Hi Guys,
I have been shooting trad for about 2 years now. I am very proficient 20 yards and in and don't see any reason why I couldn't harvest game. My question is how do you just give up on the wheelie bows and go trad full-time?
It seems everytime i go out deer or turkey hunting I always grab my compound. How do you get over that mental leap in your mind?
Get the wheels out of reach, sell 'em, send them away.
Eric
It's easy. Just tell yourself the kill isn't that important at all, it's the hunting experience and that will be enhanced many fold using a traditional bow and equipment even if you miss an animal. However you will not miss if you have a positive attitude.
Which bow do you enjoy shooting more. That's what it came down to for me. I still have my older Bowtech. I have only shot it about 4 times in the last couple of years. It took me a long time to get my confidence up.
If I had to guess you're enjoying the traditional bow more. If so that's your answer!
Mel
Shoot what makes you feel good on the inside. Literally, just follow your heart.
which one is more fun to carry around in the woods? which one is lighter? which one doesn't break as many arrows when you miss? which one doesn't need all the wrenchs to tighten all the expensive crap you have to hang on it?...........thats how i made the switch back to fun.
Its easy if ur cerise.. I never had that problem
Just tell yourself it's gross to gut them and their feathers stink and you would rather buy one than shoot it.
I have overlapping seasons in Virginia, and your question is the same, yet different, as/than my own. Do I carry the bow, or the muzzleloader?
How anxious am I to fill the freezer?
Is this a better day for one over the other?
Which would be more fun?
Which would make me feel better?
If you have an overactive, global-type ever-circulating bowl of mush for a brain, as I have, the list of questions can grow longer all morning. I usually think better with bow in hand, so I take it into the woods for some thoughty time together.
Killdeer :help:
After I spent a lot of time with my recurve, I picked up my compound, shot one arrow and everything felt "wrong". It was very clear that "that" bow was shooting the arrow and not me. I sold it off shortly after knowing it wasn't for me and I decided the curve was my bow of choise. It's a personal thing but I'm diggin it...
JL
Sell the compound, sold mine 3yrs ago, don't miss it a bit.
Andy
I can't understand or prove why it happens, but I swear the deer understand my limited range with my trad tackle and come out of the woodwork.
I think there's a ring leader with some binoc's scoping me out telling the rest of them "What? That thing? Oh heck, you're safe - that thing only hits trees..."
:D
You need more confidence in your trad. bow. My prescription is to take your bow out at least 3 times a week and stump shoot. Also take some really long shots for fun(150yards). Shoot it until you feel like you can hit small objects at 50 yards. Then you won't even care about the compound any more. Gary
My biggest reason for going trad was I don't have to mess with 10,000 gizmos to shoot my bow. About the only thing I gotta adjust is the nocking point-everything else is up to me.
Went to a local archery shop-where ALL they carry is compounds-and the guy asked me why I didn't want a compound. Had my bow with me (GP TD LB)so I took it apart, put it back together, strung it up and shot an arrow. Challenged him to do the same thing with his wheelie. ;)
I used to do the same thing and be the same way. You are lacking confidence in your current ability. I sold 3 compound bows.... I HAD TO then I bought MORE Longbows...And a recurve, with the funds from the sale...
Forced me to use it more and build my confidence..
Greatest thing I ever done..
sell it....
I think you all may be right. I have thought many times each and every way is to sell my compound and just hunt with the trad bow.
I am gettimng married in two weeks so I know we could use the money. Another motivator may be the fact that if I sell my wheelie bow, my wife would never allow me to buy another. It may be just what I need to do this.
I do enjoy shooting the recurve 10 times more. I will list it all up for sale in archery talk, just as soon as I get out of this darn turkey blind here in iowa!!
I did the same thing as Matty. Exactly.
Our very own Orion said (when I asked this question, several months ago)...
"When HOW you take animals becomes more important than HOW-BIG....or HOW-MANY, you'll make the switch. Good luck."
Powerful words, to me.
All it takes is wanting to carry the stickbow.When you feel that way it will not matter if you still have the compound or not.It is up to you and getting rid of your other bow is not the answer. jmo
Go out and shoot some aerial targets, foam discs,quail, pheasant, grouse, whatever... then ask yourself "can I do this with a compound?". I think you'll find the trad bows are much more versatile than a compound. Plus the way the machine feels when drawn just isn't natural!
