And traditional archery is an EVEN CLOSER RANGE pursuit. As some of you might remember I'm getting back into traditional archery after 20 years of shooting a wheelie bow. I'll admit that I'm having a little trouble letting go of my training wheels....I just need to get that first kill with trad gear under my belt and I think I'll be able to jump in with both feet and my eyes wide open. My hangup is effective range. I have no idea how many deer I've killed over the years but I do know how many I've shot at over 20 yards....ONE. My average shot distance is somewhere around 12-15 yards with the closest being 4 yards (from a natural ground blind). Those facts alone ought to be enough to get me over the hump but for some reason every time I think I have a line on a nice buck I get worried that I'll have to pass on a shot at him because he'll be outside my self imposed 20 yard recurve limit. Matter of fact it already happened once this year. I had a very nice ten point broadside at 25 yards and passed him in hopes for a closer shot. My self imposed limit with my wheelie bow is 40 yards. Yeah I know....I'll have bucks get by me outside of that range too....had a gigantic ten walk by a few years back at 46 yards. I did everything I could to try to talk myself into that shot and couldn't do it. Then I tried every call in my backpack to try to lure him in close...that didn't work either.
So here I sit getting ready to go the woods with two bows in my hands....figuratively. My wheelie in one and my 66 Bear Kodiak Mag in the other. I've been hunting this picked soybean field all winter and the deer are hitting it hard. I've had a north wind on each of my last four sits and on those sits I saw 27 deer, 24 deer 16 deer and 30 deer respectively including two really nice bucks. The bucks entered the field from the south all four times but with the North wind I had to sit the north side of the field. I have been able to pinpoint where the bucks are entering the field within about 50-60 yards. Why not closer? Well...they haven't come up the same trail each time. Twice on one trail and once each on two other trails. So today the wind is out of the south finally. My plan is to get in there at 130 and hang a stand right in the middle of those 3 trails. Problem is...yup you guessed it...no matter what I do one or two of those trails is going to be out of my range.
I know, I know....traditional archery is a CLOSER RANGE game!!!
Well....wish me luck...here goes nothing....
Been there ! Lol. You can do it ! You will find yourself fine tuning stand sights more than ever before, and it will make you a better hunter !
Best of Luck. Good on you for sticking to your self imposed limit on shot distance. Archery is also a game of Patience, hang in there it will happen.
Why do you need to "get one" in order to let go? I hear that a lot. Just asking because traditional archery is so much more than that for me. If you need to get one, then it sounds like that is all you really want and guns work great for that. :dunno:
I have a lot of respect for you for sticking to your shot distance limit, especially when teased with deer just outside it. Keep at it--they'll come in close.
Hey Chris! This trad stuff is a whole other ball game... It's not just for hunting! Have fun with it at shoots and get togethers. Build your own wooden arrows. Sneak-up on a buck and drill 'em at five yards! Don't pressure yourself... Enjoy the (simple) way of trad. I mean, you can always hit the supermarket for meat. :rolleyes:
Maybe I'm guilty of reading into your post too deep. I've been hunting with trad gear for ten seasons and have yet to bring home the bacon. :dunno: I Just Love It, That's All!
... mike ...
I had one shot in 41 years.....and that was in 1971. If it was all about getting one [as much as would like to] I would have stayed with firearms and compounds or what ever. I saw more deer this year that I have in a long ,long time.....still did not get a shot, but I went out every chance I could and continue my quest. And with this gear it doesn't have to be a buck.....at least for me!
it IS the journey, not the destination
I've said this a few times before to others, but I think it applies in your case as well. When how you do it becomes more important to you than how big or how many, the choice will be clear. Good luck.
QuoteOriginally posted by Orion:
I've said this a few times before to others, but I think it applies in your case as well. When how you do it becomes more important to you than how big or how many, the choice will be clear. Good luck.
Exactly!! :thumbsup: :campfire:
Your missing the biggest most important part. I used to do the same thing. But it's not about "the kill" but the hunt. I haven't put an arrow in an animal in 4 years but that doesn't stop me from attempting to. And yes a few times a year something wanders into (compound bow) range. But that's the game. That's what makes it exciting and fun. And brings us back each and every time. The chance. If every time we set afield, we shot our quarry. It would probably lose its luster. And we wouldn't do it.. Trust us. Sell your compound bow. And put your faith in your trad gear. It will come together.
For me, part of the attraction of traditional archery is that every deer is a trophy.
I think that 1st kill IS all important and I wish you luck in getting it done. There surely is a lot more to this game than killing but to realize that yes, this glued up pile of wood and glass can get the job done gives you a big leap forward into this into the game. Hunting without killing is usually a result of poor hunting in my experience. If Im not hunting well Im not killing anything. If youve hunted for 20 years you know this already. Good luck and savor it all.
Just jump in with both feet and it will happen,a 20 yrd shot limit is plenty,you dont need to cover two trails just the best trail.
Knowing your range and sticking to it is important with any weapon.
I was all trad in 2010 and had several shots I would have taken with other weapons, but passed. I went back to the dark side for 2011 and part of 2012 and still stuck to what I knew was my range.
For 2013 my resolution is to go all traditional and expand my range to at least 20y. The areas that I hunt are pretty thick, so most shots are 20y and less.
good for you. stick to your distance and you will be rewarded.... doing the right thing is always, well, the right thing... makes you feel good about yourself.
Close is a relative term that can only be defined by the individual.
While I know that Trad is more than just killing things; make no mistake when I hunt, I do it with the intention of killing my intended prey. I do not understand why some act like we should not expect to kill many animals with a trad bow.
So, I understand what he ment by looking for his first trad kill. I know that my first with a stick was very special. Stick with it and it will come.
a bowhunter expects to kill something, GOODLUCK! :thumbsup:
Ron, 41 yrs, what? I get plenty of opportunity but opt not to take it. You must get the prize for patience. I would funnel them with dead brush piled in lines or what ever it took, maybe hinge cut trees. The more work you put in during the off season, the better my season will be. Experiment ,
To further explain myself and my need to get one under my belt:
I put in hours and hours and hours bowhunting every fall yet I only kill one or two deer per year with my bow....that's all my family can eat. I have only killed one with a firearm in the last 10 years and that was a REVENGE killing...he skirted me one too many times with my bow in hand.
ANYWAY>....I want to get one to get over the hump confidence wise. I am shooting a 46 year old 40 pound bow. I'm proficient with it to 20 yards but even at that distance I have enough worry in my head that I'll make a bad shot or the bow won't deliver enough energy to make a quick clean kill with a trackable blood trail. These are valid concerns from a guy who wants more than anything in the world for any deer I choose to shoot to NOT SUFFER and not go unrecovered.
Yes I did say that range was part of my problem and it is....but I shouldn't have focused on that in this thread. I mentioned that to encourage myself to remember that all but one of my lifetime's bow kills have been INSIDE of my effective recurve range. I am hunting a nice big ole buck and I am concerned that he could skirt me at just outside my range but that can happen with any weapon in the deer woods.
Really more than anything I was trying to rally myself to let it go and get out and hunt...TRAD style.
I decided one day that I was not having fun anymore. Seemed that I always pressured myself when hunting with wheels. I finally committed, sold my compounds so I would not use them as a crutch, and went out and bought a recurve. Practice, persistence, and patients were the keys on my journey. If one walks outside my range no big deal. I smile, tip my hat, and give thanks to the encounter. Maybe next time. Most importantly is I'm having fun now. I feel like a kid again. Keep it up, you can do it. Good luck.
The only way to do it is to do it ................Good luck!
archer 66 - You've got it together brother! Go get em!!! :archer2:
QuoteOriginally posted by ron w:
I had one shot in 41 years.....and that was in 1971. If it was all about getting one [as much as would like to] I would have stayed with firearms and compounds or what ever. I saw more deer this year that I have in a long ,long time.....still did not get a shot, but I went out every chance I could and continue my quest. And with this gear it doesn't have to be a buck.....at least for me!
Ron,
I am going to clear the guest bedroom and next year you are going to come over here and spend a few days in early Southern Zone bow and we'll see if we can't rectify this. Room to sit, still-hunt, borrow a tree stand or bring your own. PM me.
I have been blessed with an area to hunt that is just lousy with deer. Took my daughter on her first deer hunt there. We hunted the evening. When she finally got a shot at a deer, there were 45 deer in the 40 acre field we were sitting in. The area is a long drive from my house so success seems important to those who I take along and to my wife who usally stays behind. I have went bowhunting there only 2 times in the past 15 years. But because of the pressure put upon me, I always take a rifle. I don't hunt there much because I love to bowhunt. I wish I had someone to go there with to bowhunt the area.Also the land owner wants me or whoever I take to shoot as many deer as we can. It's sad that people don't appreciate the hunt, only the reward.
archer66- lose the wheels! just do it man! or even better, find a reason other than archery to sell the wheelie bow, it works! I went 100% trad this past summer after getting back into archery after 15 years off..with a wheelie...quickly realized it was too easy, LOL, and not soulful to me, so I put the contraption in its case and put it in the laundry room. I kept saying to myself "hang on to it, you might use it on occasion"...wrong...I can't bring myself to, ever...I have all my trad bows up on the rack and just get so much satisfaction from hitting my target with them..OR missing. I walk toward the wheelie case and hesitate...then turn around and walk the other way or grab a stickbow.
Well, I recently had a breakthrough gift idea for my wife and its not a cheap gift, sooooo I PUT THE WHEELIE UP FOR SALE!!! That's all it took..a NON archery related reason..you could try that?! Buy the wife something, buy the kids something, buy a family member something, pay off some debt, put the money in savings, LOL. Take the plunge!!
Oh and P.S.: 20 yards with a stickbow is GREAT! and beyond that?..practice practice practice! aim small/miss small- aim for the hair above the heart is what they say, hahahaha
I didn't switch to hunting with a recurve because I was dissatisfied with hunting with a compound. The challenge was plenty with the Mathews. While I've killed many dozens of deer before returning to recurves, only a handful had been further than 25 yards and only a couple had been more than 30. None were more than 33 yards.
I switched to a curve in 2010 for the nostaligia of hunting the way I did when I started back in 1970. The curve IS more challenging and my effective range is less than half what it used to be. But, I'm ok with that.
My recurve choice did cost me a chance at a very nice Kudu (43 yards) and a large Blue Wildebeast (25 yards) this past August. However, I don't regret having the recurve in my hands. (The GREAT news is that my son killed that Kudu 30 minutes later!)
I understand the confidence thing in the starting post above. For me it's not so much about killing a deer as it is about my having a strong aversion to missing or wounding. While I knew that arrows from recurves were as deadly as those from other bows, I was very glad my first two shots at deer in 2010 were pass-throughs and the deer dropped in sight.
I'm actually in a different place regarding equipment now. I'm trying to confince myself to CONTINUE using a compound for some type of hunting. This is just in case I get to the point where I can't shoot the curve (injury). I may reserve spring turkey hunting for hunting with that equipment.
If this admission requires that I turn in my merit badge (ha) ....
A confident range is more complex than mere yardage, live deer are not dead 3d targets. Back in the 70s I was hunting a long strip of river bottom along a major highway. I still hunted it and when I got to the end there was a pond with mound on the opposite side that had a badger hole and beyond that an apple tree.. With my heavy Schulz longbow it was point on, 68 yards. I took that practice shot everyday and then went to retrieve my arrow out of the hole and would go get an apple. One day a large buck came out from underneath the interstate culvert and stood in that spot while I was getting ready to take my dayly across the pond shot. He was staring at the apple tree, thinking about which apple he was going to eat first, I guess. I drew my 2117 with the three blade Wasp broadhead and shot the buck right through the heart. one blade stayed on the outside skin, one was stuck to an entry rib the third broke up and only had about half of it left which went through the heart. the buck made two jumps and went down. Lesson from that, never use those heads ever again. This year a nice deer came to within 25 yards of me, but it was extremely skittish and wired. It did not bolt, but continued to within 18 yards. Every time I breathed, it flashed a look my direction and looked like it wanted to bolt. That deer was never in range, I did not dare to force a shot and let it pass. For me, spooky deer are all out of range and I have shot a number of deer on the move, but spooky deer, whether moving or standing are almost impossible to predict.
I've been shooting trad equipment for over 10 years now and have killed my share of game. I enjoy it immensley, and choose to go this way because it's just more fun to me. I also KNOW that it is just as effective as modern equipment when used within my limits. With that said however, a couple years back I injured my shoulder and was having trouble using trad equipment. I just couldn't practice as much as I needed to stay sharp and keep the level of confidence I needed to hunt. I switched back to a compound and killed a couple deer with it for the 2011 season. I do not regret that at all. I'm a bowhunter first, traditional archer second. I'm a believer that you shouldn't beat yourself up for what weapon you choose to use. If you don't want or feel like you are ready to go full time with the stick, then don't, I won't think any less of you for one .. Sounds like you love the hunt for the hunt and there is nothing wrong with that imo. :) :)
Hope ya get em!! I know exactly how you feel I struggled with same things. And for me it's still mostly about the kill. I don't go to the woods to look at trees. I'm there to put a animal on the ground. I just like putting an arrow through em better than a bullet!! This time of year they are more predictable, just Mel toughing it out. You will get your chance!! Good luck
Sounds to me that perhaps the bigger struggle is the issue of success! I know for me, the transition back to Trad. was a bit of a struggle due to the fact that I really wanted to still kill a mature buck every year. I used my longbow all year and lost a HUGE buck....switched to the compound and killed a mature buck the very next time out at 9 yards. As he ran 60 yards and fell over, I said to myself "should have had the longbow".
I was disappointed in myself that I had put more emphasis in the caliber buck I killed instead of the quality of the hunt. Until a hunter is ready to come home empty handed with a smile on his face, he is likely not ready to fully commit to a more traditional weapon. I don't bow hunt because I enjoy easy hunts, which is why I use stick bows.
If you head out to that new stand and have one of those 2 bucks come by at 30 yards and you're disappointed you don't have your wheels...it's not time to commit to the stick. If you can be happy in the fact you got to see such a deer and smile knowing he won...you certainly are ready. Either position is fine...not one more elite or superior to the next...just different. Our hunting career (for lack of a better term) is like a big circle.....I've been around it twice already!!
More than anything else...have fun and be safe!
I have hunted now for 6 years with trad,haven't killed any deer yet but wouldn't trade the experience for a trophy buck.Just getting close enough to shoot is a rush and honestly I love it,I have had success at small game and I know when I have more time the success with deer will come.
QuoteOriginally posted by Manitoba Stickflinger:
[QB] Sounds to me that perhaps the bigger struggle is the issue of success! I know for me, the transition back to Trad. was a bit of a struggle due to the fact that I really wanted to still kill a mature buck every year. I used my longbow all year and lost a HUGE buck....switched to the compound and killed a mature buck the very next time out at 9 yards. As he ran 60 yards and fell over, I said to myself "should have had the longbow".
AHHH.....sounds just like the way I was too !
Been there and part of why I am not a purist. I do hope to move more towards just using a stick bow. But right now for deer hunting it's either a recurve or a gun, as I can't bring myself to dust off my old compound. So I either view it as a short or longer range game when I go into it.
Of course this year on my first hunt out of nearly 20 without my recurve a doe came along with the best set up possible for the recurve. But I still got to fry up some tenderloins for breakfast.
Close range it is. I figure if I need a laser rangefinder to figure the distance, it's too far.
The journey, not the Destination! That first trad anything will taste beteer than anything you ever had.
Archer66, what you are experiencing will pass with time. In a few years it will be a distant memory as you will have adjusted your style of hunting several times and you will have found what works and what doesn't for you.
You are experiencing compound withdraws just like a smoker who threw his last pack out the window of his truck. For those who have made the transition from wheels to none they are not only giving up the speed and accuracy with something they were so comfortable with but also their security blanket...sights.
This off season scout with your maximum range in mind. Next year set up for 10 yard shots when you hang stands. You can still stack the odds in your favor somewhat. The one thing you cannot control is how the whitetail will act in the wild. You will have to adjust how you think about hunting within your limits.
We hunt with these things because it is different and in a way we are non-conformists choosing do something in a less modern way. It becomes a very personal journey for the traditional archer and bow hunter. That is why there is so much passion with most who are on this path.
Best wishes.
Great comments all around. I don't miss my compound at all, I just enjoy the hunting experience with trad gear. Keep up the hard work and you will be rewarded. Good things come to those with patience. Rich
sure beats throwing rocks!
Just put the idea in your head that you hunt with a stick bow - don't keep the thought in the back of your mind that you can revert back to a compound. Just like when you went out hunting with your compound, you didn't think "wish I had my rifle so I could dump that buck at 100 yards".
I started hunting with a stick bow, then spent about 25 years with a compound, then went to a stick bow again - and won't look back. I hunt deer and other big game, and turkey, exclusively with a stick bow, and save the guns for flying things, coyotes, and sometimes rabbits and squirrels - just relaying all that to say, that's what works for me. I do think though, that it's difficult for most people to straddle the fence, and easier to just use a stick bow. The shooting and hunting styles with the two types of bows are so different that I think a person is doing himself a disservice to switch back and forth. Again, just what works for me.
I struggled for a few years, wanting to kill a bigger buck than I had before. Then I started shooting does, and still letting the smaller bucks walk.
WIN/WIN- the bucks got to grow bigger and my confidence and ambush picking ability went waaay up.
Then the shots at bucks started coming.
I still pass some bucks, and still shoot does!
Good luck, only you can decide which way to go. :thumbsup: