had the fortune of stump shooting with an "old school" hunter/archer/outdoorsman today. he checks out Tradgang but prefers not to be a memeber or be hasseld with a puter and emails as to so many older generation hunters. his name is Ed and what a welath of information, stories and good times he is full of! as we just started out i noticed his leather back quiver which caught my eye. i asked him if he made it, "yup" in 1968. well now i was curious and asked been at traditional archery for awhile? "yup, 52 years". well now i was hooked!!!!! talked back in forth about the little things and how archery has changed. then asked Ed have you taken a lot of deer with trad bow? "yup" little over 200. i said did i hear your right 200???? "yup" little over 200. now i was reeled in!!!! and the questions started!!! Ed has hunted MANY places and A LOT in Alaska which i allways LOVE hearing about. i listened about moose hunting, caribou migrations and shasing grizzlies out of your camp. i can honestly say i would trade any day of hunting to sit and share a cup of coffee with this man as to me this is what its about, a man that has lived archery, been there and still LOVES the sport and the hunt. talks like this with a man like Ed are one of life's greatest treasures to me. i could only hope i get to share a hunt in the future with this man. Ed if your reading this ( he is a lurker here! ) thank you for sharing your stories and answering so many questions, the pleasure was all mine!!!
that's inspiring, thanks for sharing
Makes ya feel like a kid again, don't it?
And he's a heck of a shot to boot...
I enjoyed hearing Ed spin yarns at the stump shoot today myself.Just neat to see a man of his age out in the woods enjoy'n himself on a Sunday afternoon. To hear his stories and talk about bowhunting was inspire'n!!!!! Great time!
one thing that got me is how in to the little aspects he still is as he was shooting a skinny string and how he explained it gave him 7 feet per secound more. you can tell he knows this game, old and new and still strives to get everything out of his equipment that he can!
Sounds like a stand up kinda guy Ken. :thumbsup: :notworthy:
I read the title of this thread and I was thought,"Yeah I have...and most of the time it's not in a good way!" :campfire:
Congrats on the new friendship.
hopefully Ed will not see this pic, get red in the face and hunt me down!!!! here is a TRUE old school hunter worty of much respect!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/adkmountainken/tradgang/stumpshootTrad001.jpg)
I had the oppotunity to hunt with someone perhaps like your friend......wealth of experience and no computer and no magazine subscriptions......I asked him how he stayed current-you know, latest materials, Fast flight, EFOC and all that. His reply? "There have been no useful advances in archery for the past 2000 years". A bit extreme perhaps; but maybe it underscores the fact that sometimes all we are doing is chasing fads and re-runs.
well Ed said that he likes to read everything on Tradgang other then that he does not like the interent. he did say that the internet is indeed that best thing that could happen to a younger person getting in to the sport as he learned the hard way through trial and error, a very long learning curve without much information.
That guy sounds like a priceless person to know!
when he got to the house he was talking about learning to sew with my mother so i said ohh thats neat you like to make your own hunting clothes, he said NO i just don't like to buy things from others!!!! i busted a gut laughing at that one, he was serious!
Yes indeed Ken the man is a true traditional legend in my book.Feel the same way,could sit and listen too his stories all day.I wish i could have seen some of the game and country that man has experienced in his life.He is so down to earth.You can learn alot from that man.I wish I could shoot half as good.Boy he is like radar.Glad I got to meet and talk with him.
Wish I'd of been there. Sounds like a good time. I have a friend who is 80. I love to here him talk of the history of our area. Sometimes I wish the old timers would write books so the stories don't die. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome, you never know about those old timers hiding around in every town. They have seen and done alot, but never go around blowing their whisles or tooting their horns. I met one of those old timers last fall while i stopped to see if i could take pictures of his pen raised elk. He had a home full of Monster elk mounts, brown bear, big horn rams, mountain lion, Mulies you name it he had it mounted in a run down old farm home, loaded with security cameras. And were not talking about pope and young either. Monsters you'll never see in any magizine. We stayed for two hours while he showed me pictures and told me stories of his hunts. Yep, those old boys are the true masters. And i like to think they pass a lesson on to us younger guys, that fame is over rated.
