The quiet weapon

Meet a man who plans to balance the federal budget without raising taxes and put the U.S. economy on sure footing without bailouts, overhauls, or takeovers: Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan | Edward Lee Pitts

Luke Sharrett for WORLD

WASHINGTON—Paul Ryan likes to hunt. The strategy involved in tracking his target, the need of going at it alone, the skill to take aim, and even the thrill of the kill are reasons why Ryan, who recently turned 40, goes hunting as often as he can. But he prefers walking into the woods without a gun.

"Rifle hunting is easy, but bow hunting is tough," claims Ryan, who stalks prey with his bow as often as he can, even making his own sausage from his kills.

The sport's allure to Ryan provides clues to why he is drawn to the part of his life that's not a hobby: being a lawmaker. This year Ryan, a six-term Republican congressman and senior member of two key committees, shot a quiver full of arrows at the nation's ongoing fiscal crisis by targeting healthcare, the tax code, trade policy, and entitlements in a substantive and daring proposal he calls the "Roadmap for America's Future."