Before the internet, who?

[tuffshot]

Before the internet and the wealth of information on archery and bowhunting, I was wondering who was your teacher, trainer of mentor.

My father was a Marine so weapons such as rifles and pistols was his specialty, but he did not hunt. One of my Uncles was a forest ranger and only hunted small game and birds. Another uncle took me on my first deer gun hunt and started it all, we also shot recurves together from time to time but lived too far apart to get together on a regular basis.

I have always been facinated with the bow, recurves in particular, but other than the booklet that came with my first two bows I had very little training and have picked up more in recent years than I did as a kid. Believe it or not I also learned alot from my compounds days, but thats another story.

Bowhunting, besides shooting 3-D and videos is another self taught event, thru the years of experiance I have had I have been mentoring my youngest son and it sure has been fun.

It is a shame that archery teachers are few and far between in this day and time. I know there are a lot of books and written material out there to study but nothing beats hands on training.

I would like to thank you guys for sharing your knowledge on this site it has been a big help. Even old dogs like me can learn some new tricks.

So who was your source of knowledge?? :thankyou:

[DAS]

I learned from an older guy who worked with my mother. He was very experienced so I was lucky in that respect. He gave me a copy of Fred Bear's bible which I must have read 1000 times. Back then, there was no where near the information available now. Still, it was the best of times!

[Papabull]

I learned mostly on my own. My father gave me some real basics like "one finger on top and two on the bottom".

The Archer's Bible and other publications of the time were a good source of information, though. After returning to the States from the Army, I eventually found my way to 3D shoots. There was a great deal of activity at that time in the shoots and I was fortunate enough to be near the epicenter of bowhunting - or at least the epicenter of the IBO, in Middletown, OH.

Spending a lot of time on the range and at shoots, studying other archers, listening to others' techniques, trying new things... the adantage to that was that you could easily determine the expertise of an archer by watching where his arrows struck the target. On the internet, it's not so easy to tell if advice or coaching tips are coming from an expert archer or a novice.

[tuffshot]

Magazines like Outdoor Life and Field and Stream also had archery related articals years ago about hunting with recurves and longbows.

[Viper]

tuff -

Comanche Bowman, Brooklyn, NY 1971 - 1985 +/-.

The internet is great for exchanging / sharing ideas, but nothing will ever replace the one on one exchange of knowledge. This that's why LW has so many self proclaimed experts. "Sure I'm the best shooter I know, I also the only shooter I know!!!"

:)

Viper out.

[James Wrenn]

I really knew nothing at all of classical archery.I did bowhunt with a compound but just bought one and went to the school of hard knocks like everything else I have every done. :) I had never shot a longbow or recurve and except for one fellow about 20 years ago that was hunting with a longbow I had never even seen a stickbow. :p Al Gore did me a big favor when he invented the internet! :highfive:

[tuffshot]

Viper,

I agree, one on one teaching or hands on training is the best. As for the self proclaimed experts, with age we learn how to weed thru the BS and get to the worth wihile information. :highfive:

[easternhunter]

Rest his soul, Dad never saw anything interesting about archery...he was a no-nonsense rifle hunter who put meat on the table...passed that on to me mostly. I had to beg for my first fiberglass recurve.....almost chickened out!!! ALMOST DIDN"T GET IT EITHER!!!

I enrolled in an archery class at school to learn the basics...the rest is history.

[1bjd]

Learned a lot from one of the oldest Bear Archery dealers on western Pa. My Dad tought us the basics and Smoke filled in the blanks. Smokey Wagners shop in Oil City Pa.I got my first bow about 1954 started bowhunting in 1960 for deer. Had to be 12 years old to buy a license. Talk about the good old days. Really lucky to have sush a good background. No TV who needs it! :highfive: John

[pondscum2]

my father started me shooting with an old flat-bow he found out in the trash. then, i saw Fred Bear on tv's "American Sportsman" hunting polar bears. after that, it was everything i could find to read on the subject, magazines, etc. from there on, it was hump it yerself, no coaching, nothing. might be why i'm such a dang mess today! :amen: ps2

[steve morley]

I was taught by a guy called Dana chatoo (19 years ago) he now lives your side of the pond, pretty good shot in his own right. NAFAC & NFAA 3D national champ, Florida state champ and took 3rd place at the Worlds in Watkins Glen.

One of my best memories of the World champs was having my teacher with me to share that little moment of glory. :cheers: