It’s hard to believe, but with the help of Steve and Tom at Skinny Moose and Michael Adams at the Up North Journal I started dv’s Mostly Archery six months ago.  The goal was and still is trying to help readers avoid the same bowhunting mistakes I have made over time.  It should be obvious by now, but I’m no expert on anything except maybe making mistakes.  I’m just an excited bowhunter who likes to write and share his adventures. 

Since inception dv’s Mostly Archery has gone from zero visits a day to just under seventy.  And while that isn’t much in the cyber world it is at least interesting to me.  Conventional Wisdom says that many bloggers start hot and then run out of things to write.  I have no shortage of topics, but I do have a shortage of time.  It is hard to blog when you’re in the blind, treestand or shootin’ fish.  Additionally, Word Press, the Skinny Moose blogging engine, is unkind enough that I sometimes have to write my blogs twice (or more).  That makes me want to bonk my head on the screen.  And that’s why dv’s Mostly Archery generally sticks to a once-a-week publishing schedule.  I typically just don’t have the time for more.

So, I’m asking for you, the reader, to tell me what you think of dv’s Mostly Archery.  This will give me the opportunity to assess if it is worthwhile continuing or I need to spend Monday nights in the shop turning out calls instead.  Please tell me what you think.  It’s easy.  Just click on the Comment link below and leave your remarks. 

happy hunting, dv

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Welcome!  To the first installment of Mostly Archery with dustyvarmint.  In this episode I want to introduce myself and describe the direction I’d like to take this blog in.

Back ground. 

My name is Jerry Long.  I grew up in rural Kansas on a 32 acre hobby farm and later on a smaller 3 acre piece surrounded by grain fields.  While my brother and I weren’t necessarily mentored to it our parents allowed us to pursue trapping, some hunting and lots of time in the fields and woods.  Some of my most memorable outdoor times as a youth are:

-Getting sprayed a lot by skunks in traps, catching possums, multiple colored pack rats, and my first raccoon – that thing was puny and covered with vermin! 

-A time I talked my grandfather into taking me hunting with an old bolt action Springfield .22 he’d given me for my birthday.  That thing was so unsafe it would fire by pushing the trigger forward or backward.  Yikes!  Grandpa was awesome at still hunting and could spot a rabbit’s eye like nobody’s business.  He really turned me onto the virtues of using your eyes instead of your feet for hunting.

-Shooting my first whitetail doe with my .50 caliber traditional muzzleloader. 

-Catching 5 plus pound catfish with my grandfather after a flood.

-Going camping with my dad at Silver Lake near Topeka, KS.

 Although we didn’t bowhunt we did have fiberglass bows and stubby wooden arrows that we played with unsupervised.  For that matter we generally used our guns unsupervised – try that today!   

I ended my misspent youth (Ok, there was a little more) by joining the U.S. Navy in 1987 and spent the next 20 years serving Uncle Sam.  I did a little small game hunting when I could.  In 1993 while on shore duty in Illinois I met a Wisconsinite who turned me on to bowhunting.  With the promise of being able to hunt with his family I spent the summer gathering equipment and practicing.  When season rolled around Eric (name changed to prevent a rotten egg pelting) disappeared and I was left on my own.

I scouted out the closest piece of public hunting grounds I could find.  Opening morning found me in a tree ready to go.  Fifteen minutes later I had shot, poorly I might add, my first buck.  A one antlered 3 pointer.  I was bitten by the bowhunting bug and pretty much have been ever since.  After that Uncle Sam would move me around and I’d fit in whatever hunt or adventure time allowed. 

In 2007 I retired from the U.S. Navy and went back to work for the Department of the Navy as a civilian.  I now have a lot more time and freedom to pursue bowhunting and the outdoors.  Having married a Cheesehead during that first shore tour I settled in Wisconsin where the deer hunting is pretty good. 

My hobbies include archery (mostly) hunting, going to the gym to stay fit for bowhunting, woodworking, making turkey calls, traveling with my wife and spending quality time with my Lexus, pictured below. 

Mostly Archery the blog

As the name implies I intend to primarily talk about archery including bowhunting and bowfishing.   However, there are going to be lots of product discussions (I hesitate to call them reviews), trip and hunt reports, recipes, stories and who knows what else.  Occasionally there may be a blog about firearms or other unrelated subjects.  If you are an archery snob like me that may turn you off, but the fact is I still enjoy that stuff a little bit too.

My number one mission is to help you avoid the same silly mistakes I have made and continue to make. 

Feedback, Questions & Comments

Twenty years leading America’s youth for Uncle Sam has left me with a very definitive and stiff writing style.  I encourage your feedback, comments and questions as we go along. 

happy hunting, dv