Tradganger just wanted to throw this out there.Im sure alot of you have wonderful memmories that happened while you had your bow in hand.For me im thankful i came from a archery family.All the times spent with family members who are no longer with us,but have wonderful memeries spent with them.Im gifted with having a bow shop and the wonderful people i meet and thier stories.Just this last weekend i shared a Elk hunting trip with a wonderful friend and hunting partner.I might add, i meet him while hunting years ago.We spent four days in Oregon look'n for a cow.We didnt even see a single Elk,but had a awesome time that i will always remember.Some of the crazy things you find to laugh about after days in the woods.It's not always about the animale you harvest.For me its more about the memoiries.What are some of your most wonderful memeries while spending times with your bow?
Back in the 60's Missouri had a great rabbit population.My dad and I spent a lot of time together along with my 4 brothers chasing cotton tails with our bows. He always made sure that each one of us had a bow and arrows.I miss him.
Speending time afield with my dad and two brothers is always a makeing of a good memorie for me. Now that my son will be hunting with us next year should bring a lot of good memories. i love being afield with family and friends.
I'm a father of 3 young boys who is the guy starting the traditions and trying to make those memories for my sons. So far its working great. I love archery! :archer:
For me it's always been ...
A simple bent stick, the tug of a worthy string, and the flight of a feathered shaft true to the mark.
The logical outcome of that action is the camaraderie of the sport and the taking of game - food for the table and the adventure that bowhunting provides to nourish the body, spirit and soul.
Amen.
It means more than words can ever hope to say...
In short, for me trad archery has become a metaphor for life...the best of life. The bow has been the instuctor and I have learned more about perseverence, patience, discipline, gratefulness, humility, spirituality,and comraderie than I would have likely learned anywhere else. My passion for the bow and arrow has been one of my life's greatest blessings and I hope to be able to pass this blessing on to others so they too can experience this unique and amazing joy.
Claudia
I can close my eyes and still see my roommate from college walking up to my stand knowing i had just killed my first deer with a bow. The excitement on his face and mine are forever captured in a picture that sits on my desk in my man cave.
Bowhunting is something i think about everyday several times a day and can never get enough of it.
Im 42 and man i hope i have a lot of days left to sit in a stand and watch the sun come up.
Trad archery for me is a bond that can never be broken with my friends and family. I started out with a recurve as my first hunting bow, I missed my first buck with a recurve bow and now I have harvested the biggest deer of my life with a recurve bow. Yeah in the 80s I switched to that other gear, only took 1 deer with it the whole time I used it. My wife, teenage daughter and 9 year old son all participate in 3-d trad shoots together as a family and we have the best family trips that way. Trad archery also keeps me in touch with my best friends that I grew up with and their families as well. We all get out to shoots and hunt together every year. I have also made lots of new friends and enjoy the time we all spend flinging arrows and teaching each other by sharing our experiences.
Have a Merry Christmas!
Pete Smith
I don't think I can say it any better than Claudia did.
Indeed, a metaphor for so many other aspects of my life, and one that has taught me to value self reliance and simplicity to a greater extent than ever before.
The reverie induced by the flight of the arrow has become a salve for the soul, and time spent with likeminded folks has begun to feel like a safe haven in a troubled world.
I know it's a part, a good part of who and what I am.
I only regret that I spent so very many years between my walks with the bow and Christ.
Archery is a kind of metaphor of my walk with Christ in that in the very beginning as sweet as it was I lost track of myself and wandered away.
It took me years of learning and not always the easiest of ways to wake up to the important things in life.
Archery is a blessing in my life and a lot of that blessing is because of the people I get to rub shoulders with, you and others just like you.
I see great diversity and such commonness of spirit with the people I've met through the love of archery. I am reminded that I am a part of the body(as with Christ) but not always the prettiest of parts.
I am not a wordsmith but do my best to let people know that I care about them. It is a labor of love.
I hope I haven't put anyone off with my sentimental drivel. Please forgive me if that's your case. I think I could go on and on... but what's the point... I love archery and what it brings to my life on so many different levels.
With all the love that is Christ Jesus
God bless,Mudd
Shoot an arrow is a stress reliever for me. I just enjoy the flight of the arrow. The pursuit of perfect arrow flight (long ways from being there l.o.l.)
Its time with my family and a sport we love. My two boys (3 and 5) would rather shoot their bow than eat. It gives us a time and a place to be togather and to be with like minded friends. The 3d shoots we attend made a special group when my oldest started "under 3 longbow" just to make sure he would get started into the sport. Bunch of great folks carrying a stick and string.
Well said Mudd. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
These are some great responses. I feel as if you could add them all togather and get a great description. But with every experiance, each its own with this great sport. The what archery is to me definition would be based on my past experiances, the people and friends that you meet with the sport and the time spent with my children while hunting, shooting or just simple arrow building.
I'm sincerely thankful for my interest & ability to hunt with a longbow. It isn't that I can't hunt any other way but that I choose inspired experience from this most simple basic method. You can't buy these experiences! I'm not elitist disparate from any hunter gun or otherwise.., just grateful to know the difference.
