Articles

10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Bowhunting

- Friday March 7, 2025 - Daniel E. Schmidt

Bowhunting has evolved in many ways in the last 100 years. Below are 10 facts compiled from our Deer Hunters’ Almanac that were monumental moments for bowhunters. 

1. The first modern archery kill happened in 1930 by Roy Case in Wisconsin (under a special permit).
2. The first state with a modern archery season was Wisconsin in 1934.
3. Fred Bear killed his first whitetail with a bow and arrow in 1935 in Wisconsin.
4. The first Southern state to report archery deer harvests was West Virginia, 1947.
5. First state to crest 1,000 deer harvested during archery season: Michigan, 1950.
6. First compound bows sold in America: 1967. Missouri. Wilbur Allen.
7. The first state to legalize the use of portable tree stands was Wisconsin in 1971.
8. First state to crest 10,000 deer harvested during archery season: Michigan, 1976.
9. First state to allow crossbow usage during archery season: Ohio, 1976.
10. The highest single-season archery deer harvest was 142,615 in Michigan, 1999.

View More Articles