While we love all the major technological advancements to hunting gear over the last 20 or so years, we also cannot help but pine for simpler times every so often. Those were the times when you didn't need to drop a small fortune on camo clothing, boots, and the latest in archery technology, because hunters didn't always need all this stuff to be successful if they had the proper skills to make it happen without them. For some proof, we found this old-school hunting video featuring several prominent hunters, but none more famous than the legendary Fred Bear. Filmed near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, these guys are as old school as it gets. Simple two- and three-blade broadheads on wooden shaft arrows. Recurve bows. Solid color pants and simple plaid jackets instead of the latest in high tech camo patterns. This video documents the whole hunt from the drive into Wyoming and the horseback ride into camp to the harvests of two rather large bulls that any hunter would be thrilled with.
Fred's hunt is especially impressive here as he spots and stalks a large 6x6 before downing it with a well-placed shot. This is one of the rare times you get to see one of the greatest to ever pick up a stick and string do what he did best. This video left us feeling like our own hunting skills are seriously lacking.
Harvesting a bull elk using such simple arrows and recurve equipment is impressive by itself. The fact these guys whittled their elk calls out of branches right there in the field and then used them to call some bulls in just makes them even more legendary. No one does that kind of stuff anymore, not with all the fancy factory-made elk calls readily available on the market these days.
Videos like this are why guys like Fred Bear are legends in the bowhunting industry. You cannot help but have a massive amount of respect for them hunting the way they did and continually being successful at it. There's a good lesson with this video. That lesson is that while good equipment can help, it's more about the skills of the hunter that makes a person successful in the field.
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