First I would like to say that this is a great forum and have learned so much from just reading the postings. I'm kinda new to this forum and have been reading for awhile and was curious, how much experience you guys have? What I mean is...how many years have you been shooting Trad bows? Have you ever shot compund? and do you ever go back to the "training wheel" bow? Just curious that's all! Thanks!
I have only been shooting trad for about 6 years. Stopped shooting my wheels about 5 yrs ago and sold it about 3 years ago.
Up to that point, I shot a compound. Shot one since I could pull one, and shot competativly for a few years for Martin Bows. Over all I shot a compound for approx 15 yrs or so.
Not looking back now, really have no desire to. Not that shooting a compound is not fun anymore, just not as fun as trad. I will add...I would not be where I am with my form, knowledge, and all around trad knowledge and skill without this site.
I only got into archery about 3 years ago shot a compound for one year and was introduced to trad and haven't looked back. The trad bows blow my mind, how can a stick and string be so pretty and so unassuming, yet be deadly accurate and lethal! It gets me excited just thinking about it...well got to go practice!
I have been shooting trad for 24+- years. I have always shot traditional really.
I shot a compound for about 4 years, then I picked up a recurve on the cheap at a GOB sale and took both bows to hunting camp that year I never used the compound and later gave it to my brother in law. have never been tempted by the dark side since.
I have been shooting traditional bows for over 15 years. Before that, I shot a compound for almost 20. A few years ago, I did go back to "wheels" for a season after getting into a bad slump shooting-wise. Although it was easier putting meat in the freezer, it was no where near as much fun as shooting recurves and longbows. I really don't miss all the gear and gadgets!
Started out shooting trad as a kid, then in my teen years I transitioned to wheels. Shot wheels until 5 years ago when I came back to trad. One day I just stepped back and took a long look at it. Then I sold ALL of my wheel stuff and didn't even have another bow yet, just knew I didn't want to hunt with wheels any more. I don't care if I ever kill anything, I just love the challenge, and the simplicity. I feel that no matter how long I shoot trad, it will never get boring, which is what my wheel bow had become.
shot a compound for about 20 years went trad 8 years ago would not go back to wheel bows unless physicaly unable to shoot trad
I have only been shooting Trad for 5 years but I'm 31 and I have been shooting a bow for as long as I can remember, 3or 4 years old maybe. I've been hunting since I was about 8 I think. Been pretty forunate to live in an area where most people hunt and it's just common practice to get your younguns started early. I don't think I would ever go back to a compound. I was a ctually to the point that I was about to give up hunting all together until my uncle invited me to a trad shoot and one of his friends let me borrow a Bear Montana, which I ended up buying. The rest as they say is history.
i started shooting compounds 17ish years ago and shot my dads recurve in between that until i just got my own trad bow. i'm not too sure i'll give up the compound, because i love shooting it as well as my recurve, but time will tell
Started archery with a compound when I was about 11 or 12. A couple of years later I went "wheelless" thanks to an older cousin and his friends.
That was 25 years and I have no intention of going back, this way is much more satisfying.
Eric.
Fifteen years or so with a compound. Switched to trad two and half years ago and really enjoy it. I like being able to do stuff myself. I find it way more rewarding. That being said, I still hunt with some compound friends with no trouble, but I don't use mine any more. Got a nice, slightly used, Hoyt Intruder if anyone wants one. ;)
Shot a compound for 27 years. This is my 2nd year with trad. I got 2 deer last year with my recurve and feel like I need a few more kills to really build my confidence in my abilities. No plans on going back to the compound.
I got a recurve for 6th or 7th birthday and shot that till I out grew it. then was side tracked with school and the Navy for a few years. shot a compound for the 1990 season and bought a used Tim Miegs longbow in early 1991, went a little crazy after that. Have made all my bow kills with trad gear and have had a blast for 19+ years.(alot more than that if you want to count my childhood, and I do). I do something with a bow everyday. or so it seems.
OH! and I love every minute of it. Have fun.
Happy New Year.
