Just wondering how long you gangers been shooting trad?
3 years trad, and ever since the first time shooting arrows.
23 years
3 years trad. Before that 10 years with the training wheels.
Before that lots of shotguns and rifles. East and west US.
65 years.
21 years since my first "real" trad bow (a Zipper). I grew up with kids stick bows and my dad and uncle always had recurves around for me to gawk at!
Since the early 1950's except for a short time 1971 thru 1976 I did play with a com-com-com I can't even say it. In 1976 I went back to the longbow and I'm still loving it
Got my first recurve at 12 yrs old, a Pearson. Had a few others and some compounds over the next 9 years.
I got back into it pretty heavy in 1988, when i odered my first custom bow, a Brackenberry Legend recurve. Been buying and shooting ever since!
I've never really shot anything else.
Since 1958 . . . first archery deer permit in 1966.
3 years this coming april, 35 with a compound before that, still hunt with slug gun,rifle,muzzleloader, really love it all. The longbow is by far my favorite way to hunt though.
26 years
4 years deer hunting with a longbow. Been fortunate to get deer 3 of the 4 years. Shot alot with bow as a kid. Bought a compound a while back and sold it a week later. Seemed too complicated to me. All my other years of hunting have been with black powder and an old LC Smith. I Just like the old traditional stuff. But that's just me, it's all good :-)
20 years. I started in 1991. Only regret was the 5 years of using that gizmo with the training wheels before that. Oh well, I always was a slow learner!!! :knothead: :archer2: :dunno:
27 years.............
41 years.
Around 7 or 8 years and STILL crazy over it .
50 years minus the 3 when I was an impressionable teen and shot "one of those things", then came back to a Hill longbow.
Bought my first recurve in 1985. 26 years
41 years, first trad harvest 1972
26 years
Bought my first bow (Browning Nomad) on time payments from my paper route in 1963. Slipped over to the dark side 1976 to 1982 before clearing my head!
I shoot trad from 1989-1995. Then shoot a compound barebow until 2009. I was married and still was in school and working,it just seemed easier at the time I guess. I always keep my longbow and recurve around and would still shoot here and there. I always new I was going to switch back it just took longer than I thought.
On and off for about 15years, can't seem to pick trad over wheels or the other way around lol
Been shooting trad since 1962, except for the years of 1976-1980, when I shot compounds.So 45 years ,there abouts.
22 years
31 year
7 years. Started shooting in 04 and have never hunted with a compound again.
18 years and counting...
15 years.......
Shot a recurve as a kid cause that's all there was. Bought a compound when I decided I wanted to hunt with a bow although I did ask the shop owner if they had any recurves(they didn't) bought an old recurve from a newspaper classified add practiced on and off with it for about 3years before deciding I wanted to use a recurve to kil just one deer.
Been 20 some odd years and never had a desire to shoot a compound again.
43 years. Killed my first deer with a Herter's recurve in 1976. Never got interested in the compound thing although I did own one for a couple months in the late 1970's.
Got my first bow about the time I was 9, am 53 now.
I was trad before trad was cool
1st bought recurve in 1966
Figure Im 17 now. Subtract about two years for being to small. So right around 15 years. :goldtooth:
Schafer
Twenty years plus.
6 years total plus a few years or so when I was a kid.
Just started my 3rd year in October.
My Dad bought my first Hoyt recurve in the early 70's. I bought my first recurve a SKY Sky Hawk TD (Earl Hoyt) in 1994.
Doesn't really seem that long ago but it started 27 years ago with a Ben Pearson Mustang. Still in love.
I still have that "first love" hanging on the wall.
Eric
Since I was 12 (1965).
6 Great short years.
About 20 years. My first longbow a Leon Stewart. A very good friend took me over to Leon's shop and that started it all.
Proud to say all my life, well since I was old enough to pull a bow (maybe 5 or 6). I'm 25 now.
25 years or +.
6 years and i dont see an end in site
52 Years, and have never owned or shot a cable gun.
Ive been doing the trad. thing for nearly 35 yrs,and i wouldnt trade a minute of it.All the good friends made and all the good times had in this obession have made it a wonderfull journey. :campfire:
This is my second year. I am completely addicted. I used to work in an archery shop where all we sold was compounds. I still have nightmares about being back there.
