Archery / Bowhunting- what got you started? …

[albertabighorn]

What a great story Neil. Thanks for sharing that.

[Hemi Ram Truck]

I have been hunting for about 5 years now and cant tell you how much i love it.so this year i palm on bow hunting so that i can take advantage of the extra weeks one gets with the bow season.

[MawnteyCarlo]

Oh man where to start? Got a bow from my cousin when I was young.. 5 or 6? Was an old fiberglass recurve. Shot that thing everyday, it was like throwing a baseball. Then we made a crossbow out of a fiberglass recurve, a 2x4, a 3/8" bolt, a couple fender washers and some screws.... it was amazing O.o I'm surprised we didn't get seriously injured... but if anyone wants a drawing of how we did it.. i'd be happy to share lol. That was my youth around archery.. until my cousin got himself a real bow.

Some years later when I was nearing 16... I realized I could buy my own bow so I got a second hand PSE Nova off a buddies younger brother. That thing was so hard to pull back... and at 30 yards I had to aim 3 feet high. It was awesome. I shot that bow everyday for a solid year... doing all kinds of modifications like weighting my arrows... changing lengths... anything I could try without any knowledge... I tried. Then for a wedding present I got a PSE Firestorm Lite, brand spankin'. It was so fast, so smooth, so solid. I shot my first 3-D shoot with that bow and I didn't lose an arrow. I was there with my sister's husband who lost all his traditional wooden arrows before the first round was over. I was hooked.

I shot for a few years then got myself a Hoyt Maxxis 31. It was over $2000 for the setup and a couple arrows. I had buyers remorse for months! It didn't even seem like an upgrade... I think my vision was blurry and my senses were numb. What a year. But I had a chance to shoot my PSE Firestorm Lite again some time after... that thing felt like a shotgun and man was it slow! I couldn't believe how I hadn't felt the difference. I shot that Hoyt for years more, thoroughly enjoying the little archery club and the time invested into our 3-D shoots. Cascade Archery and the gang that helps setup those shoots are truly amazing people. I look forward to going back to shoot a few rounds, they've put themselves on the 3-D map.

After moving to Alberta and having a few poor years hunting.. I retired the bow. It got dusty just sitting in its case! Then my oldest daughter started bugging me to buy a bow... Oh man!!! I was filled with excitement and just couldn't wait to get back out there. I got a Hoyt Vector Turbo getting new strings on it as we speak, my Maxxis 31 is tuned back up and my daughters Diamond Atomic is in action. I look forward to Edmonton's 3-D shoot this year, it's listed on the new website I built just for the occasion ( http://albertaarchery.syntechmotorsports.ca ). I hope to see some of you there!

We have plans to start an archery club and do some fund raising to start a shoot of our own. Sounds like we've got some donated land and a supplier that's willing to sell us targets at cost. We're off to a good start! Maybe in the near future we'll see some of you at our very own shoot! Thanks for listening and sharing your stories!

[Passthru]

After scouting a very unlikely place, last spring and close to home, for moose in 248 I found lots of bedding. Came home and told the wife I gotta get a bow. I have been hunting with a rifle for a while but found the season too short. Had been interested for a while but now had a good reason to lay down the money for a bow. After practicing all summer, and many days hunting this spot. I managed to call in a young bull sept.22 at 20 yards. Let the arrow fly and my freezer is full. ( was full, moose is so good). Now I'm hooked. Will still use the rifle with my old man for whitetails in November, as its kind of an annual tradition. Unless I arrow one before then. Gotta say though, bow hunting has turned me into a much much better hunter. Gotta think about so much more details that matter to such a close range hunt. Love it

[astepanuk]

I started out hunting with my father around Athabasca always waiting for November to come around I then grew up and realized if I started archery id get two full months before the lunatics started with rifles so I went out and purchased my first Buck bow, first night in my stand after practicing with my bow I was caught in a stare down with a nice 4x4 buck I rushed the shot and Missed. Well I've been hooked ever since I did Upgrade to a Hoyt and have been bow hunting ever since that was 13 years ago. This year I plan on harvesting another bull moose with my Bow down in the prairies this priority 10 is burning a hole in my pocket and cant wait to punch the tag.

[offroaderTodd]

Took my wife out hunting with me last year. She loved it...but not the loud gun fire. Said she would like to try a bow. So I bought her one this spring. I have never shot a bow but she made it look like fun. So I bought one too.She sure can shoot better than me.
Can't wait to try it out hunting together. Have permission to set up a tree stand south of town so it should be a lot of fun.

[Kurt505]

I started out archery with a sweet little laminated wood recurve hunting chickens and rabbits in the Clearwater ever valley. It had more killing power than my daisy bb gun.