I have been thinking of getting started bowhunting and this was sent to me by one of my very best friends. He is describing how he feels when he gets an animal. Is this how you feel when you hunt? As a side note I told him he has talent for story telling and what he wrote here is more entertaining than a lot of what I read in magazines. I think he should start writing. I will make sure he gets your responses.

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You will never feel the rush in the sport of
hunting like you will when you arrow that first big game animal. Man your heart just about pumps out of your chest, you're just sure that deer can
hear it, your face gets flushed like you're going to pass out, your pulse is pounding in your ears, your muscles are tense, your legs are quivering, your eyes are straining to see that target spot superimposed over the vitals of your quarry. In an instant, every fiber of your body is ALIVE, the nerves are at full attention and feeling every touch of your sleeve as you draw the
string back, your eyes are watching and choosing a particular hair on the deer to hit, your fingers have such sensitized feeling in them it's like they have just been thawed out out after being froze forever, your ears can hear every breath and inhale, exhale the deer makes, your sense of anticipation is so high you think you're going to explode and then you come to full draw, hit that anchor point on your jaw bone and
....and....and......you release and everything goes into s l o w motion til that arrow finds it's mark then super fast speed as the deer bolts into the brush and you stand there ...silently.....reverently watching the deer take it's lasts steps and breaths on this earth and you watch it's every step and zig and zag putting every detail deep into your memory, as it should be, showing the proper respect to the great beast whose life you've just taken, the excitement peaks as you watch it fall out of sight. You wait respectfully for it to draw that last breath and then exhale and grow quiet
as you allow it that last and greatest moment of dignity alone before you approach. You look heavenward and thank your creator for the freedom, the health, the strength, ....for the dominion He has given you over the great beast lying less than 100 yards from you...quiet now..still, unmoving, changed from the free roaming monarch of the mountain to your trophy and sustinance for your family. As you approach, you feel victory and elation but a sadness at the same time and you move forward and touch the great beast, lying still now, succumbing to the effects of your broadhead and skill as a hunter and a man who was given authority over the beasts of the earth by Almighty God and you kneel down touch the huge Mulie, admiring his mighty rack of 28 inches wide 5x5, the buck of a lifetime, ......your emotions overwhelm you suddenly like a great rushing waterfall, a tear of awe wells within your eyes.......allowing this moment to sink in, no hurry now, no reason to rush or get in a hurry....you sit there admiring the deer, thinking of how good the heavenly Father is is to you.....then the cuttin and guttin job begins...you dutifully field dress the animal and remove it to your vehicle or horse for transport to home. You look back over your
shoulder to where it fell, ... one last gaze to remember the trail, you pay respect to the mountain for the bounty you will enjoy and once again thank God for the mountain, the game, the crisp fresh air, the sunshine now peaking over the mountain top as the frost begins to surrender to it's warming rays and then you gather the arrow and bow, the deer, and your soul back to your body as it has been soaring for the last minutes ..or was it hours, you've lost track of all time and been lost in the ultimate struggle
and triumph of hunter and hunted....God has allowed you to escape the bonds of human troubles, pains, worries, responsibilities, etc for a short while.....the hunt has required your full undivided concentration and attention...all else ceased to exist for a short while allowing your mind and soul to rest and be refreshed as the challenge of the bow, the arrow and the game all acted out the parts they were assigned to play by our Great Creator to refresh and recharge the batteries of one of Gods children. In this modern world of computers, technology, nuclear missle bases, jobs, wives, kids, trucks, crowds of people...you have been taken back to the
beginning as God planned it to be for a brief breath of what He wanted for us in the beginning...the basics of life and death, peaceful existence He had created in the garden for us before sin and human frailty messed things
up....just a man, a bow and arrow, and a big game animal locked in the eternal struggle for survival. A simple PURE time, a breath of fresh air in lungs too often polluted by chemicals, a mind too often cluttered with arguments, and finding ways to pay bills and debts, a body often painfully forced to rise and drive to work while still weary, a gift from God our Father to demonstrate His great love of His children. A reminder of what God wanted for us all and how much He loves us. Then you take a few pictures,
and think of your buddies, the few, the special friends who would understand and enjoy the hunt as you have and you wish they were with you.
This is the script for the first archery triumph bud..... I can't wait to hear you tell it, every detail, every word, every tiny observation.....I
encourage you to soak it all up, practice with that bow, get the right tuned equipment, sharpen those braodheads razor sharp, tune the fletchings, match the arrow weight and stiffness to your bow poundage.

[ 12-21-2002, 04:43: Message edited by: WyoJoe ]

I tried bow hunting but never hit anything. I just did not put enough effort into practicing. Then I hit a porkupine that was way up in a tree with a practice arrow. All that happens in such a case is that they move a little further out on the limb and leak some. So I shot all of my arrows at the poor critter. The rest were expensive broadheads. I could hear them clicking in the branches of other trees as they came down. Of course I missed every time.

I put the bow in the car and went back to the camp and got the Woodsman. One shot did it.

I gave up bow hunting after this experiance. Either do something right or don't do it at all.

yes that story is so true as i found out this fall with my first Bow kill and also a nice practice is shooting bushytails with you bow.

I made my first bow kill around 40 years ago. I can only pretend that's how I felt because I can barely remember it. Nice writing though.

Joe,

Your friend did a very good job of explaining a bow hunt to you. I think being so close to the game makes it so much more exciting.

Even if you have a close encounter with a game animal and there is no shooting opportunity you feel the same way! It is very addicting.

Your friend is on the money. I still look at it this way. I guide for a living. I think my creator every day for what he has done for us. I tell all my hunters after they have made a kill. Slow down, look, and see what the creator has given us.We alway try to show respect for the game even in the photos we take. No blood,no guts only respect. Listen to your friend he knows something alot of hunters have not learned yet.