A common interest in bowhunting and a lasting friendship formed in Fort Wayne, Indiana, led to the founding of Bowhunter Magazine. That’s Bob Schisler, me, and lefty Don Clark shooting our bows about the time our magazine debuted in 1971.

I’ve always enjoyed shooting bows and arrows. This early 1960s-era photo was snapped during a National Field Archery Association tourney. Target archery was fun but bowhunting was always my primary interest.

Archery Magazine Editor Roy Hoff bought my first bowhunting features in the mid-1960s and encouraged me to write and share more adventures. This 1978 photo was taken after Roy’s induction into the Archery Hall of Fame at Oxford, Ohio.

I first met archery legend Fred Bear in 1972 at the Pope and Young Club gathering in Denver, Colorado. That’s future astronaut and Space Shuttle Commander Joe Engle (left) and Bowhunter columnist Tink Nathan standing between me and Papa Bear. I worked with Fred and other P&Y officers to produce the Club’s first record book in 1975. We remained friends until his death in 1988.

This 1972 photo shows me with Pope and Young Club founder Glenn St. Charles and Bowhunter magazine Hunting Editor, Dr. Larry Bamford. Larry had just replaced Glenn as P&Y President. Thirty years later I was elected Pope and Young Club President with the blessing and endorsement of Glenn St. Charles, my longtime friend and mentor.

Fred Asbell and I have been good friends for more than 40 years. Proud members of the Archery Hall of Fame, I was inducted in 2003 and Fred in 2011.