These are the nominees who were chosen for induction into the Traditional Bowhunters Hall of Fame class of 2026. They were nominated by their peers and below you will find a brief biography of each inductee.
Carol Ashurst • Wayne Depperschmidt • Mike Mitten
John “Rosey” Roseland • Roger Rothhaar
Legacy Inductee
Bart Schleyer
Carol Ashurst
March 5, 1951 –
Carol L. Ashurst has devoted more than four decades to traditional bowhunting and an even greater portion of her life to sharing the sport with others. A traditional recurve hunter, Carol has pursued numerous big game and small game species across three states and two countries. Her accomplishments include seven of Colorado’s “Big Eight” species, one Pope & Young pronghorn, and a lifetime of memorable hunts.
Carol’s greatest legacy, however, may be found not in the animals she has harvested, but in the thousands of people she has introduced to archery and bowhunting. As a National Field Archery Association Certified Instructor, she created and taught beginner archery and bowhunter courses, youth programs, field days, outdoor-skills events, and educational demonstrations throughout Colorado and neighboring states. For years, she taught at the International Sportsman’s Expo, Bass Pro Shops events, Colorado Parks and Wildlife programs, Becoming an Outdoorswoman, Scout events, and numerous other venues. At the Lakewood History Fair alone, she taught the history of archery and bowhunting to an estimated 1,500–2,500 school children annually.
Carol’s commitment to youth extends beyond instruction. She created programs, camps, and events specifically designed to introduce young people to the outdoors and give them the knowledge and experience needed to become lifelong participants. She proposed, organized, funded, and ran Colorado’s first Ted Nugent Kamp for Kids, and has taught archery to children and families facing extraordinary challenges.
Her service to the Colorado Bowhunters Association has been exceptional. She has held virtually every major volunteer leadership role, including Chairman—the first woman to lead a state bowhunting organization—Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Regional Director, Youth Programs Director, Jamboree Chairman, Banquet Chairman, and numerous committee positions. Her contributions have earned her induction into the Colorado Bowhunters Hall of Fame, CBA Service, Honorary Life Membership, Bowhunter of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement awards, along with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award.
Carol’s influence is grounded in ethical hunting, respect for wildlife and habitat, and an unwavering commitment to welcoming and mentoring others. She has built bridges within the bowhunting community rather than divisions, believing that the future of the sport depends on education, inclusion, mentorship, and responsible stewardship. For more than four decades, Carol Ashurst has not simply participated in traditional bowhunting—she has helped build its future.
Wayne Depperschmidt
March 31, 1937 –
Wayne Depperschmidt is widely recognized as one of North America’s most accomplished and respected traditional bowhunters. With a lifelong passion for archery that began in childhood, he has devoted more than seven decades to preserving and promoting the traditions, ethics, and craftsmanship of traditional bowhunting. His accomplishments in the field are matched only by his unwavering commitment to mentoring others and strengthening the bowhunting community.
A Colorado native, Wayne began shooting a traditional bow as a child and has remained devoted to instinctive archery throughout his life. His hunting accomplishments are exceptional. He has successfully taken an impressive array of North American and African big game species with traditional equipment under fair-chase conditions. In 2013, he became the first and only bowhunter to complete Colorado’s Big 10 game species with a traditional bow, a milestone that remains one of the state’s most distinguished hunting achievements that reflects decades of perseverance, skill, and dedication. Numerous animals taken throughout his career qualify for the Pope & Young record book, reflecting both exceptional skill and steadfast dedication to ethical hunting practices, but Wayne has never measured success by trophies alone. Instead, he has constantly championed ethical hunting, respect for wildlife and the principles of fair chase.
Beyond his personal achievements, Wayne’s greatest legacy lies in his service to others and he has spent decades serving the archery community in leadership roles with the Loveland Archery Club, Big Thompson Bowhunters Association, Colorado Bowhunters Association, and Colorado State Archery Association, while dedicating countless hours to building ranges, organizing events, and strengthening the traditional archery community. As a National Field Archery Association instructor, he has introduced hundreds of youth and beginning archers to traditional archery by teaching shooting skills, sportsmanship, conservation, and ethical responsibility through organizations including the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Colorado Youth Outdoors, Discover the Outdoors Camp, Partners, and numerous community programs.
