Archery Series: Episode 001

Joe Nemec at Dixie Deer
Classic 3D Archery
Tournament
Courtesy of +Carrie Nemec 

How I got into archery and eventually bowhunting.

     When I was in elementary school I had to do a project regarding Native American Indians.  I grew up in New Jersey so it was most likely on the Lenape Indians.  The project I chose was to build a bow.  All I knew was that a bow was made out of wood and had string on it.  Wow...was I wrong.

     My partner for the project's father helped us with it.  He had some woods behind his house and we had many saplings to choose from.  We chose a sapling, cut it peeled the bark off of it, bent it a little and tied string from one end to the other.   For the arrow we found a smaller sapling, peeled the bark off, sharpened one end and put a notch in the other.  We split some feathers and glued them to the notched end.  It worked....sort of.

    Fast forward to high school.  I don't know what persuaded me to ask my dad for a bow, but i did.  I seem to remember he had some hesitations about it but I got one anyway.  We went to Sportsman's Rendezvous in Flemington NJ.  We got a bow, some aluminum arrows with feather vanes.  It had a 3 pin sight and a plastic rest.  I think it was 15 or 20 lb pull and I don't know what the draw length was on it.  It didn't matter because I didn't know what those things were at the time.

     I took that thing out in my back yard and shot at that foam target at about 7-10 yards grouping shots in a 24 inch circle.  I thought I was hot stuff.  I wasn't, but...I had fun.  When it was too cold outside or raining.  I took it down in the basement.  I learned then that missing the target and hitting a concrete wall will push the field point into the arrow and ruin it.  That was motivation not to miss and I got a little better but not much.  I learned a lot about adjusting my sights and what each movement did to my point of impact.  The most important thing I learned, is that I enjoyed archery.

     Let's fast forward again to me getting out of the 82nd Airborne Division.  All the time spent doing Field Training Exercises in Area J was just a memory and I realized I missed the woods.  My buddy, Zach, was a hunter and he kept trying to get me into the woods but it was always too cold for me to go with him..Then i learned about bowhunting and that it started in September when it was just right for me.  I remembered the bow and arrow I had in high school. I asked my parents if they still had it, they told me they thought it got sold in a yard sale a while back,  It was no big deal.  I had enough time to get it from them if I had needed it sooner.

     I went to a pawn shop and looked at some bows.  I had noticed that the styles had changed since I was in high school.  They were shorter, some had split limbs...I should have done some more research but I wanted a bow now because it was already bow season.  The bow I purchased is the bow I use now.

     I  got the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission's Regulation book, took the Hunter Safety course, got my license and found some public land.  On my way in I checked out a campsite next to it.  There were two hunters getting ready for their day of hunting.  I stopped near them and asked them if anyone would think it strange if  just sat  on the edge of the field in a chair with my bow.  They said no, that's what most people do.  That day I saw some turkey and thought I heard a cow behind me but now that I am smarter and hind sight being 20/20, it could have been a doe.  But the main thing that I learned that day is that I enjoyed bowhunting.

     One day while finding better places to hunt I saw a sign for the North Carolina Bowhunters Association "Butner Hunt".  I pulled in and saw a campsite and a registration tent,  I talked to a guy named Don and he explained what the Butner Hunt was and what the North Carolina Bowhunters Association was so I joined.  I came back a couple nights and talked with some of the guys and really enjoyed my time with them.  That Saturday I got my first deer!  That is a story for another time but I will post it.  It was late that night and cold so Don told me that it would be fine to wait until morning not to mention it was not the best shot I had made.  The next morning he and one of the other guys from camp helped me track the deer since it was my first time and I knew I had found a great group of people.

  Through them I got into 3D archery shoots and learned a lot about hunting.  The details of archery, I learned on my own from the internet.  Things like, proper form, sight picture, anchor points, peep sight adjustment, grouping arrows, bow tuning, arrow tuning, and on, and on, and on.

  The reason I shared this with you is this...If you want to get into archery, or bowhunting, get out there and do it.  Check your local laws and regulations first.  Then surround yourself with good people that like the same things you do. If they don't do archery or bowhunt they may know someone who does.  I'm not a philosopher but I think that is good advice for life.  May your arrows fly straight and your aim be true.

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