Who's looking for their first traditional harvest? Just for fun whats your set up and how long have you been at it?
I'll start it off I'm looking for my first trad deer. I hunted trad for 2 years about 6 years ago and this is my first year back at it.
My setup is a Black widow PMAX 45# with CX Heritage arrows and a 150 grain magnus stinger.
This will be my first year using a recurve. I got rid of my compound this last jan. I am use gonna my bear kmag or my hoyt dorado and using the beman centershot arrows with either the zwickey eskalite or the good ole bear razorheads. Not sure yet, I will figure that out when I get back state side.
Trying for my first this year. I've been shooting for 2 1/2 seasons now, but this year is the first year I feel really confident in my shooting ability. The lease I was on was not set up for close enough shots. The last two years I've only hunted with my bow about 5 times. I was there but wouldn't have shot at anything but broadside inside 15 yards which was really preventing me from hunting more.
Oh, and this year I'm going to the Midwest in a "target rich environment". I'm going to stick one! If I don't kill something this year, it's off on a pig hunt for me. I'm determined to draw blood on something.
My setup is in my signature.
I'M SOOOOOOOOO READY THIS YEAR!!!!!!!
This will be my first year completely dedicated to traditional ONLY. I've taken my Dorado a few times in the past but never with any real dedication. I've shot almost every day since Jan 1st of this year in preparation for taking nothing but sticks and strings to the woods this year. I'm hoping for my first traditional deer in about 3 weeks.
I haven't yet made up my mind about which bow I'm gonna bring...I've got to many to choose from. Bow buying and collecting is almost as addictive as shooting them lol.
At the moment I'm down to two that may go to the woods. Black Widow PLGA longbow, 53# @ 29". Or White Wolf longbow, 57# @ 28". I'm really liking the feel of the longbows. But I may break down and take one of my recurves.
Gold Tip traditional 35-55's, cut to 29", with 200 grain WereWolf broadheads. These fly great out of both the LB's.
Good Luck to everybody!
This will be my first year hunting. Ever!
I am traditional only. Don't really care to do it any other way...
My set up Bama Hunter longbow 45# @ 27", 546 grain Douglas fir surewood shaft with natural turkey (Magnus) feathers and 130 grain STOS broadheads
Might be getting my new bow anytime soon a Bama Expedition Hunter reflex/deflex longbow 58" 52# @ 27"
We will see.....
I'm trying to get my first buck with trad gear.
Shooting a hoyt buffalo 55@ 28" I draw close to 30"
Shooting bear razorheads with beman center shot .400 spine 30.75" with standard 17 grain insert and 145 up front.
Like many others... This will be my first year to actually hunt with traditional gear. I have been shooting and practicing for about 1 year and 9 months. I routinely shoot in a monthly 3D competition that is held at the Sportsman's club of which I am a member.
I will be hunting Pronghorn Antelope in Wyoming during this coming October. I also hope to hunt WT Deer and hogs here in Texas this year as well.
I shoot a Shakespeare Super Necedah recurve. The bow is marked 60- pounds and it draws a true 58 pounds at 28", which is my actual draw length.
I am a subscriber to the thoughts and science of Dr Ed Ashby.
My arrows are 750 grains total weight. I shoot carbons and Douglas Fir woodies. Both are tipped with 225 points and broadheads. The carbon Gold Tip arrows are a 7595 Expedition Hunter, with a 100 gr insert, 125 gr tip adapter, and 225 gr tip / BH, resulting in 29.7% FOC. The woodies have a 75 gr woodie weight, the same 225 gr tip / BH, and 22.5 % FOC. My broadheads are Tuffheads and the target tips are made by Joe Furlong as well.
With this setup I think I'll be able to kill anything that walks here in the Western Hemisphere! - LOL
This is the first year that I will be hunting with traditional gear. My buddy gave me a PSE Sequoia as a wedding present last October, but it was too late in the game to hunt with it that season. The PSE is 55# at 28 and will be flinging CX Heritage 150's with 125gr Stingers. I'll be hunting whitetails on my property and on public land. Good luck to everyone.
Jon :archer:
This is my first season... Got my BW PL-III back in Dec and went bear hunting up in Ontario last month, but the weather and bears didn't cooperate.... deer season opens this weekend! I'll do my part if the deer do theirs!
