What Stage are you?

[jtoast]

I too have seen it referenced in other articles, the definitions vary somewhat but they all remain pretty accurate. I was somewhat humbled when I really thought about where I was at. I put in a fair amount of time chasing my challenges, yet still honestly can't give myself credit for being a method hunter. One thing I thought was interesting was that in stage 4 the hunter introduces a handicap for himself to give the game an advantage. Just by bowhunting, your not necessarily a method hunter. You probably are like me and are both seeking a little more of a challenge, but are mostly extending your season. Now if you were to go from compound to traditional bow, I think your there. As for stage 5, I can only hope I reach that level in my hunting lifetime. I kinda guess that if you think you are there, you're probably not, and should take a closer look at yourself.

[mabr]

One thing I thought was interesting was that in stage 4 the hunter introduces a handicap for himself to give the game an advantage. Just by bowhunting, your not necessarily a method hunter. You probably are like me and are both seeking a little more of a challenge, but are mostly extending your season. Now if you were to go from compound to traditional bow,

Isnt it a great, this passion we have.

Your comment about traditional bows brings me back to last year. I did get the old recurve out thinking just maybe I could do it again(thats another story) That then brought me back to a hunt I mentioned in a previous post, about going bow hunting with my father when we didnt have a clue what we were doing. But that was one of my stage 1 experiences that made me what I am now. The hours spent shooting at a bale of hay with my bear recurve, fiberglass arrows and bear broadheads with the razor insirts that made them look so kewl. I remember being envious of our neighbor who just bought the state of art WHITETAIL HUNTER compound bow, thinking one day im gonna have that.

Its amazing how I've almost gone full circle. Just thinking of hunting with that ole recurve again just gets me that much closer to the next stage. Happy memories my fellow hunters.

[Scoot]

Its amazing how I've almost gone full circle. Just thinking of hunting with that ole recurve again just gets me that much closer to the next stage. Happy memories my fellow hunters.

Boy, when I look back I sure do see some happy memories! Lots of them. There are a few painful ones too, but they just add to the fun of the whole thing now.

I remember my first gopher I shot with my bow- I thought I was pretty dang cool!

I remember the day I missed not one, but two very big bucks.

The day I shot a racoon out of a tree from WAAAAAYYY up there.

The day a fox stepped on and stood on my foot for several seconds.

The day my dad shot a buck, it jumped trails, and ran into the front of my fully-drawn bow at full speed (I released the arrow as it knocked me to the ground- the arrow was already pressed against the neck of the deer, making it my shortest shot ever).

I missed a P & Y buck from three yards once.

I got to watch my dad shoot a very big buck one day- my mom and I made a drive to him, the buck got up in the last 100 yards of the drive, my mom put me on her shoulders (I was probably only seven years old, but I remember it well), and I watched him make a perfect double-lung shot.

The day I shot my first deer- the handshake from my dad and the hug from my mom at the end of the successful tracking job that followed.

The time I told my buddy to sit behind a clump of trees while I pushed out a little point to him- he went to the trees, didn't like the spot, sat on the field edge (where I told him not to go), and got literally run over by a fork horn (the deer knocked his hat off his head while it jumped over/through him) while a monster 10 pointer ran past 20 yards behind the steamroller buck- his arrow must have landed 200 yards away...

The time I rattled in my biggest buck at the time and shot him from the ground at three yards.

The time I got to sneak with my brother and watch him shoot his first elk while practically standing in his hip pocket.

Shooting my first elk from eight feet, on the ground, while my buddy called him in like a seasoned vet.

The time my buddy and I rattled in nearly two dozen deer in a day.

The time my four year old son scared away the deer when he got excited about what the chipmunk he was watching did.

And on and on and on... so many great memories...

I love bowhunting- there's nothing else like it.

[eyeguy 54]

Nice Scoot! I really enjoyed reading that. One of my first memories with a bow was with my red fiberglass bow. I lost all my arrows so I used raspberry stems, lol. I remember shooting at and hitting a sparrow. That was probably about 1962. Now it's 2010 and I have a semiload of great memories and I'm anxiously waiting for the ND opener September 3rd. As you stated, I love bowhunting, there's nothing else like it!

[psepuncher]

I love bowhunting- there's nothing else like it.

In bow ed I said the same thing when we introduced ourselves. The instructor looked at me like, calm down buddy it's just a class.