My official re-entry into archery

I received my first bow and arrow as a pre-school graduation gift. I was always fond of bows and archery, and at one point recall winning a youth competition at a local bow club. 

I eventually inherited a bow from my father (who is still living) that was capable of killing a large mammal. I hunted several times with that bow including once for mountain goats in west Texas and once for very tame deer in a makeshift stand built in the front yard of my good friend Laura Paul. The latter resulted in a wounded (but not mortally so) doe that was to be my last large mammal hunting experience to date.  

Several years after that experience, I decided I wanted to own a long bow for the allure of hunting with a primitive weapon. I shot the bow less than a dozen times before moving on to other hobbies. 

Fast forward to a week ago. My colleague and good friend Doug Poor asked me if I wanted to go pig hunting at his girlfriend's family ranch. I eagerly said yes and decided against using my 9mm Sig Sauer or 12 gauge Benelli, instead opting to resume my quest to kill an animal with a bow. 

Last night I went to Academy and bought three $3 carbon arrows, some field points, two sets of broadheads, one forearm guard, and a youth-sized Block target.

I practiced at 7 and 10 yards, consistently shooting high. After loosing an arrow, I decided to hang it up for the evening, besides my fingers were killing me. 

The next day at work, I recounted my experience to my intern, and told him I planned on going bow fishing that evening. He said it sounded fun, and immediately accepted my offer to join. 

We bought a Cajun Stick pre-rigged recurve bow (shit quality) that we used to miss at least half a dozen carp and gar. We had a good time though, and agreed to go back. We returned the poor quality cajun stick and I am currently in the process of researching a better recurve option for future hunting exploits.

Lessons learned: 

a) the cheapest anything is rarely a good investment

b) you need a forearm guard and finger tab to avoid hurting after shooting

c) having two or more HIGH quality spotlights is crucial to successful bowfishing

d) you need to practice if you want to hit something with any bow, especially a longbow or recurve