I was a compound shooter for 20 or so years, until traditional got my 100% intrest. Just wondering how many other of you trad gangers went through the same thing . Did your sucess rate in the field drop or is it about the same? :archer:
The first bow I ever shot was a compound and I shot one for 6 to 8 years before going traditional full time. That was about 15 years ago.
My success rate has gone up but that has more to do with my development as a hunter and little to do with my equipment choice.
Bill
I will let you know...it will be my first trad year for deer. I wheelie hunted for about 18 years with decent success, so I am hopeful.
Good luck this season. :jumper: :jumper:
Hunted with a compound at age fourteen, and failed to get a deer. Made the switch that year to trad gear simply cause that's all I really wanted to shoot. Well, I'm 19 and still have yet to kill a deer, but I've taken countless numbers of small game...so, I guess it's a toss up...
QuoteOriginally posted by ishiwannabe:
I will let you know...it will be my first trad year for deer. I wheelie hunted for about 18 years with decent success, so I am hopeful.
Ditto for me.
Mark
i am 16. shot a compound since i was probaly ten. i shot 3 does with that one season and then switched to traditional last year. i still shot two does last season and let a bunch of little bucks go at close range. i really had no difference in success. it was mostly the same. the only difference that i found is maneuverability in treestands with rails and not being able to shoot as far as i did with the compound.
Crossbow to compound and now making the transition to traditional. Going Moose hunting in less than a week ... hoping to score my first trad kill.
Started with an Bear "Whitetail Hunter" compound in 1981 (probably was slower than some of todays longbows)
Took my first bow kill at 3 yards. Can't see how a trad bow, at that range, is handicapped in any way.
Does passing up a good shot mean you have "failed" :confused:
I don't see any less of a success ratio at all. A "bad day" hunting, beats out the "best" day at work! :archer:
I shot modern equipment for almost 20 years and switched to trad seven years ago. My success rate has gone up, as has my enjoyment of hunting and the outdoors. For me, something magical happened when I made my first traditional kill...and I hope that you have that same mystical experience. There really is nothing quite like it.
Claudia
I started with recurves as a kid. First hunting recurve as a teen was a Bear Grizzly. Switched to compounds in my late teens and had success for years with them. Had a custom recurve made by Don Assenheimer in 1991 and hunted a while with it. Took some deer but missed alot too. Went back to compounds and success rate went back up. A few years ago I found myself pulled back into traditional. I've found I just need to practice more regularly than I did years ago to improve my shooting. I also learned to be much more patient and wait for closer shots. I enjoy shooting my recurve much more than the compound but I'd be lying if I said there aren't times when I'm tempted to take the compound out once in awhile.
Your sucess rate does not HAVE to go down, depending on a lot of things, mainly shot distance. That, in my mind is one of the two main advantages you have with the compound. Being able to hold at full draw for like...hours.. doesn't hurt.
If your shots were short before, they will not change now.
ChuckC
I just switched myself from compound to a recurve. Success? Every day I step into the field I feel more successful. Whether its knowledge learned, time to myself, or meat in the freezer... well I couldnt say it any better than RW...
"I don't see any less of a success ratio at all. A "bad day" hunting, beats out the "best" day at work! "
Shot distance is something i struggled with for several years,i wouldn't shoot over 25yds at anything...
I have let so many nice deer that i know i could've hit walk right by me at 30yds. I limit my shots now to 30 and i'm very confident with my shooting ability. Confidence is the KEY. :thumbsup: The last two i took with my B/W were at 29-30yds...
I don't really keep score, but I think I am probably more successful at taking advantage of opportunites since switching. I had plenty of blown chances, missed shots, etc. when I shot compounds. Now I am more aware of stand placement, etc. I think my percentage is higher now than before. I know for certain my enjoyment is 10 fold!
QuoteOriginally posted by Whip:
I know for certain my enjoyment is 10 fold!
I think that is the real key. ;)
Did the compound thing for 30 plus years with great success. I switched to traditional 2 1/2 years ago and the last two seasons I've filled all my tags, even passed on quite a few deer. I can say one thing for sure, I'm having WAAAY more fun now than ever before. :archer:
My first year bowhunting I shot a recurve. I missed 3 bucks. I went to a compound after that for the next 20 years. I still missed a few at the beginning, but then I went a REALLY long time without a miss. This year is my 1st back at the trad thing, and I'll admit I'm a little nervous, I'm not used to not hitting where I want EVERY time. My compound shots were more on the close side than far, so that should help with the trad thing. We'll see how this season goes.
shot a compound for 22 years before seeing the light. like Whip said i don't keep score, but i can say for certain that my shot to kill percentage had gone up. i missed a lot with the compound for many different reasons and i also wounded a few. since switching my misses dropped to almost nil. part of the reason has to do with shot distance. if the animal is outside of my comfort zone i DON'T shoot. i don't kill as many deer as i did with the compound, but the truth is i let a lot more walk now days. small game, well that's a different story. i hardly ever would shoot at small game with my compound but now i take every shot i get.
one thing i know for sure, i have a lot more fun hunting now then i ever did with wheels.
