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Where, when, why etc......

Hanyak

Hanyak

Active Member
Ok - The recent thread about old hunting items got me thinking about when I first began shooting a bow. I began to think about that time long ago when I bought my first bow and thought it would be interesting to know the answers to a few questions:
1. How old were you when you began bowhunting?
2. Where did you buy your first bow?
3. What was your first bow?
4. What stands out about your first experience (good or bad) of buying a bow and bowhunting?

I will start.
1. 14 years old, I bought a bow because my buddy Mark had one and we wanted to get into bowhunting whitetails in Iowa.
2. Winborn's - Davenport, Iowa
3. Browning Bushmaster - Wish I still had it and am currently looking to buy one for old time sake.
4. Bad = I was sold a bow with a 30" draw length which isn't even close to what I should have been sold. I shoot a 27.5" DL now :). Good = I was hooked from day one and have enjoyed 30+ years of the sport. Thanks Mark for getting me into bowhunting!!!!
 
I had to get myself into bow hunting at the age of 16..I got my first old bear bow(not sure exact model) by trading a guitar for it, and let me tell you that was a wise choice! I still cant play a guitar, but can shoot lights out with my bow!
Never having ANYONE show me anything about bowhunting, it was all about reading everything that I could. A few string slaps, lost arrows, and a lot of frustration, I headed to the woods. The first night I learned a ton, as I shot at and hit a buck right in the shoulder blade. I stayed tough, and killed my first deer with a bow after the gun split on the WORST day of the year. All of the schools were closed due to a blizzard and I was up in a tree... ahh, the good times :D
Great Topic!
 
1. I was 16 years old.
2. Bought a Bear Whitetail from my buddy for $45, had no clue what draw length was, etc. In fact I tried to shoot old wooden arrows out of the rig.
3. I bought my first new bow in 1986, an Oneida Eagle, for $210. Thought I broke the bank.
4. The bad was the Oneida was very hard to keep tuned, too many moving parts.
 
I was 11 when I stated bow hunting, bought my first bow (diamond razor edge) at scheels right after I took my hunter safety class. Reason why I started bow hunting is because when I was 9 my dad started taking me out back with him, one night I told my dad I wanted to sit by myself about 150 yards away over looking a small pond in a field. I had a 150inch deer pop out of the brush at 20-30 yards and I had nothing with me, that's what really got me started. I glad my dad got me into bow hunting because it beats all other season, but baseball :D. My first year I had the chase to shoot a nice 8 point 120's but thought it was to far out, it was actually about 30 yards,now looking at it. I had some great experiences and encounters with some great deer and I got hooked fast!
 
My Uncle gave me an old Jennings T-Star with 30% let-off in '87 when I was 15. Fiberglass was the new arrow shaft at the time. I quickly switched to Easton aluminum 2117s. I was shooting Bodkin broadheads back then. 140 grains!! I spent a lot of time sharpening them on a diamond stone. I shot my first buck that fall. Femoral artery under the spine. He was maybe an 80 inch 8 point. I hunted with that bow for 3 years and never could get it tuned that great. I learned alot very quickly about how terrible my archery set up was and bought my first new bow for $400. It was a lot of money to me. That was a split limb Jennings Buckmaster light. I shot a lot of deer with that bow! I still have the T-Star hanging on the wall with my very first shooting glove also.
 
I was 18. Had 1000s of acres to hunt but only ever slug hunted. Some new college buddies talked me into gettin dads old Hoyt Raider back up and running so they could bowhunt with me. I thought it was a hell of a deal... I supply the ground and they helped me to figure out what the hell Im doin! Dad had bowhunted a bit years prior but never really got into it, so I was glad my friends were there to help me get going. Thats been 10 yrs now and it is funny thinking back on the great memories and friends I have made just because I picked up a bow and took some kids huntin. The college buddies returned the favor 10-fold. Ive shot numerous limits of pheasant off their family farms and they introduced me to some awesome fishing up north.

I miss that old Hoyt Raider and skipping all kinds of class just to try and fling an arrow out of it at a big buck.
 
1. I was 21 years old.
2. It was purchased at the Iowa City Fin & Feather.
3. 1983 PSE Vulcan.
4. The good? It opened up much more time to hunt. The bad? I think the whole package cost around $350 and I thought that was steep. Low deer numbers, lots of sitting without seeing deer. Took a few years to finally be successful. Last deer taken with that bow was 2005.
 
