Youth Mentors

[Hawkdancer]

Getting the young people involved is the key to he survival of any activity, sport, or game!  It is the mentoring that is the key!  Congratulations, BJ!
Hawkdancer

[bjrogg]

Wonderful BJ,
Most of my mentors are long gone but surly not forgotten.
Zuma

Thanks Zuma, I know just what your saying. We buried a really fantastic one a little over a year ago. He was the most humble person I've ever meet. He is missed and rememberer by many. Don't expect I'll ever live up to his example but a little bit might have rubbed off.

[bjrogg]

Thanks Jeff, that's really cool that you setup at the compound shoot. I know some of those looks you get. My brother is big into compounds and has been for three decades. He's pretty proud of me though and invited me to come shoot in his winter group. They have a indoor range. I went a couple times and meet a few pretty nice guys. The one time I went there were two guys talking about hunting with their flintlocks. I listened to their stories with genuine interest. I always love a good hunting story. When they we're done I showed them the bow I shoot my first buck with. The fellow who was telling the story says."what'd you do? Hit him over the head with it" I said no, but I was almost close enough I could have.
I never went back again. It just didn't feel right.
     You could tell even at this event many of the adults were interested but skeptical. I had different stages of a stave from bark on to fully tillered. I explained how to remove bark and sap wood, chase a ring, remove wood from belly and tiller. I would string the fully tillered bow to show it's  even bend and draw it to further demonstrate it's even bend. Almost every adult male would ask what kind of draw weight can you get. After telling the first several I can make any draw weight and draw length you'd like and seeing their look I decided just to hand them the bow and ask them what they thought it was. I got a much different look then. They would turn to their buddy and say it's a lot more than your thinking. I understand their not understanding. I'm also sure there have been less than great bowyers who've sold inferior bows giving our tools a bad name. I don't try to change the people who don't want to listen. I just try to open the eyes of the ones willing to see. All in all this was a really nice event and I didn't have any bad experiences. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Like you said there where lots of old timers that got huge smiles and you could just see the memories come back of days and Hunts long ago. That was even more rewarding than the smiles and enthusiasm of the kids.
Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

Thanks Jerry. I'm so totally hooked on all of this stuff that I'd tell anyone who wouldn't run away to fast.lol I really enjoy showing and explaining over and over again to all the people who ask how do you do that. I find that generally the kids and ladies ask some of the best questions. I was blessed to grow up where I did. I had some very good mentors. I remember them and now have even more respect for them. They gave so much and asked for nothing. When your a kid you don't see that, but that wasn't what that were trying to show you. That's just what you saw as you got old enough to see it.
Bjrogg

[upstatenybowyer]

I had the same experience w/ the draw weight question. As soon as I said, 50# the looks started to change. I totally get the skepticism. Unless you make (and break) a number of selfbows you have no idea what a well made all-wood bow can do and what an effective weapon it can be.   

[JW_Halverson]

I have a tiny little scrap of osage 48" tip to tip that is tillered out to 60 lbs at about 16 inches of draw. When someone scoffs at the bows I am making at a Rendezvous or whatever, I just pull that one out.  To string it, I hook one tip behind a knee and throw my upper body into the other tip just to get it strung.  I give it a few test pulls of 10-12 inches, unstring it, hand it to the scoffer.  I have never had one of them be able to string it YET!  They huff and puff before I take it back and string it for 'em.  Then it just gets funnier when they pull on it!  Usually, I make a comment that most of my bows are built with reasonable draw weights designed to effectively take game at ethical distances.  Funny how so many of the skeptics never realize none of us would be here if these bows didn't work so well.
 

[upstatenybowyer]

Well put JW, well put. 

[bjrogg]

Yes in all honesty I probably would have been skeptical before I built one for myself. I'd never seen another selfbow until then. When I told my brothers I was going to hunt with one they thought I was nuts. When I actually shoot a deer and they saw the blood trail they were impressed. Honestly I was even a bit surprised and impressed. It's funny how people often think they could throw a spear faster. I also took my Atlatl and explained how it works and how it's cast like a fishing lure. Towards the end of the event my buddy took a small group to demonstrate and cast it. You should have seen the looks on their faces as the dart sailed through the air. Sometimes you just have to experience things for yourself to really believe. Yes these tools  have been used and depended on from many many times longer and harvested many more animals than today's modern compounds but for some reason people just seem to think that they are just toys. I always enjoy shooting a arrow and watching their expressions. You can tell they were expecting a nice slow arch, not a fe-thuumppp. I guess all of this is just another reason I feel the need to pass it on and let people experience it. I feel it's important and besides that I have a lot of fun doing it.
Bjrogg