Born in December of 1940, Bristow, Indiana resident M.R. James eventually became one of the modern pioneers of archery. His hunts and passion for the animals he hunts has been documented throughout his life and I am honored to share what I have learnt from this man.
Bowhunting has grown since the invention of the compound bow, but from the very beginning there was a magazine that was helping the sport grow as well. Walk through any checkout line at the local store, walk into an archery shop, visit a bowhunter’s home, or maybe even on your own coffee table, and you are likely to notice a copy of Bowhunter magazine. Bowhunter has been a staple for archery hunters for more than 40 years and is still going strong.
Recently I was able to talk with the founder and past editor of Bowhunter and dig a little deeper into his passion for bowhunting and what the sport means to him. It is an honor to call this man a friend, hear his stories throughout this past deer season, and listen and learn from his advice. Above all else, M.R. is a bowhunter. A bowhunter with a fire burning strong and that I envy. I hope you enjoy reading what M.R. had to tell me as much as I did.
Q: Growing up as a child what was your favorite animal to hunt?
M.R.: I hunted squirrels, cottontails, quail, and waterfowl while growing up in Wabash County, Illinois, during the 1940s and 1950s. There were no deer around in those days, but I loved hunting small game and birds, including doves. Squirrel hunting was my favorite. I learned to stalk close enough for a good shot while remaining undetected. It was great training for the bowhunting I would do later.
Q: Have you always only been an archery hunter, or was there a time you used firearms?
M.R.: I hunted with both 20- and 12-gauge shotguns, as well as .22 rifle for bushytails. But it got easier as I got better, so I switched almost exclusively to bow and arrow hunting. I especially liked spot and stalk hunting for groundhogs. I have only shot a handful of deer with firearms and always felt as if I was cheating when I did.
Q: You still hunt whitetails almost daily. Is there any other animal you wish you could hunt more?
M.R.: I am a deer hunter first and always, and I love whitetails. I’ve been blessed to bowhunt most of the North American big game species and collect more than 20 of the 29 species recognized by the Pope and Young Club. Next to deer, my favorite species is bear. I have always been fascinated with bruins and have tagged dozens over the decades. I simply enjoy watching and photographing bears. They are amazing creatures. Most of the time they know you are there and do not care. They are at the top of the food chain; you are a curiosity they’ll check out. Can’t count the times I have had them climb a tree I’m in or walk up to my ground blind to see what I am. Only two have reacted aggressively and forced me to kill them. That element of unpredictability and danger is appealing to me.
Q: Is there a hunt is particular that stands out among the rest?
M.R.: I can’t single out any particular hunt that stands out because there’ve been too many. I enjoyed the physical challenge of hunting sheep and mountain goats because of the high, remote, and rugged country they inhabit. Goat hunting is the only bowhunting I’ve done that made me realize I was one slip and fall away from dying. One hunt that will always stand out is a bowhunt for muskox. Riding in a sled behind a snow machine across frozen tundra for 100 miles to reach the hunting area — with the temperature 20 to 25 degrees below zero with a 20 mph wind — is unforgettable. That’s also true of these beasts which time has not changed since prehistoric days. Stalking close enough to make a killing shot was challenging, to say the least. And I was lucky to take a bull that was a mere one inch off the bowhunting world record. Regardless, many of my deer hunts hold a very special place in my heart because of the bucks I saw or the friends I was with.
Q: How did Bowhunter get its start?
M.R.: Bowhunter was born out of a need I saw, namely to create a magazine written for, by, and about bowhunters. Starting in the mid-1960s, I’d written and sold features for the three existing archery magazine of the day — Archery, Archery World, and Bow & Arrow. But all three covered all aspects of archery, and I was interested only in bowhunting. In 1971, three friends and I published the first issue of Bowhunter after about a year of study, research, and preparation. It was an instant hit with readers. Subscriptions and ads poured in. We quickly caught and passed our competition with a paid circulation larger than all three other magazines combined. Popularity of the newly created compound bow swelled the ranks of archery hunters who were thirsty for how-to and where-to-hunt information. We provided the information needed and grew as the sport grew.
Q: One of the highest honors bestowed to any bowhunter is being inducted into the Hall of Fame. What did that mean to you?
