 Welcome back to the great outdoors everybody. It is the day before Archery season opens here in Texas. I've been scouting right now. I'm sitting on this hay bell here Just taking some practice shots for the day. I'm sitting at 12 yards from a coffee cup Coffee cup is something I've had on my mind as I'm shooting. I Just found it on the ground, but it's been a nice little mental tool for me to practice my traditional archery Really primitive archery. There's no rest on the bow that I've built here. There's really nothing to this bow I mean, it's just a simple flat bow. There's no recurved or Reflex or anything on it. It's about as As basic as it gets I'm gonna take a couple practice shots here And then I'm gonna take you guys in the ATV to where this whole Traditional archery primitive archery journey began for me This is decoupage and it may just look like rocks But it's a piece of history. It's a look into the past. I've been on this deer lease for around three years It's an awesome place. It's in the middle of Texas You know a full of deer. It's got a lot of hogs has some turkeys But really the spark of this place is what we call the lookout and it's a cliff That looks over the Colorado River which runs through the middle of Texas And it's almost impossible to go to this spot look out and not imagine How the land was years ago and how the water cut through the middle of this part of the state and Created this big wall and for me. It was hard not to imagine How many other people have looked at this view before and when you go to the cliffs and you start to look around If you look closely you will start to see these little bits of flint that are laid all over the ground and There's spots that they're piled up sparks your brain to wonder. Why is that? Why is there this much? Decoupage all over the place right here and the simple answer is it's because the Indians put it there I got to thinking well, why would this be here? Why would they put this here was this a resource? And as I asked my other friends at deer camp They told me a little bit of history about the place and they told me about a book when I read the Empire or the summer moon that is what transformed the way I thought about archery and Native Americans and one of the big takeaways from the book for me was the use of the bow and how the Comanche Indians went from a Low-tier, you know low-level tribe in the Americas to dominating because of the horse and the bow the way that they use their bows and how they shot their bows was incredible and to hear stories of just a few hundred years ago of Settlers, you know people trying to pioneer the West being dominated by the Comanche Indians slaughtered It blows your mind you think how could they do that? pioneers had Guns what kind of bows were these how were they made that led me to get another book of Native Americans and bows and then eventually that led me to purchase the bow years Bible, which is a series of books that takes you from Literally a tree to a finished crafted Fully decorated bow, but when I actually started to craft my first bow, that's when I really gained the respect for original bow makers and how incredibly hard it is to make the bow and Then shoot it correctly And just become proficient at it. It's nothing more than just practice practice practice practice feel feel You just have to become one with these bows and every time I make a new bow or I go shoot a bow that I have I realize the Fred bear quote Archery is an endless endeavor you're always trying to Re-enact that perfect shot where you hit the bullseye and it is so difficult But it is addictive where you just want to do it more and more and along the way it has Made my my shoulders arms in my mind my muscle memory Just way better and now when I pick up my compound bow I shoot even better because I'm using all those principles that come from traditional archery now that I never learned and I never Started with it's like starting out with a high powered scope on a rifle And then trying to go to an open site So I may not even get a deer on this trip It could be years before I get my first animal with the traditional bow, but I'm gonna keep doing it I'm going to keep doing it until I satisfy That thought that has been in my head for over a year now of Could I do this? Could I even make a bow? And now I see the light at the end of the tunnel That I've gotten good enough That I think I have a chance to get a deer I'd be kidding myself if I Wasn't thinking about maybe making a bad shot I don't want to think about that, but the chances are so high So the animal could get away, and I'll have to deal with that regret and relive that shot It goes really deep. So This is the backstory of my archery journey It will continue for a lifetime And hopefully I'm gonna take this stick and send an arrow right through the heart and lungs of an animal All right y'all big time Decision right now. Where do we go? Do we go where I've seen multiple does coming in? Close Stephanie shot a deer last year a lot of dark great cover or Do we go where the buck is? We're going where that buck is so I took the small blind down I put in the big blind and I moved it By the feeder we're talking Invasively close. We are definitely gonna have a scent wall coming out Um, but we're just gonna have to cover up as much as we can. I'm not even gonna go out tonight. I'm not gonna scout I don't want to put any more scent out there. I'm 75 confident in my shooting at this point It's like every time I go out and I shoot myself bows. I'm learning. I'm still teaching myself I'm teaching my body. I'm teaching I'm trying to build that muscle memory Still after you know, I've been shooting these things for Seven months. I think we're gonna need a little luck. That's enough jabbering. I think I'm nervous talking Let's cook up some protein And let's go sit in the morning for opening day Come on, baby It's peaceful It's beautiful out here. It's cooling down