Home › Forums › Campfire Forum › who was your mentor?
-
AuthorPosts
-
-
Mentoring plays such an important part in the development of a hunter and especially a bowhunter. My father was kind enough to introduce me to hunting, though it was not his first passion. My high school best friend’s dad was an avid hunter and he worked to hunt, that was his only passion. Bowhunting was a school of hard knocks, with information gleaned from every publication, or person who ever drew a feathered shaft. Thankfully I persevered. Please tell us about your journey.
-
My hunting partner and PBS sponsor Mark Wang was my mentor. He has probably forgotten more about bowhunting than I’ll ever know.
-
Mine was my father and then what Steve O said. TBM and everyone involved has done a great deal to guide me along.
-
I grew up in a rural, yet non hunting family. My inspirations are innate; born of a deep seated love for nature, self reliance and history. My mentors came from the pages of classic archery books. Men like Pope, Thompson, Seton, and Hill fanned that innate flicker to flame.
ch
-
My Father taught me archery, but we only went hunting a couple times..for rabbits, he with a gun,myself with an old glass bow…. but we never went deer hunting, or any other hunting besides the couple times for rabbits… then my son came along and for some reason it sure kicked my hunting into high gear, I guess it hit me that I owed it to him as his father to show my son the ways of the woods, he was just 6 months old when we went the first time, I taught him what I had learned and he taught me a few things too, so we kinda learned together.. for a while……we were seperated for a time due to a nasty divorce, but when he came back to live with me…I found out we had both learned a lot more… it was great…. I had a real hunting buddy that was more than willing to go anytime, anywhere with dad hunting, the hardest part was the shooting, he had the shakes from an early age, we never found out why, but I taught him “the circle” method and it worked very well for him, so well that it followed him into the Army, where he earned some medals with his shooing and some company records,and saved a few lives too…… about a week ago I got wind that they are giving him another medal,I just wish he was still here to recieve it for himself..he passed away April 25th. 2005 ,3 weeks after returning from Iraq, killed by a drunk driver…..I’d really like to think of my son Dustin as my mentor, he taught me more than I taught him, he taught me how to be a father….Steve
-
My first mentor would be my uncle, as he is the one that first introduced me to traditional archery, or any type of archery, for that matter. My dad took me bow hunting a few times as a kid, but I never really picked up a bow until the summer of 2002. My start to archery was a rocky one, with my first experience being a pretty rough 3-d shoot here in Montana. From there to here has been a journey. Now I’m in the process of teaching my boys, ages 3 and 6 (almost 7) to shoot with a couple PVC bows my uncle and I built. I also bought a bow last summer for my wife at a her first bow shoot. So, I’ve managed to get my entire family outfitted with equipment, now it’s time to keep the ball rolling. My daughter, 6 weeks old, will be my next initiate to archery, once she’s a little older. She will see her first 3-d shoot in May, if all works out well with the camping situation. Wish me luck.
-
Voodoo, your post leaves me speachless.
-
Clay that happens to me quite often, especially this month…in 5 days it will be 4 years since he left us, seems like only yesterday since I heard his voice though, I miss him dearly, shooting and hunting just hasn’t been the same, I feel so alone now when I do it, but I know he is watching over me, so that does help, but still, I miss my buddy…. Guys, cherish each and every moment with your kids, we have no guarantees in this life, who knows what words will be our, or their last…….Steve
-
My mentor, the person that introduced me to hunting and instilled a love for nature and the natural beauty of the forests was my Uncle L.B. I had no “archery” mentor per si except possibly Errol Flynn or Howard Hill. My first bow was a “Ben Pearson Colt” @ 40#. My “last” bow will be a Black Widow TD @ 47#
-
Fred Bear to begin with with all of his traditional bow hunts on the american sportsman. I would also have to say hill, pope&young, and a few other old time traditional bowhunters. And let’s not forget Glen St. Charles, he’s the one that officialy measured my draw length when I was in his n.w. archery shop back in the 70’s.
-
My father was my hunting mentor. He started me young – I still remember sitting in a dark vehicle in the middle of the night at age 3 or 4 while he and his buddies hunted coon. I got started on upland game birds in western NY State. Dad only bowhunted for deer one season, when I was about 14, but I had been shooting a bow for several years by then. I pretty much mentored myself when it came to bowhunting. However, although I do not know them personally, over the years I credit much of my development and success as a bowhunter to the writings of Gene Wensel and Paul Brunner.
