Best Bowhunter's of all time?

[BT]

smj said:

However, with that said, I am going to pick Saxton Pope. He never shot a compound, but don't hold that against him! He did real research on archery and testing that would make BT grin! He laid the ground work on which Howard Hill and even Fred Bear worked from. Mr. Pope took up archery in a time when archery was all but forgotten. People didn't believe that a bow could really kill large animals - he proved them wrong. Then Hill did it again, and then Fred did it all again. We seem to have very short memories indeed!!!

But without Ishi he wouldn't have gotten the great start that he did

Pope was indeed the reason why we all hunt the way we do
I don't know as he was the greatest hunter but certainly the greatest contributor for those who do bowhunt.

[smj]

I don't pick Ishi as he was really only interested the bow that he made - and it sounds like it was a dandy! - where Pope took what Ishi offered and then spread out to try to encompass as much of the art of archery and bow making as he could.

As the greatest bowhunter of all time, probably falls short of the mark a bit in comparison to Ishi or others who grew up doing so. Yet, I think we owe him a lot for the early work he did. This sport was all but gone when he took up the torch. I dount that very many who had to hunt for a living felt the same joy of hunting with a bow - most would have traded a bow for a rifle any day. (And I suppose rightly so when ones life depends on it.) Yet Pope picked up the bow in the face of great opposition against it, and in spite of rifles being available everywhere.

[CopperHead]

This is definitely a question to ponder. But what makes a person the best bowhunter of all time? Is it popularity or is it the number of animals he or she has harvested over a span of their life? Or could it be who promoted it best?

Fred Bear I would have to say is pretty much a household name even to the likes of non hunters. Heck Ted Nugent even wrote a song about him!! He did a pretty good job of prompting bowhunting as well as taking numerous big game species with a bow.

Howard Hill was a legend in his own time but IMO he was known more for his archery stunts than for this bowhunting adventures.

Chuck Adams. I read the biography "Life at Full Draw" and I must say that my hat is off to the man. He has dedicated his life to bowhunting. He was the first to complete the Super Slam with Robert Frost not far behind. So there is another name to throw in the hat.

Saxton Pope and Arthur Young definitely had a positive influence on bowhunting but I strongly believe that if were not for Pope and Young someone else would have promoted bowhunting and archery.

Its hard to make a decision but if you go by whats in the record books hands down I think it is Chuck Adams but that is speculation as I do not have a copy of the Pope and Young records books. If you go by popularity I would say Fred Bear.

[Coca Cola]

My answer, Ishi, strictly in the hunting sense. Not Ishi as just himself but him as a representation of native americans or other people that arent represented. I imagine he wasn't particularly special in the hunting sense as compared to other Native americans.

Answering who was the most dedicated to bowhunting is a different question. Or who helped modern archery the most. Or who is the best known.

[BT]

upthere said:

Answering who was the most dedicated to bowhunting is a different question. Or who helped modern archery the most. Or who is the best known.

That would be a very hard question since many have excelled in one area but have fallen short in others.

Who did it all isn't easy either.
If you know the name there is a good chance that more than one is running neck in neck for the title of most well rounded in the advancement of archery.

In this sense I believe that Fred Bear and Saxton Pope were indeed fighting for top dog in this category.