Started out for the first 6 years with Bear recurves. 17 years wheels, then back to Trad for the last 17 years.
Wow, this is an interesting thread. Some of these guys have shot a long time!!
I been shooting traditional gear for two years. I actually picked up a friend's recurve at our archery lanes in early December 2009. Although I couldn't hit diddly (and still can barely hit diddly), I had a blast. I had my own 'curve by the end of that same month and been hooked ever since.
I am absolutely loving traditional archery and will probably never resort back to a compound. I have been jumping back and forth between 'curves and longbows.
54 years
I got my first recurve in 1973.
Never not been trad. Got my first bow (54 Pearson) out of Grandma's closet around age 5. So that makes it around 30 years.
8 years now with recurves and wood arrows, 12 years with compounds before that. I shot little tiny glass recurves when i was young at my great uncles farm, and at the local Y, and when i was in cub scouts but im not counting that.
Bout 5 weeks, but love it so far.
Got my first stick and string in 1968. It was a good year.
1956 and still have that first Ben Pearson longbow.
well this is really my first year, but I have shot some over the years.
Just about 3 years now.
And now 1 recurve, 2 longbows, and 2 succesful selfbows, and 2 unsuccesful selfbows later!!!
I am Hooked. :)
Since before it was called trad archery, about 55 years.
Since about 1972.
6 years.
Bill
Since 1989.
5 years.
Never been anything else!
58 years. It was the only kind of archery then. "trad" archery had not been invented yet! I shot compounds and sticks for a few years in the '70's but did not enjoy the wheel thing very much.
I admire you guys who started with wheels and then went to sticks. Much harder than learning sticks as a kid like I an many others here did.
Never shot anything else... at least 25 years...But that doesn't meen much... Still have to work on things!!
47 years.
My first bow was a Ben Pearson longbow in 1955. Did shoot a compound during the mid 70s to late 80s though.
Since 1977
37 years
Started around '76 as a kid, bought my first wheels in '89 and sold the last one in 2002. So I guess that would make 22 yrs with the traditional gear. Although I had a lot of successful years with the compound I really got tired of the tinkering and drifted back because of the challenge.
Not that long only 47 years. Never did use a compound.
1977 or 78
50 weeks
Trad only? just a few months.
Trad in general....about 4 years
First Year 2005, Last Year w/Wheels 2004
About 40 years never had a compound
started traditional 40 years ago, went to the other way for about ten years and have been totally trad for the last 15 .......
Started shooting a Bear in 1969 too 1978. Then injuries prevented shooting my 75# bow.
Doctors said that I could not shoot a bow again. Tried shooting wheels in 2001-2005.
Tried shooting a friends long bow mid 2005 , 50# @ 28", no problems. Been shooting almost every day since. Best times since.
Started out with a Ben Pearson recurve in 1980, but got sidetracked by Onieda until April 1996 when I got my Legend Longbow from Jim Johnson of MO. I sure wish he was still making them. I would like to have one in the 48-50 lb range. I had my then toddler son's name inscribed on it and he will be receiving it for Christmas in a few days.
This is my second season of not shooting a compound. I'll still pick up a rifle in some cases or to get a deer.
I don't get to hunt much, but am totally addicted to this trad thing. Still looking to let an arrow loose out of my bow.
Tried to sell the wheelie bow, but no one wants it. :dunno:
started in 66,shoveled a lot of snow to get my kodiak back then. Tried one of those other things never looked back.
28 years and counting.
I´m just a baby. Just completed one year. Have a lot of things to learn.
Started in 1957 or 58, shot until 1974 then again in 1996, spined my first deer, went to a wheeled bow and then came back to my roots about three years ago and will never look back.
Over a year now. I've decided I no longer like compounds. They aren't for me.
Twenty years!!! :thumbsup:
Late 70's.
24yrs and counting!
Well, I started shooting a bow before there was anything else. I had a compound when they came out, and was impressed with the speed, but it was like dragging a bicycle around. Long story short, about 55-60 years or so.
This is 20 years of taking it serious.
19 years, never owned a compound, started with a Bear Black Panther when I was 15.
