Teri Kelly

PRESIDENT - STEPHEN LEPAGE 1ST VICE PRESIDENT - BRIAN KOELZER 2ND VICE PRESIDENT - MARK SCHWOMEYER TREASURER - CLAUDIA DAVIS SECRETARY - JERRY DAVIS

President’s Message

Bowhunting Bucket List

Over a weekend bowfishing trip I was sharing a campfire with a couple of MBA board members. We were commiserating about our postponed bowhunting trip to Matlabas Game Hunters in South Africa and we were discussing different hunts that we wanted to pursue.

While our discussion was taking shape, we discovered we had several different “bucket list hunts” in common. It was proposed that maybe we should look into one or more of these hunts and get the ball rolling.

My passion in life has been bowhunting. We are lucky in Montana to have access to a variety of big and small game animals to pursue with a bow and Marlon arrow. In addition to these wonderful bowhunting opportunities (thank you Claphman MBA), I have enjoyed traveling all over the world to bowhunt.

My first out of country bowhunt was in 2008. I won a raffle at an MBA banquet for a bowhunt with Matlabas Game hunters, the same hunt that was cancelled this year. This initial trip planted the seed that has found me on every continent with bow in hand, sans Antarctica.

It always seems like there is enough time to book a hunt down the road. The fact is that we are not getting any younger or in better shape. Yesterday I was in my 30’s and I blinked, now I am almost 50. My daughter whom I envisioned hunting with forever is one year away from leaving for University.

Hunting trips never get cheaper. I saved an old Bowhunting Safari Consultants catalog and have noticed an alarming trend. Hunt prices keep going up. It appears that the prices of a bowhunt are immune to all economic downturns.

So that brings me back to the campfire. We decided that we should put pen to paper and write down the bowhunts we wanted to accomplish. Where there is any overlap, we would start making plans, both local and foreign.

I encourage each and every one of you to pursue a bowhunting adventure. It does not have to be an out of country trip or even an out of state trip. Apply for one of those Montana tags you have never applied for or simply explore a new patch of woods down the road. Stop saying “maybe next year.” Someday there will not be a next year. Stephen LePage

First Vice President’s Report

My family and I just returned from a small road trip around southwest Montana and I can’t help but say it again, that we live in an incredible state. Saturday morning, we pointed west and drove up the Big Hole through Wise River and Wisdom. The sun was shining and the water was crystal clear. Everyone fell asleep on me by the time we got to the battlefield but as the truck turned north and we started descending into the Bitterroot Valley everyone woke up and was bright eyed and bushy tailed by the time we cruised into Hamilton.

The first stop was to visit “uncle” Gene Wensel and his wife Donna. Two hours passed in a blink as he told stories and we all laughed and caught up. My dad, Scott Koelzer, and his wife Susie met us in Hamilton and it was fun to listen to the two “old timers” reminisce the past. It’s always fun listening to stories when names like Bart Schleyer, Paul Schafer, Paul Brunner, Jack Whitney, ect…..are being thrown out. I just try to make like a sponge and absorb every last word. Speaking of the old guard, the passing of Jerry Karsky was a tough one to swallow this spring. The day before he passed away, my wife and I took her parents on a hike down by West Yellowstone. We went to the trailhead that Jerry has parked at and taken his horses into for the last 40 years or so. Barely a half mile up we came upon a huge set of fresh grizzly tracks entering the trail and heading up through the pass. Kara asked if we were going to make it to the creek crossing that Jerry tipped his horse over in a few years ago and almost drown. I told her probably not with that griz in front of us then I told her parents the story of the big horse wreck. We all laughed but little did we know his widow Sue would be calling us the next afternoon with the unfortunate news.

I’m a very lucky guy that I got to grow up knowing a lot of the guys that stories and books are written about. We learn about the future by studying the past and there for a while I was worried that the past was going to be lost to the younger(my) generation. Either because of non exposure or just non interest. The MBA is loaded with history and some of the most prominent names in all of bowhunting have graced our membership roster. Over the past few years however, I’ve had the good fortune to meet and become aware of a lot of folks all over this country who are enthralled with the history of bowhunting and it has given me faith that the past won’t be forgotten. There are some fantastic podcasts I’ve listened to out there that are dedicated to ensuring that bowhunting’s golden years won’t be lost and that we are all responsible for putting our best foot forward to keep what we have in place. These podcasts are reaching the younger audience who will in time be taking the reigns and steering where bowhunting will be headed. Hopefully it’s the right direction! A tip of the camo hat to the TBM for putting out a great show.

Cheap shots are being taken in Montana and all over the country at bowhunting. Crossbows, wolves, lawsuits, technology, anti-hunters (blah blah blah) the list goes on and on. The MBA is not a huge organization but it is widely known that we are an organization of passionate bowhunters who care greatly about the past and the future of our way of life. The hard work of a few shapes what a whole bunch get to enjoy. Many folks merely dabble in archery hunting and that’s just fine. I wish our numbers were greater but I sure am proud of the quality of folks we have in our organization!

Antelope season is a few short weeks away and then our beloved month of September! Pick a spot, aim small, and above all enjoy your time afield. I’m going to leave you with the last paragraph of “The Adventurous Bowman” by Saxton Pope.

“The long delicious trails and mountain paths are yours. The ecstasy of cool running streams I give you freely when athirst, and last of all I leave to you the trill of life and the joy of youth that throbs a moment in a well bent bow, then leaps forth in the flight of an arrow.”