An accomplished custom knifemaker, Wayne has handcrafted more than 1,500 knives, generously donating many of them to programs across North America, where they have raised thousands of dollars in support of wildlife conservation, youth programs, local and national archery organizations, and many charitable causes. His lifelong service has earned numerous honors, including Colorado Bowhunter of the Year, induction into the Colorado Bowhunters Association Hall of Fame, the Loveland High School Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Educator and Mentor, and the Colorado Traditional Archery Society’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award.
Known for his humility, integrity, and willingness to help others, Wayne Depperschmidt has inspired generations of traditional bowhunters through his example. His legacy is defined not only by remarkable accomplishments in the field, but by a lifetime dedicated to conservation, ethical bowhunting, mentorship, and service.
For more than seven decades, Wayne Depperschmidt has exemplified the very best of traditional bowhunting through extraordinary achievement, selfless service, unwavering integrity, and a lifelong commitment to passing the tradition to future generations. Few individuals have had a greater impact on traditional bowhunting in Colorado and beyond.
Recognized as a Colorado Bowhunter of the Year, a member of the Colorado Bowhunters Association Hall of Fame, and recipient of numerous lifetime achievement honors, Wayne Depperschmidt is admired not only for what he has accomplished, but for how he has lived. Quiet, humble, and always willing to help others, he has inspired generations of bowhunters through his example. His enduring influence on traditional bowhunting, his unwavering commitment to ethical hunting, and his lifetime of service make him a truly deserving inductee into the Traditional Bowhunters Hall of Fame.
Mike Mitten
December 9, 1958 –
For nearly four decades, Mike Mitten has distinguished himself as one of traditional bowhunting’s most respected ambassadors, storytellers, and advocates. Through his hunting, writing, filmmaking, and unwavering commitment to ethical fair chase, he has inspired countless bowhunters to pursue a deeper relationship with nature and to embrace the values that define traditional bowhunting.
After making the permanent transition from compound equipment to a recurve bow in 1988, Mike dedicated himself exclusively to traditional bowhunting. His adventures have taken him across North America and to Africa, successfully pursuing numerous big and small game species under fair-chase conditions. Best known for his solitary wilderness hunts—particularly for Alaska moose—Mike has consistently demonstrated exceptional woodsmanship, patience, and respect for the animals he pursues.
While his accomplishments in the field are impressive, Mike’s greatest contribution has been his ability to communicate the true spirit of traditional bowhunting. Through his acclaimed books One with the Wilderness and The Enchantment of Bowhunting, his films Primal Dreams, Essential Encounters, and Chasing Solitude, along with dozens of magazine articles and his Herd Bull Productions videos, Mike has reminded generations of hunters that the greatest rewards of bowhunting are found not in antlers or trophies, but in solitude, personal growth, and a meaningful connection with the natural world. His thoughtful storytelling has reached tens of thousands of hunters and has helped shape the modern identity of traditional bowhunting.
Mike has also devoted countless hours to serving the traditional archery community through leadership with Compton Traditional Bowhunters and the Professional Bowhunters Society. His work as Compton’s Merchandise Coordinator, seminar presenter, mentor, and volunteer reflects a willingness to serve behind the scenes as faithfully as he has represented the sport in front of the camera. He has generously shared his knowledge through seminars, educational programs, and personal mentorship, always emphasizing ethical hunting, humility, and respect for wildlife.
Known for his kindness, integrity, and genuine interest in helping others succeed, Mike has earned the admiration of bowhunters across North America. His legacy is measured not only by memorable hunts and compelling stories, but by the countless people he has encouraged to embrace traditional bowhunting as a lifelong journey rather than a destination. Through his service, creativity, and steadfast example, Mike Mitten has become one of the defining voices of modern traditional bowhunting and is a truly deserving inductee into the Traditional Bowhunters Hall of Fame.
John “Rosey” Roseland
1954 –
John “Rosey” Roseland has devoted more than five decades to the pursuit, practice, and preservation of traditional bowhunting. Though born in Des Moines, Iowa, Montana was always home to Rosey. He grew up with a bow and arrow in hand, and what began as a childhood fascination eventually became a lifelong pursuit. In 1970, that passion evolved into hunting big game, setting him on a path that would take him across North America and around the world, always with a longbow or recurve in hand.
What began as a teenage fascination became far more than a way of hunting—it became a way of life. Through more than five decades in the field, Rosey has not only pursued wild game with traditional equipment, but has dedicated himself to preserving the knowledge, traditions, and spirit of traditional bowhunting for generations to come.
