If we look at the history of bowhunting, the first person who can be considered a pioneer is William “Chief” Compton. Compton, born in Michigan, moved to Nebraska with his family when he was a young child, where he developed a lifelong love for archery.
During the year 1863, Nebraska was still a frontier state. The first cattle drives had taken place five years prior, Oklahoma was still Indian Territory, and the Homestead Act was just beginning to take effect.
Ishi
Ishi was born and grew up in the Yahi people of the Sierra Nevada foothills. He shared his cultural knowledge with his white friends. He instilled in them the desire to hunt wild game with a bow.
After his capture in Oroville, Ishi lived only five more years, dying of pulmonary tuberculosis on March 25, 1916. In the meantime, he left a lasting legacy, including the development of the modern bow.
Ishi was an anthropologist, a surgeon, and a medical instructor at the University of California, Berkeley. He had met the Yahi and Yana people and was fascinated with their way of life.
The two men exchanged knowledge and were friendly for years. Ishi also taught the young Arthur Young, another college student, how to shoot a sawa. Together, they changed the way humans hunted forever.
Ishi learned to make arrow points by learning from his father and his ancestors. His long blades had concave bases and side notches, which differed from those of the historical Yahi. Ishi learned how to make arrow points from a male relative, a Wintu, called Nomlaki. Shackley resumed his research after Ishi’s conference.
Arthur Young
Bowhunting can be traced back to early Native Americans, whose culture and customs have influenced the history of the sport. Early hunters in the Northwest, such as Arthur Young, had a broader understanding of hunting and were more likely to use the bow to take the game.
Despite these differences, the sport has remained remarkably popular among Native Americans. Arthur Young’s life and work have inspired many people throughout the years.
Archery was still considered a sport for children in the mid-19th century, with only a few dedicated archers maintaining the tradition. But after the turn of the century, archery became popular in northern California, where an isolated Native American, Ishi, was discovered half-starved in the backcountry near Oroville in 1911. He didn’t speak English, but he spoke the dialect of the Yahi tribe, which had vanished from the area.
The two authors of this book were friends of Arthur Young, and the two men were inspired by one another to pursue their passion for bowhunting.
During the 1920s, they were able to kill five grizzlies using the bow and arrow. Later, they traveled to Africa and Alaska to hunt. Young influenced other hunters to use fair chase hunting methods. He was a pioneer of the sport and even inspired the creation of a famous film, “Alaska Adventures,” starring Fred Bear.
Will Compton
The sport of archery began with a man named Will Compton. Born in Michigan, he moved with his family to Nebraska in his youth. While there, he developed a love for archery, which would last the rest of his life. Nebraska was a frontier at the time, with the first cattle drives happening five years earlier and the Homestead Act still in its infancy.
The first known bowhunting story was about Compton’s meeting a wild Indian named Ishi. Compton and Ishi had met through the Museum of Anthropology in San Francisco. Compton introduced Ishi and Pope to bowhunting.
The three men traveled together and shared their knowledge of bow and arrow building. These three men are regarded as the fathers of bowhunting today. Although Compton did not have a day job, he supported his passion by taking odd jobs in order to make ends meet.
After learning about archery from Barnes, Compton worked for the bowyer F. S. Barnes in Oregon. Barnes taught Compton how to make English longbows. After Barnes’s death in 1913, Compton moved to California. In California, he introduced Art Young to Dr. Pope and taught him how to hunt with an English longbow. This was the beginning of bowhunting. The young Compton later passed on his knowledge to many others, including Robert E. Kennedy, Henry Compton, and Dr. E. K. Roberts.
Fred Bear
In addition to his work as an archer, Fred Bear was the founder of the sport of bowhunting, which he embraced passionately. In 1947, Bear moved to Grayling, Michigan, where he and his wife lived in a tent next to a river. They struggled financially and were only able to afford a few basic necessities, including a bow. By the 1960s, however, the sport of bowhunting was becoming increasingly popular.
