Archery 2009

This was to be my first year at a serious attempt hunting with a bow since 1982. I had grown up shooting archery since I was eight years old, had shot in numerous tournaments and won most of them, even placing second in four consecutive New England State championships. As a junior hunter you could often find me hunting squirrels and rabbits with my bow. However, after missing a deer at roughly fifteen feet, I hung up the bow indefinitely vowing never to pick it up again

Then, about five years ago (2004), my brother Paul loaned me an old Eagle III that he had laying around and a half dozen arrows. So, even as I started practicing in mid-September 2009, I still had the bow and those same six arrows.

Considering that the fall archery season was close at hand, I felt a little panicked. I needed to sight in my bow, add string silencers, and build my confidence in shooting again. So, I began practicing nearly every day and just as my confidence was growing, I did it. I tossed an arrow over the target and it was gone, hidden somewhere beneath the autumn leaves...and I was down to five.

Complicating matters was the old 1980s bowhunting sight which required the horizontal and verticle adjustment for each pin. Eventually, I replaced the sight...after losing another arrow. I was frustrated though, that 35 yards would be my maximum..."Heck I used to shoot fifty and even out to eighty yards!" But, the season was upon us and like it or not I had to live with the prospect of getting within the range of my pins.

I can honestly say that I was less than one hundred percent confident of my shooting, perhaps around sixty percent. I was also less than happy with my hardware on opening day, but I was going to give it my all.

Throughout the season I continued to practice and learn. I replaced my quiver and bow sight, and got my bow tuned-in. I was far more excited when the late archery season opened in December than I was when rifle season opened in November. I also feel blessed with the many things I learned through the 2009 archery and rifle season about myself, the area I hunt, and most of all an understanding of why I have failed on so many hunting trips in the past. I have regained my enjoyment and confidence with archery as well as the desire to pursue it further, and I'm happy mostly for that. It is a great source of fond memories from my childhood, and perhaps it will prove to hold many more. In fact, I'm sure it will.