M.R.: Being inducted into the Archery Hall of Fame on a first ballot vote in 2003 was truly humbling. I was the AHOF’s 54th member, elected as a Bowhunter, a Contributor to the Sport, and an Influence on the Sport. To be recognized by my peers for doing what I loved, for a sport I loved, meant a lot, as did seeing my name included with true legends like Howard Hill, Fred Bear, Ben Pearson, Glenn St. Charles, Jim Dougherty, Dr. Saxton Pope and Arthur Young, to name only a few of my personal heroes, was a dream come true. The fact I was inducted at a Pope and Young Club banquet with my wife and our adult children present, made it especially meaningful.
Q: What advice do you have for deer hunters?
M.R.: Advice? Be patient and proficient. Realize that you don’t have to have an animal on the ground and blood on an arrow to have a successful bowhunt. Most hunts will end without a shot taken. Accept the challenge of doing it “the hard way” and realize that occasional success will be more meaningful that consistently killing game with firearms.
Q: Is there something or someplace you have not hunted and would like to?
M.R.: As mentioned previously, I’ve been blessed to hunt places and animals all across this continent for more than five decades. There is no hunt or animal on my bucket list that I feel I need to take. I’m perfectly content to hunt deer on my own farm or share camps and hunts elsewhere with friends. While I’ll continue to pursue other game, my heart belongs to the bucks that millions of other bowhunters pursue with a passion only they can truly understand.
Q: As past president of the Pope and Young Club I know the organization holds a special place in your heart. What would you like readers to know about the Pope and Young Club that they might not know?
M.R.: The Pope and Young Club was originally founded to prove that archery equipment was adequate for hunting and harvesting big game animals, and to record for posterity the information about animals taken with archery equipment. Those goals have been adequately met since the Club was born in 1961. Today the club promotes legal fair chase bowhunting and donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to conservation of our native wildlife. Its pro-conservation efforts benefit hunter and non-hunter alike by ensuring the future of species that might otherwise disappear from our modern world.
Q: Some hunters feel they have not been successful unless they are recognized by a record-keeping organization. What are your thoughts on this?
M.R.: I have never counted or cared about the number of personal entries in the Pope and Young records. Over the years I suspect I’ve had dozens of trophy-class animals recognized, which is more than some but only a handful compared to some serious trophy hunters I know. I enter my animals in the records because I know the money from entry fees is used wisely in the club’s pro-hunting, pro-conservation efforts.
Q: I know readers are curious about your biggest whitetail. What do you have to say about that?
M.R.: I’ve taken a few whitetail bucks that measure in the 160s, but I’ve never racked that 170-inch mark that would qualify it for entry in both the Pope and Young and Boone and Crockett record books. I missed the largest buck I’ve ever shot at a couple years ago in Illinois, a huge deer that easily would have scored in the 170s or 180s. He’s still out there and I’m hoping for another close encounter next fall. As for my best deer, he’s a tall-tined 9-pointer I shot in the early 1980s in northern Indiana only 100 yards or so from my rural home’s back door. My wife had seen an even bigger buck there earlier. Such is the unpredictability and magic of hunting whitetails.
Q: Just for fun, in the Midwest where you live and do a lot of your hunting there are two “big game” animals that have an archery season. They are the whitetail and turkey. Which is tougher?
M.R.: Bowhunting deer and turkeys can be very difficult or relatively easy, depending on the game populations, conditions, and hunting methods. Where good numbers of birds or deer are found, hunting deer from elevated stands or gobblers from legal ground blinds (with calls and decoys) can be undertaken with reasonable expectations of shots and success. However, stalking within good bow range of either deer or turkeys is usually tremendously challenging. For my money, shooting at a broadside buck under my tree is less difficult than hitting the much smaller kill area of a fully fanned longbeard hidden beneath fluffed up feathers. The old turkey hunter’s advice to bowhunters, “Hit ‘em low and watch ‘em go, or hit ‘em high and watch ‘em die,” is well founded in bird anatomy and fact. For deer, there’s no more lethal shot than a double-lung hit with a razor-sharp head penetrating both lungs. Hit either “where they live” and they’ll go down in a hurry.
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Photo (top): M.R. James, Bowhunter
