-
-
They say you cant go back. But you can come close enough sometimes.
On a wet foggy late September morning my father , older brother and I went bow hunting on the opening day of the 1972 Wisconsin archery deer season. I recall many of the details of my first bow hunt. The weather, the doe that ran in front of us as we pulled over to park. Because of that. I was sure there were going to be deer everywhere I looked.
And there was my bow. I had got it the July prior at the Penny’s outlet store in the Twin Cities. Our family had went shopping and with my 12th birthday just days away my folks said get what ever you want for $20.00 or less. The store had a large sporting good area, and that is where I headed. When I first saw the 55 gallon drum of recurve bows I headed right to it. They had some that were $20.00 others were more. I found a 62” Ben Pearson Colt with a 45# pull. I told my folks that it was what I wanted. My older brother also got one as a early gift, he would turn 14 in October. And to our surprise our dad also got one but his was a Mustang model instead of the Colt.
I hunted with that bow for awhile before moving on to other bows. I even lost the bow for awhile when I was 17. I had just got a different bow. My friend and next door neighbor wanted to get into bow hunting and asked if he could buy my old recurve. I said it was not for sale but he could use it until he got a different one, we agreed that he would give me $20.00 to hold while he used the bow to be returned when I got the bow back. Well one day he comes over to shoot with a different recurve and I tell him to bring back my bow and I would give his money back. At which time he explains he traded bows with his uncle Greg. I was upset but did not make an issue of it. Then about four years later I was going fishing with a buddy from work and he asked me to go into his parents house and grab his fishing pole from the closet just inside the door. And there it was in the closet- my bow! I grabbed the fishing rod and asked my buddy about the bow in the closet. He told me that his uncle Greg had giving it to his younger brother. I asked if they shot it? He said no and that their mom had been telling them to get rid of it. I explained the history of the bow and asked if I could buy it. They would not take any money and gave me the bow.
Back to that first hunt. This now being my 40th Wisconsin archery season. I wanted to relive some of the memories from that hunt so long ago. These past couple of years I have reshaped the grip and arrow shelf of that old bow. I made some wood arrows for it and shot it at a few shoots. It is a nice shooter, this past June I shot the 10th highest score out of hundreds of shooters at a large Traditional archery shoot. When I woke up today with a light rain ending and fog in the air, just like that September morning in 1972. I knew where I was going hunting, where I would park, and what bow I would carry. No doe ran in front of me as I parked. More leafs were off the trees, it was a good ten degrees cooler. The land was no longer private but now owned be the Fish and Wildlife Service so that same field edge I sat on that had alfalfa in it years ago now has prairie grass and golden rod. The fence along the field edge has grown up a lot, but I found a spot to put a stool (my knees are not that of a 12 year old, and kneeling on the ground was not going to happen) and sat in the same general area as all those seasons ago. Like that first hunt much was the same. The sounds of waterfowl in the wetland behind me, the fog, but I no longer wanted to get a shot at a deer more than anything! If a doe would have stepped into my shooting lane I would have taken the shot. But I think I am glad one did not because to keep it like the first hunt. I am glad to have went home empty handed.
The most rewarding part that first hunt was the long walk in and out with my dad and brother the excitement for that and future hunts. Today the long walk again was the best part, the memories of that first hunt, the others that followed and the hunts yet to come.
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.