Last year I tried a few new things and I had a terrible season (as far as bring home the bacon!) I don't blame any of the equipment but I think I'm going back to the things that are tried and tested and familiar with me like aluminum and wood arrows, bow with no quiver on it, and a few other odds and ends. Anyone else feel this way?? I'm also going to be safer up in the treetops and start using a safety from the ground all the way up to the stand ( I owe to friends and family :thumbsup: )
I put this post in another thread on another forum, but it's how I feel.
Well it really is a simple sport, we just complicate it with a bunch of extraneous crap that doesn't mean much in a real brick fight. You need a bow, a string, and some arrows...that's about it. Problem is we have myriad experts now just waiting to tell you how much you have to fiddle with your stuff, from bareshafting to front-loading. Those guys can take the fun out of the sport in a hurry if you allow it. Some of us old guys know better and do what we have done for decades. And, we have never been deprived of killing game or shooting great scores because we were out of touch with the genius contingency. 8^).
You said it George! I gave up the compound thing due to all of the new gadgets and adjustments that a person had to have or to be done. Now, I had to try different arrows (carbon) different points, broadheads, strings, etc. I'm now putting anything down by any means, but, I think I'm going back to the basics.. :)
Well said george,i agree 100%! :thumbsup: :clapper:
"If It Aint Broke, Dont Fix It!!" :thumbsup: :archer: Been told that ALL My Life!! :goldtooth:
well when ya look at it Basics is where it all started any how and brother i agree with ya on the if it aint broke dont fix it. and i will add to it if it is get another one :biglaugh:
George, glad to see someone uses the word myriad correctly as an adjective.
I have also been thinking the same thing about next years season. My problem seemed to be that I was taking more uneccessary things into the woods with me. Simplify is my goal next year.
As usual, George said it well. :clapper:
I agree with George, archery should be a simple sport!! :archer:
I had a old preacher friend tell me once "I killed more deer before I knew all this stuff" he said a mouthful. Well said George! Jason
kevin - one does what one needs to do in order to excel. sometimes you do need to get back to square one, simplify, and get back your confidence and accuracy consistency. good for you and best of luck! :thumbsup:
QuoteOriginally posted by George D. Stout:
... Well it really is a simple sport, we just complicate it with a bunch of extraneous crap that doesn't mean much in a real brick fight. You need a bow, a string, and some arrows...that's about it. Problem is we have myriad experts now just waiting to tell you how much you have to fiddle with your stuff, from bareshafting to front-loading. Those guys can take the fun out of the sport in a hurry if you allow it. Some of us old guys know better and do what we have done for decades. And, we have never been deprived of killing game or shooting great scores because we were out of touch with the genius contingency. 8^).
i hear your point, george, and revel in its simplistic merit.
however, i'll take the opposite tack that toots the horn of logical reasoning as to why it can be a very good thing not to just to just have 'a bow, a string, and some arrows'.
to whit, a few examples ...
* there are extraordinary efficiencies gained by tuning arrows to fly well out of a given bow, for both accuracy and game killing.
* there are distinct advantages in testing out bowstring fibers and strand counts, for consistency, accuracy and less noise.
* there are voluminous, well documented reasons why front end arrow loading is a bowhunter/archer's best friend.
whether i like it or not, i'm one of those old guys that started off with a lemonwood longbow, way back in the early 1950's. however, i consider myself smart enuf to employ sound reasoning and technology when and where it will increase my trad bowhunting/archery consistency and success - without compromising the 'simple stick 'n' string' focus and objective.
or, just go grab a bow, brace up and fling some arras.
to each their own and as always, ymmv.
forget the other stuff pay close attention to the wind and be safe.i also went to safty harrness that goes up as i go up.the older you get things arent as steady as they used to be.
Heck, I like to fiddle with my stuff. That's half the fun of having it. Nothin' wrong with technology and a little experimenting. Besides, if it weren't for technology and experimentation, we'd all be shooting solid wood bows and using rivercane arrows and stone points. (Not that there's anything wrong with those choices either).
My point is, don't knock people that fiddle with their stuff or enjoy striving for more performance and better arrow flight and then shoot modern equipment yourself (glass laminated bows, aluminum and carbon arrows, man made string materials, etc.), which was discovered/invented by "experts fiddling with their stuff".
