McCombie, Michael
| Bio | Having spent the better part of 25 years in the Archery/Bowfishing Indusrty, I have been fortunate it enough to have seen and done many things over the last couple decades. I have bowhunted and bowfished from Michigan to Texas to South Carolina. I am Co~Founder of several outdoor websites, appeared on the Campbell’s Outdoor Challenge two years running and for 2010 will be Founding, and competing in the first ever Professional Bowfishing Series. I am currently 38 years old and a father of 3. My oldest son Joey is currently 20 years old and serving as a Cavalry Scout in the Us Army. My middle child, Michael jr. is 17 years old and is a spitting image of myself, which scares me to death! Hopefully he will take after his mother but only time will tell. My youngest is currently 6 and is the biggest Daddy’s girl you have ever seen! Actually out of all my children, she probably takes after me the most. She loves the outdoors and isn’t afraid to try anything. I’ve been married to a wonderful woman for the past18 years. Gloria and I met right out of high school 20 years ago and have been together ever since. And although we are complete opposites, she is extremely understanding about my passion for the outdoors and hopefully if she doesn’t get sick of me, we’ll be together for another twenty years ☺ I kicked off my archery career as many other archers did, bowhunting with my father as a young boy and then progressing into shooting IBO 3d competition. I shot for a local dealer in my teens, which eventually led to a Pro Staff Position with Oneida Eagle Bows. In 1996 after shooting for Oneida for several years, I went to work for Oneida as the Plant Manager. And although I had landed my dream job at a relatively young age, I soon learned you should never make your passion your day job! But even though the hours where long and the job very stressful at times, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing people using and shooting products you had a direct hand in designing and building. Some of the models I helped design and build during my short time with Oneida were, the Black Eagle, The Pro Eagle, and the Discovery. In 1996 I took my passion for archery to the Internet and ArcheryWorld.com was born. Utilizing my older brother Alex’s knowledge of computers and coding and my archery technical experience, we developed a site built by archers for archers. A community site geared towards the sharing of archery related information and family. ArcheryWorld.com eventually became Bowcountry.com to stay with the theme of our other outdoor related country.com sites under the McCombie umbrella of outdoor sites. The last couple of years I’ve turned my focus from bowhunting to the sport of Bowfishing, and although I’ve been bowfishing for more than 24 years, only these last few years have I taken my bowfishing from a recreational past time to a serious sport. In 2007 using Bowcountry.com as a model platform we launched Bowfishingcoutnry.com. A Bowfishing Community site designed by Bowfishermen to help, and educate new bowfishermen and the general public, and in the two short years we are over 5000 members strong and steadily growing. By utilizing BFC we are able educate both new bowfishermen in the proper and ethical aspects of bowfishing as well as the general public about the sport of Bowfishing. Using education we are changing the stigma surrounding Bowfishing as a blood sport to one of conservation and a legitimate sport. And for 2010 I’ll be launching the Professional Bowfishing Series. A bowfishing series designed to reshape bowfishing from small, localized events into a more mainstream sport utilizing a points system where professional teams will compete around the country for a national title. Regardless if I’m in a tree or on the water, you’ll usually find me with a video camera in hand. For the last several years I’ve taken to filming my hunts and bowfishing adventures to share with my friends online as well as my family. There is nothing better than sharing your memories with friends and loved ones and nothing more difficult than trying to film your own adventures. It adds a whole new level of difficulty to any hunt but makes it all that much more satisfying when you do manage to get those once in a lifetime moments caught on tape. If you have never tried to film your own hunts I would highly recommend it. |
| Years | 2006 |
| Category | Pro Staff |
| Equipment | Bowhunting Equipment APA Black Mamba X-2 HHA Sights Speed Pro Arrows Firenock Lighted Nocks Rage 2 Blade Boraodheads Roscoby Riser Cam S&P Scents Bowfishing Equipment Diamondback Airboat Oneida Black Eagle Quick Draw Bowfishing Rest Cajun Yellow Jacket Arrows Firenock Lighted Nocks & Adapters AMS Pro Retriever & Slides Roscoby Riser Cam |