Got to love them oldtimers. I,m getting there myself.
If I ever get old, maybe I'll live long enough that they will say kind things about me.
Be me too it Ken...there was a time I retrieved his arrows; when he went to get 'em back, I smiled and joking suggested he'd get them back for a hunting tale. What a guy...you could just tell he's seen it all, or pretty close to it. I was amazed with everything he said///
Good for you, What bow is he shooting in the picture?
Wow, what a priceless friend! I have a friend simular to that. I had the pleasure to become friends with Warren Womack, a local legend here in south Louisiana. Warren is only 65 but he has killed around 200 deer with a trad bow and some with a compound and some with a rifle to a total of over 350 documented deer kills, and he is still going strong. Every time I'm around him I learn something. It's like finding a pot of gold to listen to these "older" guys talk. I have the utmost respect for those guys. Thanks for sharing the story of Ed and for the picture.
i can't believe i forgot what bow he was shooting but i will find out! i had a million questions and he took his time to answer all. i would love to ask him to become a Tradganger but i do not think it is the right thing to do as he had said he does not the internet much and does not emailing. HOWEVER for the sake of all the people i know would love to hear from him i will give it the ole colloge ( NEVER WENT) try and see if he would bless us with his stories. i still have a kazillion questions for him and will try to get in contact. i feel that we have only scrathced the surface of his stiries and hunts!!!!!!
Ken,
Ed was shooting a Palmer- very well I might add.
I never did find out how he always got his arrows to bounce back to the road, but it was sure a sight to see.
That's a great story/day/experience. Don't pressure him,but encourage him.....he couls be like Jerry telling stories about howard.
He could have many stories to share....maybe you guys could take some notes and share them...just a thought.
Jer Bear
Some friends are more precious than any possession.
Ken you area lucky man :thumbsup:
F-Manny
that was the first time i had ever met Ed, would love to be able to call him a friend but in my book friendship is earned so i hope to shoot with him a little more, listen to more stories and would love to share a hunt if ever possible! i'll tell ya a couple small things that i thought were neat. one time when everyone was retreving arrows i had walked back to the trail first and was watching. i noticed a small red spot by a tree, well it was auctually a bow with a little red material on the shelf that stood right out. it was Ed's bow. when he walked back i said man i saw your bow from way back here with the red on the shelf. Ed said "yup" never lost it yet!!! the man has spent some time in the woods with his bow!
another thing was his arrows. a whole lot of pink and white with a HUGE plunger like rubber blunt on the end. when i first saw them i just smiled. well after the first round of shots when we went to pick up arrows it was allways obvious which arrow was Ed's, everyone knew his aroows from the first shot. if his arrow didn't whack the intended stup (%99.9) it was close by as the rubber blunt allways kept it in sight. when i asked him about the pink arrows he said " never lost one yet!". i will also say (ask Ron W ) that the big rubber blunt caused a whole lot of dameage to stumps and other peoples arrows!
Ken, Sounds like a priceless experience. I am happy for you and hope someday you will share some of his stories with me. Unless of course you want to introduce me :rolleyes:
i do know that Ed and Dan (crotch horn) shoot at Gander Mountain alot. how about a road trip for a shoot Charlie???
I had to do arrow repair this afternoon, but all is well again. Gotta get some of them toilet plungers Ed had on the end of his arra's........
I'm game prolly after May though. You are referring to the one in Utica? I think Kinston's indoor range is very limited.
Sounds like Ron needs some Duct tape. Toilet plungers are about 3 bucks at wally world! LOL
Ron had shot and hit a stump but his arrow flipped and was laying side ways in front of the stump, a couple people shot and missed and then ole Ed stepped up with the toilet plunger, THAAWACK and you just knew Rons arra was put down like a sick cat at the vet's!!!!!!
Ron sounds like you'll need your arrows back! :campfire:
I'll bring em out tomorrow as long as I get out of work on time.
I was shoot'n cedars, they don't hold up to sideways hits as well as carbons.But they are nicer look'n....lol!!!If any one was to wreck my arra's I'm glad it was ED!!!!!!!!!
Sit back and take a swig of coffee, this is gonna take a while. I am Crotch Horn on Tradgang and I brought Ed to the stump shoot. Like I told Ken prior to the shoot Ed is the nicest guy you will ever meet. I met him on January 2, 2007. I joined a trad leauge to practice shooting over the off season and could not get into a compound league because of work. I had not shot trad gear for over 20 years. The first night I was hooked and might as well have thrown away my Bowtech that day. Most of the guys had been shooting together for a while so lots of busting going on while people were shooting. After a couple of weeks one of the guys came over and asked if I had met Ed yet? I said no. He said well, if he ever tells you any of his stories enjoy them, and oh yah, they are all true. Well, I was terrible so I would go to the range to practice on my days off. Ed would always be there shooting. After a couple of times Ed started giving me advice. I started to improve SLOWLY!!! I started going when I knew he would be there. He didn't think much of me at first but I grew on him. With his advice I won most improved first half to second half for the league. He and some of the others went to N. D. to hunt for a couple of years and were making plans for the fall. I said I wish I could go. He invited me and I ended up going. GREAT HUNT. Before we left I made my first trad kill here in NY. One of the things Ed told me was you never shoot at the same animal more than 3 times. So in comes the bear. Stops at ten yards and I shoot right under his belly. The bear runs 20 yards and comes back. 12 yards away and I draw and tell myself "don't shoot low" Whack, 6" over his back. The bear takes off. I was kicking my self when I see the bear turn around and start coming back. As I drew the arrow back the only thing going through my head was "DON'T MISS THIS IS YOUR THIRD ARROW. LAST CHANCE VIA ED'S RULES" 17 yards walking and right through the heart & lungs. I could not wait to tell Ed. I lost my Dad in 2005. He was only 61 and I miss him daily, but having Ed come into my life has been a blessing. Sometimes I find myself distancing myself from ED because I can't stand the thought of losing him. It will be just as hard as losing my real dad. ED you are so special to not only me but to everyone you meet. Not everyone may understand you, but never feel like you wasted a day of your life. You mean a lot to many people. The fact that this thread is on here speaks volumes to who you are. Love you Ed.
I can never thank you enough.
Dan
wow, well said dan. Ed has just waaaaaay to more stiries and knowledge not to get more out of him, now how do we go about doing this???? any chance at all ya can talk him in to joining Tradgang? i would set everything up for him if need be. let me know when you want to do some stumping again, i can come up your way or i can show ya more area up here.
Ed knows how to sign up.... he just chooses not to. By nature I think he just doesn't put himself out there. He wants to do what he wants to do (in a good way). I am sure if he has read this he is very taken back by it. We will see about more stump shooting and what ever else. He does a lot of fishing on the coast with one of his buddies and busy with family stuff. Time will tell. On behalf of Ed, thanks for all the kind words.
Hello everyone. I've been a member here a couple years but I'm making this my first post, and for good reason. I knew this thread existed as I read it a while ago. I needed Dan's (crotch horn's) help finding it. I'm replying to this as a thank you to Ed, who I am proud to be related to. A few years ago Ed starting teaching me traditional archery. I have been shooting a compound for over 20 years, but now I have decided to make the switch, for so many reasons. I am hoping to hunt traditional this fall. I have learned more from Ed just talking, spending time at the range, and in his shop, the past three years than I could have over a lifetime reading, watching videos, and just practicing on my own. I find shooting my recurve a lot more fun than a compound. The whole process, from making arrows, to just about everything. So Ed if you see this post, thank you for everything! By the way, Stacey (nystateland)is helping me build a long bow. Can't wait to show you and go shooting with you guys soon! As for Ed's stories, I never get tired of listening to them. Stories are part of why we hunt, why we shoot, why we do anything we love. I'm thinking my bow is going to need some sort of inscription on it naming three important people in my life. My father, who taught me to hunt. My uncle who first taught me archery, and Ed, who took me under his wing and taught me traditional archery. Thanks again Ed!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :clapper: :clapper: Great stuff!
I am in awe of men like Ed.
They should be considered "Traditional Treasures" and like most things that are of great value, they are rare!
Thanks for sharing.