Oh I'm not knocking anyone. Just for example, if I had the proper equipment(tools) I'd probably stay with the carbons and tune them the way they should be. I still like to tinker myself, but, when ya gotta go clear into town to have the carbons cut down 1/2" each trip to get the proper tuning, it tends to get a little consuming if ya know what I mean. Basically, I know what I had with past hunting seasons and know what worked and I need to go back to that to help regain my confidence and get back on track. Afterwards, I might pick up some new stuff and head forward. :archer:
I wasn't really referring to you're comments, Mountainboy. I was referring to George's.
... some like it hot
... some like it cold
That is what I love about this sport, you can make it as simple as you want or you can tinker as much as you want :)
It took me a long time to find a set-up that works consistently. I'm not changing anything unless the components stop being produced. :knothead:
There seems to be a consistent cry from some corners about "new" geniuses telling others what they have to do to achieve some bow related nirvana.
Well, I'm a relative "trad" newbie of only 10 yrs having come back to a stickbow after 19 yrs of shooting other equipment. I have yet to have a single person tell me what I "have" to do. I have been presented with options and others' experiences when I asked or watched and/or listened when others asked.
The only opinions I see being forced on anyone are those of the flat-worlders who artfully use grammar, wit and emoticons to cover their seeming disdain for opinions that differ from theirs.
"Why, how dare you question the pioneers of the sport on whose very shoulders you find yourself now perched!" - could be one interpretation of the attitudes directed at those who shoot something other than 55# and 28".
I shoot a relatively heavy recurve at a relatively long draw length. I hate aluminums and wood is fairly impractical due to getting consistent spine & weight combinations to make my bow's mfr happy. So like you Mountainboy, I tried carbons. It has taken me a full year and a half to find the right formula and was very frustrating, but can tell you it's now worth it.
I've been told by those guys I don't NEED this heavy of a bow. I don't NEED to wear this camo or that wool. I don't NEED to configure my arrow different from theirs. I don't NEED to try this or that. Tell ya what I don't NEED is someone raining on my parade cause it takes a different route than theirs.
Here's your emoticon: :rolleyes:
Good luck choosing YOUR own path Mountainboy. There are plenty of guys who will give you honest answers to your genuine questions rather than admonishing you and others for not following an age-old script.
Mountain Boy. Shoot what works for ya and definately use what works to provide you with confidence.
Me, I am fiddler and finding out that Carbons can be a pain to get right. I am shooting a 55 lb modern longbow and 550 spine arrows don't come long enough for me to get them to tune without 400 grains up front which makes em heavier than I want. Great FOC and penetrate like no ones business, just slower than I want.
My reccomendation is shoot what is working for you and do your fiddling with the Carbons on the side. That way it won't matter how well the Carbons work. Once you get it all together you can make the switch if you want.
As a Trad shop owner, I will make suggestions based on my experience BUT I leave the final decision up to the customer. I want him happy....
Tinkering and playing around with different types of arrow materials, feather shapes/sizes and experimenting with different broadheads is part of the fun of archery. For me personally, once I found the right combination of bow/arrow/broadhead
I stayed with it for years. I seen no reason to change.
Until a few yrs ago, I shot barrel tapered ash. I now shoot aluminum and carbon. When I decided to strictly hunt from the ground, I changed my camo pattern to match my hunting areas. Your goal is to enjoy the sport, fill the freezer but have fun doing it.
If getting back to basics is what you think you need to do...then do it. From shooting wood, to taking extra safety precautions or just wearing plaid clothing instead of camo...make the move and start having fun again.
Hackbow,
I gotta say, you make a solid point there....yep.......solid. :thumbsup:
one man's ceiling is another man's floor.
please do offer me opinions, considerations and advice. that's how i can learn, that's how you can share. and in the end, i get to make the decision as to what path i'll attempt.
please show me the truth, the facts - if there are any. that kinda knowledge outshines all the rhetoric.
but above all, don't tell me your way is the right way or the best way or the only way - that's pure hogwash.
fortunately, i believe that hogwash is hard to find at trad gang.
