Any other people here without friends that shoot trad gear?
None of my hunting buddies are even remotely interested in taking up traditional archery. And, I'm yet to be lucky enough to meet anyone locally who is.
The only source of like minded people I have is you guys here at tradgang.
Just wonder how many others don't have a network of trad friends?
Ken
I hear you my friend, Ive got 2 co-workers that shoot trad. but they are 2 hrs away, but none in my local area. Its all good though, i just choose to enjoy my time with my wheelie buds and continue to enjoy my traditional gear, and with time they may cross over, but its highly unlikely since trad. requires more dedication. Since you, as I, are the only ones who shoot trad. in our local areas, that kind of makes us ambassadors of our sport, hone your skills and impress upon them that all the bells and whistles are not needed . Some will see the light and some, not so much. We all choose the traditional path for our own reasons, and those reasons are good enough for me to cling tight to gear and the journey I have chosen to take, shoot straight and enjoy the ride.
Paul
Ken I didn't till I came here. Till then I was the only trad guy I knew. Everyone else shot the other bows so I know what you mean. Spent my whole life being the "backwards" hunter but I got more out of it than they did. There words not mine. :archer:
I was lucky, we have quite a few here. We try and shoot some techno hunt every Wednesday.
Also belong to a trad archery club.
So far I am the only one I know of. I told my buddy that this year my plan is to hunt 100% trad and he just looked at me and shook his head. He is all about big antlers, while I am looking to shoot a few deer and have fun. I hope to prove to him that I can get one with my recurve.
great stuff, moleman.
very well said. kinda reminded me of the apostle paul's outlook.
joe
Im fortunate to have at least 10 friends that shoot trad only. My brother got started 2 years after me. He loves it and sold his wheel bow the same year. We hunt together and it makes it nice to have a hunting partner with the same views.
i feel ya man, ive always been a loner. i dont really have any friends that shoot trad gear. i have a couple of guys that i call my friends(dont know what they call me) that shoot trad gear and have helped me out with somethings but they live so far away, that we can never shoot together. and one of them owns their own trad shop so he is always to busy! if we live closer i would shoot with you everyday!!! take care my friend.
In the last 4-5 years my wife has switched to trad and my sons are getting old enough to shoot with me. I have also met a bunch of great people through tradgang and hang out with a few on a regular basis. Pretty lucky in that aspect.
That said, In that time none of my old hunting buddies have shown any intrest. I try not to sweat the small stuff but it seems we grow farther apart every year. I dont keep up with the new wheel gear doo-dads and they think a flemish twist is a new kind of chewing tobacco.
I would love to be around more like minded people but that is also what makes this place so special.
Rob
Yep you know your alone when your local BassPro
store still has the one and only non wheel bow, a martin recurve they started with six years ago..
I always go it alone. I know there are trad guys in this general area, bu I've never met them. No wheel bow friends either. Just me.
I would guess that if most trad hunters could use guns, they would choose the trad bow. Give that option to wheelie hunters, and the majority would use guns. Part of the sport is just putting more horns on the wall or meat in the freezer. It's ok, but for me it's the quest and satisfaction of challenging myself to do it this way, meat or no meat, horns or no horns. Some of my most memorable hunts have been kills, and as many have been misses and I still smile when I think about them.
I have a friend that took it up and transitioned to trad last year, but it either seems to happen when someone just clicks with trad, or they are good hunters who have put enough meat in the freezer to need a challenge.
Got several around here buddies that shoot trad around here. I even Let rob hang out with me once in a while LOL
I got to get me some of that new baccer bud
I have no buddies in my town that shoot trad. I shoot all the time by my self. Gets kinda lonely. I have a few friends an hours drive from me that I meet up with at trad events. I deer and turkey hunt with my uncle, cousins and one or two friends that barely bow hunt Or strictly gun hunt. My dad lives across the country and we only get to hunt together once or twice a year normally. He is a avid bowhunter but shoots a compound but its fun when we hunt together cause we are always the guys With the bows! It's kinda cool cause they are aleayse asking me about my bows or arrows. My trad gear is a conversation starter in camp. And they really think its cool if I kill a deer. this forum is awesome and I love It here! If I didn't have this site to get on and learn from all you geat people I wouldnt be as far as I am in my trad journey .
I'm by myself, too. There are other Tradgangers around, but I just haven't met up with them. The few fellows I do hunt with are gun and compound users. I find great excitement in hunting off the ground and getting as close as I can.
They get the same feeling using treestands and shooting something from 200 yards away. They want the odds in their favor as much as possible and like to shoot tons of game. I like the added challenge of shooting a longbow and am content to take one or two deer a year, a turkey, and maybe a hog or two.
I don't think they quite get it that a fat doe or a young buck taken with a longbow means more to me than some of the big bucks I've taken in the past with a rifle or compound. They do seemed genuinely amazed that I actually do keep my freezer full. They just can't get over how light my gear is, or how quiet it is.
