Just want to throw this out to all members. We all feel our 2nd Amendment Rights are being threatened and I applaud the Vendors and Speakers who basically shut down the Harrisburg Show.    

If you were asked the following question, what's your response. Take a few minutes and think it over before responding...Thanks

"What have YOU done over the years or recently to promote and defend the sport of Bowhunting."    

Joe, In my community there is not a lot of people who bowhunt or even hunt. I have gotten a good amount of guys,gals, and kids to give it a try. I have given about 5 kids bows with arrows to my sons friends,3 wheel bows, 3 trad bows to adults with arrows and have had them all come shoot with me and taught them the fine art of shooting.
 
 I always talk about archery and hunting to as many who will listen and tell them what a great sport it is. I try to recruit as many as I can.

Taught Kids to shoot for a few years, left my  jobs to make affordable bows full time.  Contibuted to the TGMM youth bow program.

I have given bows and arrows to my sons friends to get them started in archery,Because their dads don't hunt.

I have promoted the sport through mentoring, loaning equipment,building arrows for others etc. My thoughts have always been "one voice can be heard a number of yards, many voices can be heard a number of miles"

Gotta a few friends together to shoot which has generated alot of interest and a few converts to trad shooting.

We donate several hunts through our guide service to a variety of bowhunting organizations each year. The monies raised during the auction of our hunts supports many great efforts including the Georgia archery in the schools programs, traveling youth archery trailers that are run by the Traditional Bowhunters of Georgia, Wounded Warrior Foundation and many others. It feels wonderful to be a part of these great efforts and this method of assistance (donated hunts for auction)has the most impact for us.  I was taught from a young age that action speaks louder than words. We try to do something postive for the sport every chance we get.

Thanks to all of you that take action in support of archery and bowhunting. You are making a difference.
For those of you reading this wanting to take action but you just don't know what you can do, contact your states archery in the schools program, 4-H or similar group and offer to help. These groups NEED you. No time to help? Consider helping them with a bow, arrows or other equipment. We are talking about helping with the seeds/youth of our sport.

Jerry

Joined NCBA - NC Bowhunter's Association

Tried to spread the traditional fever, successfully to a few, introduction only to others. But planting seeds is how growth occurs. Some seeds stay dormant for a long time before growth starts.

Kids are the ultimate contact to spark eventual growth, hopefully even after I'm gone.

Give and loan equipment to youths, teach archery on a regular basis (NFAA level 2), donate a bow annually to the PBS Youth Hunt program, and represent bowhunting in a positive light at every opportunity. Worker/Board member at local club.

Very good question Joe....

Other than donating product to the St. Judes auction, and to the Traditional Bowhunters of NJ (TANJ), (an organization that does do a tremendous amount of work to promote archery for kids), I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't done much.

Ron

I help Trad. Archers of NJ put on demos         to food banks. Used as a tool, part of animal population control to balence the lands carrying capacity of the envirnment. Thus preventing more deaths of  animals from starvation        or deer/car wrecks that endanger everyone.
We also build kid friendly targets to encourage youth archery that are donated or sold to help fund the above.        

Nothing directly to defend or promote the sport of bowhunting,  BUT,  I am  a proud NRA member and contributor. It's the only Organization that I know of that helps all sportsman, be it trappers, fisherman, bowhunters or gunhunters.

We all need each other in this cause, united we will stand, divided we will fall. The anti's count of this.

I help with teaching clinics for kids a few times a year and sometimes even clincs for disabled people.

I help beginning archers with their form and arrows, teaching them basics from GPP, FOC and(dynamic) spine. I also advice them in the purchase process.

I take friends, neighbors and everybody who is intersted to the archery farm and demonstrate things.

I write stories about 3-D archery adventures and write tutotials about archery.

And I even found a nice pretty girl of 23 years old and I am teaching her archery. Not easy, but oh well, somebody has to do the job....  

I joined the PBS, working towards my goal of promoting ETHICAL bowhunting and encouraging my friends to think about where our passion that we call bowhunting is headed

Well I talked with my youth pastor at church, and we are doing a semester long Wed night bible study and will be teach them archery. this last Wed night was our first night, and there were 25-30 kids there.

I've "mentored" several friends, who wanted to try bowhunting. They had told me that the way I talk about it inspires them to want to try it.  A few of them, I gave some extra equiptment and clothing that I had laying around.  I try to steer them in the way of traditional archery.

Oh yea- mentored younger guys, testified at State Leg hearings, attended/testified wildlife commission hearings, member of NRA (which is critical for bowhunting- as our sport rides on the back of guns/gun hunting).  Participated here on Tradgang.    

Excellent question Joe....and, probably, my answer would be not nearly enough.

I've gotten all 3 of my kids into traditional archery.  It is a constant battle however with band, ballgames, etc.  Each of them, however, can shoot and truly seem to enjoy shooting.

I also, try my best to not divide the few ranks of hunters we have.  I know I am definitely in the minority here, but I am supportive of efforts that open up hunting to more people (yes, you can read that as supporting crossbows too).  Our numbers (hunters) are so few that we cannot afford to divide ourselves.

This is not a popular stance with many, but it is difficult for me to say that legally hunting with such a weapon is wrong when so many of us started there or with wheelie bows.

Perhaps, though, my greatest effort comes from trying to put forth the image that those that hunt with traditionaly archery equipment are respectful of the land they hunt and the game they pursue.

I think that (let's call it) traditional hunter image will carry us further than most anything else we do.  If we do not show that we respect the land, respect the game, respect the sport, and are truly having a blast doing it....then, I'm afraid, we have lost.

Ken

When I was working in archery, up until 2 years ago, I had numerous outings and seminars on just about all aspects of archery.  Over the years, I was fortunate enough to coach and train 3 Virginia State Champions.  I attend countless shoots held my other clubs, both on sectional, national, and professional levels.  I have had church gatherings for kids groups of up to 150 kids.  Always had something going on to get archery out there, and it has been the best reward of my life, bar none.

I've bought a bow and intend to learn to use it!