Jeff
-
My only mentor was the human genetic memory and inclination for the outdoors in general and hunting and fishing in particular. Instinct, it clearly was in my case. Nothing could stop me and still can’t. My father was a workaholic, poor devil. But then, in that long ago time and place, I could ride my bicycle to hunt squirrels and rabbits and fish or swim in cow ponds and creeks. Boyscouts taught me a lot, including how to trap rabbits and cook ’em on a spit (not necessarily in season, alas.) Today’s growing lack of backdoor availability of places to hunt and fish and satisfy the normal young person’s urge for wild nature is why mentoring is all the more important today. I’ve introduced one young man and one young lady to hunting to help pay my debt to good luck. So far. Dave
-
My father introduced me to the outdoors at a very early age. His passions were fishing and duck hunting which he did at every opportunity. Certainly, it would have been easier for him to go by himself instead of having a youngster tagging along, but he always had my brother or I by his side. When my brother and I became teenagers, he joined us on the trapline. Thanks Dad!
Bowhunting was learning from many mistakes and reading everything I could get my hands on….some good, some bad.
I would also give credit to the likes of Jay Massey, Doug Borland, Jerry Pierce, Pat Cebuhar and Jim Ellis for sharing a common bowhunting ethic. -
my mentor was bill stewart. if you don’t no who bill was, he was the creator of many of the bear recurves, as he was the head of the bear design team for many years as well as working with damon howatt and many of the other oldtimers of the day. i met bill by chance – my home had been burglarized and my pse compound had been stolen [ 1983, still a compounder] and was in the market for a new bow. while reading a copy of bow and arrow mag., i came across an ad of bill’s advertising custom made recurves,longbows and compounds featuring his patented “multi cam” limb design and was surprised to see his address was in yakima,wa., my hometown. i called bill and in our conversation he asked where i was from. when i said i lived in yakima, he invited me to his shop even though it was a holliday. i jumped in my truck and and went there, which was about a mile from where i grew up. i wound up ordering one of his short compounds [36″ axle to axle which was very short for those days] and a freidship was formed. that was the first time i met bill. it was new years day, 1983. as we became freinds, i would head over to bill’s to visit and talk archery. he told many stories of the early days with fred bear, damon howatt, dick savora and others of archery’s early days.i became more and more interested in traditional archery. soon after when i would visit bill, he told me he was building a recurve for a customer who was about my size and build. he would have me shoot the bow while he was in the process of building it, asking questions: is the grip ok? too heavy draw? too light? do you like the woods i’m using? and so on. bill was building that bow for me and i had no idea! i received it on christmas day, 1984 and still have it today along with another i had made in 1995. bill has since passed on and i miss himm greatly and think of him often. i owe my love for traditional archery to him. i love you old friend, and look forward to the day we meet again – happy trails, bill. carl
-
voodoo steve – powerful and heartbreaking at the same time – words seem so innadequate in response to your message – but i will say this – though your son’s been taken away, he lives in your heart and your memories, so embrace that and know that someday you will be reunited in God’s Kingdom – God’s peace to you, brother….. carl
-
Excellent thread. EXCELLENT replies!
Voodoo.
God Bless. Without knowing you have passed along a message to me here. I’ve often felt “deprived” since neither of my boys took an interest in my hunting or fishing, let alone my love of traditional archery. I really don’t get to see them much since both are busy, busy, busy.
You have humbled me and I now give thanks daily for what I CAN share with my own sons.
Lord, forgive me and comfort our brother in his loss.Carl.
OH MY. Yakima, Wa. Home of my beloved Howatts and add Bill to the list. “WOW” just dont cover it. I can only imagine such great opportunity.Me? Another one without a “mentor” at least in person when young.
NO ONE in the family shot a bow. Dad worked 7 days a week yet I still recall watching 5 quail fall to his 1950 Wingmaster with Spot and I behind watching. Miss ya POPS!
Mom, to tell the truth, was a big influence. No computers, no color TV and only three channels anyway, no gameboys, no cell phones, little money, no close neighbors……..man it was great!
She was always telling me to “go out and blow the stink off” so when a kind neighbor offered a twisted home made self bow to me……..I WAS IN HEAVEN. Arrows at the hardware were 2 for a quarter. Dad stopped taking me along when he had to go due to the everlasting whining for more arrows!
My love of the outdoors came from Dad allowing me to tag along and Howard Hill on what little TV he was on then captured my attention in a big way.
When Mom and Dad divorced when I was 11 and we moved to town, I was limited to shooting in the back yard till I got my own car 5 years later. THEN Mom was nagging me to do something ELSE but go out and shoot, lol.
Thanks to all replying here and especially for the original post, Voodoo. The experiences of others are worthy of reading and makes one TAKE A GOOD LOOK at his own.
Times are tough, and getting tougher but what I find that uplifts my spirits and helps guide me on the path of life, not knowing when the end will come, I do greatly appreciate.