From about 1963 to 1980. Tried a compound. Back to sightless stickbows from 1983 to present. Sooo.
45 years or so. ;-)
I guess this makes my 25th season.
Since 1961....
I did shoot a wheel bow for 3 or 4 years in the late '70's..
Solid, since 1990.
Since 1998. 14 years as an archer. All 14 as a trad archer. Tried a compound a few times just to say I did.
Shot compound and recurve about 15 years. Stickbows only the last 22 years.
Since 1971. Shot stick bows from the very beginning.
about 20
Trad only for the last 18 years. Bow hunted for 33.
My dad got me a 20# lemonwood longbow for me on my eight birthday. I turned 68 last week=60 years.
18 years but I haven't hunted yet, only shot at paper, foam and garbages left by some stupid people.
as long as there's been country! :D
Shot compound for 25yrs.
Bought a Wes Wallace last December..got it in June.
Haven't touched my compound since last year.
I'm here to stay.
Not quite a year, after 10 years compounding. But there was a 20 year gap between the start of that and a decade of trad archery.
One of the best things about coming back to trad (and there are a bunch) is that shooting instinctive is lot easier for older eyes, at least mine. I can focus on the target and don't have to worry about a fuzzy pin viewed through a peep.
ALWAYS
Since I was 5, so 44 years. There were a few years I shot both, but only because the wheel bow was given to me for free. I never liked how temperamental it was.
One year this November and loving it.
About 5 years and loving it. I have 1 wheel bow and the only reason I keep it is because my wife gave it to me for Christmas in 1980, the year our daughter was born.
Traditional since 2005 (not counting as a kid) still working on my apprenticeship but have had a lot of fun doing it.
56 years and counting
3 years
Total would be 10 years.
I started out shooting a home made Hicory Longbow my grandfather made me in 1979 then later on my Bear Super Grizly that was a total of 7 years.
Recently I returned to my roots & relearned what I had forgotten & have been having the best time shooting ever since.
Been 3 years since I refused to shoot anything that has training wheels on it.
3 years nine months, went from rifle to longbow.
Not into it yet, but trying. I've been compound bowhunting for about 8 years, but I got the itch to start shooting a trad bow when I found the "Bowyer" shop at my local Renaissance Festival this year. Anyhow, I'm looking to purchase a longbow soon.
BTW- this is my first post, so howdy to all you fine folks!
Not quite a half a century yet but I'll be there real soon...and still learning.
God Bless, Pierre
I wouldn't say I'm 100% trad just yet. I did 2010 season carry it the entire year, but ended up skunked. This year I filled the freezer with two does with that 'other bow' before I went back to the trad bow. My wife likes deer meat too much so I need to keep her happy1
But, I picked up the trad bow in 2009. '10 I hunted the entire season with my trad bow. I sold the compound that year and went all trad.
Now I'm doing both, but hopefully next year back to all trad. I need a place that I can shoot in my yard. Right now, I need to travel 10 miles or so to shoot and seem to spend more time fishing in the summer than before.
Since before it had the word "trad" or "traditional" associated with it!
On and off since 1976, 35yrs. Bought my first bow (diamond Howatt #45 recurve) from Northwest archery. Didn't have any idea at the time that Glen St Charles and his sons owned the place. Though I've hunted with rifle, handguns, compounds it's the draw of simplicity that keeps bringing me back to the tradional gear. The last year has been fun as I've picked up the longbow for the first time.
20 years and still loving it.
49 years
QuoteOriginally posted by hayslope:
Since before it had the word "trad" or "traditional" associated with it!
Yep.....me too.
51 years give or take.
Started in 1967 with trad, went mechanical for 4 years, then back to trad, so that would be 40 out of 44 years.
45 years give or take on or two
1 yr, but I'll be around to drag this thread out in 30 years. I hope.
When I was seven my uncle helped me make a bow out of a hickory sapling and some split ash arrows. That was about 40 years ago.
1980
Like many others Uh.......Whats trad ?Its always been a bow to me,its been that way I think for 30,000 years,why recently the name change ?
Just over 2 years now, and totally obsessed, well thats what my wife say's!!
20 plus.