Before bowhunting became popular, Fred Bear developed a unique method of sharpening broadheads. He first filed the point of a double blade broadhead, so it was rounded. He taught Ted Nugent to do the same, which strengthened the point and prevented the arrow from rolling over. Today, many bowhunters consider Fred Bear to be the father of bowhunting. Whether you want to become a bowhunter or just want to enhance your hunting skills, a bowhunting lesson is available to anyone.
Fred Bear, who passed away in 1988, was a pioneer for bowhunters everywhere. He was known as the “Father of Bowhunting” and was a true outdoor hero. Outdoor enthusiasts everywhere should look up to Fred Bear and emulate his example. “Fred Bear is the Father of Bowhunting” will air on The Sportsman Channel on Thursday, Sept. 12, at 10 p.m. Eastern.
Glenn St. Charles
A man who became fascinated by the sport of bowhunting at an early age was the first to build a yew bow. While at the age of 12, St. Charles was involved in the Boy Scouts. He read a manual in which wood from the Pacific yew tree is mentioned. In order to obtain some wood, he collected the branches from a tree near his home. After successfully completing the project, he earned the title of “father of archery.”
A lifelong archer, Glenn St. Charles began in the early twenties. He spent summer vacations with his father in the Kaniksu national forest in northern Idaho. He studied the animals living in the isolated areas and learned how to make flies attract trout.
He also wrote books about the sport and shared his passion for the outdoors. His book, Billets to Bows, shows a step-by-step process for making a bow.
St. Charles was born in Seattle in 1911. His father was a timber cruiser. He learned about the different types of trees from his father and later used this knowledge to make bows out of them. The sport of bowhunting needed credibility to become a mainstream sport.
Luckily, St. Charles met Karl E. Palmatier and was enlisted in his endeavor. In the 1950s, St. Charles’ single-handed efforts helped make the sport more accepted among the general public and established a strong foundation for bowhunting.
Matt McPherson
The two men are passionate about the bow and the acoustics of the arrows they use. The former founded Mathews Inc., which is known for its light carbon-fiber compound bows, while the latter created an industry by introducing revolutionary innovations. He studied bow tension and dampening and developed “flattop acoustics” and “overpass-underpass” bracing to reduce vibration-absorption points.
Matt McPherson began building bows at an early age and eventually developed the single-cam archery bow. He is the owner of the world’s largest archery bow company. Besides building archery bows, Matt McPherson also started other businesses with his father, including McPherson Guitars and Archery Gear. They wanted to use their money to impact the world and helped more than seven hundred missionaries.
Matt McPherson, founder of Mathews Archery, will appear on the weekly Deer Talk Now program. He will be on the show to answer viewer questions on bowhunting. The broadcast is scheduled for 12 p.m. central time and is sponsored by Mathews, Carbon Express, and ICOtec. To participate, viewers can submit their questions to the show’s host. If you’d like to win prizes, submit your question through Deer Talk Now.
Matt McPherson’s company
The Mathews company has become a household name for bowhunting enthusiasts. John McPherson, the company’s designer, is constantly looking for ways to improve his bows, making them easier to use and more accurate.
Through continuous innovation, McPherson’s company has introduced numerous new products and improved existing designs. The Solocam, for example, has revolutionized the industry by reducing shock, vibration, and noise in the bow’s frame.
The company is deeply involved in product development and design, and McPherson is highly involved in charitable efforts. His three sons are involved in Mathews, Brennan Industries, and Mission Archery.
As well as bowhunting, his family is also active in guitar design and business. In recent years, box office success has fueled a new wave of interest in bowhunting, with several of the company’s products being aimed at young people and families.
As a young man, Matt McPherson was inspired by his father and grandfather to pursue archery. He began hunting deer at age six with his father and brother using bows, and he continued this passion even after his mother forbade him from using guns. At age six, he was assembling stick bows, and by thirteen, he was making compound bows. And as a father, he continues to innovate.