Life Bookends

[bjrogg]

Great story Mike, I really enjoyed reading it. This is a great site and the only one I'm a member of to. if you haven't eaten any meat yet, that first bite of venison you harvested with your bow is gonna taste oh so good. Just don't overcooked it so you still have its juices. Oh man my mouth is watering.
Bjrogg

[JEB]

Good post Knoll.  Interesting how others got started.

I was raised in traditional archery. Dad opened an archery shop back in the  50's under his own name but then made  friends  with  Fred Bear, became a dealer of Bear bows and changed the store name to Bear Archery shop of Muskegon. He shot for Bear Archery for 3 years and was on his advisory staff for 3 years.  I spent my  early years  and teens going to archery tournaments every weekend in the spring , summer and fall.  At the time it was my mother, dad , brother and I that competed. My mother  , brother and dad were state champions many times over.  Dad won or placed in over 300 tournaments winning the Midwest Nationals in Chicago in 1957 and brother Jim placed 2nd in the Nationals at Watkins Glenn, New York.  A couple of things forced dad to close the store in 69. I went into the marines in 67 leaving my brother and dad run the store then brother Jim got married and then the final nail in the coffin was K-Mart arrived and started to sell bows  much cheaper then dad could. People would buy their  bows at K-Mart and then bring them I into the shop to have dad set them up. That didn't set well so he closed up shop.  Mom , dad and brother have passed on leaving me the only one left shooting traditional. Younger brothers went on to using more modern equipment and sisters don't shoot anymore.

I still shoot with traditional archery equipment and now leaning towards primitive equipment. I have introduced archery to all my grand children and they all love to shoot.

[Parnell]

I like the analogy and the writing.  I'd bet you could expand on this and write an article for the magazine, if so desired.
This hobby just keeps making more and more sense as the world gets further and further into virtual reality and insanity.
I like to think it's a real piece of culture in the present American wasteland.  Thanks for sharing.

[Knoll]

It will be cool to read about how others came to be infected with this passion of archery. And maybe it'll be a topic of conversation round the campfires of this season's "gatherings". Am certain there's many interesting tales out there. 
 

[bjrogg]

This is a good post Knoll. Jeb that is stuff I find fascinating to read. Way better than reality TV. Jeb what is your draw length and what weight do you like? Just curious.
Bjrogg

[JEB]

I shoot a 29" arrow and I use a 40#  to 45# hunting bow. That depends on what bow I grab on the way out the door.

[bjrogg]

I'm gonna remember that.
Bjrogg

[Patches]

Mike, that is a really good story.

For me, as far back as I cane remember, I shot a bow.  My older brothers shot bows, so I had to do what my brothers did.  When I was 4,  I remember getting in trouble for "hunting" my 2 year old nephew with arrows that had suction cups on the end.  I remember telling my mom that I left the ends on so they would not hurt him too bad.  I moved up to an old, small recurve after that.  My first class in college was archery! Then I got into atlatls, and that led selfbows, which began the unstoppable descent into making my own arrows and flint knapping.  Now I am passing on my obsession to my granddaughters.  I look forward o helping them learn about shooting, hunting, and hopefully, making their own bows someday. 

Neal   

[PNewton]

Great stories. Thanks for sharing them.

[mullet]

I started out about six or seven with one of those two dollar hickory bows with the rubber suction cups.it didn't take long for me to get my butt beat for shooting my sisters with the rubber covered arrows. so the suction cups came off and a lot of rubbing on the sidewalk to get the tips sharp and I was off to the vacant lot near the swamp to shoot Swamp Rabbits. These rabbits are big and really dumb. You can get within 5' of some of them and they won't move. I was also shooting at every squirrel I saw.

From there I was hunting rabbits with a Pierson 35# bow and JM Fields arrows while my Friends were using shotguns. My Mom wouldn't allow me to have a real gun since I was 13 and she was afraid to have one in the house. My friends always let me take the first shot.

From there it went to buying and trading to try and upgrade from the previous bow. I tried the compound in 1984 and that lasted about a year before I sold it and then tried making my own through trial and error. I'm still buying and trading but mostly for the glass bows I really like to shoot,I resale them to buy osage at the Classic.

[feathersnwood]

I grew up watching my oldest brother hunting with a recurve . I could never pull it back he was 10 yrs older than I so I would make me some out of the willow trees and hay twine strings and Home made arrows . Got old enough and saved up enough money and bought a recurve . Hunted with it until went to college and then I rodeoed for awhile . Then got marred and had a son and he wanted to shoot archery . Then joined 4-h archery and his archery instructer was a  selfbow guy. My son would hang on every word he would say now he helps him build bows when we get a chance to go over there !!! Then
We went to mojam and his world  really open up to some of the greatest people around !!! Rest is history . Thanks everybody for helping my son feed his need to build bows. 
Andy

[bjrogg]

Those are great stories guys, I just love stuff like this. Patches, I still need to do the whole Atlatl thing yet to.
Andy that is so cool your son got into the selfbows.
Bjrogg

[upstatenybowyer]

When I was about 6 or so my uncle Robby came to visit from California. He was probably about 12. He told me he was going to make me a bow and arrow. I vividly remember him sawing off a branch of yew from a bush in front of our house, shaving it down a bit with a pocket knife, tying a string to it, and making an arrow from the same bush. I was mesmerized.

This memory stayed with me and one day when I was about 30 or so I just decided, "I'm gonna learn how to make a wooden bow. The unexpected an amazing thing is that this determination lead to an obsession with tree and plant identification (and later mushrooms) and wilderness survival in general.

Now, my whole life revolves around this ever deepening relationship with nature, and it all started that magical day when my uncle Robby visited from California and made me a bow.

[Knoll]

Cool cool stories!

Ain't it the truth ..... "Life is a series of unexpected events."

[bjrogg]

Cool cool stories!

Ain't it the truth ..... "Life is a series of unexpected events."

That what makes it so special Knoll. The surprise and chain of events all intertwined, everything effecting something else.
Bjrogg