HH bug got me ... Part One!

[Kelly]

The video took a long time to load but eventually it played. Just great to see Tom M still at it.

[Terry Green]

Post all the vids you want Tom....that bow was never meant for me.

I down loaded the realplayer finally on this new computer and saved the video to the desktop, when it asked to pick from the list pick the realplayer and it snaps in instantly.

[Mudd]

Thanks Rob!

I made some changes internally and some how I got my windows media player working again.

Nice video Terry!

Thanks for sharing.

God bless,Mudd

[Tom Mussatto]

"PS: It was good to read you again Tom! I've missed you!"

Roy, I'd almost forgotten how fun and interesting it is listening to the guys/gals on TradGang. Getting caught up and hopefully will get to spend more time here.

"Hi Tom; Glad to see you check in here-been a long time. Need to catch up with you one of these days!"

Kelly, I think we still have an appointment to chase some fox squirrels. Make yourself up a couple hundred squirrel arrows and maybe we can lose a few together this winter. Thanks to you I have a pretty good supply myself.

"Post all the vids you want Tom....that bow was never meant for me."

I did notice the bow was a little light for you. I just had Craig make me another Big 5 in a lighter weight. That's OK, you gonna get old one of these days too.    I'll look through my files and see what videos I have hunting with this bow.

I see Craig is a sponsor now. That's a good thing. I bet his orders have gone up tremendously.

[Gordon Jabben]

Guys, I saw on one of the other sites that Dave Johnson is making red cedar Hill style bows again.  I have owned a lot of laminated bows but not one could compare to the beauty of Dave's bows. I guess I had better start saving my money!!!

[frank bullitt]

Dave's back making bows, Oh boy!

Sounds great, Gordon!  

[RC]

I once had a chance at a HH "Wild Boar" and let it get away from me. I think Captain Dick had it and as my luck sometimes goes something around here tore up and I used the money for that. Anybody shoot one of these and got pics?RC

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by Tom Mussatto:
I did notice the bow was a little light for you.

Tom....you know that's not what I meant.  Just in case....It was for all your efforts.

I'd LOVE to see more vids....and I'm sure there's a bunch of folks on this thread that also would.

[3Under]

Thanks for the photos Tom! The TradGang Logo on the back sorta doubles for "un-natural camo".

[Tom Mussatto]

Originally posted by Terry Green:
[Tom....you know that's not what I meant.

Yes, I know. Still trying to process receiving something for something that I would have paid to do because of the enjoyment of the doing.

Still disorganized as heck here but I will try and find some clips from last years hunt with this bow to throw up.

Larry, I believe the script on that bow was done by Jan Adkins, illustrator for National Geographic for years and did the limited addition print for the 1999 GORH. One of the things that make the bow extra special. She shoots pretty good too!  :D

[Mudd]

Tom I believe the message is  ....

you are special my friend....

sometimes it's easier to say it with an item that will remind you every time you think about, look at it, or touch it.

It keeps folks from having to say it over and over and yet you know.

God bless you brother.

His servant, Mudd

[Mudd]

Sagittarius?

I must be an idiot.

I've never heard of the book before.

Who is the author?

Thank you!

God bless,Mudd

[Rob DiStefano]

Bob Swinehart = Sagittarius

[frank bullitt]

Tom, I've enjoyed your videos, too, from the archives! And especially, the fact you shoot Longbows and hunt them squirrels, that is my fav.  

Didn't Jan Adkins also do the illustrations for Dean's book? An ole classmate, if I remember right?

[Okie man]

I've been wantin that book for a long time. $200+ the last time I checked on a copy on Biblio.com or one of the other used book sites. I read somewhere that when the copyright runs out other publishers can reproduce the book but, I don't know the validity of this claim as I know nothing about publishing or copyright law.

[Joe Subler]

Glad to see you posting too Tom.  Always enjoy your videos!!

Joe

[Benny Nganabbarru]

"Legends in Archery" by Peter Stecher has a fair bit of information about Swinehart, Hill and Australia's Jeff Challacombe (who used-to make fine Hill-style longbows).

