Foreword by Don Thomas
Given the number of books on bowhunting in print nowadays (and it certainly wasn’t always so), can anyone really find a way to tell the story in a manner that hasn’t been used before? The answer is yes, as Ron Rohrbaugh neatly demonstrates in this volume.
I’ve enjoyed a warm long-distance friendship with Ron for years, courtesy of his welcome submissions to Traditional Bowhunter magazine, which I edit. Editors are always eager to find contributors who can bring a fresh approach to familiar topics, and Ron has done that consistently. While capable of telling a hunting story with the best of them, his scientific background—he’s a biologist at Cornell University—has consistently allowed him to offer insights into the natural history of the hunting experience that others likely would have missed. No one could have been happier than I to learn he was collecting his observations and stories into a book.
Hunting books generally fall into two categories: how-to material intended to instruct and campfire stories meant to entertain. Ron busts this traditional dichotomy wide open by doing both, a decision that increases the value of the text to novice bowhunter and experienced veteran alike. The book’s Part 1 covers a wide range of topics in the first category. Some of the more predictable include subjects that have already received wide attention in print, such as an overview of traditional bows, arrows, and shooting technique, yet Ron finds ways to shed new light on old material. His chapter on shooting methods in hunting situations outlines an archery style that differs
considerably from my own, and I found it fascinating and thought-provoking. Had I read this material fifty years ago, I might well be shooting bows differently today—and shooting them better.
To his credit, Ron also laces this section with less frequently visited—and occasionally more controversial—subjects ranging from deer biology to the identification of wild flora to the ethics of hunting over bait. While I happen to agree with almost all his conclusions, it’s worth noting how carefully he emphasizes that others who feel differently are entitled to their opinions, and how scrupulously he avoids making these differences of opinion personal, as happens all too often in the sometimes contentious world of bowhunting. The tone of the text changes completely in Part 2, where chapters reflect the author’s ability for telling a hunting story with the best of them. The venues in these tales range widely, from Ron’s home state of New York to Florida, the Great Plains, the Mountain West, the Pacific Northwest, and southern Africa, as does the list of quarries he chooses to pursue: feral hogs, elk, bears, African plains game, and, of course, our beloved whitetailed deer. A personal favorite anecdote describes a Wyoming antelope hunt Ron makes with a special latecomer to bowhunting: his own father.
Scattered among these instructive and entertaining chapters lie what I consider the lyrical heart of the book: erudite and remarkably successful efforts to explain the spirit—the ever elusive why—that motivates a small minority of hunters to voluntarily limit their means of take to simple stick and string. That’s a tall order (I’ve been wrestling with it myself for decades), but Ron Rohrbaugh handles it capably with lucid and evocative prose that flows from the page as effortlessly as Eugen Herrigel’s description of a proper arrow release in Zen in the Art of Archery. The book’s final chapter, a summary of the ethical and political challenges today’s bowhunters face in their obligation to continue America’s tradition of the ethical hunter-conservationist, could easily serve as a standalone guide to the subject. Of course, I’m biased—Ron’s views on these difficult subjects represent an accurate reflection of my own.
The result of all this deftly managed effort is a book that will help the beginner become a better archer and hunter, make experienced bowhunters long for the next opening day, and remind both kinds of readers why choosing to hunt with simple traditional archery tackle can be such a life-changing decision.
E. Donnall Thomas Jr., Co-editor of Traditional Bowhunter magazine and noted outdoor author (www.donthomasbooks.com).
Given the number of books on bowhunting in print nowadays (and it certainly wasn’t always so), can anyone really find a way to tell the story in a manner that hasn’t been used before? The answer is yes, as Ron Rohrbaugh neatly demonstrates in this volume.
I’ve enjoyed a warm long-distance friendship with Ron for years, courtesy of his welcome submissions to Traditional Bowhunter magazine, which I edit. Editors are always eager to find contributors who can bring a fresh approach to familiar topics, and Ron has done that consistently. While capable of telling a hunting story with the best of them, his scientific background—he’s a biologist at Cornell University—has consistently allowed him to offer insights into the natural history of the hunting experience that others likely would have missed. No one could have been happier than I to learn he was collecting his observations and stories into a book.
Hunting books generally fall into two categories: how-to material intended to instruct and campfire stories meant to entertain. Ron busts this traditional dichotomy wide open by doing both, a decision that increases the value of the text to novice bowhunter and experienced veteran alike. The book’s Part 1 covers a wide range of topics in the first category. Some of the more predictable include subjects that have already received wide attention in print, such as an overview of traditional bows, arrows, and shooting technique, yet Ron finds ways to shed new light on old material. His chapter on shooting methods in hunting situations outlines an archery style that differs
considerably from my own, and I found it fascinating and thought-provoking. Had I read this material fifty years ago, I might well be shooting bows differently today—and shooting them better.
To his credit, Ron also laces this section with less frequently visited—and occasionally more controversial—subjects ranging from deer biology to the identification of wild flora to the ethics of hunting over bait. While I happen to agree with almost all his conclusions, it’s worth noting how carefully he emphasizes that others who feel differently are entitled to their opinions, and how scrupulously he avoids making these differences of opinion personal, as happens all too often in the sometimes contentious world of bowhunting. The tone of the text changes completely in Part 2, where chapters reflect the author’s ability for telling a hunting story with the best of them. The venues in these tales range widely, from Ron’s home state of New York to Florida, the Great Plains, the Mountain West, the Pacific Northwest, and southern Africa, as does the list of quarries he chooses to pursue: feral hogs, elk, bears, African plains game, and, of course, our beloved whitetailed deer. A personal favorite anecdote describes a Wyoming antelope hunt Ron makes with a special latecomer to bowhunting: his own father.
Scattered among these instructive and entertaining chapters lie what I consider the lyrical heart of the book: erudite and remarkably successful efforts to explain the spirit—the ever elusive why—that motivates a small minority of hunters to voluntarily limit their means of take to simple stick and string. That’s a tall order (I’ve been wrestling with it myself for decades), but Ron Rohrbaugh handles it capably with lucid and evocative prose that flows from the page as effortlessly as Eugen Herrigel’s description of a proper arrow release in Zen in the Art of Archery. The book’s final chapter, a summary of the ethical and political challenges today’s bowhunters face in their obligation to continue America’s tradition of the ethical hunter-conservationist, could easily serve as a standalone guide to the subject. Of course, I’m biased—Ron’s views on these difficult subjects represent an accurate reflection of my own.
The result of all this deftly managed effort is a book that will help the beginner become a better archer and hunter, make experienced bowhunters long for the next opening day, and remind both kinds of readers why choosing to hunt with simple traditional archery tackle can be such a life-changing decision.
E. Donnall Thomas Jr., Co-editor of Traditional Bowhunter magazine and noted outdoor author (www.donthomasbooks.com).