Chuck
I started off in full high tech mode about 19 yrs ago, and got my first longbow 5 yrs after that. I haven't even flirted with that other kind of bow for about 12 yrs. now, and incidentally, I still use that first longbow. You probably won't find too many guys toting around a 12 or 13 yr. old compound, thats one thing I really like about using trad equipment.
I've been shooting for 34 years...started out with recurves...in the eighties I went to compounds, and like most, I found the let-off/speed combo exciting. Around 1990, I was shooting with Bruce Barrie for the first time, and was a little stunned to find that he shot a recurve...he let me shoot it, and it was like I was a kid again. I LOVED it. after that I went to Alaska for a few years guiding for Moose, Sheep, Bears, and that experience left me spiritually exhausted; took me ten years to hunt again...when I walked into an archery shop after that, I couldn't believe the new compounds, not to mention all the gadgetry that goes with them...I bought an RER LX, and Brothers and Sisters, I am back with a fury, and I wouldn't want a wheel bow if someone GAVE it to me.
I've been in archery for 20 years.I started trad,went to wheels,then back to trad mainly but I still enjoy shooting wheels.Archery is archery.
Like alot of hunters, started with a compound for about 6 years, and then fell in love with the trad gear. I have been hunting and shooting trad only for over 20yrs.
They didn't have training wheels when I started. Probably haven't shot 10 arrows out of a wheel bow in my life. Just don't care for them myself. My youngest boy got frustrated with a recurve so I bought him some wheels. Just not for me.
When I can't pull the string to full draw anymore I'll probably just pick up a camera.
Now, if someone gave me a crossbow I'd incinerate it just so no one else could ever use it.
I started shooting when I was 5 with a hickory stick my brother whittled out for a bow. My uncle gave me a little red fiberglass bow when I was 6 and I never looked back. I shot a compound from 1977 til '80. I started shooting a Hill longbow in 1980 and have shot a longbow since. Every big game kill has been with a longbow
I have been shooting bows for 45 years. Like Hattrick, I have shot maybe ten arrows from a compound. I don't like them, they don't feel good to me. Too heavy and the balance is awkward. They are not pretty to me, either.
To each his own.
Killdeer
I ditched the wheels 7 years ago. Until then, i hunted with wheels, killed lots of deer, had fun bowhunting. I got tired of tinkering, tuning, adjusting, replacing etc.
I made the switch, and shot both for a year or so, and for 7 years its stickbow only. Now I not only still love my bowhunting, archery is a part of me. I love verything about it, the flight of the arrow, building arrows, shoots, the comraderie of the trad fraternity.
I've been shooting a stick and string for more than 50 years, though I did slip over to the dark side for a few years in the early 70s.
First bow was back in '56 or '57...ain't crippled yet, so ain't never seen the need for any kinda assistance with shootin' my bows. Rick.
well i started shooting recurves when i was about 10 years old,started off shooting a bear bow that belonged to my neighbor.then about 12 started to shoot compounds,shot them for about6 or 7 years,then went back to recurves and longbows.here recently i made a decsion to go back to the wheels,but it only lasted for 4 days.just didn't feel right,so now i'm back with my true love of trad. bows and isn't no way i'm going the other direction again.
I started out with trad as a young kid and around 22 yo switched to the wheelie and I am thankful I found my way back home.And I do not shoot the wheelie it sits on the rack.ya wanna buy it?
You will find a very wide range of experiences here. Personally, I started with wheels back in the late 70's. I don't even remember if there were traditional bows carried in the shop I bought a bow from back then or not. All I saw were compounds and that was all anyone that I knew at the time shot.
Been strictly trad for the past nine years and can't imagine anything else for me.
I still shoot both, I like Trad for the fun of it but i will always hunt with the Wheels.
Started with a bear Panda at 7. "Still have it." My Dads Bear Kodiak at 15. Compound for a few years. Bighorn Recurve, Pronghorn longbow, Homemade Recurve, Morrison Recurve, Morrison Cougar longbow, Morrison Shawnee longbow.
OMG I have been shooting a bow for 50 years!
