The 'Good Old Days' are gone ... Thankfully!

[Polar Bear]

I finally found time to get in the tree stand last night and watched the edge of an alfalfa field, in the rain, until dark without seeing any deer. My mind began to wander and to remember how I began bow hunting more than 30 years ago. Here are just some of the changes that crossed my mind.

1. Bows- Although I shot a recurve, I never seriously hunted deer with one. My hunting bow was a brand new "Herters Model Perfection Recurve Compound Power Magnum Laminated Composite Wood and Glass Bow". It was the newest thing on the market and in short supply and high demand. The thing was very cool but sounded like a screen door slamming shut every time you let an arrow go. I still own the bow but it hasn't been shot in 20 years. The Cam bows we shoot now are far superior, quieter, faster, smoother.

2. Sights- I love the fiber-optic pins and battery lighted sights we now take for granted. I used to paint my brass pins with flourescent paint and attach a penlight flashlight to the bow riser and turn on the switch at dusk.

3. Arrows- Carbon and even aluminum arrows are much more equally spined than the old cedar and "Farbenglass" arrows of the past. We used to number our arrows to keep track of which shot truest. I remember missing a 6 pointer because I forgot my number 4 arrow always shot a foot left of the others in my quiver.

4. Arrow rests- I've tried a dozen over the years including several flippers, springys, and drop-aways. 3 years ago I switched to a Whisker Biscuit, I love it. For hunting purposes I will never go back.

5. Mechanical Release Aids- 30 years ago I used to shoot 100 arrows a day for a month just to get my groups inside a 3 inch circle at 20 yards using fingers to hold the bow string. I've tried 3 different styles of release and 10 years ago settled on the Wynn Free-Flite. I can now grab my bow off the shelf and shoot good groups instantly after not shooting for 7 or 8 months.

6. Broadheads- My first were Bear Razorheads which needed to be sharpened by hand and glued on the shafts. Next I went to 6 bladed Wasp heads. They had replaceable blades but the split-ring system was a headache. Next, Savora screw-in heads. I killed a lot of deer with Savoras and Sattelites but both had thin blades that would shear off on the shoulder blade bone if you shot too far forward. Now I use only Rocky Mountain Ultras, replacing blades is a snap and the steel is .030 so they are very strong. I've heard good things about mechanical heads but have not tried them.

7. Nocks and Nocking points- How many of you guys remember when nocks didn't snap on the string? You actually had to pinch the nock between your finger and nocking point to keep your arrow on the string while drawing! I also now use a Tru-flite nocking loop that holds the arrow nock and allows me to clip my release directly to the steel loop. It clamps on the string and eliminates string serving wear.

8. Scents- I know this is controversial but I believe that the Scent Shield spray really works. Also, we now have available many types of attractant and cover-up scents that were unheard of, not to mention the Scent-Lok garments so popular now.

9. Clothing- Gore-Tex has changed the way we hunt and fish forever. When you add the 'wicking' underwear like polypropylene there is no excuse to be miserable while hunting. The days of shivering in wet cotton longjohns are thankfully gone. Also our selection of comfortable footwear is almost unbelievable.

10. Camo- When I first started all bow hunters were wearing Army surplus WWII camo. At about that time the new Vietnam Tiger Stripe stuff hit the market. That was followed by Tree-Bark. None of it was as realistic as the Real Tree and Mossy Oak that we all use now. Now days if you sit still you really are invisible.

11. Optics- I wish I had a dollar for every time I lifted my binoculars to glass a deer only to have them hopelessly fogged internally. That problem too, is a thing of the past. Every manufacturer now offers water proof - fog proof binoculars even in their budget priced models.

12. Tree Stands- I now own 3 steel ladder stands and one aluminum self climbing stand. The ladder stands sell for about 59 bucks. I have built a dozen or more permanent stands from treated lumber and I can't build one for the price I can buy a ladder stand for. The screw-in tree steps are handy too. I'm not claiming to invent them but I was welding my own from re-bar and lag bolts in 1971.

