Hello everyone! Very new to the sight but like most of you not new to the obsession of traditional archery. It is an obsession too, it has to be for most of us. An obsession to be a better shot, better woodsman, and a better hunter. Each of which is as we know tied to the other. I hate talking about myself but love sharing the experience of bowhunting. I became a better hunter as soon as I put a bow in my hand. I became a better woodsman and shot as soon as the wheels came off and the recurve and longbow came into my hands. I never ever thought I would hunt with traditional equipment. My wife and I were having carpet put in and the installer noticed the target in the back. After a long talk about archery, he told me he went from wheels to traditional and encouraged I do the same. I thought he was crazy, after 6 years, 2recurves, 2 longbows, several targets, and dozens of arrows, who is the crazy one. It is archery OCD. One more shot after the last one hundred shots to get the shot I want. The desire to be a better shot to allow for a quick clean kill, the conscience effort to smell less, be quieter, and scout better to increase our chances at success. It is an obsession. Tp go out with guys who pick up their compounds the week before, stink up the woods, and getting th eight point out of the stand location that makes no sense only to get up and do it again the next day with more confidence and conviction It is
an obsession. The simplicity, the feeling of loosing the arrow, the Feeling as you start to see the hard work pay off,and the feeling when it all comes together when you make that shot. It s an obsession and I freaking love it :archer2:
Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Welcome to the 'Gang!
Why traditional archery?
Why not !
All the cool kids are doing it .
We are the kids who sit up the back of the bus .
I agree with the obsession, got nothing bad to say about compound shooters since it's where I came from, and know some damn good wheel bow hunters.
I have nothing against anyone who chooses to put any bow in their hand to hunt with. I just have a greater appreciation and respect for those who choose to do it with traditional equipment. I am proud of the time and effort that I put in to get the point that I feel competent enough to provide a quick death for an animal. I could pick up my tricked out compound in the basement that hangs next to my longbow and start smashing nocks within 5 minutes. In fact sometimes I do. Hate to be cliche but I love the journey as much as the destination. That is why that bow won't be in the woods with me next weekend.
For me it's the joy of employing simple uncomplicated tools to do something that's down to earth and loads of fun.
Amen
Simplicity, challenge, connection with nature and my prey. the only thing more challenging would be to hunt with a knife.
i shoot both compounds and trad. i shot compounds for a long time befor ei even got serious into trad. the compound just got really boring to me and i wanted a change. Trad was like relearning how to shoot all over again and brought he fun back to archery. It just makes me more happy. I love the looks of a well crafted longbow and hw simple they are. Just something about it draws me in. I still like the compound but the longbow is by far more fun to shoot to me.
And besides the girls love us traditional shooteers. :bigsmyl:
Reminisce shooting before the days of the wheelie
Vividly remember the out spoken resistance when the wheelie first hit the scene
Recollect watching the wheelie quickly take over
Recall seeing nice stick bows routinely going for $10-$15 at garage sales
Continue to watch the newer generations pursuing conventional designs technological enhanced designs which may over-come ~90% on self imparted form errors
The younger generations have had little ,if any, exposure to traditional much less to its bounty for the treasure remains totally obscure
Routinely observe the wheelie crowd, in some cases, completely astonished when witnessing what traditional equipment can do when properly used.
We could easily lay back and assume 'how stark is the here and now'. Have viewed and heard many proclaim their interest in the traditional but lack the confidence. Today's drivers, especially marketing, seemed to have washed away the memories of the past, yet history shall not be erased for the passioned numbers are becoming prolific and the mystique is being shared. Actually if there were more substantial revenue opportunities to be had, the scenario may be quite different. However, again the experience of the traditional may find itself corrupted.
In my case, it seems selfish to accumulate the treasures of the traditional for myself. The journey is exhilarating, fulfilling and engrained with genuine camaraderie. The switch to traditional continues to be an invigorating challenge, yet we maintain the pinnacle of advantage. The amassed rewards are substantially beyond the value any price tag.
Welcome to the journey of treasures!!!!!!!!!!
Skill with traditional gear cannot be purchased with any currency except hard work. I cannot tell you how many compound archers have told me "I tried traditional once and could not hit anything". The commitment required for traditional will always keep us out of the mainstream, Thank God! Welcome to Tradgang.
Ever since I met Fred Bear in person at an archery event when I was 14 years old back in 1964, I've always loved the mystique of trad archery, specifically "recurves".
I took to trad bowhunting like a duck takes to water.