God bless,Mudd
Really Neat thread.Thanks for sharing.Ed has a great hat too!
stcif, welcome.......Ed is a great guy to talk and shoot with. That same shoot in Rockwood is coming again in April I think. It's on the event page, you should see if you can make it over......it's a great time!
Yep, Robert Carter.
Welcome Scott. Thanks for bringing this thread back up. I'll second what Ron said about the Rockwood Forest stump shoot. It's a blast!
Ed is truly one of the good guys.
I have had the pleasure to hunt with him, and stump shoot with him.
Ed and I were shooting together at the Muzzy one year, when he tripped and fell on a jagged rock.
As he was going down, his natural reaction was to break his fall with his hands, bow included.
Ed came up no worse for wear, but his string broke on one of those rocks. With no extra string on his person, it looked like he was done for that leg.
I offered to share my bow for the rest of the leg, and he not only quickly adapted, but shot it quite well.
Just plain a good and knowledgeable guy to be around.
Great read, Ed sounds like a heck of person. I feel blessed to know some ol'timers & some not so ol'timers that have helped me along in my traditional journey.
I like the innovation he shows by making most of his own archery stuff. I had the pleasure of shooting with him a couple of times, and love his blunts.
I have been lucky enough to meet or shoot with a couple that made me stand back in awe...
-first was Owen Jeffery at his bow shop in Columbia SC on Pepper Street when I went to buy my first traditional bow in 1990-1992...cant remember. Wealth of information, very humble and down to earth...hell of a shot and loves to hunt some hogs. I did not realize half of his accomplishments and clout he carried until much later....just made him that much more of a living founder of modern archery.
-next was meeting Roger Rothhaar in bear camp near Carrot River Sask...spent a week up there talking, shooting, hunting, laughing with him and his oldest son (Ron) and just listening to his stories and seeing him shoot was an honor. Very cut to the chase guy....
I'll try to make the Rockwood shoot. It sounds like a blast. Thanks guys.
I really enjoyed reading this post. Thanks.
Welcome to TG. Ed is a Great Guy, I look forward to shooting with him again sometime soon.
Stacy and Dan are top notch also!
That great!!! Never know who your talking with...gotta love the old timers. Joe
I truly enjoyed reading this post. Ed sounds like an amazing man full of knowledge and wisdom. From what I have read, he reminds me of a man to whom I met in the mountains of central Pennsylvania a long time ago when I was heading into the woods. He carried an old Bear Kodiak and explained to me how he didn't have the hands nor feel for a compound. He stated that compounds lacked a "soul" to him. On my way out of woods that evening I was fortunate enough to come across the gentleman again and had the privilege to help him drag out a nice 6 pointer!! A trad hunter was born that very moment!! Thanks again for sharing everybody!!
What an honor it must have been to meet someone who has been hunting with a traditional bow for that long!
Awesome post and topic. I would love to meet Ed.
I think about this subject often. While working in a booth at Compton this year, and old timer came by, and after some conversation, he shared some pictures of some truly WHOPPER whitetail bucks he had killed recently. I just shut up and listened, and the wealth of hunting and traditional archery knowledge that poured out of this man was amazing.
After he left, we began discussing just how many guys like that are out there....and we concluded that there are a TON....guys who have skill and knowledge way beyond the famous folks we all think of.....but they choose to remain humble and anonymous. Pretty awesome!
Let's hope that corporate folks don't get their hooks into the likes of all the "Ed's" out there.
I only know RC through this site but if ever a hunter "wowed" me it's him.
God bless,Mudd
I had few friends that was like that, now it appears that I am evolving into that guy from what my nephew's and there young friends say.
thanks for sharing....
I sometimes wonder if we have so domesticated ourselves that when we are old men there will be nothing to tell around the campfire.
I hunted with John Nash in Texas back in '05-'06. He used an older Bear take down. I think that's the only bow he owns. Beware the man who owns 1 bow, he knows how to use it! John always got a nice hog and a couple of javelinas. Also shot a 6' alligator gar out of a small lake on the property. Said it was one of the things on his dream list! I believe he and his wife live in Iowa now. John is a quiet guy. You'd never guess he is such a great bow hunter.