38 years-always trad.
Almost 50 years, but there has been and continues to be a lot of compound shooting too.
June.... The first time I shot a longbow was when I was choosing one from the store in which it was purchased. I was a little embarrassed, actually.... I just shot my compound a few weeks ago just to see what it was like. I have no intentions of going back- ever.
Already have two groundhogs and a doe under the belt, too.
I shoot just about every day- it has really changed my life.
Went back in '93....so 18 years.
I started out with a recurve. Shot it for 5 years. Started shooting a compound for aboyt 10 years. Got back into traditional last January. Going to sell both my compounds now to buy a lot of traditional tackel.
Started with an 8 - 10# lemon-wood longbow in 1953. Shot recurves from mid-'50's until 2002. Now I'm back to longbows.
Since 1968, when I got my first Little Bear.
Started hunting in the mid 70's with a Browning Safari 2. Shot my first deer with a Hoyt Hunt Master i think in 82. Bought my first custom bow an Assenheimer in the late 80's. Been hunting for about 34 years with trad equipment and only 2 years with a compound.
20+ years since I tossed the wheels. Never looked back.
Threw the wheels away in 1992. Been Trad shooting ever since and have not look back. Still love the romance of the longbow and wood arrows . :archer2:
29 years since I last shot wheels. The first bow I got was an American Archery Cheeta. I think it was 60" 75# @ 28". It stacked like the devil at my draw length, which was over 29". Got this deer with it:
(http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii185/finnish-archer/ArcheryPhotos/FirstBookBlacktail.jpg)
Four years, but the last 2 1/12 has been where it has started to really consume me. I'm sure no one knows what I'm talking about:)
I'm 49, been shooting traditional bows since I was 5 or 6 (still have it, a York green glass bow). I had a 2 season experiment with compounds when I was about 23-24....
As an aside, i still have every recurve I had growing up. The Bear Tigercat I used on my first real hunting day (I was 12) still hangs on my wall.
Nearly 15 years.
Got my first Longbow in November 1990. Never have shot a compound and don't even want to try.
Started with a Pearson Couger around 1967. First hunted big game with it in 1970--killed the first live deer I ever saw with that bow in Oct. 1970. (I didn't live in deer country).
Hunted with recurves until 1975. Left with most bowhunters that year for the next 26 years. I spent the 2001 season with a Fox High Sierra curve. Went back to my modern ways from 2002 until 2010. This season marks my 2nd year of committed return to recurve bows.
I've 'missed' only one year of bowhunting since I started BG hunting in 1970. I 'boycotted' the 1991 Kansas season the last year I lived there.
Long before it was called "trad" and before they had "wheels". Next year will be my 50th year bowhunting with recurves.
I lost the wheels in 1994. Still feels great.
Since I missed a slam dunk shot with a compound. About 12 years. I find trad gear more reliable than all the gizmos on a compound. Nothing to get out of whack.
Back when it was normal,late sixes.
50+ years (but who's counting?). Never heard it called "trad" till I came here.
43 years. Back then it was just archery.
10 years. Been hunting 11 only had training weels for one year.
Started in 69 and lost my way in the desert, but not for 40 years, and found my way back to the promised land. The grass grows greener for me on this side of the mountain.
Made the switch when my Dad did in 1995. I was thirteen then. Had two compounds and shot them on and off but always had Trad bows. First was a 40# Shakespeare. So 16 years now.
42 years and counting. Love shooting my longbows. Trad Bows are only bows I have ever shot.
Off and on since I was 8 (and I'm 42 now), but all trad since the turn of the century (almost 12 years...).
Can't remember when I started I have always shot a bow started shoot a compound when I was 17. Was reborn Traditional in 2009 I will be 47 in January 2012 Life is good thank you Lord and everyone that has give me thier help.
40 WONDERFULL AND FRUITFULL YEARS!!
Hopefully many, many more!!
Archer since 1973, totally trad since 1981.....
Been shooting traditional since 1995.
UH, forever! 46 years now.
Since before trad was fad. :D Let's see....about 50 years I'd guess.
Well let me see I'm 53 years old so I guess 53 and at least 10 months I strayed for a little bit but I came back to my roots of trad.