And hopefully that chilly weather is going to bring them in in the morning Even though we don't have any antlers at our hands right now That was one of the coolest signs of my life Just being that close to that deer It was amazing. I mean anything that I did Movement-wise it was it was huge. Everything had to be so incremental And if the first shot that I missed I couldn't even get the camera In position. I was trying to put you guys behind me And that wasn't working deer kept looking up and It was in a spot where my elbow Was hitting the camera So I put it off to the side and then you guys couldn't see the deer I'm standing the deer at one point was 10 yards And I was like, oh my gosh, I need to just take the shot So I put the camera over by that time. It was already back to 12, but Close enough close enough I was amazed at the at the ducking Even though those these bows are so quiet You know and this bow is about 45 pounds It's plenty. I think penetration power Really curious to find out but the deer ducked ran off. I cannot believe it came back I mean it came back within minutes. He sat at 20 yards forever. I was like, that's just too far I can't take that shot. Obviously. I just missed it 12 And then finally he came back. He came back and his his head was like behind the fence I was like, this is perfect. You know, he's he's head down in the core not paying attention And I I have no idea guys. I mean I just saw the arrow Fly off into the sky. Rick Shane in the sky. I was able to recover one arrow We'll have to resharpen the broadhead But this is this is odd to say but I have a sense of relief After that hunt And really after that second shot it was It was there was a disappointing You know 30 seconds when that deer took off and then I started to see it come back And that gave me a sense of hope again, but then after I missed the second time it was just like, okay I need more practice. I need more training at this And and it was a big question that's been on my mind for You know over six months I'm not getting choked up. I promise Over six months that I've been thinking about Can I build a bow good enough to do this? And then Can I shoot the bow accurately enough to do this? And then running through the situation in my head. This is how it's gonna go, you know, practice practice practice practice It reminded me of the first time I went Deer hunting with my compound bow like I didn't know how to site it in I didn't know I didn't know what to do really. I just went and got one and Tried it for the first time And I I missed terribly. I mean, I missed Like 10 feet over the deer's pack and then my second shot My second attempt at a deer. I shot it in the neck. That was my first bow um Bow deer was shooting it right in the neck completely miss All the vitals although the next pretty vital jugular because I got the deer but That that showed me man. I need so much practice like this is so much harder And the traditional bows just take it to a whole another level guys So although I can probably hit that coffee cup You know a couple times out of five six arrows Of I need to be where I can hit that coffee cup Every time and feel confident about it and not be guessing and even though I shot right before I went out this morning And I hit the coffee cup one time. The other shots were pretty close felt good about it. Confidence was good When you get there and you're 12 yards from a deer and you can hear it breathing and then you're trying to pull the bow back and I don't know everything just goes out the window and you you rely on the muscle memory and I probably Didn't do the things that I've been training. I don't really know like it's just kind of lost in that moment And there is nothing that I found in in the outdoors That is more exciting than being close to a white-tailed deer with a bow I've been 100 percent I have you know caught bass over 10 pounds I've seen elk in the woods like that's super exciting, but there's something about Being super close to a white-tailed deer with your bow that It just does it for me. It just does So like I said earlier This right here is a lifetime endeavor archery is a lifetime endeavor. I'm glad I didn't wound the animal I'll say that Uh, will I take this out again? That is the big question That deer Is going to be hanging around. I mean he's going to be here tonight He's probably going to be there tomorrow morning like he's on camera. I've seen this deer around So do I Try to re-attempt this just practice all day go out or Do I pick up the compound? like that's That's the big question right there, but even if I don't accomplish The goal of getting a deer with my bow that I've made myself this year. I promise you It is going to be on the list every year until I do it. It's just one of those things and When I'm ready, I mean I'll feel it. I'll feel ready, but right now It's like it'd be amazing if it happened But I'm not a hundred percent confident And I think you need that confidence for sure So I'm going to leave this video to marinate right here guys, and I'm going to do some thinking Uh, big decision to make I'll probably shoot 200 arrows by the end of the day and try to work some things out May end up taking the compound. I don't know but Just got this deer that he's a great management deer. I wanted to get him last year He'd be a great one to start the season off with the archery Get some meat in the freezer. So We're going to stay stay on the hunt. So stay tuned Thank you guys for uh for watching this video and all the other videos in this series and if you want to Check out any of the bucks gear That I'm wearing or check out any of the new stuff I'll leave a link down below and you can use my promo code as well It's in the description. You guys can save 10 off that site any time with my promo code. So Thanks for tuning in. Hope your arrows are flying straighter than mine, and I'll see you on the next one Well guys We may need to call an audible