I also love reading these responses.I truly love my job.For some people thats not the case.I love to craft a wonderful bow and often think about the stories and memories that will go with it long after im gone.Sometimes its nice to seat back like so many of you have done in your responses and think of memories that you havnt thought about for some time.We all have them.They make us laugh and make us cry.Sometimes in our crazy lives we dont allow are selves a quite moment to think about the wonderful memories the sport of archery has brought us.I like what Mudd said about some of his memories being sentimental.I think we all have those memories too. Allow yourselves 5 min. and think about your wonderful memories this sport has brought you.We all love reading them.
Thank again,
Mike
A chance to step back and get away from all the "better", newest, modern approach to EVERYTHING, be it hunting, at work, or just daily life.
A better chance to enjoy nature---- knowing that I must be quieter and move more carefully and get closer to my intended target and in the meantime, I've found that I enjoy all the other little things in teh woods more.
Finally, a real opportunity to spend QUALITY time with my family and friends. This is something that me, my wife, and 5yr. old daughter can all do together and have fun without hassle or prior planning. Plus, I have met SO many good people who share Trad Archery, that I will always call friends who I would have never met.
Ben
Shooting in my yard with my kids That always will be the best moment!
Teaching my grandchildren the sport I love.
I enjoy just being in the woods and enjoying all the sights and sounds. Also i was recently told by my girlfriend that she would like to start shooting bow with me, just that news was the high light of my year.
For me trad archery is my anti-stress drug. I get almost to the point where I can't take anymore. Then I grab my bow and head into the woods and the stress is gone. It's year round with3-D shoots,rabbit hunting,stump shooting and then deer season. I can also imerse my self into making gear arrows,strings etc and get a stress releaf.
Archery is the 2nd most important thing to me; right behind family. I love the solitude at times and the comraderie at other times. The memories will always be with me and I find myself many times reflecting back on archery experiences and finding peace and comfort in those memories. I've been at it 40 plus years and hope to get another 30 or so.
Happy shooting and hunting to all;
Bob
Next to God and family, it is what I am all about, or who I try to be.....simple, honest, straight forward and fun. Shooting my bows keeps me young, keeps my mind focused and gives me something to look forward to at the end of a bad day....or a good one!
Time in the woods with my bow helped me clear my head, gave me some time and privacy to talk with God when I learned that my then, yet to be born grandson had been diagnosed with a heart block and that he would need a pacemaker.
My love of the bow and the woods helps me to keep myself in some kind of decent shape (round is a shape....right?). Years of playing ball and working in heavy construction has taken it's toll om my body and I have dropped down in bow weight the past few years.
Deer hunting in the fall and winter, turkey in the spring and 3D in the summer. Keeps me active and the 3D fills the gap left from having to give up the competitve sports.
Summer before last, the doctors told me I might have to quit shooting due to some nerve damage from a broken neck years ago. Physical therapy, weights and God's grace have kept me shooting and God willing I will continue to for alot more years. Sorry for rambling on-Mike
Simplicity! Ethics! Freedom! Challenge!
A picture is worth a thousand words...
(http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu323/jgoemaat1/IMG_0579_2.jpg)
I love my bow and string. I'm new to the stick and string of any kind. But I love it. My husband has been teaching me to hunt with it this bow season. I give all my thanks to him and his experances. I have not had a shot yet. I will show restraint and wait until that moment comes and I'am able to take down my first kill. We are planing on two hunts next year, as well as regular bow season. so in hopes I will be able to get somthing to be able too share more about.
Its a way of life the best way of life. Once you start shooting a trad bow you will never be the same. The change that happens is hard to describe but like in the grinch that stole christmas I think your heart grows 3 sizes that day. Tradition lives in our heart and soles when you go to a event or shoot the famlies you see there tells the story. Its a beautiful story to see all the little kids, women, and men there injoying something together as a famly. The people you meet are the best you will meet anywere. The joy of the seeing the flight of the arrow to the target will put a smile on your face. Nothing beats the feeling of watching the woods wake up in the morning with a bow in your hands. Widow
It is about sharing and remembering good times with freinds and family, with simple things like bows and arrows.
To me its the child in me that never grew old.
Back then it was fun -Now its seriously fun.
To me it feels as a counterweight to a society/way of life that has, well, not quite settled in yet.
The everyday stress and tension just disappears with a bent stick and some smaller straight ones,
the forest at my feet.
Walking along, maybe with a couple of friends or my lady, shooting at stumps and such.
It just makes me very happy and content!
2009 has not been a good year for me. I will be glad to see it go away. Shooting my bow allows me to leave the stress of life behind entering a much simpler world.
Archery is an enrichment to my life. As said previously it is a stress reducer and has brought many new friends into my life, many I consider to be family. My father and I started a week long archery hunt 20+ years ago and we havent missed one yet, although I feel we will not have too many left. My trip last week with one of those friends was a long road trip, and never a dull moment. Even though we did not see an elk, we had a great time and created great memories.
