a thought

[Bevan R.]

I remember have 'flight shoot' contests with my brother. Big empty lot in town next to the power plant. Winner was the one who could hit the roof of the big church on the next block. Would occasionaly add boosters to the arrows (bottle rockets) to get that little extra distance. 56 years old/young.

[Badger]

  I only had 2 bows as a kid, the first was a 20# wood bow, I hunted rabbits with it from morning till night. Never shot a rabbit but sometimes i would steal one of my moms chickes and take it out to the field to hunt it. I finaly got a 35# wood bow when I was about 11 I guess and killed my first rabbits with it. To this day the best shot I had ever made. One jack came out of a tumbleweed and went to the left and I nailed him. Just as I nailed him one came out of the same weed and went right and I nailed him. We used to use trash can lids as shields and shoot at each other. I don't remember if it penetrated the galvanized lid or not. I quir shooting bows and arrows at around 14 and was about 46 when I picked it back up. 63 now and just retired.

[oldhippy]

  Badger, I know what you mean. From the time I was six until I turned  12 or 13 also, I hunted anything that ran in front of me. When I hunted back then everything was pretty safe from getting stuck, much as they are today. Seems about the age of 13 or 14 I started to chase that varmint that most of us guys end up chasing for the next few decades.  Now I find bows right relaxing compared to how life used to be. I don't chase nothing anymore unless it is a stray arrow or a good buzz.    

Steve

[gstoneberg]

I grew up in rural Iowa and Dad would let me have a bow way before I got even a pellet gun.  I took it everywhere.  It was a wood recurve, probably 20# or so.  I got off a few shots pheasant hunting but no pheasant was ever in danger.  I did find a crow molting at the top of a pine tree I dispatched after about 100 attempts.  Sadly, as soon as I got my hands on guns I left archery until I got into college.   I bought a used Darton recurve from a classmate who bought his first compound.  I still have that bow.  It has dispatched a ton of carp through the years.  Those are all good memories.  Thanks.

George

[TRACY]

I was 11 or so when I got my first fg bow and arrows with crimp on points. I lived in town and started hunting squirrel and rabbit with that bow. Fond memories of night hunting rabbits in the neighborhood by street light. Police confiscated my bow one day when I was shooting squirrels in the woods behind my school, but got to keep the four that I had. Like the rest of you guys, I learned safety by trial and error. I made a nice shot on my orny cousin riding his bike taunting me and my uncle whooped  my behind repeatedly with a hot wheels race track section. I never did use my feet to lauch arrows, not sure why now that I think about. Very entertaining and useful tool!

Tracy

[ErictheViking]

I was 11 or so when I got my first fg bow and arrows with crimp on points. I lived in town and started hunting squirrel and rabbit with that bow. Fond memories of night hunting rabbits in the neighborhood by street light. Police confiscated my bow one day when I was shooting squirrels in the woods behind my school, but got to keep the four that I had. Like the rest of you guys, I learned safety by trial and error. I made a nice shot on my orny cousin riding his bike taunting me and my uncle whooped  my behind repeatedly with a hot wheels race track section. I never did use my feet to lauch arrows, not sure why now that I think about. Very entertaining and useful tool!

Tracy

oh man do I remember getting those race track sections used against me by my dad. Funny now, back then not so much!
 

Now that you are back in the fold Eric please remember not to shoot arrows straight up! 

My wife would take a race track section against me if I did Pat.

[beetlebailey1977]

I am only 34 but when I was a boy we would take chinaberry sapling shoots and peel the bark.  Let them dry a few days them would carve on them with a knife some put in nocks and string them with whatever string we could find.  Arrows were made from whatever we could get ahold to.  Those bows were not performers by far but they did shoot arrows pretty good.

[oldhippy]

 James I can also remember getting any piece of wood that would bend close to bow form and getting anything that would shoot be it round or square, including many different weed stalks. Most of the time with no fletching and a piece of bailing twine for a string. Ah, the good ol days.

   Steve

[Buckeye Guy]

Now your talkin
Willow shoots from the crick bank and binder twine Oh yea !!  some times a nail for a point but usally just a fire hardend tip ! Oh man are we gona get this time for sure !! but no more 4am wake up calls from the neighbors rooster !!
The funny part is almost 50 years later and I still wake up at 4 every morning !!
Thanks for the memories folks !!
Guy