To those outside of archery hunting circles, names like Fred Bear and Chuck Adams might not resonate, but hang around bowhunters for any length of time, and you’ll likely hear them mentioned.
Bear, considered the greatest ambassador of bowhunting, set the template for modern bowhunting in North America, and Adams has established himself as a living legend in the field.
Perhaps, if things keep going the way they have been for Coy Monroe, 14, of Encampment, his name could also be mentioned around hunting camps in decades to come.
As October begins, many hunters are just getting started filling their tags for Wyoming’s three premier big game species – antelope, deer and elk.
Monroe has already bagged all three, with his bow, and is now enjoying the rest of the fall waterfowl hunting.
He has nothing against guns; he shot a black bear with a rifle this spring, and he uses a shotgun for bird hunting.
But there’s something about archery that has enthralled him – whether for hunting or competitive target shooting, he told Cowboy State Daily.
“It’s just a little bit different from being out there shooting with a rifle or a pistol,” he said. “Watching an arrow fly, and it hitting right where you wanted it to hit is just different than watching a bullet hit after breaking the sound barrier,” he said.
‘He Learned To Be Patient’
Coy’s father, Lisle Monroe, is usually busy running the family’s cattle ranch, but he gets out hunting with Coy whenever he can.
But Coy is already quite independent and frequently goes hunting by himself or with friends, Lisle told Cowboy State Daily.
He speaks of his son with obvious pride. He taught Coy to use a bow from an early age, just as his father did with him.
“While he was growing up as a kid, I wouldn’t let him take a BB gun or firearms out hunting small game. He had to take a bow and arrow, just like my dad made me do when I was a kid,” Lisle said.
“So, he learned to be patient, sneaking up on things and watching and waiting for stalking opportunities,” he said.
By the time Coy was about 9, archery hunting already seemed like second nature to him, his father said.
“One day, he spent about four hours straight sneaking up and shooting at prairie dogs and gophers with his bow,” Lisle said.
It wasn’t long before Coy bought his own bow.
Lisle said Coy does a lot of his own work setting up and tuning his bows. He even buys unfinished arrow shafts, so he can custom-make his own arrows.
“As a 14-year-old, he can tell you more about a bow than anything else. That, and fishing,” Lisle said.
Great Hunting Season
Coy started hunting big game at 12. His first archery kill was an antelope, which he took with a crossbow, because the string on his compound bow was broken the time.
This year, his compound bow was in good working condition, so he first set off after antelope on the family’s ranch property.
Lisle said he did a superb job of stalking to within bow range an antelope buck across open prairie grass.
Next, Coy hunted mule deer, and that was tougher.
“The deer I shot was only the second one we’d seen” he said. “I decided to take him, because he was just a little more unique than the other buck I’d seen out there.”
For elk, he ventured up into the mountains, amid thick timber.
He got close to one huge bull but couldn’t quite get a shot.
“That was the sucky part, because he was a 300-class bull. He was a real stud,” Coy said.
The term ‘300-class’ was in reference to the Boone & Crockett/Pope & Young trophy measuring system, considered to be the gold standard among hunters. It involves measurements of the length and girth along numerous points on the animal’s antlers.
He ended up connecting with another bull, which although smaller that the “real stud” he’d seen earlier, is still a respectable trophy by anybody’s standards.
Coy Monroe, 14, of Encampment has already filled his 2024 big game archery tags – with an antelope, elk and deer. He hopes to get a mountain lion this winter. (Courtesy Coy Monroe) 
Coy Monroe, 14, of Encampment has already filled his 2024 big game archery tags – with an antelope, elk and deer. He hopes to get a mountain lion this winter. (Courtesy Coy Monroe) 
Coy Monroe, 14, of Encampment has already filled his 2024 big game archery tags – with an antelope, elk and deer. He hopes to get a mountain lion this winter. (Courtesy Coy Monroe) 
Coy Monroe, 14, of Encampment is already a talented competitive archery shooter. He plans to take his game to the next level by attending a national archery competition in Las Vegas in March. (Courtesy Coy Monroe)
What’s Next?
This winter, Coy wants to take the family hounds and try tracking down a large mountain lion. He still hasn’t decided whether he’ll use a bow or a gun for that hunt.
In his home state, his long-term goal is to get the “Wyoming grand slam”: Elk, deer, antelope, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, mountain lion and black bear.
“I’m short the mountain goat, bighorn sheep, moose and mountain lion” Coy said.
He realizes that it could take many years, or even decades, to draw the coveted mountain goat or bighorn sheep tags.
“Those are the hardest two tags to draw,” Coy said.
Two Powell boys had incredible luck with those tags last year. Russell Goolsbey drew a mountain goat tag, and his little brother Rhett drew a Bighorn sheep tag. They both filled their tags.
Looking beyond Wyoming, Coy said one of his dream archery hunts is to pursue elk in New Mexico.
Elk tags are difficult to draw there, but New Mexico has a reputation for producing monster-sized bull elk.
“I’d like to try to get that at the end of high school and go for a 300 to 340-class bull, or maybe all the way up to a 400-class bull,” Coy said.
Already A Mentor
Coy also shines on the archery target range. He’s already won the state 4-H archery title.
In March, he plans to take it to the next level, joining in a national archery competition in Las Vegas.
“I want to be around a whole bunch of people who are tough to compete with,” he said.
Coy has already proven himself to be a gracious mentor to younger archers, Lisle said.
In local contests, winners can earn “Robin Hood” pins,” which signify a winning round, he said.
Coy has won so many, he no longer keeps them.
“He’ll give his pin to whichever kids who worked the hardest and were the most deserving,” Lisle said. “That’s not something we taught him to do. He started doing that all on his own.”
Coy said he likes passing the pins out to encourage younger shooters.
“Some of them will be disappointed because they don’t have a Robin Hood pin, so I’ll give them mine, because I already have so many,” he said.
Looking forward, he hopes to go to college on an archery scholarship – which, given his record so far, should be a sure thing.
Meanwhile, Coy continues to keep shooting his bows as often as he can and tinkering with them – fine tuning them to near perfection.
“It’s great doing it all yourself and showing how much you improved from what you started with,” he said. “I like estimating where the sights need to be when I put them on the bow. Going from not even hitting the target, to not ever missing the target is a better feeling than shooting a rifle.”
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