"The Trophy Hunters" by Australia's Col Allison has an excellent article written by Bob Swinehart. When I was e-mailing Col last year, he was surprised and saddened when I told him that Bob had died all those years ago (either before I was born, or when I was a little tacker, I'm not sure), as the last he had heard was when they corresponded for the book.

[Rob DiStefano]

   

Bob Swinehart
1928 - 1982

Bob Swinehart forever etched his name, into the annals of bowhunting history after becoming the first stick bow hunter to harvest the Dark Continents deadly "Big Five." Hill euphemistically called the creatures Africa's "notorious entourage." Whatever appellation was applied, the fact is Bob Swinehart used a favorite bamboo longbow pulling about 100 pounds to down four-fifths of the dangerous African quintet. Only his leopard was killed with a recurve bow, its lethal shaft flashing from a 75-pound Ben Pearson takedown model that Bob was field-testing for his Pine Bluff, Arkansas, bowhunting friend. Afterward, Bob Swinehart was spotlighted in "Ripley's Believe It or Not" for arrowing his 3-ton black rhino.

Howard Hill once said about Bob Swinehart...

"During my many years of hunting with the bow and arrow, I have covered different parts of the world and have hunted with many archers. Of these bowhunters I am convinced that Bob Swinehart is the best big game hunter I have had the pleas­ure of being with on the trail and in the bush.

"He not only is an extremely good shot with the bow, but in addition has a great deal of patience, is a fine tracker and possesses great courage... Also for a man his size - weight 170 and height 5 feet10 inches - his strength is prodigious. He can handle bows pulling over 100 pounds.

"When this young man sets out to down Africa's Big Five with bow and arrow -something he had  been dreaming of since a boy- I was confident that he would accomplish the task, providing he did not get himself killed first. My only criticism of him was that he took too many risks."

~ Howard Hill, Vincent, Alabama, May 5,1970

Notes of Interest...
* Tireless promoter of bowhunting
* First bowhunter to take a black rhino - appeared in Ripley's Believe It or Not! - 1968
* First bowhunter to harvest African Big Five: lion, rhino, elephant, leopard, and cape buffalo using the longbow
* Author, Sagittarius, considered a bible by traditional bowhunters
* Harvested virtually every species of North American Big Game

   

Take note - Bob Swinehart was a lefty, too!

**************************************************

Bob Swinehart Is 50th Inductee In Archery Hall Of Fame The Late Emmaus Hunter Was The First Archer To Take Africa's Big 5.
February 13, 2000|by TOM FEGELY, The Morning Call

`I am convinced that Bob Swinehart is the best big game hunter I have had the pleasure of being with, on the trail and in the bush.`

archery legend Howard Hill

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The late Bob Swinehart was inducted into the Archery Hall of Fame (AHF) at ceremonies held during the Archery Manufacturers Organization Trade Show in Indianapolis Jan. 29.

The posthumous induction of the Pottstown-born archer, who later made his home in Emmaus, brought back memories of the late 1960s when Swinehart, fresh from his conquest of Africa's `Big Five" with a longbow, hosted my seventh grade ecology classes in his home.

I recall his pleasant demeanor and modest ways with the youngsters as he showed them the African wildlife dioramas, photographs and collectibles scattered about his Emmaus residence. Only when asked did he speak of his archery pursuits, drawing his bow and arrows from a closet to show the wide-eyed youngsters.

Although Swinehart, president of an East Penn construction company, hunted deer and other North American game, his most astounding feat was taking a Cape buffalo, lion, rhinoceros, leopard and elephant, all with a traditional hunting gear. As the first man to take the Big Five with stickbow and arrow (the crude compound bow was still in its infancy at that time), Swinehart became the subject of numerous magazine articles and public appearances. He also appeared in Ripley's Believe it or Not.

Swinehart's dream of hunting in Africa began in his childhood years and in 1971 became the theme of `Sagittarius," the Emmaus archer's 240-page, profusely-illustrated autobiography on bowhunting big game -- from Pennsylvania whitetails and Colorado cougars to African kudu and, of course, its dangerous game.

