Sliding through an opening in the underbrush with his delicate longbow and well-worn back quiver, the hunter eased into a clearing as he scanned his new surroundings with silent, determined intent. The dense, humid air caused a trickle of sweat to roll down from his sideburns as the buzz of mosquitoes and gnats [...]
For the purpose of this exercise we are assuming whitetail deer, as the most abundant and popular big game species hunted in North America today. This exercise could easily be used for the tracking of other big game, as well. Before The Shot It would be assumed that your equipment is properly tuned. [...]
Start with a reference photo and a ruler. Lay out and trim your foam to the approximate size of your completed target. Attach pieces with glue, expandable foam or tape. Over several decades of traditional bowhunting, I developed a strong desire to know as much as possible about my quarry. When [...]
While a few of us still shoot with bare fingers, most traditional bowhunters soon learn that archery is a lot more accurate and comfortable with something between the fingers of your dominant arm and the bowstring. The choices are pretty simple: tab or glove? Once that decision is made, not many change, and [...]
The man on the Yukon trail wasn’t worried. “Fifty degrees below zero was to him nothing more than 50 degrees below zero.” He would be at camp, with friends and a fire, by evening. Winter’s sun was elsewhere, the whiteness oddly dark. Morning wore on without marking time. The man’s spit crackled in [...]
When you get a new traditional bow, whether it be a longbow, recurve, or selfbow, there are a few things you'll need to set up before you go out to the archery range and shoot a few arrows or get out into the field for some bow hunting. This video will [...]
Everyone who shoots a bow, whether it be a longbow, recurve or even a compound bow, breaks an arrow sooner or later. It can happen during practice or during a hunt, but it will happen at some point. A few days ago I was shooting at doves. There were a plethora of them [...]
Shooting game animals is no small responsibility. The future of our shooting sports ultimately will be judged on our ability to make clean kills in the name of wildlife management. I was part of the 1950s and ‘60s, when a deer gun was a lever or pump action for numerous fast shots at [...]
Favorite Bow Poll I have often heard that the first arrow is the only one that counts, because few hunters get a second shot. If you subscribe to that notion, it might be due to the way you handle your arrow while nocking. One significant advantage of traditional bows over compounds is how [...]
Left to right: Eugene Reeber, Leo Lange, and Nelson Grumley. Back in the days of lumberjacks and logging camps they told the story of the “winter of the blue snow” when meat was scarce. During that time of starvation and bitter cold the legendary Paul Bunyan stepped up and proved that he was [...]