Merry Christmas everyone!
It just feels good to me. I feel as if the Lord is happy for me when im out in the woods hunting or not. When I do harvest an animal I feel like my ancestors and the Lord are up there saying "good job". I did not come from a hunting family and even now my mom and brother think there is something wrong with me. My father does not understand. My wife just knows its important to me. Everytime Im out hunting before I walk to my stand or start hunting I get on my knee and praise God for this great privledge. Also when I down an animal I thank the Lord. Doing all of the above with a traditional bow makes it a little more special for me.
Merry Christmas
Gilbert
To me archery means family. My family has always been involved with archery. As time goes on the family continues to grow. Tradgang is part of that family. My Dad and I still get together and go to 3D shoots everychance we get.
archery to me is great... everything about shoot my bows, the practice, the hunting, and spending time with my brother, my dad, and my wife. hunting for me is so relaxing and i love being out in nature and seeing and learning new things each time out. i also like all the extras that go with archery, i just made some new equipment that i can use for hunting and that was very rewarding. when i hunt if God blesses me with an animal to harvest it just adds to the experience. i will always shoot my bows and hunt for as long as the Lord lets me.
Well as I was taught as a youngster, "God created man to work!" I understood that the need to be challenged and have a sense of self worth, one needed to work and be challenged.
Archery in the sense of glass laminated or even more so for primitive recurves and longbows- creates work and challenges us mentally, physically, emotionally and in the case of hunting, even spiritually.
It does not come easy, it accomplished through work and sacrifice. Yet it is more rewarding than words can accurately describe. The challenge is unlike most things we encounter in the modern world. The hunting and killing, is at first foreign and alien to us. But we soon find it as natural as breathing.
The act of shedding blood to provide food nurtures an inner part of our souls. The conflict of emotions that we go through once we harvest or kill an animal for sustenance causes us to face our own mortality and the reality of our own lives. The simple fact that death is not pretty, yet only through death is there life. That there is an interconnectivity in the circle of life. Furthermore, I am faced with with my belief in Jesus Christ and His ultimate sacrifice for me.
Archery, is a part of my life and a part of me. It has brought the reality of life and death into focus. I carry the lessons of archery and hunting into all aspects of my life. It does not define me, but I am a better person, a better husband, a better father, a better friend, a better employee, because of archery.
Loads of fun, a challenge, and far less discretionary income.
What does Archery mean to me? It is the ongoing and continuing magic of my childhood, a link to the past, as well as the future. As a boy I made green maple bows and arrows, then progressed to shooting solid fiberglass bows with my friends and hunting. Today, the magic continues as I see and experience it all over again, watching my son launch arrows along the same mystical path.
Archery / Bow hunting is in my blood and has been part of my life for some 50 years. The only time I didn't shoot archery was 3 years I spent in Uncle Sam's Navy. Shooting the bow and making arrows, quivers, tabs. Shooting gloves, string keepers etc is all part of the fun. I have 2 daughters who both shoot with me and now 2 granddaughters and a grandson who shoot. My son-in-law who was a hunter is now a bow hunter.
At all most 70 my desire to kill something has diminished but I still love being out on stand watching what going on and enjoying camp life. The good Lord did a good job of putting this world together and it only right we enjoy it.
Claudia, aka "pinecone" said a mouth full. I could never put into words what traditional archery has done or means to me. It makes me look at life and nature in a hole new light. It is almost a spiritual connection to nature and the natural world that suround's me! Jason
QuoteOriginally posted by Mudd:
I know it's a part, a good part of who and what I am.
I only regret that I spent so very many years between my walks with the bow and Christ.
Archery is a kind of metaphor of my walk with Christ in that in the very beginning as sweet as it was I lost track of myself and wandered away.
It took me years of learning and not always the easiest of ways to wake up to the important things in life.
Archery is a blessing in my life and a lot of that blessing is because of the people I get to rub shoulders with, you and others just like you.
I see great diversity and such commonness of spirit with the people I've met through the love of archery. I am reminded that I am a part of the body(as with Christ) but not always the prettiest of parts.
I am not a wordsmith but do my best to let people know that I care about them. It is a labor of love.
I hope I haven't put anyone off with my sentimental drivel. Please forgive me if that's your case. I think I could go on and on... but what's the point... I love archery and what it brings to my life on so many different levels.
With all the love that is Christ Jesus
God bless,Mudd
Mudd,
I don't think anyone could have expressed it any better, your comments mirrior my own.
It seems that the older I get the smarter I get, and I realize that I am only one small, small part of a greater picture.
God bless all of the the Trad Gang, may we all be thankful for the comradire we share.
I like a lot of these responses.
Claudia, your words hit it on the head for me.
But to add to it....it has given me the opportunity to learn from others how to make my own hunting items...how to tune up some arrows and a bow and the gratification of that. When I walk in His creation I am more in tune to it, more intimately a part of it.