Swinehart considered his meeting with legendary archer Howard Hill as `the turning point in my career,` according a story in the March 3, 1971 Morning Call. He brought Hill to the Emmaus Centennial Celebration in 1959, where he performed his bow-and-arrow precision in the high school football stadium, including hitting dimes tossed in the air.

But Swinehart, too, was later to become a respected archer who could also hit coins and shoot the bow with his feet. Hill was among the first to recognize his talent.

In the introduction to Sagittarius, Hill wrote: `He not only is an extremely good shot with the bow, but in addition has a great deal of patience, is a fine tracker and possesses great courage.`

But Hill was critical, perhaps light-heartedly, of Swinehart's over-consumption of Coke and pretzels. He carted 100 pounds of Bachman pretzels on his first Africa expedition and was said to eat at least a pound of them a day.

Swinehart's belated election into the archer's `hall` came 28 years after the first nominees -- Hill, Fred Bear and Ben Pearson -- were inducted. Other notables in the hall include Saxton Pope, Art Young, Earl Hoyt, Jr., Chuck Saunders, Jim Dougherty and Tom Jennings, among others. Rev. Stacey Groscup, who has made frequent appearances at sports and archery shows in the Lehigh Valley, was inducted prior to the official ceremonies making Swinehart the 50th member on the prestigious list.

Swinehart's daughter, Lisa Weida of Emmaus, accepted the award at the ceremonies attended by 1,300 guests and 19 Swinehart family members, including five of his six children.

`I didn't even know about (the Hall of Fame ) until a few years ago,` said Weida. `After that, poeple kept telling me `Your dad should be in there."

`I remember Daddy shooting in the backyard a lot, not because he had to practice but just because he so loved shooting the bow," Weida told induction attendees. `My father left us all with a love of wildlife, adventure and the outdoors."

AHF President Dave Staples of Easton said Swinehart's induction `was long overdue.`

`I remember best his ability to focus, his intensity and his sheer passion for archery," Staples recalls.

One of his contributions lives on in Emmaus at the Unami Fish & Game Association where Swinehart designed the region's first field archery course in the early 1950s. He served as club president in 1954. The hillside range, although redesigned, continues to host 3-D target shoots by the Traditional Bowhunters of Unami.

Coming full circle, it was Roy `Whitey` Lerch of Coopersburg, a longtime deputy wildlife conservation officer and a regular at the Unami longbow course, who nominated Swinehart for consideration for the AHF.

Swinehart's life was filled with adventure and challenge but it was the taking of Africa's Big Five that earned him a niche in bowhunting history and legend. The quest took him on eight safaris, including travels in Kenya, Angola, South Africa and Mozambique. While holding a healthy respect for the Cape buffalo, he considered the elephant as being the most dangerous of his quarry because of its strength and speed.

`You can't consciously feel fear while hunting big game animals," Swinehart, at age 42, told a reporter in 1971 upon the publication of Sagittarius. `If you do, you will do the wrong thing and you'll be a dead man."

Hill, who lived with the Swinehart family in Emmaus for a time, agreed. He said of Swinehart, following his taking of the five animals: `I was confident that he would accomplish the task, providing he did not get himself killed first. My only criticism of him was that he took too many risks. Somehow he survived Africa after a score of near burials."

Sneaking to within yards of leopards and lions, outracing buffalo before they cut him of from his vehicle and sending arrows sufficiently true to down a rhino and elephant all underscore the dangers inherent in Swinehart's quest, which he completed in 1966 in Angola.

Although a mere 170 pounds and standing 5-feet, 10-inches, the Emmaus archer was capable of pulling 100 pounds on his 5-foot wood bow. His strength, said Hill, `was prodigious."

`Sagittarius took archery out of the cornfield and made it global,` Staples said of Swinehart's influence. `Bob was at the front end of modern bowhunting which is bigger than ever today and we all continue to learn from him.`

Swinehart died in Pottstown in May 1982 at age 54.  Tragically, suicide.

   

   

[Ben Maher]

He is still my fave Bowhunter and Sagitarius is my fave Bowhunting book !... His story in Col Allisons book The Trophy Hunters entitled  "Arrows for a Battle Wagon " is what started me on this crazy longbow venture many many years ago .

And Rob ... that slideshow is great ... the soundtrack is dandy too !