This is my story of how and why I got into bowhunting.

I am a 37 year old Bowhunter from southern Ohio. I got into hunting and bowhunting later in life (after high school), due to the fact that I grew up in the city. The only deer "hunting" I knew about growing up usually involved a car. I didn't know anyone who hunted so I never considered trying it. There also were not many areas nearby that were huntable. But after graduation I bought a shotgun Found someone who would let me hunt on his "huge" 5 acre forest. I know 5 acres is not a lot of area but it was the best I could do, and it was a large tract for the city.

Now that I had me a gun and some woods I went whitetail deer hunting. I call it hunting but I snicker every time I call what I did back then hunting. I basically just went into the woods and said hey deer let me shoot you. They never listened. I did not have a mentor to teach me about hunting, and I knew nothing of deer or the woods. So those first few years were rather disapointing but I did keep doing it, I enjoyed the solitude. There also was no internet back then so I could not just google it and find out what to do.

After five or six years I did give up because I just didn't see enough deer to keep me interested. Then I moved to the country and met some bowhunters. They invited me out shooting with them one day with one of their old bows and I got hooked on archery. I bought that bow even though it was not the proper size for me. Hey it was cheap and already set up. I suggest you not make that mistake it took me a while to unlearn my bad habits when I got a bow that was the right set up for me.

I took that bow and I practiced shooting every day for the entire summer leading up to my first archery deer season. I still did not know anything about deer but I had a better location so I did actually see deer. I did not get to shoot at any that first year because I apparently smelled bad to the deer. But I did enjoy being out in the woods and seeing deer so I decided that I would learn how to hunt. I Joined the NORTH AMERICAN HUNTING CLUB A great orginization to learn about hunting with a great magazine, but still not quite "basic" enough for someone who knew zero about hunting. I did learn though and eventually decided to become an NAHC life member. I read all I could about bowhunting and deer hunting and I watched all the Saturday morning hunting shows on ESPN. By then the internet was around but not google, so the information you could get was not exactly what A novice would need so I spent many long hours sifting through all the info trying to find what I needed. That is one of hte main reasons I wanted to start this site to try and get information together in one place for the novice bowhunter or someone who was thinking "maybe I might like it."

Eventually I did find enough info so that I could feel a little confidence in the woods. And I kept practicing 3-4 days a week. So my second archery season I saw many deer and even got to shoot one. It was a small doe but it was the greatest trophy in the world to me. I experienced "buck fever" for the first time and I couldn't quit shaking for a good half hour after the shot. That feeling was amazing and that made sure I would be out in the woods as much as I could to get it again.

After that season I started researching bows to get a new one, and realised that mine was not right for me. So after months of research and saving money, I bought me a new PSE bow. It was not the top of the line but it fit me and my budget. And I have spent a lot of time in the woods with that bow. I have shot more trophies like the first one. I still consider every deer no matter how big or what gender a trophy.

I still spend a good bit of time learning how to hunt and practicing with my bow and arrow. Maybe someday I will be the perfect hunter that I want to be, but in the mean time I do keep getting better and better at both shooting and hunting. And the time I spend in the woods is my time away from life. I have no cares except the deer, and they are not the least bit judgemental now that I don't seem to smell as bad to them.

I very much enjoy a bowhunt that ends in a good clean quick kill and meat in the freezer. But I enjoy the hunt and being in the woods at least as much even if I go home empty handed. I have never had a bad hunt. I have been dissapointed in the outcome of many hunts, or with my own actions and mistakes, but never with the hunt itself. I enjoy bowhunting so much it has been a few years since I even got my shotgun out of the safe for deer season. I can't wait for the time when my grandson is old enough to take bowhunting. He already wants to go every time he sees a deer he says to call me so "we" can shoot it, that makes me feel good that I will be able to bring a new generation into the field.

IF YOU ONLY ENJOY THE TROPHY OF THE KILL AND NOT THE CHASE, YOU'LL NEVER KNOW THE TRUE JOYS OF BOWHUNTING.

That is my story of how I got into bowhunting and why I enjoy it so much. If you would like to share your bowhunting story STOP BY HERE.

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