Best of luck to all who endeavor!
Rodd
I've been hunting for 3 seasons now totally with trad gear. 35 years total. Still looking for my first trad deer from the ground. Started using a ghillie last season and I had a total of 4-5 deer within 10-15 yards on different occasions. Been practicing at least 3-4x per week and Im shooting very well and am very confident going into this season.
Shooting a Predator Hunter, 46@28, 2016 arrows cut to 29.5, with 130 heads. I'm a gapper.
This is my year! I can feel it!
Good luck to all of you!
I was in your shoes during the 2010 deer season. Killed two does with my curve that season. Very exciting even to someone who has been bowhunting since the 1960's! Actually, I was returning to curves after having switched to compounds in 1975.
It is very important that you pick a spot. Without a sight to focus your attention on the kill zone it is very easy to look at the entire animal and shoot the edges which can be a miss (high for me) or worse.
Well, might not exactly be my first, but my first traditional in a long time. Was badly injured in a fall on a construction job, and had to go another route for 4-5 years. Worked real hard and can shoot somewhat regular now, but only about 50# I'm shooting a Fulldraw Custom hy-bred longbow, 29 1/4 inch draw Gold Tip Gt's full length with 175 grain Simmons Tigersharks up front
I've been shooting traditional for around 7 years or so, but haven't done much hunting in the past 10 years.
I hit a doe two years ago but lost her after having a four wheeler accident that almost killed my father and banged me up while going back to track her. I was thankful we were ok, but devastated that I lost my first traditional hit. I don't like losing animals!
Anyway, we moved last fall, so I didn't get to hunt any, but I'm looking to change that this year.
I dropped down in bow weight while switching form, so I'll be after them with an old Pearson Hunter recurve(45#). I'm shooting some Beman Hunter 40/60 arrows, and will probably shoot 125g Muzzy's (or either some Zwickeys).
I am hoping that this is the year!!!! This is my second full season to be hunting.
I am hunting with a Howard Hill longbow 55# @27 160 gr. HH Broadhead Shurwood shafts.
Good luck to you all!
Repeat after me.... pick a spot, push, pull...pick a spot, push, pull.....pick a spot, push pull.
Memorize this by heart, as there will be a quiz later.
Go gettum guys! :archer:
I only got the bow shortly before last season but was shooting the wrong arrows in a good group at 10 yards so I figured why not sit in the stand. My first hunt out last year missed a 200+# hog at 10yards- twice! I was a bit excited. Then the next morning, first morning ever with my recurve, 8am, big doe and yearling at 10 yards, and I hit her!just about perfect, however she had her shoulder closest too me stepping back and the arrow caught just the back edge of her scapular bone, and had only about 3 inches of penetration. I had the wrong broadheads the wrong arrows and even those were not tuned. i felt bad, but felt better later when i caught her on my deer cam at another stand a week later. could see the wound, i got several other pics of hear and her spike yearling over the next 2-3 weeks until she was completely healed up. I'll be after her or her son again in the same stand opening day this year to try again, but with a better(complete) setup. will be shooting martin x-150 41# at 27.5", woodsman elite 125g, arrows(1916?) on the way. i've killed many deer with guns, but when i shot her it was like i was 16 years old all over again. can't wait!
david
Still at it, have been for a long time. Hunting with my River Runner 60" 46# @ 29", 2016 alum. Magnus and Zawicky Eskimos and Bear Razorheads. Also on the ground......I like it there.
Well, I'm looking for my first of the year, just not my first ever. I've been hunting with longbow only since 1980 so I have a few under the belt. Like they said above. PICK a spot, a very small spot. Otherwise I will guarantee you will shoot clean over them
Good luck to all you guys new to this, it can be so rewarding.
Feeling like this is going to be the year. Season opens in 5 days. I'm shooting good and have promising trail cam pics. GOOD LUCK to all you others looking for their first trad harvest
I'm going trad for the first time. I've taken 2 years off from deer hunting, but am back. I've taken 4 with wheel bows, a long time ago, and averaged 2 a year with a gun for about 25 years. The challenge of trad, the more intimate scenario is what I'm after now. I shoot one of Scott Mitchell's Falcon long bows, 44# 3555 GT arrows with 2 blade Eskimoes.
what a great thread!
