After reading Craig warren's frustration with a potential cutomer... It made me realize that trad isn;t like the rest of the bowhunting industry... Thank God!!!
The main reason I decided to drop the hitech whiz bang 80% let off bow was.... that once you found a way to tune and keep your equipment tuned, the fun and joy was gone! Now there are the folks who buy at least one new bow and accessories for it a year, so I see its a hoarding game of getting the latest greatest toy that makes them better than the rest... But, I hated the equipment part of the game and the statussness of what you shot...
I was sick of the PROHUNTER WHO thanked the manufacturer of each piece of sponsored equipment he shot each episode... Man I bowhunted in for the challenge... I actually got into trad by picking up an ole bear recurve to just perfect my form... well It worked, my form got good and the wheelie bow got boring!!!
Now I try to take as lil into the woods as I can each hunt and the enjoyment is 50x greater. There's no chip on the shoulder and nothing to prove... just me and the deer.. they win 95% of the time, but I actually am the REAL winner as I have grown as a hunter, a person, and have realized that I am not in control of 90% that happens in the hunt, but if I give less than 90% to my hunt I will fail... But no matter what I have learned to appreciate and take 110% of the hunt back with... and folks I am a better man for it!!!!
Now, i have an urge to take a season to go primitive and hunt only with stuff I have built or bartered for... why? to grow through voluntary restraint... :knothead:
I could have written your second paragraph myself. Yet, even in the mist of re-learning how to shoot, I find myself wanting this bow...or that bow...or that other bow. (This is my only disappointment in trad so far, and it's my fault, not "trads"!) I also like the plain simplicity. Bow? Arrows? Good. With compound it's Bow? Sight? Rest? Quiver on tight? Stabilizer? Release...easier to forget than you think! Arrows? Peep alignment? Now you're good.
I'm also a compulsive tinker-er. As silly as that sounds it was the major decision maker in my last compound (a bow that required no press...finally I could do ALL my own work/tune/repair). I thought I'd miss that part of it, but I'm finding trad it as good a place as any for the tinker-er. Arrows always need built, and tweaked. Making my own strings is becoming a possibility...and I get to tinker with my form again!!!!! Endless possibilities/frustrations right there!!
EDIT: I want to add...THE PEOPLE...there alone is enough reason to switch if I had to do it all over again.
yes, thats trad for you. now that i've experiened it i can't see myself hunting any other way. :campfire:
"to grow through voluntary restraint... "
Good words, I like that.
Thats one of the nice things about traditional archery. The stick bow you buy today will be just as good as the one you buy 20 years from now. :D
I can't know some of your frustrations cause I started out with a longbow in the early 60's and never saw a need to go to a compound device.
I can imagine how those of you who've tried both can see the differences more clearly.
I came to trad because of an elbow problem caused by my release aid from my compound days.
Now I'm building my own bows and enjoying archery on a much deeper level.
Trad came along just at the right time for me. My kids are converting and I now have the chance to convert my brother and his son and my grandkids which are starting to come as well!
WHY NOT????????
I started shooting a Shakespear recurve in 1966. Never hunted with it but loved to shoot. Started bowhunting in 1980 with a PSE Compound and enjoyed that for a while. Like most I became bored with it because the compound did not present a lot of challenge. Challenge is what hunting is all about, is it not??? In 1992 I bought my firt "real" custom bow, a Black Widow recurve and have never looked back. Since then, I have probably bought and sold 75+ bows and loved most of 'em.
One thing about trad shooting...I've never been bored. Challenged yes, but never bored.
Good shoot'in.
Good post.
"Personal Satisfaction"
It's why I do most everything nowadays.
Started archery with wheels and eventually became bored. I mean how many time are you suppose to shoot at pieces of paper the size of your fingernail... :help: No challenge.
Us Aries gotta be challenged all the time. Probably why even now I usually stop shooting for a few months or so every year otherwise would have to start shooting rubberbands with paper clips. Wait I did do that as a child. :biglaugh:
I was one for all the gadgets until a couple of months ago. I had to get them extra fps. I kept getting different sights until I had enough pins to shoot 60 yards and 70 if I used the bubble on my sight. What got me was all the bickering about who had the most sponsors and free stuff. I'm on a pro staff now ,but wont be next year. The people who shoot trad are in a league of their own. Just look at the christmas giveaway the Vermonster started, people helping people..It doesnt get any better than that...