God Bless to all (even those not yet believing)
Steve -
steve sr. – bill was a hell of an interesting man to talk to – knew a lot of dirty jokes too! howatt is now owned by martin archery as im sure you know, but still make their trad. bows at the yakima plant, which is a mile and a half from where i live…. excellent thread, i agree… carl
-
rube powell was my main mentor.
i also have been fortunate enough to know people like bobby fromme, jim connors, lon lauber, jimmy velasquez and not to mention countless others who i learned a great deal from in years past…i was in the bear state bowhunters of escondido, cal.
i also came in on the tail of the fred bear era where i read about the adventures of fred bear, jim doughtery, doug walker, and other stick and string adventurers like them.
the years have been good to me insofar as archery and bowhunting have gone.
-
Having been adopted at a very young age ( 3 years old ) and feeling very alone, the Creator allowed me to find solace in the bush.
I remember very well my favorite spot, a flattened rock where I could see my community on one side and the vast wilderness on the other.
I remember, as if it was yesterday, the first bow I built with a willow tree, arrows roughly shaped and tipped with old beer caps, shoe laces tied together helped me get my first rabbitt.
I remember the feeling of getting my first recurve, going outside and releasing the arrow that guided the rest of my life, thank you, I know you are listening, thank you.Today is a new day, a beautiful day, thanking you for allowing me the occasion to share.
-
In terms of bowhunting per se, I really didn’t have one. I taught myself most of what I know, which is probably why I’m not better at it! But in terms of the outdoors in general, I learned most of the important stuff from my father… a true woodsman and great hunter who just didn’t happen to hunt with a bow. However, the lessons he taught me about getting around in the wild and respect for the things that lived there have been priceless. He’s almost 90 now, and remains laid up in the hospital after losing a leg three weeks ago. It’s sad to think that we may have spent our last morning together in a duck blind. Don
-
Don,
I’m sorry to hear about your father. As far as mentors is concerned (outdoors, bowhuntung etc.) mine was my paternal grandfather. He’s been gone 21 years now, but I still think about him every time I string a bow or cast a line.
-
I did not have a mentor when it came to hunting. My dad would not go hunting after WWII. But he taught me many things about fishing, woodsmanship and the outdoors. And although, he did not like guns, he knew enough that if me and my brothers were going to hunt. He would teach us how to shoot, and he did. Archery and Bowhunting I learned from my peers. Or whatever I could read and learn from. Experience is a hard teacher.. but I’ve had a ton of happy memories along the way.
Don, my sincere condolences. Prayers sent.
-
My Dad introduced me to hunting, though no one in my family has ever bowhunted and it wasn’t really his passion. One year to get away from the crowds, and to try something a little more challenging I decided to pick up a “Stink-Stick”. After a few close calls, and one that just totally pissed me off, I decided to make the switch to bowhunting. A friend found out I traded the Stink Stick for a bow and he introduced me to the local Archery Club.
Through the Local Archery Club, I met Guy Perkins. He has not only been a great mentor, but a very dear friend also.
Due to mangement practices in Utah, some years ago I decided not to hunt there anymore. It has been hard not sharing a camp with Guy, as he still hunts here. This last weekend though I got the privlidge to help out with the PBS Youth Hunt, being held here in Utah, and it was a great thing to be able to share a camp with Guy and other friends again!!! -
My father and my grandfather were both hunters and fishermen, as well as, hunting partners. Whenever my dad would find a new place to hunt, his first call was to my grandfather, the second to me. They showed me the love of hunting and the respect you must have for the woods and for other hunters. I remember being about six and sitting in my dad’s lap with his strong arms around me holding me steady while I pulled the trigger on an old 20 gauge shotgun. Dad talked me through it with a quiet patient voice as I hesitated because I was afraid of the kick. (I wasn’t disappointed, that stung!)
My grandfather died in 1981 and every time I work a dog, or grab a shotgun (he was a big quail hunter) I miss him. Dad doesn’t hunt anymore, his age and illness have almost brought him to a standstill.
At fifty-one (man, where did all that time go!) I spend time hunting with my daughter (until she discovers boys) and sometimes by myself. Finding a good friend that hunts is harder than it used to be, with the changing times. It’s those times alone that I find myself wishing Dad was healthy and my grandfather was by my side. I guess no matter how old you get, there’s a little kid in you that misses being surrounded by loving arms and a patient heart.
-
My condolences to all you guys who’ve lost a mentor and hunting partner.
