John hale, Southern Indiana Bow Hunter

[longbow1956.]

Hi, wondering if anyone might have information on John Hale as far as what is his deer hunting archery setup IE what brand of bow , poundage , split finger or three under . I am hoping someone would have pictures they could post or  have any comments or stories they might share about Mr. Hale of Southern Indiana.

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Wow, great to see someone asking about John.

He's one of the best whitetail hunters not many folks outside of the immediate area have ever heard of. I've known John since I moved to Indiana 25 years ago, have spent a bunch of time with him and wish it was more.

I always say John is the best "natural" whitetail hunter I've ever met. Dad was more analytical minded, and had a bit different approach,  but John can just think like a mature whitetail buck. I used to ask him questions about his setups and really it boiled down to feel. He just knows how a big deer acts and what he will do.

Haven't seen John for a little while. As he's getting older he's shooting lighter equipment,  last I talked with him he had killed a dandy buck with a bow in the 35-40 lb range.

He shot an old Bear mag handled recurve for many years. I recall high 50s-60 lb draw wt. He shoots split finger instinctively and always set up real close. He hunts strip mine reclaimed land mostly and that is thick cover.  He shot different boradheads, but aluminum arrows mainly that I recall and zwickeys alot of times.

John worked for the mine, and retired from there, and spent many years operating a big dozer for reclaim. He knew that ground before it was strip mined, during stripping, and as reclaimed.  He could visualize the terrain under the grown up jungle as he saw it in all the versions. I always thought that helped him predict the deer movement.

Man I've got lots of stories.  He's just deer killing machine.  One time he had shot a real nice 4 1/2 yr old buck in the late season in Illinois and wanted someone to go back over there with him  couple days later to look for his arrow. I think he wanted to relive the hunt a little too.  I rode over with him and we went in there to his tree.   There were several does and fawns, he said, and one fawn was evidently coming into early heat and the buck was harassing her a bit. The deer were going through like 50 yards out in the timber so he took a blunt arrow he had along and half draw lobbed it over the deer and it rattled off in the trees on the other side. The deer spooked right to him and the buck ended up under his tree and he shot it at like 5 yards. The tree was like a telephone ploe and I remember asking him how he didn't get busted.   He said "Well I had good cover", this was like a 20 inch circumference tree with a grapevine as big as your finger growing on it. He acted like no big deal.  Typical John deal.

One hunt in Texas he had a bow limb break on a lighter takedown recurve,  maybe 50 lbs. He had a heavy backup set of limbs, say 60 lbs, but couldn't draw it. He put the 50 lb limb on the bottom, the 60 lb limb on the top. Killed a bobcat with it a day or two later. Said "Well the tiller looked OK".  😀

John is a great guy. Soft spoken, super humble. One hell of a whitetail hunter.

I'll dig around for some pics.

Great trip down memory lane.

R

[Wudstix]

Interesting history lesson, John sounds like someone I wish I'd have met.  Left IN in 1985 for parts around the world.

[longbow1956.]

Thanks for the information Mr. Rothhaar , I read an article about Mr. Hale , Dean Torges and I believe Bob Hall on a Squirrel hunt and became very interested in learning more about Him . I also heard You mention him on a Podcast and how highly You spoke of Him. Again thanks for the response.

[Mike Bolin]

I shot indoors at a range in Linton Indiana a couple of years ago with John. At that time, he was shooting left-handed due to shoulder issues. Not sure if he is still shooting lefty or not. He came to my church's wild game dinner last spring, and we talked a bit, but not as much as I would've liked. You can learn a lot when you spend some time with John. Great guy!

[Ryan Rothhaar]

There's a good writeup on John in Dan Bertalans book "Bowhuntings Whitetail Masters".  Denny Sturgis talked about doing an interview with John, not sure if he ended up doing it.

Pic of his widerack buck from Dan's book. Heck of a deer, over 26 inch inside spread.

[attachment=1,msg3045602]


John is one of those guys you'll never hear anyone say a bad word about.

R

[longbow1956.]

I read in a article He had taught himself to shoot left or right handed as suggested to Him by Mr. Fred Bear .

[kopfjaeger]

https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Harvesting+multiple+Pope+%26+Young+trophies+surely+sets+one+apart+from...-a0457229807

[Wudstix]

Frank;
Thanks for the link.  Lived in IN from 1978-1985 and this is great stuff.

[kopfjaeger]

Get Dan Bertalan's book Bowhunting's Whitetail Masters if you can. It has some great chapters on traditional bowhunters John Hale, Quince Hale, Barry Wensel, Gene Wesel, Roger Rothhaar, Bill Meyer, and John Kolometz.

[Homey88]

I have this book! It's a awesome read!

[longbow1956.]

Found this one on FB of Mr. Hale[attachment=1]

[longbow1956.]

Second Image on FB of [attachment=1]Mr. Hale

[Steve D]

Good topic about an even nicer man.

[Wudstix]

Googled up an article in PBS magazine 2nd Quarter 2016 with John Hale in it.  Apparently he is also quite the squirrel caller and hunter with his bow, as well.

[David Mitchell]

I have a nice back quiver I bought from John many years ago at Cloverdale.  Cost me $40.  I still have it.  The next year he was selling them for $38.50 I believe.  He said his cost had gone down on materials so he would pass that on to his buyers.

[longbow1956.]

From what I have read on this site , Mr. Hale is a true Sportsman with a high caliber of talent and integrity who is thought very highly of by many .

[longbow1956.]

Would like to see the Back Quiver you bought from Mr. Hale if you could .

[David Mitchell]

Very light weight and comfortable.

[longbow1956.]

Thanks looks like a good one . I wonder if he still makes any to sell ?