Over the course of his career, Rosey has harvested an extraordinary variety of big game under fair-chase conditions, including North American whitetail, mule deer, elk, moose, mountain goat, and bighorn sheep, to name a few. He has also taken numerous African plains-game species. He has entered 30 animals in the Pope & Young record books. In 2019, at age 65, Rosey harvested a world-record mountain goat with his longbow—an achievement that exemplifies the skill, persistence, and experience developed over a lifetime in the field.
Yet Rosey’s legacy extends far beyond his personal accomplishments. A professional guide, legendary houndsman, and accomplished taxidermist, he has spent decades sharing his knowledge with others. He helped teach archery through the Lewistown school system, mentored young bowhunters, and instructed countless traditional archers in hunting, ethics, and taxidermy. Among those he influenced are generations of bowhunters who credit Rosey with helping shape their lives in the sport.
His service to bowhunting has been equally significant. Rosey served for many years as Region 4 Representative for the Montana Bowhunters Association, participated on its Awards Committee, served on the Lewistown Bowhunters Association board, and helped advocate for bowhunting through interactions with wildlife agencies and public forums. He has also supported local and state bowhunting organizations through donated hunts, banquet contributions, seminars, and educational efforts. As of this writing, he has been a member of the Pope and Young club for over 45 years and has been a member of the Alaska Bowhunters Association since moving there in 2009.
Rosey’s influence is perhaps best measured not by the animals he has taken, but by the people he has inspired. Known for his generosity, humor, energy, and unwavering commitment to ethical hunting, he represents the very best traditions of the bowhunting community. His life has been defined by adventure, mentorship, service, craftsmanship, and an enduring love for wild places. John “Rosey” Roseland’s legacy is one of a hunter who not only lived the traditional bowhunting life but helped pass its values and spirit to those who followed.
Roger Rothhaar
1938 – 2018
Roger C. Rothhaar devoted nearly six decades to traditional bowhunting and became one of the sport’s most influential voices, innovators, and educators. A lifelong traditional archer who never hunted with a compound bow, Roger combined exceptional skill in the field with an insatiable curiosity about wildlife behavior, leaving an enduring mark on generations of bowhunters.
Best known as a pioneer in whitetail deer hunting, Roger transformed how bowhunters understood mature bucks through careful observation and thoughtful analysis. In the early 1970s, he introduced the concepts of “primary” and “secondary” scrapes, forever changing the way hunters interpreted deer sign and hunted during the rut. His groundbreaking articles in Bowhunter Magazine and other publications, along with his acclaimed books In Pursuit of Trophy Whitetails and Whitetail Magic, established him as one of the foremost authorities on whitetail behavior and ethical bowhunting. Long before selective management became common, Roger emphasized studying, patterning, and pursuing mature bucks through woodsmanship rather than technology.
Roger’s accomplishments extended far beyond whitetails. Hunting exclusively with traditional equipment, he successfully pursued a remarkable variety of North American big game. His adventures took him across the United States and Canada, where he became especially respected for his expertise in do-it-yourself black bear hunting and his role in developing Saskatchewan’s renowned Walter’s Wilderness Bear Camp.
A gifted craftsman and inventor, Roger designed the legendary Rothhaar Snuffer broadhead, manufacturing tens of thousands that earned a reputation for rugged reliability among traditional bowhunters. Drawing upon his career as a tool-and-die maker, he also built laminated recurves, mentored accomplished bowyers, and generously shared his knowledge of equipment design and construction with others.
Roger’s influence reached well beyond his own hunting accomplishments. As an early leader in Professional Bowhunters Society, a dedicated supporter of the Ohio Bowhunters Association and National Field Archery Association, and an instructor, seminar speaker, and prolific outdoor writer, he spent decades teaching ethical hunting, traditional skills, and fair-chase principles. He mentored countless young hunters, freely shared equipment and advice, and inspired generations through more than 50 published articles and hundreds of presentations across North America.
Known for his independence, integrity, and willingness to defend traditional bowhunting’s core values, Roger consistently advocated for preserving the challenge and ethics that define the sport. His contributions as a hunter, author, inventor, craftsman, mentor, and conservation-minded leader continue to influence traditional bowhunters today. Roger C. Rothhaar’s legacy is measured not only by his remarkable achievements in the field, but by the enduring impact he had on the people and traditions he loved.