I love hearing all the details and excitement!
I wish you all the best of luck and look forward to the stories and pics!
There is nothing like the first Traditional harvest. when i switched to a trad bow it took me 3 years before i put a deer on the ground! There were alot of close calls, misses, and just out of ranges. Now looking bakc I would not trade a single one of those moments for anything! Enjoy every minute you are outdoors. Dont get frusterated as every thing that doesnt work teaches you how to use what doesn work. Every close call makes you that much better of a hunter. The place you are in right now is the most "absorbant" place there is. You will learn so much becasue you want it so bad. I will say in advance, for those of you that make your first harvest congrats! For those of you that don't, worry not as you just became that much better of a hunter and it will happen!
Looking for my first Moose with trad gear. Heading out on Friday for 9 days trying to fill a bull tag.
Three years and still trying. :dunno:
Good luck to you all, I wish you all a safe productive season. I hope you all get one.
Tom
This will be my 4th (and hopefully last) season in my quest for my 1st trad mammal (killed a couple carp 2 yrs. ago, but I'm not countin' them, lol). Last season, I came REALLY close to getting a buck, but I moved too fast & too much with no cover between us @ 20 yds. I'm hunting from the ground with no blinds. Just my K-Mag (50 @ 28") GT Trad arrows and Grizzly or Eclipse broadheads (depending on which arrow I grab).
I don't believe in luck, so God bless all of us with a fun and productive season!
I'll be out on October 1st trying for my first trad deer kill. I've killed lots of deer with guns and compounds but never with a Trad bow. I'll be using either my Greatree Solo deluxe 47@27 or my Howard Hill "wesley special" 61@27. I want to shoot my HHA wesley but bought the wrong spine arrows for it an they are not flying well enough with broadheads soooooooooo until I get some 65/70 spine I'm with the Greatree.
I'll be out on October 1st trying for my first trad deer kill. I've killed lots of deer with guns and compounds but never with a Trad bow. I'll be using either my Greatree Solo deluxe 47@27 or my Howard Hill "wesley special" 61@27. I want to shoot my HHA wesley but bought the wrong spine arrows for it an they are not flying well enough with broadheads soooooooooo until I get some 65/70 spine I'm with the Greatree.
I'm after my first trad deer this year. I had been away from trad archery for a few years, got back into it last year but lacked confidence to take any shots. I'm practiced up this year and ready to go! My main bow will be my 89 Kodiak with 2117 arrows. Good luck to all and please be careful, we need everyone healthy to tell success stories at the end of the season!
This will be my first season with trad gear. I'm hitting the Ohio deer woods with my new Hitman Longbow. 56# @ 28 with GT Traditional 55/75 tipped with NAP Razorcaps.
I have four private farms to hunt as well as the Five Rivers Metroparks conservation parks.
When I do get my first kill with my Hitman Longbow, you will know it. All of you will hear me lol
picked up my first traditional bow in november last year. this year im hunting with selfbows and wood arrows. got a 40#@29" osage semi-recurve i just finished with copperhead skins, and im shooting it very accurately, also have a 53#@29" osage bow that im not quite as accurate with, but still good inside 15 yds. they are likely to both spend time in the woods with me. but copperhead is first! monday afternoon i will be up on the ridge in a blowdown. wish me luck!
This is my second full year with trad only. I'm hoping to get at least one this year, missed 6 last year (nerves). I think I'm ready this year. I'll be using my black creek phantom with gt traditional 5575's and 225 gr eskimos.
Trying to get my first, second, third, fourth, fith this year:)
Using Toelke whip 58 @ 28
Second year trying. Went to longbow this year. Much happier and accurate. Seems the simpler I go, the more fun I have. I am shooting my Big Jim Buffalo. 51#@29". I draw 27.5. Shooting GT 3555 29.25 with 175gr woodsman broadheads. D97 string made by yours truly with wool silencers.
I am hoping to just see some deer this year! They are pressured here in west Michigan. Best to all of you!!! Put some meat in the freezer and be safe!
I moved to MT in July and won't be a resident, hoping I can secure a freezer for meat if I'm able to get a doe license. If not gonna have to wait till next year. I bought my TT last December and have been shooting quite a bit. 30 inch GT XT Hunters, 275 grains up front with VPA 3 blade. Haven't gotten a shot @ a deer but if everything works out I just might this year!
