Don Goode did not grow up following a parent into a deer stand. He found bowhunting as an adult, with help from people he met during his Army career. In episode 10 of A Hunter’s Legacy, he talks with Mitchell Fox about becoming a hunter, moving between states, and learning to find his own opportunities on Kentucky public land.
His story includes a used first bow, a deer carried in a Honda Civic, and seasons that required more persistence than an early success might suggest.
A Different Route Into Hunting
Don was born in Texas and moved to Florida as a child. He did some fishing with family and friends, but hunting remained something he wanted to understand rather than something he had grown up doing.
After attending Texas A&M and commissioning into the Army, he began seeing opportunities to hunt near the places he was stationed. The turning point came through a friendship with Todd, an experienced bowhunter he met while their dogs were together.
Todd helped Don find a used bow and met him at an archery shop to get started. That practical help mattered. Don had an interest, but another person made it easier to turn that interest into an actual hunting season.
The First Deer and a Call for Help
Learning to shoot was only part of becoming a hunter. Don remembers having the bow and hunting access without knowing exactly what to do next.
A social-media request for someone to scout with brought criticism from some people, but another soldier offered useful help. He showed Don a stand where he might have a chance at a doe.
When Don took his first deer, the work after the shot was unfamiliar. Videos had given him an idea of field dressing, but doing it alone was different. He called for help, and the hunter who had shown him the spot came out, helped him get started, and assisted with the recovery.
Don put the deer in the back of his Honda Civic and drove it to a processor. It was an unconventional start, but it was his own first harvest, and he was proud of it.
Moving States Meant Learning Again
Don’s military career took him through Texas, Alaska, and Virginia. New places brought different outdoor opportunities, while deployments and work demands limited how much he could pursue them.
Virginia pushed him to look more closely at how he hunted. The experience he had gained in Texas did not answer every question about unfamiliar deer country. He describes spending time in field-edge blinds before realizing how much he still needed to learn about conditions and access.
Before moving to Kentucky, he decided he wanted to become more independent as a hunter. Waiting for someone else to invite him along was no longer the approach he wanted to rely on.
Putting in the Miles on Kentucky Public Ground
In Kentucky, Don committed to learning public land with a bow. He described a large hardwood property roughly 45 minutes from home, with long walks between the truck and the areas he wanted to hunt.
By his own estimate, one season involved around 45 hunting days and hundreds of miles on foot. He saw deer frequently, but seeing them and getting a clear opportunity were different problems. Sometimes they passed just out of reach or stayed screened by cover.
He kept studying the terrain and reconsidering his entry routes. Familiarity with maps helped him ask better questions, while time on the ground showed him where his assumptions were wrong. The work eventually made him feel more capable, even before the next harvest arrived.
Hunting With a Purpose at Home
At the time of the conversation, Don had left the Army after ten years of service and was building a different life around family, school, and business ideas.
Food became an important part of his motivation to hunt. He enjoyed cooking game and using what he brought home for his family. Learning the animal, the property, and the meal all belonged to the same experience.
Don’s first archery success came relatively early, but he says another buck with a bow took roughly a decade. That gap gives his story perspective. Becoming a hunter kept requiring patience, help from others, and a willingness to start learning again.
Listen to Don Goode in episode 10 of the A Hunter’s Legacy archive. For another account of getting started on public ground, read Josh Grace’s bowhunting story.
