Curt Wells is a longtime “Bowhunter TV” co-host and editor Archer warehouse. Over the past 33 years, he has successfully hunted 26 species of game with a bow and arrow. He has hunted in 10 countries, all Canadian provinces and territories, and 25 states.
Wells recently took time out of his busy schedule for a quick chat Outdoor news. His responses have been edited for space.
ON: How did you get into bowhunting?
Wells: In 1980 I wasn’t an archer. I was 26 years venerable, my brother-in-law was doing his best, and I heard the word “complex” all the time. Then he shot a dollar and I thought, man, I could probably do that. So I ordered Jennings T Star from my local sports store.
I didn’t even own a bow yet and I started hanging signs in the town where I lived in North Dakota to start a local archery club. I was so sure I would like it. I started bowhunting in 1981 and it just took off. It’s kind of been my life since then. Then I started writing about it and it took off.
ON: Were you introduced to hunting at a adolescent age?
Wells: My dad didn’t hunt, but he did a lot of fishing. He was in the Air Force, so I moved elsewhere. We lived in Michigan for a while and fished there a lot. Then I met a guy who took me deer hunting with a rifle when I was 16 or 17, and that’s where my hunting adventure began.
We lived in Upper Michigan at the time. My dad was stationed at KI Sawyer Air Force Base in Gwinn. We also fished a lot there. I caught a lot of brookies. We often hunted waterfowl and pheasants.
The only rifle hunting I do anymore is drawing tag in North Dakota with my son and grandson. But I’ve since moved to Minnesota, so I’m almost done hunting in North Dakota.
ON: Tell us a little about your media career.
Wells: I always wanted to be an outdoor writer. When I lived in Michigan, I wrote a letter to the Homer Circle at Sports field magazine and asked him how to become an outdoor writer. At that time I was just fishing and writing a column for the school newspaper called “Outdoors with Rod and Curt.” My career ended for about 10 years. Then I wrote an article for Archer magazine and got an acceptance letter. That kind of lit the fire.
I started writing a Sunday column for a local newspaper in North Dakota and did so for 31 years. Then Glenn Meyer z outdoor news, asked me to write a column for them in North Dakota and I did that for 18 years. I never really knew what I was doing, but I kept sending in stories and they kept sending me checks, so I must have been doing something right.
Soon I became more and more involved in this matter Archer (magazine) and became a co-author. One day Dwight Schuh asked me to be the equipment editor. When he retired, publisher Jeff Waring asked me if I would be interested in being an editor. This totally blew me away. I never would have believed I would have this chance. I said yes and have been an editor for 12 years. I can’t believe I got this job. I keep waiting for the phone to ring and tell me, “No, we wanted another Curt Wells.”
In 2004, they asked me if I wanted to work with “Bowhunter TV”. That was one of the stupidest questions I’ve ever heard. We are now in our 18th year of making television. I’ve been given a lot of opportunities that I never would have had if it weren’t for this TV show. I have hunted in 10 countries and all Canadian provinces. “Something like this would never have happened if I hadn’t been on the program.”
ON: What species do you hunt with a bow?
Wells: I get this question a lot, and moose are definitely number 1 for honking. Anything that honks would be high on my list.
I love whitetails too, just like everyone else. For me, they are still the most popular game animal in the world. They are a bit like Muhammad Ali as a boxer. He had everything. He had speed, stamina, punch, could take a punch, everything. Whitetail has it all too. They have intelligence, the ability to avoid people, the ability to take punches. In my opinion, the whitetail is still king. These are the best animals if you are looking for a challenge. Of course, I’m talking about mature whitetails.
ON: What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing archers today?
Wells: The biggest problem for archers is access to property. There is a lot of public land in some places. If you go west, there’s a lot of public land, but it gets crowded. Private land is becoming more and more valuable as a place for recreation, which is why people save it for themselves or lease it.
It’s getting harder and harder for the average guy who doesn’t own property to go out and find a place to hunt. I know in North Dakota, for example, that if a guy wants to take his two boys pheasant hunting, he has to drive all day and look at the “posted” signs. After all, guys just sell guns and buy golf clubs.
Many of these programs, such as North Dakota’s PLOTS program and South Dakota’s walk-in program, are extremely valuable because they exploit hunters’ money to gain access. Anything the state can do to escalate access to private land will facilitate the hunting community.
These game and fish departments sometimes forget that their salaries are paid by hunters and anglers. If you let this base fall, you too will no longer have a job. Hunters and anglers pay for it, especially with excise tax on equipment. The game and fish departments better learn quickly that they will go without hunters.
ON: How have crossbows impacted the archery industry?
Wells: This is a sensitive topic.
The impact is undeniable. In many states, crossbow harvests have exceeded vertical bow harvests. I don’t think many people saw this event.
So this has an impact on the resource.
In some ways, this also has an impact on the archery industry. For example, if you’re making arrow rests or bow sights, you probably don’t like crossbows. It changed the industry in that way. Many people exploit them and they are legal, but I am a fan of vertical bows.