One buddy has a bow, and I think he'd like to be proficient enough to hunt with it, but he doesn't have the time to devote to practice.
There isn't many traditional shooters in my area, but have friends that I met at 3d's and such that shoot compounds. They treat me alright and respect me so I reciprecate. However when it comes to practice or hunting I look at it as a solidary sport and prefer that way.
You can have all of the trad fellas from my area, many of them are ner do well, no count, hoodlums who put off cutting grass, painting their homes and other domestic responsibilities to shoot 3ds and hunt. They are a general bad influence and I do my best to avoid them so that I may stay on a righteous path. :p
Closest guys are an hour + away. We meet up for shoots, but dont hang out much besides that. Too far, too little time.
I do see a few trad guys while hunting though. Maybe one or two a year.
I am lucky to live in an area with several other Trad Archery folk. I have shot with them and was very lucky to find a very knowledgeable friend that to this day helps me without me asking.
I have a club that I belong to with several other trad archers. we have gotten together but it only lasts a couple of weeks. Then everyone is busy and may not show up on the day scheduled. Trying to make it or pull it together if difficult.
I have friends that I hunt and shoot with that use wheel bows. They look at my bow and say how beautiful it is but could never shoot trad gear. I think it comes down to commitment. They like to put is down until the following deer season and then pick it up again.
This kind of makes it difficult to hang out with them as I am shooting all year round.
In the end, if I don't make an hour drive to where other trad archers are, I am alone and have this forum. I have it better then some of the commenting in this thread but still shoot alone most of the time.
Martin
VA is the the 7th state I've lived in over the last 18 years. So I generally shoot and hunt alone. On the other hand, I'm very lucky in that every September I spend two weeks with my Dad and my best friend chasing elk and mulies with our longbows. And 2 out of 3 seasons my brother-in-law joins the three of us with his recurve.
Not much of anything close to me, bout 20 miles to the closest store. But that's why I'm here I can't stand crowds and traffic.
I use to shoot a lot of Field Round Tournaments in several different states back in the mid an late 60's and enjoyed that. However, I've always been a loner and enjoy going my own way when the mood hits me.
I've been shooting Trad. by myself since 1957, now thanks to this sight I am finally learning about archery what I use to do naturally or instinctively.
Don't worry, you will meet others who don't follow the crowed, did you try going to any trad shoots ?
Hey Izzy,sounds like i'd fit right in with your buddies,LOL. :biglaugh: :archer2:
Pretty much the same here, but due to work and family have not made a lot of effort to go to shoots (most of which are 3 hours or more away - much stronger groups in S. La.). I've gotten a few people interested - just none taking the plunge. The most negative thing for me is not sharing in all the gear talk with a couple compound friends, and them thinking that I look down on them a bit, which makes it different than it used to be.
I've learned most of what I know from books, this site, and practice (trial and error).
BUT, a lot of times archery is needed alone, recharge time, so I don't always mind.
i am fortunate to know some of the most outstanding members of trad gang that all live within an hour drive from my home. John Dill of Aneewakee archery, Batman (Don Batten), Woodcock and family, the Kodiak kid ( Paul Mills), and the most kind hearted of all our own Bernie Dunn ( the dino wrangler). these people are an inspiration to me. Each individual mentioned has something to offer the trad archery world. I am proud to bring up the rear in this group, and i look foward to being able to shoot with them all again. they have changed my life. rv
I don't have any friends or family that shoot traditional. I got into archery, though, after messing around with my brother-in-law's wheelie bow; I actually took my first deer with his bow before going full traditional.
I don't try to pressure anyone else into shooting traditional, though it would be fun to have someone else around that did it. My bro-in-law only hunts with a bow during bow season here (which is about a month long) and then uses a rifle the rest of the season; I use a bow the entire deer season. Most other hunters I know are way too much into the "TV hunting" stuff -- they think the latest and greatest gadgets are a must-have, that you can't hit anything without satellite navigation to your target and arrows designed by German scientists.
Try explaining shooting "instinctive" to someone like that; they look at you like a dog shown a card trick, heh. Still, everyone I've ever discussed archery with has always been open and receptive if not willing to try it out themselves (I was on a ram hunt a few months ago with 9 people, all rifle hunters, yet they thought my Toelke Whip was the coolest thing since sliced bread, was great fun discussing archery with them -- should've seen the looks on their faces when I non-chalantly said, "20 yards is my max range, I like to get in close", haha).
I just honestly think they feel it is too hard and takes too much time, which I can't disagree with; it took a lot of practice to get any good and it is something you have to be very passionate about.
The guys I hunt with are all compound users. One keeps saying that he needs to hunt with a recurve, but I haven't seen it happen yet. At least they don't give me grief about using trad gear, and actually talk like they respect me for doing it.
QuoteOriginally posted by centaur:
The guys I hunt with are all compound users. One keeps saying that he needs to hunt with a recurve, but I haven't seen it happen yet. At least they don't give me grief about using trad gear, and actually talk like they respect me for doing it.
