This morning I had a great sit and I had sometime to reflect while I watched the woods wake up. I was wondering about why I enjoy traditional archery and reflecting on just how much I truly love being in the woods.
Why traditional?
This question has been asked a thousand times on here and in archery clubs throughout the country. For each person I would imagine it's a little different. I had always wondered why exactly I liked traditional archery. I never could come up with a good answer, until this morning.
I'm not old by any means, I just turned 25, but I've always felt like I was an old soul. I have old fashioned values of hard work and respect. I have a deep appreciation for craftspeople and would gladly pay good money for their works of art. Shoot even the way I dated girls was considered old fashioned. So I guess it only came natural that when I started bowhunting at 16 that I would choose a traditional bow. It just felt right to me and I didn't even consider any other option.
So as I sat there this morning thinking about all this I realized that it's not so much hunting with a traditional bow that I enjoy. It's each individual aspect that I enjoy. Making arrows, building bows, sharpening broadheads, scouting, trail cameras, making bow strings, shooting, tuning bows...everything that goes into making a hunt possible is what I enjoy. It's the whole process that's fun and the more involved in that process I can be the more fun I have. You can only have that kind of fun with a traditional bow and even more so with a primitive bow.
And that's when I realized traditional archery and bowhunting are about taking extra steps. Adding new elements that make the whole activity more enjoyable. Bowhunters learn more about deer activity than gun hunters because we spend more time watching them. We see deer and other critters do things that a gun hunter might not see in a lifetime of hunting. It's those types of encounters that make hunting fun even when we don't punch a tag.
Back to this morning...
A few fawns followed by a few does fed toward me. My heart began it's usual accelerated rhythm and pumped adrenaline through my body. The big old doe without any fawns that I have been after was in the group. She split off from the main group, which was feeding 10 yards in front of me. She started to work her way to my left and stopped giving me a broadside shot but there was a sapling right over her vitals. She kept easing to my left when I realized she was trying to circle down wind of me. She stopped and stomped. With a snort her and the other does trotted out of sight. I was bummed but really happy. It was good to have another close encounter and another lesson learned.
Enjoy the moment and enjoy the process. Lessons learned in the woods.
Well said, well heard. I hear ya on the old souls thing especially. 32 y/o here. We're kindred spirits. Hail the wild hunt!
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Bisch
Cool encounter :)
Well said!!! :thumbsup:
Very well said! Thanks for sharing that. :clapper:
I never doubt the effectiveness of a traditional bow in a hunting scenario, only my own shooting ability. This forum is filled with examples and harvest threads proving that the trad bow is an ample weapon for all the game we hunt. Just wish I could dedicate more time to shooting it and hunt with it full time. There's a calm-ness that comes over your soul when carrying the stick bow.
Yep, I feel like you. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: You just know how to say it!
I'm 11 years older than you but your post reminds me a lot of the way I felt when I was your age. You seem to "get it". I'm glad there are at least a few "Millennials" out there like you.
Very well said. It's quite refreshing to hear a young man like yourself expressing the same feelings as someone more than twice your age, myself I mean. Just proves what most of us already thought, there are lots of good young folks following in our footsteps. I know several fine young men who share those same values. I'd be proud to share a campfire with any of you fellas. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :campfire:
Charlie
The younger generation of Bowhunters is in good hands! I love your attitude and outlook on bowhunting as well as life in general. Would love to share a camp with you someday!
Sometimes I am concerned about the future of traditional bow hunting with all the technology out there today......then I read or talk to a young person like yourself and I feel like we are in good shape.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Agree with all others. Very well said and that is what this place and hunting is all about for a lot of us. Good stuff Brother!
I'm in the same boat as you...only 23 but all it took was one kill with the training wheels to realize they needed to come off. I've been shooting traditional since I could walk, since my dad has been shooting trad-only since the 80's, but it wasn't until 2 years ago that I picked up the trad gear full time. Traded my compound for a 12 gauge and an old Marlin .22 and it's safe to say that poor guy got the bad end of the deal :D
Nothing rings more true than everything you've said. Put down a gun and pick up a bow - and you'll learn more in one season than you have in your life. Put down the compound and pick up a stickbow? Your brain might explode from all the new info (and not to mention awesome encounters).
Traditional archery has taught me that the hunt is 70% preparation 30% execution. If you put the time in and practice, tune, practice some more, then practice more on top of that, executing on a game animal is the easy part (easier said than done eh haha).
Always love seeing other young guys using trad gear, we're few and far between.
Happy Hunting
Alex
Well said, a true bulls eye :thumbsup:
I will agree. I also just turned 25. I know why I chose traditional archery. My uncle built longbows when I was younger and he built me one. I spent many days walking around shooting that bow. From 9-22, i never came in contact with a trad bow. I shot compounds and was not pleased with it. I could not shoot for a month, pick up the bow and in a matter of a few shots be hitting a kill shot at 50+ yards.
Sure I enjoyed shooting them a little, but there wasn't much challenge. I got in contact with my uncle and we bought a bingham kit and built my longbow. Every since then, I have only hunted with trad equipment.
I still can't take a month off and hit where i want. haha.
I have had a few opportunities that didn't turn into success because of using trad equipment, but once again, its the adventure, not the kill.
I a young fella too. I agree with you guys, using the stick and string provides a more complete and fulfilling experience. Good post.
Scott, Alex & Daniel, I am 67 yrs old and I know we are more like brothers, values and doin it your way is more important than "success". Nature and the journey is the payoff. You sound like great young men....
I feel that I am the same way "old soul" even though I am a young 29 years of age. I look at people my age and the work ethic and appreciation is just not there. Everyone now days wants a piece of the pie but don't want to help pick the berries to make it. Well said. :thumbsup:
Awesome thread. I will be 30 in a few weeks and know exactly what you mean by "old soul"! This kinda thread is one of the reason I love trad gang!
I'm 28, and I'm with you all the way. It's about the process. It's about slowing life down and working on stuff that can't be completed with the click of a button or the pull of a trigger.
Thank you all. I had no idea my ramblings could touch so many members and it's really good to see so many of you sharing my sentiments.
I was discussing my thoughts with Mrs. E and she said "that sounds a lot like making s'mores." The confused look on my face quickly brought out an explanation from her. She said, "the fun part isn't eating them. It's finding the perfect stick, making a fire, roasting the marshmallow perfectly and making the s'more." I couldn't help but smile.
Have fun this season and enjoy the hunt,
Scott
Very good wisdom from a young Man, It's young men and women like your self that we need to help keep the tradition going in the right direction.
Hats off to you young hunters that you decided to take it in the hard way.the success isn't in the killing but in arriving so close that you can hear them breathing.
:thumbsup:
Very well said.
It's a little less complicated for me.
In my hobbies as well as my trade, I tend toward and emphasis on my own skill development. Simple tools are not usually so simple to use well.
To my way of thinking, my own knowledge and skill is all that I really own so that's what I prefer to rely on most.
My bow making is a work in progress but I really could go into the woods with a knife and bow hunt.
I can make the knife...and get it really sharp using just about any abrasive.
I can make fire in the old ways. It's not hard but you have to take the time to learn how.
For most of the wood processing I have to do (branches falling in the yard or processing firewood in camp), I prefer an axe over a chain saw. The axe works great without a trip to the gas station AFTER you learn to use an axe.
I guess it's a self reliance sort of thing.
:readit: :thumbsup: :clapper: :archer2:
We are all the same age here.
very well said,thank you
:archer:
We are all the same age here.
:clapper:
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts here.
I appreciate your willingness to accept the long road when so many seem content to take the easiest route they can find.
Good luck this season.
Jon
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
:thumbsup:
Scott,
Are you sure you are only 25? I'm 71 and couldn't have said it any better. Thanks for your post.
Great post on the spiritual side of bowhunting for me personally. I am also a musician and a very famous music man once said.."Its the ancient tones that we all hear and share in our hearts that bind us into one." It has since occured to me the ancient tones arent audible really. They are spiritual.