QuoteNow there are the folks who buy at least one new bow and accessories for it a year, so I see its a hoarding game of getting the latest greatest toy that makes them better than the rest... But, I hated the equipment part of the game and the statuettes of what you shot...
That about sums it up for me.
I started with recurves in the early 70's and soon had to have a compound. I shot wheelies for about 10 years or so and really just got tired of keeping up with the latest greatest gadget. Plus I felt it wasn't why I took up bow hunting in the first place.
The challenge wasn't there any more and it was too complicated. It took all the fun & joy out of it. I enjoy shooting just a stick,string & arrow.
For me, I would add two things.
One, when I want to use sights and a trigger, I just hunt with a gun that year. In fact, I did this year, but with my Hawken of course. I took a very nice buck, but it was still more shooting than hunting.
And that is my second point. I would rather that I make the shot. Buying the latest gadgets doesn't make a person a better hunter or shot. It simply made his gear better so that he can pretend to be better. When in fact, the manufacturer and designers of those gadgets are the one who are better - at their jobs. When I take a deer with my longbow, I know that more of me went into that hunt and shot then is possible by any other legal and ethical means of hunting!
Ya know, I was a Compound shooter for 10+ years and always wanted to try a shoot a Longbow. I jumped in this past Jan. and found out that this was for me. I really, really enjoy archery! I shot my bow just about EVERY day to get ready for the season. Then I realized I was shooting because I wanted to, like I said I really enjoyed it! I then found out how real the Trad community is, top notch people that I'm proud to say I'm associated with!!!!
To answer your question of Why? I just wanted to see if I could shoot good enough to hunt with a long bow! I found out I can and so much more, thanks everyone!
Like Biggie, I never did the compound thing. It just never appealed to me. Shot a buddy's one time. Drilled plumb center. He asked me which pin I used. I said, "What pins?" I went through a long firearm phase though. But, once I picked the longbow back up, it's been all there is for me. "Why?" It's life itself. Can't imagine living without it.
I shot a compound a few times in my youth, but never seriously. I do still enjoy a gun hunt every now and then, but this trad hunting has really changed me. I went shotgun season here for the first time ever last weekend. But I actually hunted, much like I do with my longbow. Around here, most shotgun hunters get 50 guys to drive through some timber and empty their guns at whatever they find. That's not hunting to me. It's actually kind of ridiculous that they can't hunt one animal and take one shot to kill it.
Like I said, last weekend I went shotgun for the first time ever, and I hunted two animals and took two shots. I now have two deer in my freezer. If I have to gun hunt, I'd rather have that then have to empty the gun to maybe hit one.
The trad hunting is real hunting to me. You stalk/track one animal and basically get one shot (if you get two you're lucky). Also, the people are amazing. You guys are the most down-to-earth honest people I've met. You've all got a heart to help the less-experienced and you all really appreciate one another. That's something I really don't see so much in the compound and gun world. Like someone said earlier, it's all about the equipment for them. With us, anyone with a stick and string is invited.
yup trad is real good it changed the way i looked at hunting thats for sure and i wouldnot have it any other way. :campfire: :archer:
:campfire:
Shooting my Mathews or Martin or Hoyt or the PSE just wasn't fun any more. I'm not bashing the bows because their isn't anything wrong with any of them. For me it just got BORING. Wasn't fun and there was no more challenge. I started with the recurve 15+yrs ago and fell into the wheelie bow sceen. Went back to the recurve and have taken deer 2 seasons now and I can say I never should have gone to the gadget bows. Bye the way, I sold them all.
It is alot of fun.
Meet some good folks to boot.
I was Trad before it was Trad, just to lazy to take the time to learn to shoot a compound bow I guess.
I got lucky. Was always interested in archery and a couple of years ago I was ready to really get into it a friend, (member Bamboo), helped me out. he steered me away from the wheels and rigged me up with a 55# Grizzly, some arrows and a tree stand. Bought myself a great birthday present. Anyway I still shoot the Grizzly, havn't hit anything yet :saywhat: and loving my time in the woods.
I always try to explain to nonhunters how much in tune you have to be with the entire environment to even get close to an animal and in doing so you learn to appreciate the woods and fields and all the little and big furry things in it. They don't know what they are missing.
