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Ted Lake

In the sport of archery and bowhunting, choosing your method of hunting starts with the selection of the type of bow you are about to use. If you are selecting either the long bow or recurve bow you are about to enter the traditional bowhunting world. Or you may choose the compound bow for your choice of weapon. Whichever choice you make, just remember we are all bowhunters and we all enjoy the sport of archery. Bowhunting can and should be a family oriented way to bond together. My Dad always said, “When you hunt with your children, you don’t have to hunt for your children.”

Now that brings me to the equipment and how to choose a bow for the choice of the hunt. I am glad the compound bow is here. The compound has allowed many people to stay in the sport. I have had too many friends or relatives that have lost the strength of their youth and can no longer pull back the heavy draw of a long bow or recurve bow. Would you tell your wife or kids they can’t hunt until they can pull a 65 lb. bow back? No, I didn’t think so. That just wouldn’t be fair!

I’d much rather see a person using equipment that they can handle and be able to shoot effectively, rather then having someone shooting a bow that they are not comfortable with and possibly wounding an animal during a hunt. Whatever you feel comfortable with, will always be the right choice for you or your hunting partners. By this I mean, try not to pressure someone into something that may not be the right comfort zone for that particular person just because it works for you. You should only make a suggestion to try and help someone. And don’t be afraid or too stubborn to take a suggestion from someone else. I am always looking for a good opportunity to learn a better way of doing anything in life and its many paths that it has to offer.

This brings me to another thought in my mind. I’ve been to the practice range when either an anti-hunter or maybe a gun hunter asks me what are you doing with that thing (meaning my compound bow). Don’t you think you bowhunters have wounded enough animals? This is very unfair for either to say. Anti-hunters will never understand how the true meaning of fair chase rules work and why conservation by the hunter works so well for our great country. I’ve also had gun hunters say to me, I’ve seen way too many deer running around in the woods with arrows sticking out of them. I’m here to tell you that in my forty years plus of hunting with a gun or my archery equipment, I’ve never seen one deer running around with arrows stuck in it. It’s time to stop pointing fingers. I have seen deer that have been mortally wounded by either a gun or bow and I don’t think I could point a finger without saying, someone made a poor choice of a shot or they just didn’t follow through with a good tracking of a blood trail.

It is time we stop pointing fingers and band together as one. The hunter, whether it is archery hunting or gun hunting, we need to stick together and help each other to conserve our rights to hunt and give fair chase to the animal being pursued.

A Bow Hunter Is… A creature with stick and string attached.

One who smiles while water runs down his back—but complains if his feathers get wet.

A stickler for perfection in equipment—who is wearing baggy pants.

Someone with a talent to top the biggest tale you ever heard—or told.

A Hunter with a thirst for challenge.

One who screams bloody murder if the meals are not on time—but will wait for hours in one spot just to get snorted at.

A hunter wearing camouflage clothes and a MBH (Michigan Bow Hunters) emblem!

This was a quote out of the Michigan Bow Hunters news letter, December, 1983. I thought this was quite fitting for this article about archery and bow hunting. It’s All About Bow Hunting!

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