I shot a compound for 11 years and switched to trad about 6 years ago my success rate has gone way up and I enjoy it a lot more.
my first bow was a buckmasters fiberglass compound....after that it was a AIM recurve
well i started hunting with a compound when i was 15 and i killed three deer that season with that bow with relative ease. So i made the switch the next season and its much more rewarding, and im 18 now and never lookin back :archer: :archer:
Lot of us did the gun to muzzleloader to compound to stick route....or at least I think so. I did. Even worse, I'll be hunting with a bow of my own making this year. It's a wonderful sickness.
I switched about 15 years ago. My success rate stayed about the same. Buy no means do i mean im that good with a trad bow. the main reason i decided to switch is i always wanted to try it and one day i realised i never took a shot out past 20 yards with my compound any way. i have this sickness about getting as close as i can.
I started with a compound 9 years ago and this is my first year I will be going trad. Only been shooting for 5 months or so I think but my improvements have gone through the roof. First 3 months I was always changing and trying to learn...once I settled in on my style it just all clicked and now I feel very confident at my cut off point which is 18 yards. I wont shoot past that unless I feel I can make the shot. That is my range though.
I was planning on going out with the compound this season so I dont limit myself but I stopped and thought...I will just have another season of hopes and dreams of tagging one with the recurve one day and wont truelly enjoy it. So I boxed the compound up shoved it to the side and out with the stick once more. Even if I dont get anything I know it will be an interesting season!
Started years back traditional.Took my first couple of big game with a Hatfield recurve.Then the dreaded[must get bigger better faster]made me go over to the dark side.Shot compound competitively,indoors and out,shot 3d,and trophy hunted hard.Had lots of success but something was missing. The defining moment came one season where I was fortunate enough to take a Booner whitetail[well short by 1/8 inch but who cares] with my compound and a smallish 5 point bull elk with my longbow[chek-mate crusader].Well guess which one I couldn't stop talking about, your right,the stickbow kill.By next season all my compound gear was sold and I've never looked back.Any regrets? not really, just a learning curve. Take car Mo.
Shot LIght recurves as a kid, Hunted for 15 years with a compound this year my nephew and i will be trad . only.We will see. D.
I hit that 5th stage of hunting a few years back..you know, where you don't give a hoot about IF kill anything but HOW you kill it. I'd love to claim to be an expert with a wooden bow and sharpened sticks..truth is I suck- still! I've taken a few whitetails here in PA but my all-time goal NOW is to take a nice buck with my longbow EVEN if I hafta get 5 yards away! (cause I suck!) :D and I will!
I started archery with a recurve when I was 8 or 10. This will be my first year as a traditional bowhunter. From the time I was 12 (now 36), I have hunted with a compound. However the satisfaction of shooting a compound continually slipped away to the point where I would usually shoot the 1 or 2 days immediately before the season opened, hunt, and then I would put it away for another year. I hate to admit it, but I even tried a crossbow for a stint and I discovered absolutely ZERO satisfaction its use. For years I had been drawn to the beauty and simplicity of traditional equipment. This year I took the plunge and purchased a recurve (then another,..and another). I must say that through shooting a recurve, I have rediscovered the true enjoyment in archery which is something I hadn't felt in the last 20+ years. Yup, when shooting my recurve I kind of feel like I'm 12 again. May sound silly but it is true. I am sincerely looking forward to my first year hunting with a recurve. I do not feel handicapped with traditional equipment what so ever. The simplicity makes everything seem much more natural than ever before and as a result, there is increased level of confidence. I am certain it will be a successful season in all regards!
About the same. Still don't get much time to hunt, but I enjoy myself more.
BTW, I see you're in Neenah, if you ever come up north gimme a holler. I get down to Appleton once in a great while, but it's mostly just because my wife discovered Gordmans :rolleyes:
Hunted compound for 25 years, last year i went trad i took three deer with a longbow. I never picked up my compound last season, this year i gave the thing away. It has proven to be one of the best moves i have made in regards to hunting, the fun is back in it for me.
As a kid I started with a recurve, its what got me hooked. Then I did what everyone said I should, and bought every gadget everyone said I needed. I had a ton of fun, but there was ALWAYS
something missing. In "89" I figured out what was missing.
Forty plus yard shots were not uncommon with a compound. I rarely missed. Today, anything OVER
fifteen yards is uncommon. I have become a much better hunter, I hunt for me and not my ego, or what someone else might think. EVERY animal is a trophy. They even taste better now.
Kill numbers are down. Success rate up 100%. :D
Great stories guys!!! Good luck to you all this season!!!! :wavey: :archer: