After being indicted into traditional archery some 30 plus yrs ago by a wonderful old gentleman and being told by many that i would soon lose interest......im still at it these many yrs later with a great passion.
What is it that compels us to follow this wonderful path?
There are many other options that we could choose that would surely be more successful in terms of bringing home the game, but instead we choose the path and journey of traditional archery.
It takes time, practice, frustration and patients to be successful with our choice of weapons,... but we still do it!
What is it that draws you down this wonderful traditional path? :campfire:
When I decided some years ago, after many years away from the sport, I was living in the world of a high paced computer programmer. I wanted to get low-tech in my hobbies, so I stayed with traditional equipment. It was relaxing to return to something more slow paced and conceptually simple than all the gadgetry I saw with wheelie bows. It was a good choice. I may not be a great archer, but I enjoy myself, which what really counts.
It's fun....that pretty much sums it up. I hunted with a compound for years but I never shot it nearly as much as I shoot my trad bows. I love just going out in the yard and flinging a few arrows. It never gets old. I missed a very nice buck this year at less than ten yards and that can be quite frustrating. However, when I shot compound I missed a deer or two as well. I don't think it lessens your chances of bringing home game, depending on where you hunt. Here in Ohio most shots are pretty close (10-15 yds) so it really does not matter what weapon you are using.
:archer:
A few years ago when I bought my first trad bow, bear grizzly, it was because my compound got stolen out of my truck. I didn't have money to replace any of my techy stuff that got stolen, so I went to my shop and got what I could to keep shooting. I figured I would shoot my Grizzly until I saved up enough to get a new compound. But wouldn't ya know it I found I actually enjoyed trad more. I think it was because I came from shooting target wheel bows where I was always stressing over getting that X. It got to the point where it wasn't as fun because I would get really upset if I was having an off day. But with my trad bows, I'm more relaxed, I just enjoy shooting. If I don't hit that X I don't stress about it because with my longbows and recurves I don't expect to be a perfect shot like I did with my wheel bows. Plus, any bow of quality, is truly a beautiful work of art that you just don't find in more modern compound equipment. Whoo! Sorry for the long post
It's hard to put into words. I got tired with all the bells and whistles and ever year something new with the compounds. It became a if you have money then you can have the best.
Over 25 years ago I grabbed a recurve and haven't looked back and couldn't be happier. When I shoot a trad. bow and get a bad/good shot I know it's me. Even on bad days it's still way more fun then shooting a compound. Simplicity at it's best. Youve got to love it.
Its a fun thing for me. I shot compounds for a long tome. Then did a lot of both, and finally realized I just simply enjoyed traditional archery many times over more then my compound, so its all I shoot. Funny, the part I liked about compounds wasn't the hunting and success, it was checking out all the new stuff every year, and shooting the new bows. Strange huh? And while I can say I don't have the desire to shoot the new ones anymore, I do find myself listening when guys who do say what they think of new compounds. They're not for me, but still interesting. I think shooting a bull elk with a traditional bow ruined any chance the world ever had of seeing me playing with a compound, just such a life altering ordeal for me.
I started as a youngster and now I'm 64, it keeps the child in me alive ..... :jumper: :archer2:
Whittler, i think for me a lot of what you say holds true for me as well. I think a lot of it is knowing that the shot is all dependent on me and my set up, and the enjoyment of always striving to be better at shooting as well as hunting is a never ending goal.
I started in 79 with a 58 Bear Alaskan. I did the compound for a couple of years but a Recurve always seemed like the right way to do it. I did hunt a couple of years with a couple of vintage Bears after the compounds.
I drifted away from archery for a few years and made up my mind I was going to bowhunt again with a recurve in 91. I had a young family and tons of bills so I saved $10 a week to buy a new Martin Hunter while working with Bingham bow done in high school. I've been with traditional bowhunting ever since.
The way I feel roaming the mountains with a stickbow in hand really can't be explained, its just right.
The word that comes to mind for me is probably the "Romance" of Traditional archery. The feeling of holding a wooden bow, the history behind traditional archery, thinking about the legends like Fred Bear, Pope and Young, Howard Hill. All of them got it done with a stick and string.
And theres also the simplicity factor that we all love. Even though I'm only 22 I like to consider myself old school, I love old bear bows, and old black widows, and razorheads. I like wearing plaid and wool for my camo. And I love 80s Rock! :cool: Most guys my age dont understand it, but I couldn't be happier shooting Trad and that will never change :thumbsup:
its Old School!! I love the sheer beauty and simplicity of it.
Simple and fun . Love to shoot , try to just about every day .
Quiet, simple, the fun of crafting and fletching wood arrows.
I made my first kill when I was anout 11 on my Grandpa's farm with a fiberglass selfbow. I just love a stickbow . . . though I have a preferance for recurves.
Short of strangling an animal barehanded I can't thing of a more "fair chase" method of hunting. It is the perfect way to hunt the perfect game - whiteteil deer.
Tranquility,pure and simple.
I've never been a big fan of gadgets. I grew up in southeast Alaska and hunted only with a rifle. I always had an interest in bowhunting but compounds never appealed to me. And there were no trad hunters in the small town I come from. I lived in CO, WY, ID, CA, OR, and WA and l always just hunted with a rifle. And waterfowl, grouse, and ptarmigan were what I enjoyed the most. Moose hunting was back breaking work to fill the freezer along with the salmon an halibut. Since moving to ND, where 97% of the state is private owned, I had to learn a whole new style of hunting. I laughed the first time I saw people "pushing a shelter belt" I told the guy I was with that "they're bird hunting deer" there are just so many people out road hunting, pushing, glassing and sniping that I got extremely frustrated. There were people everywhere. And with very limited hunting land I was ready to end my hunting altogether. Except for waterfowl and pheasant. But I had always wanted to shoot traditional. So, being 34 years old, frustrated with the large number of people and the limited public land being swarmed in rifle season, I bought a longbow in September of this year. I plan on shooting, and learning until next fall when I will feel I have enough skill to go after deer. I didn't want to go this year being that I still can't shoot well enough for me to feel comfortable trying to harvest an animal. So, with practice, patience and some help from the Big Guy Upstairs, maybe next year I will harvest my first ever whitetail, and I'll do so with my longbow. I might put in for a rifle tag too, for an extra option of putting meat in the freezer, but I have to admit that my main focus an goal will be my first trad kill. Than maybe a trip home to hunt moose with the family, but with a longbow.
Being outside in a the beatiful nature and being able to shooth very accurate with socalled primitive gear.
See how your home-made woodies have a breath-taking flight.
Enjoy the beautiful traditional bows with the beautiful veneers and woods.
Enjoy the speed of the more reflexed traditional bows.
Being able to hit something at bigger distances without any sights, just shooting instinctive.
Always wondering what the next bow will be you buy.
Always developing the perfect set-up.
And this great forum ofcourse...
"...What is it that draws you down this wonderful traditional path?"
The simplicity and nostalgia of the stick and string, and the positive spirit of every traditional archer I have met...
For me, the French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery stated it well -
"A simplification of means and an elevation of ends is the goal"
The challenge- all the effort that goes into making the perfect shot and then it happens and your like, now I just need to do that all time.
The Tradition- Having a kinship with the legends and a generational timeline that goes back a hundred or more years, that quite possibly the feeling I have or get was shared by the Thompson brothers, pope and yound, bear and Hill.
The Substance- Having an ability that cannot not be taken away nor stolen. Like martial arts once mastered will always be with you, may get slower, may need the rust lubed, but you still got it.
Majestic- The beauty of the bow's, the color of the woods. The flight of a woodened feather shaft sailing effortlessly through the air.
The Legacy- This one is big to me! Passing on the passion, love and capabilities of the art. Introducting a person to traditional archery and bowhunting. Seeing there face light up and the exploritory questions they ask, bringing back memories. Knowing that when I am dead and gone, that just a slight piece of me will always be hear, as they too pass the tourch on with, "one time this old guy told me..."
Quote.What is it that draws you down this wonderful traditional path?
"The Love Of Archery" by Ron LaClair
What is there about this simple thing that captivates us so
It's only a simple stick and string, it's only a simple bow
Is it the feel of the bow in your hand when you draw it to your face
using your strength to bend the limbs, sending the arrow on it's race
Is it the sight of the feathered shaft as it flys straight to it's mark
or is it the soft low hum of the bow that is music to your heart
Is it the sight of a white tail buck as seen over top of the shaft
Is it the thrill as you kneel by him and know he is your's at last.
Is it the Archers of long ago that speak to you still today
Is it the feelings that fill your heart when you hear what they have to say
It's all of this and even more, it's clear for all to see
It's the love we have for archery... the way it was meant to be.
The essence of archery by Ron LaClair
The stick and string will always be
the essence of true archery
a simple bow of wood or glass
with classic lines as in the past
arrows fletched with turkey wings
give voice to shafts and make them sing
There's something about the arrows arch
as it leaves the bow to find it's mark
it stirs the soul like nothing might
when eye and hand guide arrows flight
It's path is beauty to the eye
the thrill will linger til the next will fly
Who knows what stirs our passion so
this love to shoot a simple bow
we only know it's deep within
our very being, untill life will end.
The Legacy ...by Ron LaClair
In days of old when Knights were slain
with iron tipped arrows through mail of chain
And Indians,.. on horseback who,...
shot buffalo, through and through.
The bow and arrow of days gone by
lives still today through you and I,
For every time we take a breath..
for every heart beat in our chest..
For every time we loose the string
to send the feathered shaft to wing..
We keep the spirit of the bow..
alive...so all today will know..
THIS is the kind of archery
passed down to us through history,
and It's up to us, you and I,
to keep this Legacy alive,
So teach a child to shoot a bow,
then watch the joy within him grow,
and someday when he is a man..
he'll surely pass it on again.
We share our love for archery
by passing on this Legacy
So even after we are gone....
the feathered shaft will sing it's song.
Maybe...just maybe we used the bow in another time and place... :dunno: .... :D
Quote"Dreams from another life" by Ron LaClair
I dream of days so long ago
when a mans companion was his bow
Then men and bow would act as one
sending clouds of arrows that blocked the sun
The iron tipped shafts piercing mail of chain
making horses scream from the arrows pain
The heavy points of the clothyard shaft
spilled rivers of blood in the wheatfields chaff
Gallant French Knights to war would go
seeking glory in battle with their foe
Expecting a fight that was toe to toe
they were killed from afar by the mighty Longbow
These dreams are clear as they can be
5000 archers including me
stood side by side with deadly retort
that day at the battle of Agincourt
Great Stuff Ron!
simplicity- minimum equipment, beautiful wood/ natural materials, lightweight of the bow vs. heavy wheelies (4 pounds is heavy vs a trad bow!), premium on skill- true archery vs. point and click, honoring one's ancestors and their way of hunting
Ron, you have once again proven that talent of the folks on this site knows no boundaries.
:thumbsup:
got bored center punching asprin pills at stupid distances with the wheels.
So I needed a challenge and now I've got one.
A light,simple,beautiful,effective stick is just magical.
And hope i don't get burned for this one but:
A beautiful wood bow, well, gives me wood :)
:
Peep sights. I hate them. I shot a compound for years and everytime I would draw back on a deer the stupid thing was never right. I also got bored shooting out to 60 yards. The last deer with a compound were shot under 17 yards. From there, I put it away and just finished my first year 100% trad. I shot at 2 deer and both are now in the freezer. I enjoy shooting. I also love seeing others look at me like I am crazy when I tell them I shoot a recurve with no sights.
I've thought about going back to my compound more times than I can count, but I'm still here. I still have both bows, but I really enjoy the trad bow more.
Archery is just part of who I am and has been since childhood. The compound world holds little temptation for me as it is largely about the latest whizz bang gadget to help replace the need for skill. Nothing wrong with that, however, there are some drawn to the path of most resistance by the knolledge that success achieved by woodsmanship and skill is far sweeter than success achieved by reliance on technology. We all love the beautiful bows and custom gear, but in the end, skill and success with traditional gear all comes down to the indian.