It was the last night of my recent trip to Texas in search of feral hogs. I had bow hunted hard for 4 straight days in the thick pine forests of East Texas. 90+ degree heat and high humidity had kept the hogs laid up during the day and feeding at night. After talking with the farm owner about my game plan, he suggested that I take his .308 equipped with a high-powered green flash light. His thought was for me to bow hunt until it was too dark to see my pins, then switch over and hunt with the rifle until the hogs started to move or the sun came up. It was pushing 9 p.m. when I noticed that even with my sight light, there was no way I was going to see to shoot. I put my release, rangefinder and binos in my pack and proceeded to attach my bow to it for easy transport out.
By 9:30, it was too dark to see your hand in front of your face. Between the waning crescent moon and the full canopy of the forest, no light was too be had. From that point on it was hunting by ear. Sit, wait, hope to hear the hogs moving in the thick under growth, or hear the smacking of the mouths and the crunching of corn. Another 2 hours went by with only the sounds of the crickets, frogs and one lone owl lulling me to sleep. The longer I sat, the more the realization of failure set in on me. 954 miles driving and 4 days of hunting and nothing. I didn’t drive all that way to shoot a hog. I drove all that way to bow hunt.
Pushing midnight, I gathered my gear and started the trek back to camp. I decided to take a short cut back by walking about half a mile down a county dirt road. With my head lamp on, I carefully walked out of the woods and started down the road paying close attention not to step in a mess of fire ants. I noticed a clearing in the trees that I didn’t pay attention to on the way to camp. The road passed through a large clear-cut parcel of land. The timber company had cut all the trees and had replanted the forest, but the young growth gave me the perfect view of that Texas sky. I’ve spent my fair share of time looking to the heavens but tonight was just extra clear! I stood there, staring up for what seemed like forever until I decided to shed my pack and lie down and really allow myself to be immersed in the moment. Six miles from blacktop, there I lay. Not a soul or light for miles.
As I laid there I was filled with peace. I had accepted that my failure to harvest a hog didn’t mean it was a wasted trip. I got to spend a week hunting, driving half way across the country with my father, had lots of laughs, ate well, and learned a lot. Once I made it back to the camp, the owner was surprised to see me back. He saw how tenacious I was and figured I would stay out until I got it done. We talked for a second before he went to bed and he asked why I came back so early. My response was simple – “I am a bow hunter”. He smiled and went to bed.
Fast forward a week and I’m back to civilization and my normal routine. My career revolves around lots of driving and working around other people’s schedule and last night was no different. It was perfect weather for May and I dropped the top on my old Jeep and headed off to work. Fighting road construction and traffic I got lost in my own thoughts. One question had been on my mind since my last night in Texas. What makes someone a bow hunter?
I‘m a hunter. A proud hunter who isn’t ashamed to share his love of conservation and the outdoors with anyone. I had the privilege of growing up in a rural Southern town with a father that loves the outdoors and shooting. He loves his shotguns, so I grew up dove and squirrel hunting. Shooting trap, skeet and sporting clays were weekly activities for us. He would occasionally bow hunt, but it was never his thing. From an early age when I got my first bow: a Fred Bear Panda, I was hooked. Later, when I got his hand-me-down Bear Whitetail II, I was in love and that love has never died! So what is the difference between a hunter and a bow hunter? I don’t really know and definitely don’t want to dissuade anyone from learning to hunt or from harvesting meat to provide for their families by saying that one form of hunting is purer than another. It’s not that for me. I guess it boils down to passion. I am passionate about my hunting and archery. I became a target archer simply to be a better hunter.
For me, being a bow hunter means there is no off-season. It’s the training to be in shape to hike in and out of the woods, the daily shooting practice to be able to make an efficient, ethical and merciful kill, the scent control, the ability to be the predator and get close to your quarry and the list goes on and on. We are the people that live and breathe archery, put in hours and hours of practice at the range and in the gym to be our absolute best. It’s drive, love of the chase, passion, determination, success and failure that keeps us going. That’s what makes us Bow Hunters.
Bo Hutchison
@bo_hutchison on Instagram
Wildlife Women is always holding events for anything in the outdoors and one of those being Bow shooting. Check out our events here on our website and see when our next Bow event is being held so you can learn how to shoot a bow or sharpen your archery skills!