13. Rattling & Grunting- I started rattling about 20 years ago. The first time I crashed the horns together a 9 point buck came actually running to me before I could set down the antlers and pick up the bow. I've been hooked ever since. Since then, I've rattled in and shot more than a dozen bucks and seen many, many more. One week in 1987 I rattled in bucks on 8 evenings in a row. I finally shot the biggest 8 pointer during one of the Twins World Series games. I've also seen many does come to the horns, I think they are just curious about all the ruckus. I used to use a grunt tube too but I never found one that sounds like a real buck. Now I just use my own vocal cords to inhale a short burp that sounds more natural to me. It seems to work.

14. Electronics- I carry my cell phone (ringer off) in the woods. I'm not as limber as I once was and just might fall out of a stand sometime. Its just a safety issue. My favorite toy is my portable Magellan GPS. If you ever hunt on unfamiliar property it will change the way you hunt. When hunting out west in the Black Hills the GPS allowed me to have the confidence to hike 2 miles back from the road. I still carried a map and compass but the GPS lets you hunt more and study the map less. Its just more efficient. If I did a lot of antelope or mulie hunting I'd also own a rangefinder. The ballistic difference between a 250 yard shot and a 350 yard shot is enough to miss completely by. A rangefinder would solve that problem.

Well, those are some of my favorite improvements in the last 3 decades. Did I miss any important ones?

[kc0myy]

Wow thats a great post. I am only 17 so to hear about the how different is was back then to bow hunt its seems like it sucked as was very hard to bow hunt. I hear ya on the new bows its very easy to dail in and keep it dailed in. I would of never though to # my arrows to see which ones shot way off the target. Now we have arrows that are + -.003 straitness. I was in machine class and we had to get parts insaid of .005 of an inche that is really strait. The sights and everything I thought bow hunting was hard and easy to miss a deer. Now I think different!! Again great post. good luck BE SAFE!

[hanson]

I agree...

Awesome Post!!

My dad still shoots with a 20 year old Browning and some kind of Bear broadheads. He spray-painted his own camo pattern onto the bow when he bought it. Arrows? Oh yeah, they are 20 year old Eastons.

No peep sight, no release, no techy fall away rest, no fiber optic sights, no double cams. He did tie on some spider leg string silencers though. That combo hasn't accounted for many deer but he's knocked down a few decent bucks with it over the years.

[BLACKJACK]

Good post Polar Bear!! Thats why I like my compound, you can pick it up in August and be shooting tight groups in 15 minutes.

I also think that the 'good old days' of deer hunting is right now. I remember when you had to apply for a doe permit and you were lucky to get one every other year, sometimes a group of four had only one doe permit, it got to be a long season when you were only buck hunting.

Nowadays you can shoot an early doe, buck hunt during the rut, and shoot another doe in the late season. The good old days for deer hunting are right now!

[catman71]

deer license, used to be 16 dollars and now I pay 79 or something for the all-season!

[BLACKJACK]

You're not comparing apples to apples, I'll bet that $16 licence limited you to one weapon for a set season. The all season license lets you hunt all deer season with many weapons. And you don't have to buy the all season license, a firearms license is $26.

[catman71]

you are absolutley right. my area got caught in the re-numbering zone thing this year. we used to be in zone 2 but now half of our spots are zone one. the all season seems like the thing to do.

[bigbucks]

I can remember years when there were no doe permits, than years when we got 1 for 8 or 9 guys. The first time we drew 4-9 we thought we'd won the lottery. I was fortunate enough to fill 3 of those myself on one drive that year.

Man has deer hunting changed a lot just in the last 25 years. One year we hunted the property where now we regularly kill 7-12 deer opening weekend, 300-400 acres for 8-10 guys. One guy saw a doe about 400 yards off in slug zone & I saw a flash of brown in the brush, that was our hunting season.

The good old days are definitely now.