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Life is gift, and, with bow in hand, Jim Dougherty lived life as one everlasting adventure, sharing it with thousands of nimrods and archery enthusiasts through his words, stories and black and white images appearing in print for more than four decades.

Dougherty, a California native, died in his adopted hometown of Tulsa, Okla. Monday, Sept. 21 at the age of 78. One of the most recognized names in the archery world, he quietly, but bravely battled cancer for the last years of his life.

As a friend of the legendary archery innovator Ben Pearson, Dougherty moved to Tulsa in the early 1970s when Ben Pearson Archery operated under the ownership of Brunswick-Zebco. When the Pearson plant moved to Arkansas, Dougherty remained in Tulsa and opened Jim Dougherty Archery at 4420 S. Mingo Road, a bow-and-arrow business that for many years was the largest of its kind in the Southwest region.

But for many bowhunters who came of age in the 1970s, 80s and beyond, it was Dougherty's written exploits and accomplishments spanning from Catalina Island to Africa — beginning with his lemonwood stickbow and later with a recurve and compound bow —— that sparked and helped fuel their personal interest and passion for hunting with a bow and arrow.

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In the world of archery, Dougherty was an iconic bowman hunter whose buddies were other legends of the day, including Pearson, Fred Bear, Tom Jennings and Earl Hoyt. Additionally, he was a record-setting warm-water fly fisher, avid shotgunner and noteworthy predator hunter whose writings perhaps did more to popularize predator calling in the Western U.S. than anyone up to that point.

Dougherty served as board member and later as President of the Pope and Young Club. And during a period when the organization's leadership was noted for being exclusionary and intolerant of certain equipment, Dougherty was known for his compromising and common sense approach to issues and personalities.

As a inductee of the Archery Hall of Fame Class of 1997, Dougherty, forever humble, said "I would like to be remembered as a guy who loved to bowhunt, who did it rather well and who tried to represent the sport properly."

Among the volumes of interesting trivia surrounding Dougherty and his archery, former Petersen's BOWHUNTING editor Greg Tinsley reminded The Archery Wire this week that, as a victim of target panic early in his shooting career, Jim, a natural right-hand shooter, taught himself to shoot left-handed to overcome his affliction.

"Along with all of those who knew him, the Delta Oxbow Rod and Gun Cub where Jim often fished for bass, send their heart-felt condolences and prayers to Jim's beloved wife, Sue, and his large family and his many, many friends," Tinsley wrote.

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Current BOWHUNTING editor Christian Berg, called Dougherty's passing last week one that leaves a void in archery that will never be filled. As the magazine's contributor since the first issue in 1988, his iconic "Trail's End" back-page column was one of the most popular departments since its debut in July 1992.

"Jim had an encyclopaedic knowledge of archery history, and he used an intensely personal writing style to educate and entertain fellow bowhunters as they relived his epic adventures, from chasing feral hogs on Catalina Island and bugling bull elk in the Rockies to sitting for whitetails in his home state of Oklahoma and shooting bullfrogs with his sons at local farm ponds," Berg said. "I have heard from hundreds of readers who told me Jim's column was a highlight of every issue and the first place they turned when a new magazine arrived in the mailbox."

Berg said he would always cherish his opportunity to have worked closely with someone of Dougherty's caliber and stature.

"He wasn't just a bowhunting giant; he was a giant of a man, and I respected him as much for his no-nonsense style, brutally honest opinions and devotion to family as I did for his considerable archery and literary talents" Berg said. "Though Jim fought a difficult, multi-year battle with cancer, he never complained. His passion for bowhunting never waned, and his perseverance was an inspiration. There will truly never be another Jim Dougherty, and I am blessed to have been even a small part of his journey through this life."


- J.R. Absher