I started with a fiber glass long bow I bought at a garage sale in wyoming at 11 years old,shot alot of bunnys. First few big game hunts were with wheels no and sights. Switch to a trad gear in the late 80's (the big trad come back era). In about 94 or 95 I thought school and a young family got in the way and went back to wheels and no sights. I always did pull out the LB out her and there. Then three years ago I put on sights on the compound and was going to shoot every 200' deer and 400" bull. Boy that sure bored me quick,just took the life out of archery for me. Last fall I bought a recurve and WOW the fire with in came back. I think I will shoot traditional or primitive gear until my shoulders fail.
Started at about age 6 on Shakespeare super necedah until age 14 or so... Then shot a compound instinctively for about 10 yrs. Shot a longbow for a few years then got frustrated as I had no guidance and less patience and went to the pulley popper and sights thing for a few years. Now I'm shooting my rer and LOVE it!!!
I started with a recurve when I was about 10yrs old, then in the 70's I shot compound for 30+yrs with a few years mixed in that I switched back to trad until I developed a bad case of target panic and missed a few nice deer because of it.
I switched back to Trad two years ago. I went to Colorado this year with my longbow and my compound in tow. One of the guys where we hunted said to me, You think you can kill an Elk with your longbow? I told him I felt pretty confident that I could, if I could get them within my range. I told him that if couldn't I might break the compound out of the case.....but I hoped that it would never see daylight. And luckily it didn't!
Shot bows as a kid - no compounds around. Mostly homemade tree-branch bows with fishline strings and homemade arrows. Loved shootin bowsnarras. Didn't shoot a bow for about 30 years, then in 1993 decided to get back into bow shooting and bowhunting. Bought and shot a variety of old Bear bows and then a Pronghorn longbow in '94. Have hunted almost exclusively with a bow since 1995. Never launched an arrow from a compound - never been interested in them - don't see it happening for me. Love shootin bowsnarras and love bowhunting.
Charlie
I was introduced to bowhunting in high school by a good friend. At that time, early eighties, everyone was shooting compounds. Hunted a few years then went to college. Took about 15 years off from hunting because I couldn't afford a lease in Texas and was just involved in other things.
Wife and I moved back to her home state of Kansas in 1999 and at the urging of another good friend I decided to start bowhunting again. He encouraged me to try a recurve instead of my old compound. I never looked back! I love it!
Just wish I could find more time to be in the woods!
Been shooting a bow for one year. I've had a blast! I've been hunting a few times and still am eating Ramen Noodles. That will change.
Shot a compound in September and still have a scar....no thanks!
I started off shootin compounds for a good little while( 9 years i believe) and took up trad about this time last year and never second guessed myself about doing it. since then i've gotten rid of my compound and have never happier.
I shot compounds for about twenty years. A friend of mine who just couldn't beat me at the target range talked me into getting a longbow. So I got one. My friend beat me every time. So I went back to the wheels. I just got back into shooting trad about four years ago and made a real attempt to learn how to shoot my longbow. So far so good. Now I can give my friend a run for his money. I doubt that I'll ever go back.
Started with a crossbow from about age 12 to 27 or so........
Dropped it and shot a compound for 3 years......
Dropped it and now been shooting Trad. for the past 4 years................Been loving it!
I have shot trad since about 1958. I shot compounds for about 10 years (still had trad gear too). Went back to trad all the time when my eyes got so bad the compound sights became a blurr, that was about 10 years ago.
I started with a Bear Whitetail compound in 1979 with no experience in archery at all (no mentor, just head butting). After lots of fun and a trip to Utah mountains carrying a heavy bow, I decided there had to be a better way. In 1990, I bought a recurve at a pawn shop and started shooting. The rest is my history. 31 years bowhunting, a few years NFAA targets, and 20 wonderful years with my recurves. I have tried longbows a couple of times, but never with much success--thinking about it again now.
Michael
I started bowhunting with a compound in 1994. I made my first selfbow in 1998 and started hunting with a longbow in 1999. I still have a compound bow collecting dust in the shop but I don't think I would even be able to work on it anymore if something went out of tune. I have plenty of confidence in the stickbows. I have killed elk, antelope, black bear, deer and hogs with mine.
Been shooting for 57 years and bowhunting 53 years since age 10. Always Bear or Wing bows in the 48# range since the early 60's.
Shot a compound for 17 years, and dabbed with a longbow during that time. Went to "trad only" about 3 years ago. Never plan on going back. I dont have the desire to even shoot another compound.
What's a compound? I think I've seen them before but I have never picked one up. My dad started bowhunting in the 50's and when the kids were born in 60's we all had bows. I was the youngest and got the hand-me-down bow from the middle brother who got my oldest brother's bow and he aways got the new bow. My first "new" bow I made in 7th grade shop class. I made another bow (still have it) in 10th grade. Guess that's 40 plus years of shooting a stick and string.
CJ
Thanks for sharing, I can only hope that someday I will be able to tell my grandchildren about my fifty years of trad experience.
Getting close to 50 years now. I bought a wheelie at a garage sale a few years ago. I shot about a dozen arrows through it, then sold it to a cousin. I just didn't feel like archery to me.
42years ago started with Bear and Ben Pearson recurves and wood arrows. Between 1970 and 1990 i played and hunted with a ton of brands and models of both recurves and compounds for greedy purposes. And shot aluminum 2117's only. But evolved to recurve hunting only in 1994 when something was missing to me in my hunting. I further evolved in my hunting spirit in 2004 to love longbows. And now i am completely happy to be carrying my pronghorn longbow and wooded arrows. Who knows i might turn more in the years to come to a selfbow and canes arrows?
I bought my first real bow in '72, a Damon Howatt Coronado. I was 17 at the time. I had been shooting fiberglass bows since about age 8.
I went to compounds once they got popular... they were the eight wonder. . right ?
I got bored with it and started back to trad. I don't own a compound and probably never will again. I just like trad.
ChuckC
I was born into a family that ate and sleeped archery 49 yrs.ago.I have shot traditional archery all my life.My grandfater was old school.He claimed the compound would destroy archery.I did pick up a compound years ago and shot it some.But always shot and hunted with a trad bow.Almost got thrown out of the house when i brought that wheel bow home.Shot diffrent compounds and put them together with all the goodies for a few years.Shot my compounds barebow.Havnt play'd with any for years.Would be lost to work on one now.For me it will always be Trad archery.
HOWITZER : I hope you do store up 50 years of trad bow stories : basketball and bulldog stories are kinda boring.. :)
I started in 1976 with a Bear 45lb, then shot a compound till the mid eighties when I saw black widow one piece. That was it, had to have one of those. It was like the PA they make now.
Been shooting trad for 15 years, I did shoot training wheels for a number of years. Got rid of my last one 6 years ago. I had stopped using them completly when they came out with rest that drop away??
I love trad because of the simplicity of it BUT also you can have FUN!!! with trad. I can actually take a practice shot in the woods at a pine cone or what not - try that with wheels and your arrow will be GONE. Squirrel hunting - rabbit hunting - all is so much FUN with the recurve.
J
I had shot compound for 25 years and a friend of mine Koger invited me to come and try a trad bow.I was bored with compound so i did, i was hooked purchased a bw from him next week sold my compound and don't regret it a bit.It's been about 6 months since then and i have taken three deer this season with a longbow,i don't think I'll ever go back and wished i had changed along time ago.
I have been involved with archery since I was 13 and am now 42. About 12 years ago, I switched from the compound to the recurve bow for it's light weight and simplicity of use. I got tired of relying on technology to do my shooting. I still have my compound and another one that someone gave me because they cant hunt anymore. One day I will get them out, tune 'em up and shoot 'em. They are still fun to shoot if not to set up and tune. I think today's compounds are fantastic machines, Very fast, compact, and lightweight. And too expensive for me. I'd rather get a good custom recurve than a new PSE, Matthews, Hoyt, etc. I think we need to stop knocking other hunters choice of weapons and work on fighting those who would stop all bowhunting.