As a young kid in Alberta, turning twelve years old and finally being able to chase after big game with a tag in your pocket gives you feelings equivalent to Christmas morning. After watching my dad throughout my childhood, and tagging along on a few of his hunts, I could not wait to try it for myself. He made it look easy enough from the success he would have, so how hard could it be?
I remember the feeling of getting my first bow. My father bought it for $200, ready to shoot, with a hip quiver full of arrows. I was so excited that any time we went to a family member’s house I had to bring it with me so that I could show it off. I wasn’t expecting to hunt with it, but I was eager to learn how to shoot. Bruises on my forearm from the string, sore muscles from repeated draw weight increases, and hundreds of shots later, I was getting the hang of this archery thing.
Fast forward to my third year of hunting. I had my first couple of animals under my belt with a rifle and the goal of obtaining my first archery kill was becoming the main focus. I had a new bow, I was shooting over the legal draw weight, and now it was time to put my skills to the test.
One day after school I got the call from my dad saying to be ready to go hunting when he got home from work. A farmer he had permission from was having problems with deer getting into his potato patch and wanted us to help him out. We settled into a ground blind on the tree edge, a mere 30 yards from the far side of the potato plot. It didn’t take long and to my left I could see a young buck making his way in with a doe. This was my chance! Nervous as can be, I came to full draw, and let my arrow fly towards this buck at 28 yards. I was unsure of where the arrow hit, but I watched him take off running. After giving the buck some time we got on his blood trail. Following my dad while he followed the blood, he paused and I saw his eyes light up! There he laid! My first whitetail buck, and first animal with a bow.
Persistence, patience, and discipline. Three values that are learned by every hunter. Three values that mean even more to an avid bow hunter. What some people might not realize is how hard the lessons you learn can be on the journey to gaining those three things. In this multipart series I will bring you along on my own journey and the difficulties I have encountered along the way.
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