New book follows the life of bowhunter Paul Schafer

By any measure, Paul Schafer was a master bowhunter. He took water buffalo and lions in Africa, numerous trophy bighorn sheep, brown bears in Alaska, numerous trophy deer and mountain lions that were bigger than he was.

He was also a master bowyer.

But Schafer died tragically young in 1993 at age 45 in a ski accident on Big Mountain when he lost control and crashed into a tree.

A new book “Silvertip” by Dr. Robert Windauer explores Schafer’s life, with a twist at the end that is sure to surprise the reader.

Windauer is well-known in Columbia Falls for the dentistry and orthodontics office he ran for years here. But back in 2004, at the behest of his own family and with permission from the Schafers, he embarked on writing a biography of Paul Schafer.

Outside of writing a few poems and letters to family, he had no writing experience whatsoever, he said during a recent interview.

“I thought it would be a good brain challenge for me,” Windauer said.

So Windauer went to work. He interviewed dozens of friends and relatives of Schafer and he enrolled in a writing class taught by Professor Robert O’Neil, a former Palo Alto University literature professor who was teaching a journaling and memoir course at Buffalo Hill Terrace.

Windauer would spend eight years in the classes, working through three rewrites of the book.

The story comes together beautifully. If you enjoy tales of hunting and adventure then you’ll enjoy this book. (By the end of the book, Schafer is less interested in hunting and more interested in shooting game with a video camera, or taking out family members and friends on hunts.)

Windauer said part of the reason for writing the book was to show Schafer in a realistic light. Many of the stories about him were untrue. Having said that, some of the stories about him are even more remarkable told by the deft pen of Windauer.

“I realized Paul was even more special after I started on the book,” he said. “I got away from the legend and went to the true and honest portrait of a man.”

One of our favorite stories is when Schafer takes a trophy dall sheep ram and grabs the animal by the foot just before it slips over a cliff.

The book is a personal story, too. Windauer hunted with several years Schafer before his death, most notably on a lion hunt in the Swan Valley where the cat, eventually, got away as it ran right through the town of Swan Lake.

Schafer also took Windauer’s son, Dave, under his wing, teaching him how to custom make bows. Today, Dave Windauer still makes custom bows, under the Schafer Silvertip Bows name, buying the business from the family after Paul’s death.

Paul took Dave on his first successful bowhunt for elk in his youth and the family has been friends for years.

Windauer grew up in Chicago, but always had an affinity for hunting and bowhunting in his youth. After a stint in the Air Force, he and his wife Judy moved here in 1972 to set up his dental practice. Judy spent her career as a registered nurse.

They have three grown children, Dave, Mike, Tien and Melissa. Mike is a dentist in Polson. Tien owns Tien’s Place Restaurant in Columbia Falls.

At 78, Windauer said he’d like to write another book — one focusing on other notable area hunters who were also good family men.

“Silvertip” is available online at schafersilvertipbows.com. Click on the “bookstore” link.