I am now getting into arrow and bow building and that is adding something amazing to the whole experience. Life is just plain better with trad.
i started shooting a compound in the early 80"s while in the USAF,towards the end of the decade my father in law passed away and a 1969 bear alaskan recurve came my way.i was immediately hooked with the whole traditional way.i read everything i could about bear,hill,ishi etc.eventually with the help of the bowyers bibles i made and still have a nice 60#@28" hickory flatbow.during one year though after missing on several shots at deer i was tempted and convinced to return to the compound.i bought two different compounds over the last 4-5 yrs but was never really happy with them. i always felt like i was lugging my bow around the woods,it just didnt feel like a part of me.at the end of the day my elbow or shoulder would be sore just from the 4-5 lbs i was carrying.i couldnt wait to put it down and once i did put it down it sat there till the next hunt or until next fall before the season started again.with my recurve i shot everyday all year long. i will be returning to the traditional ways however,i am already building a shaving horse for my next new bow.
It's archery. I shot one compound bow. It was mechanically shooting an arrow. It just didn't feel right.
I grew up shooting recurves. For years my knee gave me so much pain, I just didn't hunt with anything. Six years ago I had my right knee replaced. After that I could actually walk without pain. I got the urge to hunt again. I bought a compound at a garage sale. I tried it, but it just didn't feel right. I talked to my cousin. He said, "You need to go back to what we used to do. I did, and I'll never shoot a compound again." He got me out shooting his 45 pound Grizzly. It felt like archery again! I dug out my old Herter's recurve and fell in love again. The lure of the longbow finally pulled me in, and as you can see from my signature, I am hooked.
The time spent in the woods is priceless. My youngest son, who never had much interest in hunting, now hunts deer with my cousin and me...with his longbow! I am doing what I love with the people I love. It doesn't get any better.
Also, as others have said, traditional archers tend to be a better class of folks, at least the ones I have met here.
trad is up close and personal.you are closer to the out doors.the joy of the stock. the time you have spent in the woods is like ,time forgot. JOY! :archer: :cool:
Why not??
Actually I started with a compound (unless you count the plastic recurve I won as a kid and I think I strung it like a longbow).
I always kept my compound fairly simple in the scope of compounds..simple rest, shot with glove, two site pins.
I got tired of always having to check every bolt, nut and pin when in the woods. Then making sure things wouldn't rattle.
I love the natural appearance of trad bows...weather selfbows or fiberglass bows.
The people are top notch wherever you go.
I also got tired of egos...I'm shooting this FPS, I shot a 150" buck at 45 yards, blah blah blah.
My hope in the future is to start building bows and eventually take something with a homemade selfbow, arrows, and self knapped point.
Never owned a compound. I wanted to bow hunt. In that light, I think the term "training wheels" is appropriate.
I also like making my own equipment as bowunting has become more of a life style than just a hobby. Going traditional enables me to slow down and smell the roses.
Going wheels would only give me artificial roses. But that's just me. No offense intended.
My dad started me bow hunting when I was 9 years old with an old Pearson fiberglass bow and fiberglass arrows with Bear razor heads glued on the buisiness end.
I didn't even know what a compound was until I turned 18 when I bought my first wheel bow a PSE. I've ran the gamut shot 3-D for a lot of years had to have all the latest and greatest equipment (I think it actually made me a worse shot on game).
I love the sheer simplicity of the stick-n- string, no cams to go out of tune, no sights to come loose, don't have to worry about losing my release, etc, etc.
I do have to admit that I'm still a bowaholic,
there are so many different bows out there and I want one of each!!!! LOL
long to short of it, I decided I too wanted to learn form before getting a compound. A compound has been written off of my things to get list.
Having thought about it more recently I guess the truth is I'm not on a quest for trophies, I'm on a quest for woodsmanship. Hopefully trophies will come with that philosophy, but one way or the other that isn't the point.
But in retrospect I guess it also had to do with bad run ins with compounders. Not specifically compounders but some of the silly stuff that went with it. I remember walking into a pro store who had "matthews distributor" up in the window. I don't remember the circumstances but I mentioned Hoyt and he basically pretended he didn't even know who they were. I can't imagine talking to a guy at Black WIdow and mentioning I liked the design of a Bear Kodiak Hunter and have them go "A what? Bear? Never heard of them. I dunno. This PLX sure is nice though huh?"
Just the general notion even that the shops will only sell and work on one or the other brand of bows. You can't buy a Hoyt quiver at a Mattews distributor shop. I remember looking and there weren't anyone that could serve a Hoyt within about a 100 miles. Only Matthews and a few others locally.
I mean really? Why don't they get different colored rags and stand on the corners? They cut up territory and look for loyal specific distributors like they are a drug cartel or something. I don't appreciate the logic behind that kinda business practice and I'd just as soon stay away from it.
I bow hunted in the 70s before the compounds came out.I bought one then,An American Archery cheetah ,as I remember.i got my first and only bow buck with it the first year.
I went out and bought a pearson Ole Ben longbow the next year[traded the compound for it]I didn't get a deer with that bow.My present wife sold it at our yard sale about 12-15 yrs. ago for $10.ugh!
I came back to bow hunting 4-5 yrs ago.I've bought and sold many compounds since and hunted with afew.i can't complain,They make some of them Damn pretty.their marketing just drives me crazy.
i started back toward Traditional last year after getting frustrated by all the gadgets and "fine tuning".i had been thru all that paralysis by analysis stuff playing Golf fo 10= yrs.Buying into all the Next best ,do this not this stuff.
I've had several Trad.bows over the past two yrs .or so.I'm still crzy for a beautiful wood bow .My weakness for sure.I hunted with the Trad.bow this year and will again next.which one?i won't know til next season roles around and i see what I have.
for me it's the simplicity of the shooting.No pins,releases,drop aways.No over analysing and no trying to hold that damn pin on a spot.i just look at the spot and draw.It amazes me that the arrow rerally does go where you point.Unless you try to complicate things and consciously try to put it there.Let go and take control?does that make sense?gotta love it!
The challenge, the simplicity, and the people.
I just blend perfectly with what ive seen from
most people involved with traditional
archery. :campfire:
I shot my first recurve for over 25 years. I purchased an identical backup that never got used. I switched to a longbow about three years ago and I plan to shoot it for the next 25 years, or the remainder of my time on earth, whichever comes first.
I should add that when I see pics of new bows posted on here I am tempted. I just remember the memories by bow has given me and I'm back to my old loyal self.
My story is about the same as most. "pounds" became too easy. No fun and all gadgets, plus they are ugly in my opinion.
Trad ='s beauty and warmth of wood, tradition, and the satisfaction to know that you put in the work to be good enough. It's about skill, not a wiz-bang fall away rest and a sight.
JDS III
Great stories guys!!! Great thread. For me I thought technology (progress) was going to far. Any average Joe can pick up a compound and be shooting well to 25yds in just a few sessions, they then proceed to call them selves bow hunters. Not traditional it makes you pay your dues. Also the fun you have watching your arrows fly, and every animal is a trophy. The people of traditional are an added bonus, no real competition or jealousy here and people actually remember what its like to help each other. Joe
Good responses from everyone to the question "Why Trad".
Way back on the first page Biggie mentions how those who have done it both ways can more easily see the differences, and how he has always been a traditional archer. Back in the 60`s there wasn`t a choice.
When I started in hunting in 78, compound bows were snowballing. My first year was with a recurve. Then everybody said I NEEDED to get a compound. I had some really good times, but after a while, something was missing. I was a bowhunter, and I shot my bow because that is what bowhunters do. Taking a tool kit with you when you shoot your bow is NOT where it`s at. I wasn`t shooting because it was fun, bowhunters MUST practice...right?
There is a whole generation of bowhunters out there who have NEVER been exposed to a traditional bow. As Biggie said, the can`t see the differences, because they don`t KNOW the differences. When you see a permanent shooting range set up in a yard, chances are there is a traditional bow hanging somewhere close by. The temporary ranges that pop up when September rolls around, means there is a traditional archer waiting to be born.
Why Trad? Because it is so much more...everything.
It's the simplicity and fun of seeing the arrow hit the target because of your skill rather then all the gadgets you have hanging on the bow
I like a lot of the responses to this post. Like many of you I started with a compound bow and then one day ran into a guy comparing the penetration of a compound vs a longbow. After chatting awhile he said he was going to cut down a osage orange tree on the weekend and ask if I would like to tag along. That was the start of my traditional archery adventure. It has been a exciting time. The most rewarding part has been building whatever I need when I need it. My nature has always been to be very self reliant. If I need a string I make one. If I need a bow I make one. You get the picture. No need to fork out $700 for a custom bow when I can make my own. The greatest thing it has brought me though is a closer relationship with my son. We spend hours together building, shooting and just getting to know each other. I truly love this sport.