This will be my 2nd year with trad only gear. Didn't hunt as much as I planned last year. We had such a warm fall / winter last year it was hard to get enthused some days. Hoping for some cooler weather this fall, the summer has been just a little "cooler" (if you call mid nineties cool) than last year. As for set up...right now it is the Caddo listed in my signature with some Axis Trad 400's and Magnus Stingers @ a total weight right at 530 grains. Going to pick up new bow tomorrow though, so we'll see :)
This will be my 1st "going all out" Traditional season. I have deer and a bear on my agenda we shall see what happens
I'm still looking for my first BOW kill (of course, traditional.) I've been shooting traditional for 15ish years. (I'm not real active.) Not going to Colorado this year :( So local whitetails it is, or hogs if the opportunity arises.
This year I'm shooting a Shrew takedown 50# @ 28"
Poplar arrows with self killed turkey feathers and a 135gr Magnus w/75gr woodyweights.
Good luck everyone and be persistent! I finally got my first one last year after 8yrs.
Good luck to all of you. The first is something special for sure.
Good luck to all you guys after your first trad kill! Once you get it, you will be hooked for good.
There is no other feeling like that when you walk up to a critter you just shot with a trad bow.
Good luck, gents!
Bisch
Good luck to all, stick with it and it will happen. Like already mentioned, PICK A SPOT! :archer2:
This will be my first trad year. I'm using a Black Widow PSA at 55#, 27".
I have killed about 100 deer with compounds, so I'm not new to bowhunting. I've been feeling the urge to ditch the compound for the past couple of years, and after deer season last year I did it. Doubt I'll ever go back to a compound actually.
First year trad, fist year 100% on the ground.
Holm Made River Runner 60'' 48@28 VPA Terminator.
I carry a Walkstool on a Kifaru E&E pack and sit on the stool with the legs collapsed. A super simple light wt setup.
My max effective range is only about 12 yards.
The plan is to hunt the thick, when in doubt get closer.
I am going for my first white tail. I started trad bow hunting, and deer hunting in general, (never gun hunted) last fall, half way through the season. I got very close once, but was busted at the last min.
My setup is a 62" Don Down Green Mountain camo Styk Bow with clear glass, 52# @ 28". I shoot Gold Tip Woodgrain traditionals 3555, with a 170 Zwickey Delta broadhead. I fletch my own shafts right helical with Magnus' Wild Turkey Feathers, 5" right wing, shield cuts.
If I get my shooting good enough, I'm going to try with my trad bow this season. Its a fuse intrepid recurve 45# pull. I had a local shop make me a dozen arrows, half with target points, half with broadheads because I want to practice, practice and achieve accuracy before I step foot in the woods with it.
I really would like to hunt with my recurve this year but I just started shooting a couple months ago, I don't believe I will be ready by the time season starts. I think I will give myself another year of practice.
Well i made the switch last winter, when I picked up a 58in tall tines here on tradgang. With the help of a coworker, i got it tuned up and shooting well. I shot it as much as i could this summer, and i think I'm ready to give it a try. Good luck everyone.
Third year trying on whitetails. I had 3 shots last year and missed 3 times. After each shot, I can honestly say I never picked a spot. I will be shooting a Timberhawk Monarch 52# with a 29 inch Gold Tip Traditional 175 grain 2 blade. Season starts October 1. Good luck to all !!!!!!
It comes down to a few seconds when you draw the bow.
Don`t worry about missing, or where the deer is looking...keep your shots limited to those you KNOW you can make and do not shoot at alerted deer.
With more than two decades of shooting deer with recurves I can tell you this...PRACTICE is vital, but the BEST practice for hunting, is ONE COLD SHOT!...Pick up your bow and simulate a real hunting situation, and take ONE shot. No warm ups, no repeats...just one shot! Do this every chance you get. It will help teach you to concentrate if you discipline yourself to ONE shot.
All of the pressure to "produce" is created in our own minds. The time we spend on bowhunting is "expensive"....most of us don`t have any time to waste, and we must show some validation for the time we spend. This pressure can be minimized by confidence!
In the last four days I have shot about two dozen arrows...most of them were replicated "one shot kills".
I missed more deer than I like to admit when I first revisited the recurve...one shot practice sessions have really helped.
Best of luck to everyone in their quest! You will find, that even after dozens of deer to your credit, it will STILL require the same amount of effort! :campfire:
Take plenty of pics guys!
Rob
Trying again f
Trying again for my first traditional large game. I have shot rabbits and snakes but no hogs or deer. I did pass on some shots that could have taken but didn't feel comfortable. My main setup is a northern mist classic. 68" 65@28 and I'm pulling 29 1/2. Back up is HH jungle cat 66" 64@28. Going to hunt ground mostly but will have my climber handy if I need it.
My son will be trying for his first traditional kill this year.He is 12 years old ,he took a spike whitetail buck last year with different equipment but wants to use his Black Widow PSA ll ,beman mfx classic 600 spine arrows tipped with 150 grain silver flames he is pulling 37 lbs at his draw length.Good Luck everyone
I started bowhunting last fall, deer season. I am looking for hogs (always) or deer this year. When it gets cold, I am looking for anything fur bearing, or if I can eat it (and I will).
62# longbow and Axis 400, 100 gr Muzzy, 9 gpp
I'm trying too. Had a nice bull at 80 yrds which was very exciting...and a very nice pronghorn buck at 40 yrds with a decoy on barren ground. Thought for sure I'd get to send an arrow his way...lots of fun anyways!
I will be going for my first traditional kill this year, I have been shooting a recurve for the last 8 months and have decided my compound will stay in the closet this year. I will be using a 50# Toelke Chinook, Beman MFX Classics, and 2 blade Magnus classics. I hope over the next few months there is a thread full of first traditional kill pics from all you guys
I will be going for my first also. Was out this morning saw four doe but was unable to get a shot off on them. :knothead: :knothead:
I'm going to try trad for the first year also for my first bow kill. I already hunt on the ground and can get close, sometimes too close or behind me at 5yds.
But I've got a plan this year to hide in the pine trees they farm near me and catch the deer going to the soy beans. From the edge of the pines to the hedgerow they cross is 11yds.
Maybe just maybe I'll get to Whip one :)
Going for my first bow kill, trad or otherwise, and I will be hunting trad only. I started shooting trad march 2012. Didn't take any shots last year. Hoping to this year!
I'm shooting my Wes Wallace mentor 60" 64@31 (my draw length), full length easton axis fmj 300s, and 260gr Abowyer brown bears and/or 275gr werewolf broadheads.
Should be fun!
Still looking for my first kill.Other than squirells that's about it.Hopefully I will get something this season.
2nd or third year of really seriously trying with the trad bow. Been shooting trad since 2009?
Shooting a 54" 43#@25" 1969 York Tunderbolt, Off the shelf, Surewood Douglas Fir Shafts 48-50# spine, 29"BOP with 125 grain zwickey Eskimo, 3-5" LW Helical about 480-510gr all up weight.
Chrono'd at 150FPS on saturday w/ 500gr. Now if I can just hit something ....
I will be trying for my first this year. I have hunted on and off with trad for the last 3 years. This year I am trad only. Sold the wheelie back in january of this year. I my Widow PLV tuned up with 2018s and some Bear Razorheads.
This will be my first trad only season ever. Hunted all my life, but about 5 years ago the pizzaz went out of it for me. It had become a chore like going to the grocery store. Picked up my first recurve in decades last November and packed up the rifles and wheelies and found myself re-energized. This year I will stalk and kill two white tails and two pigs. I said it, I believe it.
I wish I could hunt opening with my trad buy I set myself a goal. When I can shoot 6" groups at 20m is when I will use my trad.
I am getting there, just not fast enough to hunt next month with it. I am hoping for Jan but we will see. I am lucky to have land behind me I can use as my range. I get to shoot almost every day so the training wheels will come off soon.
High tech. Keep your own goals, but consider, 20m is a good distance, but can you keep them on the plate (6") at, say 15m or 10m ? Consider going out but not shooting unless you get your reserved shot distance. Then, set up so you can't shoot much farther, say in a tight area or thicket.
I get shot opportunities under 10 yards quite often, especially when hunting in the marsh.
ChuckC
This is my 2nd year with my 45# Grizzly, GT3555s, 175 gr Zwickey Deltas and a leafy jacket.
This is my 3rd year with trad equipment, and my first year where I haven't shot anything with wheels for about a year.
I did get my first trad harvest last year (doe), but with as much as I've been shooting lately, and as much as I feel like I've learned over the last year, I almost feel like I need validation.
The first one counted, but I can't help admit that there had to have been some beginner's luck involved. I still feel like a babe (no, not the long-haired, blue eyed kind with curves).
it's exciting to see all the first trimmers! I was getting concerned that trad was declining.
I recently got back into hunting and archery. I was hunting trad before it was called traditional. I started deer hunting Hunr for 4 years back in the early eighties with my bear bearcat takedown. Then took the next 20 years off for college, family and work until my son got me back into it. So add 3 more seasons, 2 more shots and too many blown opportunities and I'm hoping this year I'll finaly harvest my first deer. I have harvested a lot of those foam critters though.
Harvest something or not, every hunt is a success if you follow this simple formula; CO4. Close you month , open your eyes, your ears, your mind and your heart!
Trade not easy, enjoy the ride and don't give up!
I am still at it with the traditional gear and hope this year I will connect with my first whitetail deer in New Hampshire. I was able to get out tonight and had two smaller deer come within 5 yards of my tree but I did not release an arrow. Way to early in the game to settle on a small animal.
My setup is really special to me this year. I will be attempting to score on a nice deer with my own R/D longbow I made. 56# at 28 inches of draw. I shoot the Easton Axis Traditional arrows with 75 grain insert and 150 Muzzy Phantom broadhead.
I connected earlier in the year with a spring gobbler with a bamboo backed osage bow I also built late winter. What a rush... This is my first year that it is all or nothing with traditional gear. I just don't get the same excitement that I do using a compound.
Good luck to all this season!!!
Respectfully,
Justin
I've been blessed to have harvested 13 deer with a bow BUT they had "training wheels". I have been hunting trad only for 3 years now and have 5 misses to my credit !...Perfect windage, Wrong elevation. I wouldn't go back to wheels for nothing ! Having too much fun. 64" Robertson Purist longbow 58lbs @ 26"...carbon express heritage 150's and 250 grain woodsman elites. Best of luck and good hunting to all my Trad Brothers and Sisters !!!
I've chased deer a couple of years with compound, never too serious. I've hunted for years with rifle, but this year all the guns and all the compounds are gone - just sticks and strings now. I'll be hunting from the ground with my Great Northern Ghost recurve, 68#@28", but I draw 27". Shooting GoldTip trads in 7595 with 300 grain Phathead single bevels, about 635 grains total. I'm pretty comfortable in my ability to hit out to about 25 max, plan to keep under 20. Good luck to all!
First year archery hunting, hunted with a rifle most of my life. Picked up an old Bear Bearcat from my father inlaw, 50# @ 28 pulled 29.5 shooting Goldtip 5575s with 120 grains forward weight & 125 gr Thunderheads. Harvested a whitetail doe last night @ 20 yards. All the hard work has paid off. Thanks to another member, Roughcountry, for helping me through all the "newbie" questions. Scott.
Best of luck to everyone chasing that 1st. Be safe, keep the wind in your face, and enjoy every second of it. The 1st is very special and only happens once so bathe in it and take it for all it's worth!
This is my second season of trad archery. Shooting a bear paw classic takedown recurve #68@28. Had a couple of close calls last year, but didn't connect. Hoping to get my first whitetail with a bow this year.
Go get "em, guys! Enjoy every part of the adventure and take tons of pictures.
Didn't make it happen last year. Have a couple good places to hunt this year and friends that are willing to let me hunt a doe on their lease! I'll be shooting my newest bow, and lowest weight;
Big Jim's Thunderchild 58" 49#
GT trads 5575 100 grn inserts with 125 magnus classics (simmons did not ship on time)
Been at it for a year and a half! Eager to get out there and make some memories
Looking for my first. This is my 3rd year shooting trad (second shooting trad only). Haven't gotten a shot the last two years during the archery only season but I have a lot of daylight pictures of a couple of back strappers. Shooting an early 60s model 53# Red Wing Hunter. 150gr screw in bear razor heads on cheap Walmart Carbon Expresses.
Matt Toms