When I cornered Bob and asked about his bowhunting success, he was modest. "I'm hard-pressed to say how many deer I've taken with my bow over the years," he said, "but I'm sure it is in the three digits, with a significant amount of them being Pope & Young trophies. I've never been one to tally numbers like that."

Rob Lee's 50, and has been hunting with a bow since age 11. He began learning the bow-building trade from his dad in 1989, when they partnered to launch Bob Lee Archery. Of course, he's been around the bow-building business since birth.

Like his dad, Rob was modest and reserved when questioned about his prowess with stick and string. "I estimate that I've taken 60 to 70 deer with traditional equipment," he said, "and that of those, 10 ranked as Pope & Young."

Like most Texas archers', the Lees' hunting season starts with the archery-only deer season in October. Strategies change a little as the season progresses. The senior Lee shared some thoughts on how he hunts.

"I hunt from tree stands and ground blinds," Bob related, "and in October, when the deer are feeding on plentiful acorns, they are not going to come to corn very well.

"The rut varies quite a bit from state to state, so one needs to take that into consideration and adjust techniques and strategies according to the region being hunted. Later in the season, as winter comes into force, acorns dissipate and deer become more dependent on 'unnatural' food sources.

"Some people have a dim view of hunting from stands and feeders, and I can appreciate those opinions. But I do know one thing: If you don't use these techniques for luring in game, you will be required to wait a much longer time on Mother Nature to deliver one to you."

Rob has similar strategies, focusing on natural food sources early in the season and then switching to other techniques as the season progresses. "For October hunting, one is primarily relying on natural food sources as locators. As the true winter months arrive -- December and later here in East Texas, for instance -- hunters must rely on planted food plots, automatic and manual feeding, protein products, etc., to help maneuver whitetails and other game into your designated area. This becomes a much more calculated and regimented way of hunting."

While the Lees' hunting strategies might be similar to those of most other Texas bow-benders, their tackle requires them to make adjustments for setting stands. "There is quite a difference in setting a stand for traditional equipment over that of a compound," observed Bob. "For traditional shooting you need to position yourself to be able to achieve a range of 20 yards or less, as opposed to a range of 40 yards or more for a compound.

"With compound shooting, you can draw your bow and hold almost indefinitely. With a traditional bow, that's not a practical scenario. Because you are holding the total weight of your bow while at full draw, the traditional shooter must be able to draw just prior to release."

Shots need to be closer with traditional tackle, so the extra length of a recurve compared to a short-axle compound makes brush clearance an issue with every setup.

"When choosing and setting a hunting post, whether it be a tree stand or a ground blind, allow more clearance for the use of traditional equipment," said Rob Lee when we talked about setting up blinds. "Often, the hunter is dealing with a longer bow than what he may be accustomed to, so maneuverability is important.