I have hunted with a compound for 20 years and with these new bows felt comfortable taking a 60 yard shot. I got to the point that bow hunting lost its luster and challenge. Then I grabbed a recurve and started hunting with it. Talk about bringing back the challenge and excitement of the hunt and harvest. Something I haven't felt in a long time. Now I am making my own bows and that is even more exciting for me. I bought a new compound last winter because I thought I needed it. I haven't taken it out of the case since I brought it home.
...want a extra .."HIGH" take up ...PRIMITIVE BOWHUNTING !!!
Because stick bows are beautiful, and
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty," – that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. (John Keats)
It is not an obsession for me. I tried the wheelie thing for a good year. I simply transferred my FITA shooting form into the wheels. I got a kick out of shooting nice groups at 90 yards, the problem was that I ran into the same problem that I di when I tried using sights on a long fast shooting light weight recurve. The shooting style does not match my hunting style. Every year during the day the wheelie boys are running around 'scouting' with no bow in their hand. Last year two of the wheelie guys with no bows in their hands, bragged about the big bucks they jumped and then complained about the kid with a recurve they saw that was walking around instead of sitting in a tree. Apparently, since they did not have bows they were 'scouting' and since he did have a bow he was hunting, huge difference, duh. I don't know the name of that kid, but I did let him use my deer cart to haul a deer off the back end of the public land he was hunting. Modern hunting machines may take out some of idiot factor in shooting at standing targets, but it is a very restrictive and limited hunting method and no fun.
I shot trad and primitive archery from 1986 to 2004 when after I heckled a compound shooter to try my recurve he said only if you try my compound.. when I shot his compound i was completely blown away at the accuracy & power and went out that afternoon and bought the same bow so since 2002 I've shot both but the compound which for me has been mostly for putting meat in the freezer, 90% of the 3d's I have a stick.
the traditional bows are much more of a passion, I shoot them very well and I just plain enjoy them twice as much as any wheel bow, they are more fun and so much more laid back. on opening day I will have my new treadway black forest & treesharks but I usually mix a few different trad bows and selfbows so its how I feel in the morning on which bow comes out for the day,, when shotgun season starts and the pumpkin army shows up I then break out my compound.
Cause it wasn't traditional when I started shooting, it was just archery.. :D
Javi-best reason yet.
Murphy's Law, and the KISS principle.
WElcome!!!
FUN
Like Javi said... When I started, it was just archery!!! :bigsmyl:
1000s of years of history
tradition
robin hood
Fred bear
G Fred
pope
young
howard hill
simple
quiet
deadly
beautiful
arrows fly slow enough to see them in flight
light
magic
I first started as a kid back in the 50's when there was no such thing as a compound bow. Later, I got caught up in the boom of the rifle and stayed out of archery for a number of years. When I felt the urge to take up the bow again, I naturally reached for my recurve. Later, I transitioned to the longbow and have been shooting it almost exclusively since about 1990. I have shot a few compounds but just never really liked them. I just like the old ways, and not necessarily just in my hunting methods.
All of you describe, why Trad. very well !
QuoteOriginally posted by sawtoothscream:
i shoot both compounds and trad. i shot compounds for a long time befor ei even got serious into trad. the compound just got really boring to me and i wanted a change. Trad was like relearning how to shoot all over again and brought he fun back to archery. It just makes me more happy. I love the looks of a well crafted longbow and hw simple they are. Just something about it draws me in. I still like the compound but the longbow is by far more fun to shoot to me.
That`s how I feel after 18 months of compound shooting.
When I look at the other posts and even this one I know why traditional. I thought earlier it was obsession. I know it now to be passion.
WHY??????????
Because of all the why not reasons.
One word ( because).
I drive an old truck, I shoot old rifles, collect old wheel guns, and shoot recurves. It just fits. I just enjoy it.
Then there's that whole shaken thing when I kill a deer. It just doesn't happen all that much when I kill with something else.
Why? Suits me nicely.
QuoteOriginally posted by Javi:
Cause it wasn't traditional when I started shooting, it was just archery.. :D
Absolutely!!!! I have LBs, recurves, static recurves, a couple compounds, some beautiful milsurp rifles (some go back to 1876), a couple modern guns, a bunch of muzzle loaders.... etc., etc.
It's the hunting that is the passion, not necessarily the tools employed. Not to be mistaken for a passion to kill things. The hunting is all about the place, the time, the camp, the weather, the friends!
A buddy of mine once said "I don't do this (trad hunting) because it is easy; I do it because it is HARD!!!
I agree it is an obsession.
Bisch
On my side, I just can't shoot well with a sight and really love the feel of trad bows (recurve and longbows).
I build my arrows, the next step is the bow and then, maybe, primitive archery :D
Welcome! :wavey: