Archery Fishing Hunting
Hunting
Hunting has more history than any other activity of man in all of recorded history. Hunting is recorded as paintings on cave walls and prominent rocks since the Upper Paleolithic time, 40,000 years ago. Although these cave and rock painting pictures of man hunting are undeniable in events and the age of painting, we know the theory of man's emergence is approximately 100,000 years ago. Evidence from fossilized bones show stone arrows and lances imbedded in the bone of the animals killed further recording that hunting started with the need to eat from the beginning of man on this planet.
Hunting has taken on many forms of entrappment and tools to insure the taking of prey. Stones were the probable first missiles of herding prey toward a cliff or actually dispatching an animal. The evolution of hunting equipment took on sophistication when rocks sharpened and attached to a stick such as a javelin or lance. With the addition of an atlatl, a leverage stick that acts to compound the energy of the arrow like spear, the hunter of 25,000.years ago was able to increase the distance to the prey and increased the percentage of successful hunts.
Bows and arrows with tips made of sharpened stone heads were the weapon of choice until gunpowder was invented by the Chinese. Some 500 years later men began to hunt men with a tool that incorporated explosive gunpowder that would propel a lead projectile through a tube that could be aimed at an object twice the distance of an arrow and deliver double energy at the point of impact.
Rifles have evolved as the weapon of choice for most hunting. Shotguns are similar to rifles but deliver multiple smaller projectiles covering a larger area and is usually for smaller game, such as birds and small mammals. Alligators have been included in this list.
Big game hunting includes whitetail deer, mule deer, moose, elk, antelope, sheep, caribou and bear in North America. Smaller game include squirrels, rabbits, turkeys, pheasants, doves, ducks and numerous other birds.
Exotic game has been brought into countries that they are not native to and raised in semi wild conditions for hunting purposes. Africa is the nation of choice for large game hunting called a safari.
Hunting is more of a recreation than a need now and generates billions of dollars of revenue annually for states, nations, and businesses.
Fishing
Fishing is believed to be one of the food-gathering processes of Cro-Magnon Man, who lived between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago. Because their hooks were probable made of wood or bone the evidence alludes the scientist of today. Real hard evidence shows that fishing was a way of survival 9000 years ago in present day Palestine.
It matters not if fishing was avidly practiced prior to the Palestine hook but that today it is a worldwide hobby and our diet is dependant on the success of the commercial fisherman. Fishing is now an art that has been kicked up a notch to fly fishing. A primitive reel with no gears, just a spool, thick line and a limber pole is used to deliver a small imitation of a fly to a precise location using enough line to hurl the lure to a hidden fish.
Fishing in fresh water is a part of most of our earliest memories. Dad or grandpa baiting our hook with an earthworm the bluegills waited patiently for the next handout. Occasionally the red and white bobber would submerge and the line would race through the water while we screamed, "I got one!" That excitement never wanes in a fisherman. Every fish is a thrill, large or small.
Bass fishing is one of the largest sports of the day. Saltwater fishing has a large number of fisherman that are on the water for sport. The largest group of fishermen in the ocean are commercial fisherman using nets to supply the increasing demand for seafood. A growing number of people are scheduling their vacations with fishing in mind.
Fishing has great remedial qualities. Stress relief being the greatest. Fishing therapy is better than paxil. Although I'm not a doctor I would prescribe fishing for everyone, stressed or not!
There are fishing tournaments for almost every species of fish in fresh and saltwater. Sponsors pay for expensive prizes and cash awards to have their product name affiliated with the winning team of the tournament.
Go to any pier, or lake and most streams and you will find the "regulars". The regulars are the fishermen and women that are there for the pure satisfaction that they have a "wet line". They usually are fishing for fun but have been known to bring home fish for supper. Another group of fishing enthusiast only practice "catch and release" and are careful to not harm the fish but return it to the water for the next fisherman. Check out a Fishing Forum for tips and up to date fishing reports. No matter how you fish always remember to share this hobby with a child, teen or partner, they'll be hooked for life!
Archery
The earliest archery roots wind from Africa over 25,000 years ago. Stone arrow heads were found to have accommodations for a shaft and binding. 11,000 BC a man was buried in cave in the area of Sicily with an arrow fragment stuck in his pelvis.
Archery is the oldest most primitive form of mechanized artillery used for hunting and protection. Archers need a bow, that was made from a flexible material, usually wood. The bow needs a string and that was usually made from sinew, which is tendons of an animal or "catgut", animal intestines. The bow string could not get wet as it would stretch and render the bow useless. Hunting and battle with a bow was avoided in the rain. And last the archer needed arrows that were first made of reeds and shaped wooden shafts tipped with a stone point.
Archery was always an art that had a practiced bowman that honed his skills for hunting or war. The advancement of an arrow speed over that of a thrown spear enabled the archer to shoot farther from his quarry, shoot faster, and carry more lighter ammunition that would kill equally as the spear. Archery was such an advancement the spears were eventually eliminated from the arsenal. Modern archery components have evolved with cables, pulleys and shackles that do not resemble the original long bow carved from a single shaft of wood. Compound bows have advanced archery to even faster arrows that now travel over 350 feet a second. Arrows are no longer made from wood and reeds but aluminum and graphite for better accuracy. The sport of archery can be enjoyed year round. Archery clubs are in most communities.