I started at 20. Geeze that was 8 years ago already....seems like 4 or 5. Anyways, I had only muzzleloader hunted previous to that (I started when I was 13). I started out using my dads Hoyt Raider with the intruder limbs. It was set up for him which means it was probably an inch or two short for me. Using gold tip 5575 arrows and I would shoot cheap allen mechanical broadheads from walmart. Just getting out and learning the ropes was a great experience. I had a decent hunting background but had nobody to teach me how to bow hunt. The first deer I shot at I took a bunch of white hair off his belly. Ended up getting a small spike that year. Looking back, I tagged out with a buck every year except one for 6 years while using that bow. Never broke one of those arrows, never even lost one that I can remember. Now for the last two years I upgraded my bow and I have missed 2 deer, stuck another in the shoulder and broke and lost lots of arrows......huh. Maybe I should go back to the old hoyt!
Here are the bucks I had gotten (that I had pictures of) with the original bow.
2008: Not big but I couldn't pass up the double main beam.

2009:

2010:
 
1. I started bow hunting when I was 12 but had been going to the woods with my dad since I was 5.
2. Archery Field and Sports I believe.
3. Alpine Micro - a youth bow
4. I started muzzleloader hunting when I was 9 and had been successful so bow hunting was more of a challenge but I loved it! My first deer with a bow is a memory I wont forget.
 
I got my first bow when I was 5 years old. It was a Little Brave fiberglass bow that shot suction cup arrows! :) I actually stalked up on a rabbit in our back yard a put a thumping to him but he ran off unscathed! "They use to hang out under a cedar tree near Dad's bird feeder!" :D My next bow was a red fiberglass long bow "that I still have today" and I lost a lot of arrows with that thing! My first real hunting bow was a second hand Hoyt Raider. I hunted hard from the ground but never got a kill with it. In my teens we started making our own home made tree stands out of treated lumber and snaring cable. Heck we even used 2x4 wood blocks nailed to the tree for steps! By today's standard we should be dead for sure. 25 feet up with chains and binders holding a flimsy wood stand and no safety harness at all! My how times have changed! My next bow was a second hand PSE ThunderFlite. I finally got my first deer with that bow, a big doe. Shot her from my home made wooden stand and I was hooked for life! Great idea for a post by the way! Brings back fond memories.
 
I started bow hunting when I was 10. Because dad did it and I wanted to do everything he did.
The first bow I had was a early 90s Jennings that we had laying around.
I bought my first bow at a local Darton dealer in town with my own money at 13.
Good: I fell in love with the sport and it got me to have another thing to talk about and learn from Dad. Also the rush of having a deer that close without a clue you are there is incomparable.
Bad: When out hunting for a doe and a buck bigger than any your mentor has ever killed presents a 15 yard shot and you wound him and never find him. It's almost enough to make you puke and wanna quit the sport. So glad I never gave it up.
 
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1. I started bow hunting when I was 12 in 1996.

2. My first 'hunting' bow I had gotten for Christmas when I was 11. The first bow I bought was in 1998 from Fin & Feather in Iowa City for $250 back when they were in their previous building.

3. My first 'hunting' bow was a Browning. I later bought a High Country Sky Force and now shoot a Matthews Switchback.

4. My first year bow hunting, I hunted many times and saw ONE deer the whole year and it was a doe. I hunted some public ground and along a creek at my Grandmas. I've since figured out how to hunt those smaller properties and even though the population is on the decline, I rarely have a sit when I don't see a deer despite being in lower deer density areas.
 
1. 12 yrs old
2. Dad bought it from a guy at work
3. Early 90's PSE Marauder - Still have it
4. I cannot tell you how many arrows I shot through that bow. Unreal. I literally shot every day almost year round.

I remember an incident in 6 or 7th grade. I wanted to try out some new broadheads we bought so I got up early before school and went to the back yard. Managed to cut my thumb to the bone switching out the heads. I then quickly duct taped it and kept it in my pocket. I eventually bled through my bandage and the teacher noticed a big blood circle on my pants and mom had to come get me!
 
Managed to cut my thumb to the bone switching out the heads. I then quickly duct taped it and kept it in my pocket. I eventually bled through my bandage and the teacher noticed a big blood circle on my pants and mom had to come get me![/QUOTE]

I can laugh now but I did the same thing years and years ago. I now will only change broad head blades with a tool.
 