I didn’t have a mentor either. Learned as much as I could from Fred Bear’s Bowhunters Bible(a gift from my Uncle), Fred Bear videos, various outdoor magazines, and other hunting shows. Thanks to you guys who take the time to write and share with the rest of us. -
My mentor with hunting and fishing and much else was Hartwell Shaffer. He was so open to friendship that he allowed our relationship to shape-shift so that at times, even when I had just entered my teens and he was in his mid-twenties, I sometimes became the mentor. It was I who introduced him to the bow, but he taught me what it could mean. He never assumed the role of teacher–he summoned learning from within others rather than imposing it on them. He died in 2003, but I’m still learning from him.
When I began writing my last book, Hartwell Road, I intended to write a book about him, but found him strangely elusive–I could only reach into the meaning(s) of his life by telling my own story. -
My mentor in archery was a Mr. Barefoot (don’t remember his first name) of Barefoot Archery in Charlotte, NC. We’re talking 40+ years ago. I strolled in one day to get some arrows and shoot on his indoor range, I guess I was 10-11 years old. I had a Ben Pearson laminated wood recurve, 38# @ 28″, no sights.
He watched me shoot, and invited me to shoot representing his shop in a youth league, which I did. He taped a cheap little 1 pin, mostly plastic sight,on my bow and, suddenly I was a target archer! Still, when I hunted small game and marauding Sheriff of Nottingham types in the woods behind my house, I politely slid the sight pin up and shot bare bow, like all true archers!
Mr. Barefoot also taught me how to make strings, make up arrows, and took me on my first deer hunt at about 14, sadly unsuccessful. I moved to Dallas, TX soon after that and lost touch with him. Ambassadors of this caliber are a true asset to any sport. -
Well hmmm… Didnt realy have a mentor until recently. I remember my dad buying me a used red glass bear bow at a flee market as a kid. That, a few bales of hay and a target was all I got. No instruction. As you can guess I lost interest rapidly. Then was chastised for giving up. Never really understood that. But anyway I got into hunting when I moved to Colorado a 13 years ago. Went turkey hunting with a friend. Guy named Buck from work. He thought me a lot about the rights and wrongs of hunting. He was my first hunting mentor. Then I got into archery and fell in love with the bow and arrow. Sally Delang over at the archery shop has been a huge I mean huge influence and mentor. With her time and effort I am finally feeling I’m getting somewhere. I just wonder where I might be if I have just a little instruction and direction as a kid. I have used that to benefit my son though. Again back to Sally. My now six year old is shooting with me and Sally has helped me get him started. He has stolen her heart. She bends over backwards to make him have fun. It shows, he won his first 3-d shoot. Then went on to place 2nd in his age group and 4th over all for all youth shooters in his second shoot. So yea mentors I believe are huge. I’m so very thankful I have found a good one. Oh don’t want to leave out the guys on here who have answered questions and statements getting me headed in the right direction. Thanks Guys!
-
My dad would have to be my first mentor as he spent a lot of time with me squirrel hunting and trapping. As far as a bowhunting mentor it would be my mom’s cousin Carl. He was more like a favorite Uncle to me but he had a passion for bowhunting and got me into shooting a longbow. He is still one of the great unknown whitetail masters in my opinion.:)
-
I’ve just always been captivated by the lines of a good bow and the flight of an arrow…
I suppose two neighborhood kids were as close to mentors as I ever got when a youngster. No one really hunted much in my family and no one bow hunted.
I guess I was in my early 20’s when I met John Dodge in Alaska. I was shooting with the local archery club inside a high school on a Tuesday evening. Two of us out of about 20 had recurves and in walks this older gentleman with a recurve and WOOD ARROWS! I couldn’t believe it.
We stuck up a conversation and I ordered a dozen. He delivered them the next time we shot. He opened the box and I melted. I told him they were the most beautiful arrows I had ever seen. (He smiled…)
Later that evening I asked him if he’d teach me how to make arrows like that. Oh he had some conditions, but he agreed to teach me.
My life became learning wood arrows. Every night after work I’d go to John’s and work. For the first several months my “learning” was spining and weighing, and spining and weighing.
Ahhh… The smell of Acme premium shafts, Duco cement, and burning feathers. OK boys, I can’t write anymore… My heart is aching…
I sure do miss that man…
God bless you John. todd
-
The woods just drew me in by the existance of Squirells and small game hunting at first. Yes my Dad was a shotgun Squirell hunter and got me started at 9 yrs old. The Bow by its own simplicity and fun to shoot and carry in the woods had a major influence on me. I found that the more I shot it and carried it in the woods, the more I wanted to. Ewspecially the Trad bow, which is lite, and almost silent compared to the BOOM caused by the discharge of a firearm spooking and telling of your presence to all. Mentors from Trad Bow hunter mag and others later (internet) re-inforced my dedication and affirmations toward the “Bow”. Now I am still nurtured along by the presence here!
-
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.