Mountainboy if you are throwing out those carbons I'll take them. Stump shooting is all I do and I'm very hard on arrows. I shot almost every day last yr. and never damaged an alum footed Gold Tip, too many frontal impacts with rocks to count, I destroyed 9 judos. Killed 2 deer with tough angled shots, same arrow both deer, back in quiver absolutely no damage. I can't afford to shoot alum. or wood $$$$. If you are having trouble getting your carbons to fly please let us help you. We have at least 6 months. Tom
Well said Hackbow. Well said Rob. I totally agree.
I believe it's humane nature to complicate anything we touch. Everyday just trying to live a simple life gets more compicated.
I tell ya what! All you guys are just plain awesome! Good straight forward advice/no beating around the bush! A good brotherhood!
There's an ooolllddd Russian Proverb----
Better is THE ENEMY of GOOD ENOUGH!!!! :goldtooth:
I've been at this as long as George and Rob. There really is nothing simple about archery if you look real close. I've tried a lot of things over the years and don't consider myself "finished" as an archer, bow hunter or human being. Every time something new comes out I need to know about it or ask about it or try it. One never stops learning and just when I think I have discovered the "best" I turn around and there is something better. That makes it fun for me....it's the learning and playing with stuff and not settleing for the status quo.
My biggest problem is kind of liking it all. I own several glass bows, recurve and longbows. And, I have a great time when not hunting making wood bows. Various lengths, weights, etc. Finding what shoots out of these various implements is a real challenge but one that has taught me a lot. I have not done anything that hasn't been done before and in many cases, better. But I enjoy the process. Heck, it even enjoy serving a string well. When it comes to hunting, I have some standard requirements that don't change: well tuned arrows with nocks that are not too tigt on the string, decent if not heavy overall weight (10-11 gpp) and very sharp cut on contact heads that fly right. A heavy enough bow that I can consistently control. The rest of it is concentrating and practicing on putting it in the right place. So, it is simple but also complex in the possibilities all of which can be designed to work very well.
Simple is better...and more fun.
isn't the basics the definition of traditional?
what ever yanks your string is ok with me. shoot it like you like it......but archery was not simple when archery was simple. :)
there have been techies and non-techies since i shot my first field round in the 1950's. as a matter of fact they even fussed at each other then. In 1960 I saw a fist fight between a techy and a non-techy on the field range over scores.
at 66 yrs old I guess I am Geroge's antipahty (although I certainly consider him a friend :) ). for me stingwalking, techy risers, vee bars, long rods, flippers and plunger are good things. yep even use many of the gadets on a hunting bows now and then.
if you want it simple, i am for ya. just leave a little space for me to shoot in.....and when we add up the socre I don't want no fist fights please :)
rusty -non-tradtional recurve shooter- craine
I'm all for SIMPLE! Life is complicated enough!
I'm just thankful I live where there is choices.
Good shootin, Steve.
"Never drag a extension ladder out when a simple snowball will do" Funny story just this evening. We've been getting hammered here with deep snows and cold temps. Decided to take the evening to grab my "old" neighbor and drive down and spend the evening with a "old" muzzleloader making neighbor. Spent all evening with him and left simply amazed how simple everything in his life is to making a muzzleloader. He's the same guy who taught me knife making and gives me curly maple scraps for making bows, knives etc. Anyhow to make a long story short I was telling my neighbor on the way home "you know what, I'm gona make a complete effort to find the simplest way to do everything in my life as my new years resolution"! So we get to his house and his wife informs us her satitlite internet isn't working.Now keep in mind these folks are the most techno challegened folks I know and my neighbor himself has never ever been on the internet. I explain it's because of the heavy uneven snow fall on the dish and tell my neighbor lets get a ladder so I can climb his steep metal roof and sweep the snow off it. All the time thinking this is gona be dangerous. He came out looked at it, grabbed a snowball and in one throw hit the satitlite and knocked the snow off! So much for my new years resoultion! Life is simple we make it tuff!
Good story LC :D
Archery is a circle, for some we are at 1/4 circle, some are at 1/2, even a few make it to 3/4, A full circle is perfection and I have not yet met someone there, all the gismos along the line in the circle just help to make it. The real challenge in making the circle is are we still having fun. Happy New Years to everyone.