X2
Personally, I think you are as alone as you want to be. If you want to be a loner, go for it - there are many times I want to be too.
When I got back into traditional archery 3 years ago I knew only two guys still shooting trad, everyone else was a compounder. I bought my first longbow from a guy on craigslist who turned into one of my best friends. From there I attended a trad bunny shoot, joined the Wis trad archers, going to as many shoots as I could including Comptons. I still shoot daily in my yard, alone, but talk to at least one or two buddies almost daily about traditional archery. We plan shoots, hunts or just BS.
If you want friends in traditional archery make an effort, go out of your way to go to shoots or other events and it won't take long. Every guy/gal you meet will have at least one and sometimes many other friends.
Just in Wisconsin we have 400 or more members in our WTA. I don't know them all but every event I meet a few more.
most of us in this area are traditional, meaning recurve/long bows and wood arrows, but no shooting clubs. More just kind of practice on your own and get together to hunt now and then with 1 or 2 others. Trad. archery vs. modern much like trad. muzzleloading vs. modern. I think we have more fun!!
Overspined I have to disagree with you when you said most compound bow hunters would shoot a gun in place of their bow. I do shotgun/muzzle loader hunt and enjoy that as well. I do not get need the satisfaction or amount of fun from hunting with a gun as I do my compound. I am learning to shoot trad bows but at thus point I wouldn't feel comfortable hunting with a trad bow due to my woeful innacuracy. I will continue to hunt with my compound up until the point that I no longer enjoy it, and hopefully by that time I will feel proficient enough with my trad skill to hunt with that.
QuoteOriginally posted by centaur:
The guys I hunt with are all compound users. One keeps saying that he needs to hunt with a recurve, but I haven't seen it happen yet. At least they don't give me grief about using trad gear, and actually talk like they respect me for doing it.
x3
QuoteOriginally posted by Pete McMiller:
Personally, I think you are as alone as you want to be. If you want to be a loner, go for it - there are many times I want to be too.
When I got back into traditional archery 3 years ago I knew only two guys still shooting trad, everyone else was a compounder. I bought my first longbow from a guy on craigslist who turned into one of my best friends. From there I attended a trad bunny shoot, joined the Wis trad archers, going to as many shoots as I could including Comptons. I still shoot daily in my yard, alone, but talk to at least one or two buddies almost daily about traditional archery. We plan shoots, hunts or just BS.
If you want friends in traditional archery make an effort, go out of your way to go to shoots or other events and it won't take long. Every guy/gal you meet will have at least one and sometimes many other friends.
Just in Wisconsin we have 400 or more members in our WTA. I don't know them all but every event I meet a few more.
Pete I have a different take. I didn't take up traditional hunting to replace my friends or hunting buddies...It is not that other folks aren't fun to meet - that is all good. I am very busy and I like my current friends. They don't shoot traditional so I shoot my bow and they shoot theirs and we go hunt.
Try this link I found on this website under "State Trad Bowhunting Orgs". It's got trad bowhunting places in your state:
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=83;t=000008
Go to one of their shoots and you can meet other like-minded people and have a great time as well. Oh yeah, and you may just make new trad friends too.
Don't get me wrong. I'm perfectly happy doing this on my own terms. I do know, though, that without the members of tradgang, I would probably have only lasted a few months in the sport.
One of the guys I hunt with is intrigued with traditional archery, but I really don't expect he'll even make the leap far enough to even purchase a bow. Me being a southpaw doesn't help any...LOL...all my stuff is backwards for them.
It'll be great if it happens....it'll be great if it doesn't...as long as I'm able to do it on my terms, then I'll be fine. This year, I plan on trad hunting only (with the exception of a couple of state park hunts that don't allow archery gear). A kill would be great, but, I've been successful over the years and am at the point that I'm ready to enjoy the hunt.
Ken
I feel your pain. All my friends insist on rifles. One even told me once, "I dont think i'd ever be a good enough hunter to get close enough, let alone kill anything with a bow and arrow" I think thats big underlying reason for alot of people. They want to be killers not hunters, and they wont put the time or effort into becoming a good hunter bottom line.
Just me!
I have four friends and my son who shoot recurves (two shoot a longbow).
There are also two hot-spots of recurve and longbow shooting groups within 30-45 minutes from me. \\
Definitely alone in my journey here!
Back in the late 70's and early 80's when I would go to 3D shoots, I would shoot in the bare bow glass and I don't recall any one else shooting a longbow or recurve except for me. All my friends that I hunted with shot compounds and still do. I consider myself a bow hunter and find that I don't agree with 90% of the values of most hunters no matter what they call themselves.
I used to be in a good position to find out who was trad and found a good half dozen of us here in this isolated valley. The voters privatized me out of my business though, so I'm kind of on the beach. Got everybody's name and phone number though.
I am flying solo too, trying to learn what i can from the guys on this forum. i am in the process of buying my first bow, a LH Toelke Lynx. Found a great deal on stickbows classifieds.