Quotes by Fred Bear…..I like #3

[Stix]

#5572

This page is brought to you courtesy of “A Tribute to Fred Bear 1902-1988”

Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields in which you walk. Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person.

If some of our teenage thrill seekers really want to go out and get a thrill, let them go up into the Northwest and tangle with the Grizzly Bear, the Polar Bear, and the Brown Bear. They will get their kicks, and it will cleanse their souls.

If you are not working to protect hunting, then you are working to destroy it.

A hunt based only on trophies taken falls far short of what the ultimate goal should be . . . time to commune with your inner soul as you share the outdoors with the birds, animals, and fish that live there.

A downed animal is most certainly the object of a hunting trip, but it becomes an anticlimax when compared to the many other pleasures of the hunt.

I feel like one of God’s chosen people, having had the opportunity to share, with many fine companions, these varied and lovely realms of our natural world.

When a hunter is in a tree stand with high moral values and with the proper hunting ethics and richer for the experience, that hunter is 20 feet closer to God.

Hardships are quickly forgotten. Intense heat, bitter cold, rain and snow, fatigue, and luckless hunting fade quickly into memories of great fellowship, thoughts of beautiful country, pleasant camps, and happy campfires.

If asked to sketch a mental picture of the typical archer I would be hard put. They seem to come in all shapes, sizes, colors and backgrounds. Inwardly they seem to have in common a love for the outdoors, a reverence for wildlife, and a close tie with history. There is nothing they seem to enjoy more than telling tall tales around a campfire or talking about archery to others. It would be difficult to find a more interesting group of people.

The very remoteness kindles the imagination of the adventurous hunter. From the top of any mountain the challenge extends far and wide, until the mountains meet the sky.

I have always tempered my killing with respect for the game pursued. I see the animal not only as a target but as a living creature with more freedom than I will ever have. I take that life if I can, with regret as well as joy, and with the sure knowledge that nature’s ways of fang and claw or exposure and starvation are a far crueler fate than I bestow.

Life in the open is one of my finest rewards. I enjoy and become completely immersed in the high challenge and increased opportunity to become for a time a part of nature. Deer hunting is a classical exercise in freedom. It is a return to fundamentals that I instinctively feel are basic and right.

I hunt deer because I love the entire process; the preparation, the excitement, and sustained suspense of trying to match my woods-lore against the finely honed instincts of these creatures.

I come home with an honestly earned feeling that something good has taken place. It makes no difference whether I got anything; it has to do with how the day was spent.

The history of the bow and arrow is the history of mankind.

With a gun you can hunt deer an average of 3 weeks a year. With a bow you can hunt an average of 10 weeks more depending upon the state you hunt in.

Not only is bowhunting fun and a real challenge, but its good for you. The exercise in the fresh air, the chance to get away from everyday pressures and problems, a return to the basic relationships between man and his environment.

When bowhunting, you find you get closer to the woodland critters. The flora and the forest floor becomes clearer. You look at things more closely. You’re more aware. You know the limited range of the bow is only 40 yards or so. You must try to outwait that approaching deer. Careful not to make the slightest movement or sound hoping that your scent won’t suddenly waft his way. That’s when you’ll know for sure and appreciate deeply what bowhunting is all about.”

. . . there’s more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.

[James Harvey]

#42919

Those are great Steve, thanks for sharing them.

Jim

[Stephen Graf]

#42971

One of Fred’s habits was to keep copies of A Sand County Almanac handy and give them to folks who he thought might benefit from it.

I thought that sounded like a good idea so I’ve been doing the same thing for 10 years now. I am sure many of the copies I have given away have not been read, or had no impact. But those books will endure until they are destroyed and so there is always the chance that someone will pick a copy up, and see the world in a new and better way.

[Tom Winter]

#145915

Shooting my Bear Polar, I took a break and searched “Bear Polar” and got to the quotes above. Neat. My Polar is the pride of my collection. Ambidextrous (I prefer shooting left handed) and 53# draw. None of my bows are wheel and pulley jobs.
I also have three self longbows made in the 40’s by an industrial arts teacher. D section. Backed with Bow-Tuff, so help me! Is Bow Tuff artificial sinew still around?  The stuff worked: two of the three are still functional. The third has the beginnings of a shear which came to a stop at a grain layer, and must never be fired again. It was that way when I acquired it. Display only!
With old wood bows, you just never know. Depends on how they’ve been stored, I think.
The bows made by the Shop schoolteacher make my home made ones look like mine were made by a neanderthal! All for now. Other bows await their dose of exercise.

[Raymond Coffman]

#145925

Hi Tom

Sounds like you are enjoying your bear polar . A shootable collectable.

3 rivers still sells bow tuff under the Gordon brand . Havn’t used it so can’t comnent on it.

Scout aka Ray

[Tom Winter]

#145928

Today was the turn of the Bear 76er takedown. I see I can post pictures. BRB!
Top: home-made yew bow — we had a yew bush in the yard.

D-section longbow made by Neil Munson, Industrial Arts Teacher.

Bear Polar 53#

Bear 76er, 45#

Ben Pearson model 304, takedown, also 45#

Black Hawk Short Bee, 37# And at upper right is my dog Freckles, Australian Shepherd.

Pandemic time at home is a great opportunity to tune up my shooting!

[Raymond Coffman]

#145939

Tom

Interesting and varied collection. I would go out and shoot them all this week – haha. With the pandemic – we all ought to be quite accurate by deer hunting season.  Not sure whats going to happen in NM — so far Spring Turkey is open.  I read in WA state they ( ” they , they ,  who the hell is they ” — finish the quote for the gold star )  postponed the spring turkey and bear season!?

Scout aka Ray

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