I can only give suggestions for ways to make your decision, in 49 years I've never owned a wheelie, and have only shot one once. And they just don't feel right. :archer:
My hunting friend told me yesterday that he "...could care less" what he kills with. At this point it matters not the weapon. It is about the killing.
I hunted a local buck a couple of seasons ago that would keep most hunters awake at night, I could not think about taking that buck with any tool but my longbow. My friends offered me wheelie bows, crossbows and guns. Made me sick to think about using something other than the LB.
I have shot Trad since I was a kid, got out of the U.S. Navy in 1990 and went wheelie for one season, it was not the same for me. To me, the ends do not justify the means.
I think that you cannot find the real pleasure of traditional archery unless you embrace it and commit. then the JOURNEY can begin. Only you will know when. If you can imagine a feathered shaft arching across the sky, then you have begun the journey. Embrace it and commit.
I'd turn that one around...
You have a perfectly good recurve or longbow that you enjoy shooting - right? How could you possibly be tempted to drag with you a wheel-festooned, heavy metal, arrow launching machine instead?
Let's see - on the one hand you get the fun of archery with the possibility of earning an animal the right way. On the other hand, you can lug a machine that kill animals for you.
Piece of cake man - sell that thing. :-D
Simple answer... Sell the compound (bow) and buy a little something for your soon to be wife. That's what I did over ten years ago. Ain't looked back!
... mike ... :archer: ...
Get rid of it. When the mechanical contraption isn't there to temp you you won't have a choice.Just a time or two in the woods with a simple stick and string has a very different feel,very natural and unincumbered by gizmos and gadgetts.When you do harvest your first critter you will understand you'll have earned it.Welcome to the campfire. :campfire:
Bye Bye Birdie..... send them down the road, and buy the wife something pretty !!! :archer:
Only you know when your ready.''IF YOU'' can't expect the same effeicency w/ a trad bow as a compound at the range you want to shoot,then you aren't ready and if taken game at distances that require far more skill and practice than you are willing or do obtain.The answer is NEVER.
I'm the odd one on this site. I shoot both, and well. I think I have more kills with the recurve then the compound. The recurve works better in most of the areas I hunt.
Craigslist.
Its a commimentment only you have to choose when you want to do it. I just stopped "cold turkey" and sold everything.
How old is your compound? If more than a year old there are probably faster, and more advanced ones out there. Sell it and if you feel you need or want a compound in a year or two, you'll be on the cutting edge of compounds again.
But after carrying a light traditional bow and shooting at pinecones, branches, dirt clods, etc...
You'll see how much fun and "uncluttered" you feel in the woods.
John
Sell the compound. You will not miss it. Your confidence will grow with trad gear when you don't have the compound to fall back on. Worked for me.
Sell it we will all chip in $5 and buy you a brand new one if you want it back.
Go hunt and shoot something that is easier to hunt. Once you see that arrow flying toward your target and you make the harvest your confidence will build and you will make the switch.
My experience was I just didn't want that trophy buck to stand out in front of me out of trad bow range. I bounced back and forth before I made the switch as well. It took me three seasons. The third season I found a very nice deer and just couldn't make myself take my recurve. Long story short one evening in October the target deer walked 15 yards right in front of me. I shot him with my compound and was just kicking myself for not having my recurve.
I then hunted out the remainder of that season with the recurve and took numerous does. My confidence was built and I sold my compound and haven't missed it for a second.
I got to feel about the compound that whenever I drew my shot was a sure thing and the excitement of the hunt was lost for me. With trad gear I never have that thought. Because you never know if you are going to hit the mark or not for sure.
Even if you do take your compound with you and kill a trophy deer there will still be a feeling of dissatisfaction inside your sole.
I played around with compounds in the 1980s. Although I never used a release, lighted sights, etc., I just got tired of all the mechanical stuff and went back to stickbows that I had shot for years before. I have never regretted losing the complexity of the compound. There is still nothing better than hunting with a simple stick and string, the simpler the better. If the fun of shooting and the 'hunt' rather than the 'kill' is more important to you, you will not regret getting rid of that heavy, unwieldy mechanical contraption and enjoying the simplicity of the recurve/longbow.
You must simply relinquish the fear of failure. Comfort zones are just that. Either dump it or be a switch hitter forever 8^). They aren't bows, by the way.