Here is my thoughts. I have shoot wheels off and on for 20 plus years. I've had some great times traveling around the country shooting and hunting. I think my biggest problem is finding parts for wheel bows. Mfgs. change bow lines yearly. Equpment gets out of date fast. The other problem is the brand wars. A earlier writer wrote about most dealers dising what your shooting , if its not what he or she sales. Wheel bow builders make people think they can't miss with their product. I got news for then, you can miss with anything. Traditional equipment is forever, if you don't break your bow all you have to change is the string. The key is confidence and practice,practice,practice.
Why do I dig Trad Archery? It's the art of getting close. Real Close! That gets my motor running. Most of all, like stated many times before, it's fun all year round!
... mike ... :archer: ...
arrogance- well guess what, i have found as much of this in my experince with the trad scene as i have with the compound scene. I do like the simplicity of shooting my black widow longbow,but it does not make me a better man than i am when i'm shooting my Mathews. When i started shooting trad i had a friend ask me when i was going to sell my compound. my answer was and still is i'm not.Since when is it not possible to enjoy both? For me to choose 1 above the other is the same as going to my gun safe and throwing out all the guns except 1 because the all don't perform the same way. It is time to start supporting other hunters instead of causing divisions.
Because I ain't allowed to own firearms anymore.
Their is just more to it! Traditional Archery
QuoteOriginally posted by 3undr:
arrogance- well guess what, i have found as much of this in my experince with the trad scene as i have with the compound scene. I do like the simplicity of shooting my black widow longbow,but it does not make me a better man than i am when i'm shooting my Mathews. When i started shooting trad i had a friend ask me when i was going to sell my compound. my answer was and still is i'm not.Since when is it not possible to enjoy both? For me to choose 1 above the other is the same as going to my gun safe and throwing out all the guns except 1 because the all don't perform the same way. It is time to start supporting other hunters instead of causing divisions.
do you really want to be lumped togther with the publicty hounds that are on the hunting shows nowa days, i dont, im not saying that trad is better than everything but its a differnt type of people who dedicate there lifes to tradtional archery, were not in the same division as compounders or gun hunters, not even close. so to say its agrogence on our part your wrong its usally the other way around its the whellie shooters or gun hunters that scoff at people or poke fun of trad guys, i have experinced this time and time again
well hey now guys lets keep it mellow. Its one of the reasons we stay at trad gang rather than competing sites right?
3under could have worded it in a less disparaging tone but I think what he was implying is that it is arrogant on our part to think people are less of sportsmen, or less dedicated because they don't shoot traditional.
While tv hunting shows are similar to what pornography is to relationships that doesn't mean everyone who hunts with a compound, or even a scoped rifle is equivalent to the tag'em and brag'em types.
Lets be honest, the key part to shooting traditional is time. Period. With enough of it you can learn it and hunt with it. But its not for us to tell someone who has 3 kids and works ten hours a day that he is less of a sportsman because he simply doesn't have the time to devote to practice or hunting. Not everyone is so blessed. Traditional shooting does take much more skill, and woodsmanship, but that doesn't mean we're any better than a guy who ventured into the woods with a rifle. We're just there for different reasons.
I guess I started shooting traditional when I was about 4 years old. That would be 1950 or so. The arrows had rubber cups on the tips, but it was trad just the same!
I really got hooked in Boy Scouts when I got my Merit Badge from Len Disbrow here in Kalispell at age 13. He was Mr. Archery , Montana in my book. His house was an archery museum.
I was one of the very few boys (he said) who took natural to the sport and especially the crafts. He pretty much set me up in arrow making and string making gear. I have been making arrows and strings ever since, mostly for youth shooting, but custom stuff for lots of folk. I guess that makes it 46 years now.
I saw the original coumpounds come in and have watched it ever since. I have trained up young archers who have become good shots and good hunters, many have gone to compounds. I would give my life to defend their right to do so. Much like I would gun rights.
I guess I am just a quirky old fogey who likes the traditional and historical ways, but that is why I like:
Traditional Archery
Muzzleloader Rifle and Pistol Shooting
Canoeing instead of motorboats
Fly fishing best of all fishing styles
I just feel more at one with the land and my forefathers that way.
I will not put down those who like to do their sport other ways, as long as they don't put me down. What I really hate is those that think I have no right to do these sports at all - and there are plenty of them.
Keep your eye on the new Administration if you don't believe that!