1. 12 yrs old I wanted to get a bow and get into bowhunting because my dad bowhunted and wanted to try it.
2. Fin and Feather in Iowa City
3. 2010 Mission Maniac by Mathews I bought brand new fully loaded for $700.
4. First bad expierience was my 1st year hunting the rut, had a 140" buck come in at 30 yards, hit a branch and watched the arrow with the streak of the lumenock fly into orbit straight towards the treetops! :D

The next year I killed a 120" 8 point on opening day and was hooked!
 
1. Began bowhunting when I was 17(2011)
2. Bought my first bow off of Craigslist
3. 2007 Bear Element
4. Good-The first bow has always been a great bow and is now used for bowfishing. Also harvested a doe my first year hunting.
Bad- missed an oppurtunity at a 200"+ deer that same year.
 
1. A coworker got me interested when I was 22.(2000)
2. Got mine from cabelas.
3. PSE Baby G package (about $400)
4. Bad: didn't know anything at all about archery and learned right away not to dry-fire a bow.
Good: was successful my first year taking a doe with a nice 40 yard blood trail in a foot of snow ( perfect tracking conditions for a novice). Got hooked right away and been obsessed ever since.
 
Skully said:
I got my first bow when I was 5 years old. It was a Little Brave fiberglass bow that shot suction cup arrows! :) I actually stalked up on a rabbit in our back yard a put a thumping to him but he ran off unscathed! "They use to hang out under a cedar tree near Dad's bird feeder!" :D My next bow was a red fiberglass long bow "that I still have today" and I lost a lot of arrows with that thing! My first real hunting bow was a second hand Hoyt Raider. I hunted hard from the ground but never got a kill with it. In my teens we started making our own home made tree stands out of treated lumber and snaring cable. Heck we even used 2x4 wood blocks nailed to the tree for steps! By today's standard we should be dead for sure. 25 feet up with chains and binders holding a flimsy wood stand and no safety harness at all! My how times have changed! My next bow was a second hand PSE ThunderFlite. I finally got my first deer with that bow, a big doe. Shot her from my home made wooden stand and I was hooked for life! Great idea for a post by the way! Brings back fond memories.
Click to expand...


All that homemade, wooden, way to high up, with no safety belt stuff from back then scares me to think about, for sure. I remember late 80's in an old wood stand from the previous owners, in the top of a huge cottonwood, rotten wood, hanging over a creek, like 40 feet down, and a horned owl lands in front of me, then was stalking my blinking eyes he could see, with my old school mesh headnet.!! I yelled pretty dang loud and about fell out, waving my arms!

1 I started bowhunting my family farm in 81 with a Golden Eagle , in Elkhorn Ne, west of Omaha. I grew up coon and pheasant hunting, but never hardly saw any deer until late 70's. Then in the early 80's I bought an 80 acre piece on the Platte River west of Fremont, full of deer. Nobody I knew deer or bowhunted, so it was the blind leading the blind, for me and my friend.

2 Bought it from Woods and Waters, Omaha Ne.

3 Started with that Golden Eagle Predator, then a G. E. Formula with the big lift blocks, heavy sucker, but turned into a killer fishbow.

4 I killed a few good bucks in Nebraska, then when Iowa started allowing non-residents I started bowhunting a Monona Cty lease my friends and I picked up in the Omaha World Herald, actually just to pheasant hunt but the deer herd was a plus. I eventually bought my farm in 97, sold my Nebraska farm in 99, then built a house and moved to Iowa.
 
I was 24 when I started bow hunting. The fall of 1998 was my first season. I had started slug hunting at 18 with some friends nobody in my family hunted. In Minnesota you could either gun hunt the first 2 day season or the second 4 day season. After the gun season I was done till next year so I thought I would try bow hunting to get more time in a tree. My first bow was a Jennings Buckmaster bought new at Scheels in Sioux Falls SD. Easton Super Slam aluminum arrows and Muzzy 4 blades. I hunted from the opener (right around September 15) to somewhere around Oct 21 when I arrowed a 1.5 yr old 7 pointer at 20 yds and hit him alittle high and spined him he dropped right there and quickly put another arrow through his lungs as my hands were shaking uncontrollably. Been hooked ever since!
 
1. I started hunting in I was 25 in 2001.
2. I traded my brother in law my Playstation for my first bow.
3. It was an Indian Skyhawk.
4. Good- Getting into bowhunting revived a drive in me to work hard and be successful at something similar to sports that I missed. It also opened the door to meet some new people that have become new friends. Bad-It has cost me allot of money.....LOL. But money well spent. Even though I have had some heartbreak scenarios, such as missed opportunities on monster bucks, I know look at those as good memories.
 
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