Thanks for all the help guys. I am going to list up my bow for sale this evening. Its an 09 pse xforce so it will still have decent resale value. I guess I can also sell my bow press, won't be needing that anymore either.
I thinkt it will also be nice to get back some of that money I've spent
Right on!
Now your talkin. Once you get a few on the ground, you'll be just fine. Besides, when you got guys out there making stuff like this;
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/Rugerfan/ResizeofIMG_0090.jpg)
and this;
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/Rugerfan/DSC00153-1.jpg)
the decision gets a lot easier!
Welcome aboard!
Easy. Shoot your compound...with a .45.
I looked at it as enjoying the hunt and not so much the harvest as much.Don't get me wrong the harvest is just icing on the cake. I have eaten alot of cake without icing.LOL It just takes some patience to gain hunting confidence. making good choices in your shots will increases your confidence. Don't put to much pressure on yourself, it will all fall into place.
What's all this 'kill less' guff? How about 'hunt closer and wound less'? A good recurve / longbow is no less deadly than any compound. It's just that with a trad bow, hopefully the shooter will be less inclined to take those over-the-top, cross country, target range shots at game.
A good heavy arrow pushing a nice sharp broadhead is going to kill stuff if you shoot right. The end.
i will be different and say keep it. you never know when you may just wanna pick it up and shoot a few one day. not meaning that you will want to go back to it full time. i will not sell mine. i love shooting my longbows and recurve, but i will keep the compound around as well--it has its uses. i like to kill stuff with different stuff from time to time throughout the year anyways.
another reason i wont sell mine is that it was free! when i was shooting for a certain company, it was my freebie. the last time i shot it was back it decenber--3 shots and a robin hood--put it back up and have not picked it up since.
i would say keep it. it dont cost u anything to keep. just have self control. am i going to hunt with trad. exclusively all year--NO. i will hunt with the compound, muzzle loader rifle and of course the trad. bows. if i am hunting a big deer in a place where i have a shot out to forty yards and the chances are pretty good that he may not come close, then yes i will probably take the compound in those locations.
i guess there's a few schools of thought here. I definitely agree that a trad bow is just as lethal as any compound out there, its all about shot placement and being within your personal effective range. No offers on the bow so far.
I would say just take it out on a day when you don't really care if you take a deer or not. Just pick a day, or week, and say "I'm gonna try it". Doesn't have to be the best week of the year, the peak of the rut or anything like that. While your out there, do some stuff you wouldn't do normally. Take a Judo with you, shoot some leaves or mushrooms. Hunt from the ground. (Tradbows are great for this). See if you aren't enjoying the hunt more than you're missing the kill. If you are, you will want to do it more. If not, get the compound back out and climb a tree.
I too am a switch hitter whats the big deal I enjoy the feel of a hand crafted bow with Big Feathers on my arrows and have taken a Bear and lots of small game with trad Gear ,, But I also Hunt with a compound Bow and Why? do some trad people not consider compounds Bows I say shoot what you want and enjoy both!! I will not give up my Trad Bows or my Compounds!! :archer:
When I made the switch in '89, I just sold everything that went with my compound ( bow arrows, sights, quiver, sight pins, etc)
Never looked back or over or whatever.
I harvested 2 does that fall and had a blast and been having a blast ever since.
Trap
You just got to face it boys the compounds get bashed on here. I just wish the comments could be truthfull. To hear these people talk the compound bow makes you shoot to far and wound more animals give me a break. I also love how people say the sights and rests are always coming lose. I never had a screw come loose and cause me a problem I can go out and shoot my hoyt after a 3 month lay off and be dead on. I just love shooting my longbow more and it carries nice also. Just do what makes you happy. Sorry fellas I must be irritable tonight.
no need for being sorry when your are dead right.
The compound bow took me to high levels of competition, and I was scared to get rid of it. I would only hunt with my trad bows a few times a year. Over the course of many seasons, I had taken no game with my trad bows. When the chips were down, I would always grab the wheels. It had turned into a crutch.
There was a problem though. I wanted to be a traditional bowhunter! I sold my last compound in July of 2007, and took my first big game animal that same day! Since then I have killed eight hogs and two nice bucks with sticks! I have absolutely no regrets. I hunt a lot with my wheelie toting buddies, and can honestly say that I will never carry that heavy thing again.
You can do it, and it's awesome!
Don't switch unless you want to. I would keep it for another year so you don't have any regrets. :banghead: