As many of you know, I have been deer hunting nearly my entire life. I have always loved the experience, and I did not know I could enjoy the experience even more. From the age of 12 to 22, I was strictly a shotgun hunter. I had always had in the back of my mind that I should maybe take up bow hunting, but it was not until I met Jesse that I got that put into full effect.
When Jesse and I first met, we talked a lot about how we both enjoyed hunting. He had only bow hunted, I had only shotgun hunted. After we hung out for a while longer, he started to teach me about archery. I was invested and curious with the knowledge and seeing how it all went down from start to finish. I watched him shoot his bow for hours, watched him tune bows, and I thought it was the coolest thing; and decided I wanted to finally give it a try.
I then shot my first bow ever when we were hanging out with some friends, and instantly after the first shot, I knew I wanted to learn how to put it into full effect from grip, to form, to that final shot.
After getting a bow, we went to the range, and we put in a lot of time and effort into getting me where I needed to be to start bowhunting. I spent a lot of days feeling accomplished, but I also spent many days feeling frustrated and defeated. I was so used to shooting a gun, where you just sit in one spot, and pull a trigger. I was not understanding what I was doing wrong with my grip or my form. (I still struggle with these some days -- I am definitely not perfect by any means.)
I practiced my form standing, and my form sitting for all situations of bowhunting. When I started, the first opening season for hunting was turkey season. I had only gone turkey hunting one time, and did not see a turkey, so technically this was my first time preparing for one. I sat at that range 3-4 days a week to practice out to 30 yards for an opportunity at a bird. I felt comfortable enough by the time turkey season came along, so I felt ready.
Turkey season comes around, and I went out with my dads best friend; someone I have been sharing the love of hunting with my entire life. We went out to the blind, it was a thunderstorm, so we were not expecting to see anything, especially since a few hours had passed, and it was starting to thunder and rain a little heavier. We were just talking in the blind laughing around and about to leave, when he decided to call one more time. Mid laugh and conversation, I saw some turkeys come out. They were literally right outside the blind I could have poked it with my hand.
I situated myself, and the first bird, a smaller Jake, saw me and started running away, so we tried calling him back in, but instead, a bigger Jake came in instead. There was no need to even range him, due to how close he was. I drew back, and I made probably the best, and most perfect shot I have ever made in my hunting experience.
Given that it would have been a little hard messing up with that bird only being no more than 10 yards away from me, that was probably one of the most thrilling, exciting, and rewarding feelings I have ever had hunting. And it was a plus that I got to share that experience with someone I call a second father to me. I could not tell who was more excited; me or him. It was by far one of the best moments for me.
After my adrenaline calmed down a little bit, I fully realized at that moment I wanted to be a bowhunter. The way it continues to push me to be a better hunter all around is what I love most about it. You have to keep putting in the work for it, rather than just sight it in and be done. The way you need to have a ton of patience. It is something that I will forever have to practice and work at, because no one will ever be 100% perfect at archery. You could be 100% or pretty close with rifles or shotguns.
It continues to push me to be better because yeah, I had an amazing experience with a turkey, but when deer season came around, I missed every shot I took. It weighed on me pretty heavily. I got really into my head of "What am I doing wrong?", "This is stupid.", "I do not want to do this anymore.", etc. I will not even lie, I wanted to quit after last year's deer season. I felt extremely defeated; BUT, I also knew and still know, I can do it. I just need to put more time in, focus on my form and grip, and really focus on pulling through my shot. The more time you put in, the better you will be. Practice really does make perfect, especially with this sport.
I honestly never imagined myself with a bow. If someone would have asked me even 3 years ago if I would ever shoot a bow, I would have said no. Now, I am extremely grateful that I started; because it has been one of the most fun, exciting, and rewarding things. (Plus, I get to spend a lot of time with the person I love -- which is a bonus.)
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