Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: longbowman on November 26, 2014, 03:43:00 PM
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I was talking with some local bow hunters about my season and I mentioned that I had a solid 150 class buck come in to my stand one evening but only came within 28-30 yds. so I never had a shot. One of the guys asked why? I told him I limit my hunting shots to what I feel is a certain kill zone and that was about 10 yds too far. He said if that was the case why didn't I use a crossbow so I cold take those shots.
I can honestly say it never crossed my mind! I was thrilled I saw a buck of that caliber and doing "ANYTHING" to make a kill wasn't the reason I was out there. Don't get me wrong...I wish I could have killed that buck but not enough to get out of the way I choose to hunt. I had 33 buck that DID come within my mental kill zone this season but not the buck I really wanted and I feel pretty good about my season!
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Longbowman, I know what you are talking about and I would think that many of us diehard traditional bowhunters have experienced the same feelings and made those same decisions about taking game with our simple traditional gear. Good for you...you seem to know what you want out of traditionla bowhunting so don't let anyone change your attitude. Congratulations to you for sticking to your personal limitations...I admire you decision and your ethical beliefs.
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I had a very nice buck this year come in behind my treestand at 25 yards and stand broadside. It would have been a very easy shot with a compound or a crossgun. I thought to myself where is the challenge with knowing the buck could have been shot by the use of a weapon that is driven by technology assistance. When we carry the traditional bow into the woods we accept the challenge that it offers us. We should never second guess our decision to use a traditional bow or regret it.
Ron
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Sounds like you had a very successful season to me. Anytime you're in the woods and have critters around your stand it's been a great hunt! I have guys I work with that are the same way, it's always what if....but I'm always happy to be out in the woods and enjoy what mother nature has to offer, sots or not.
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When I went to Africa, my buddy said "You really need to take a compound for a back up bow!" .
I said "Why, I am taking a longbow, a recurve, and a selfbow. I already have a back-up bow!".
Some people just don't get it!
Bisch
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It's not about blood on the ground, it's about they "Hunt". If I was only interested in blood on the ground, I would use my rifle. I love the challenge with trad equipment. Best of luck to you.
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I have several friends who are like that. I don't mean to sound condescending, not trying to be at all, but you are right, they don't get it. A very large part of my hunting is doing it my way. Yes, i want to kill a deer, or an elk, but I am truly OK with not killing one if I get close encounters.
I am not gonna change my ways just to get a kill at all costs. If that is the case, i have a .338 Win mag that can reach out as far as I can see them ( with glass). I want it trad, or I will try again next year.
I guess I am sick. Anybody got any anti- trad pills ?
CHuckC
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Originally posted by ChuckC:
I guess I am sick. Anybody got any anti- trad pills ?
CHuckC
:knothead:
I'm not opposed to hunting with a rifle... I shoot lots of coyotes with a rifle. But when I take my recurve to the woods, I take it because that's what I WANT to hunt with it.
I also had the biggest buck of my life at thirty yards earlier this year. I was stoked that I got to be within 30 yards of the biggest buck of my life!
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I was talking to a guy once that told me he tried to run over a buck with his companies work truck. ??? I asked him what would that deer mean to you is you took it in that way. His reply was you didn't see this buck. I just don't get it. It's just the possession of the antlers not the hunt and how you got it.
It's like a man who climbs a mountain and gets to the top and another man takes a helicopter. They both got to the top but what does it mean to the man who took the helicopter? A ride in the helicopter that's all. If you don't get it, you never will.
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Great decision. I passed on five shots between 25 and thirty yard myself this season. I limit myself to roughly twenty yards, usually with a piece of surveyors tape tied at that distance on multiple sides of my blinds and stands. If I'm shooting extremely well the week of a hunt I'll stretch that distance by a yard or two. Otherwise it's a no go. I've had a few hunting buddies tell me they wish I was shooting a compound still. The feelings are two sweet and the moments too memorable to ever go back.
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Great decision. I passed on five shots between 25 and thirty yard myself this season. I limit myself to roughly twenty yards, usually with a piece of surveyors tape tied at that distance on multiple sides of my blinds and stands. If I'm shooting extremely well the week of a hunt I'll stretch that distance by a yard or two. Otherwise it's a no go. I've had a few hunting buddies tell me they wish I was shooting a compound still. The feelings are two sweet and the moments too memorable to ever go back.
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No matter what your weapon, you're going to have animals just outside your comfort zone. Do you "push" your limits, and hope for the best, or just accept that today wasn't your day??
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Bisch, I went out and bought a Samick Journey as a backup for Africa. When my Brackenbury didn't show up, I was glad for it.
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I had several 150"+ bucks less than 20 yards. They would have been shot at with any other weapon but the ability to hold back for prolonged periods of time just wasn't an option.
I would have it no other way. Besides, my season would have ended long ago if that were the case.
I love it.
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Taking a deer can me compared to "dating" a girl. "ask not get not" or "shoot not get not".
I do not believe in setting a yardage limitation. I go with my instincts. I have let deer walk within steps of the base of my tree this year and have taken one at apx 33 yards.
If you feel confident in the shot, take it. If you do not feel good about it, then pass. Its really simple.
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You are doing well in recognizing,acknowledging and adhering to your effective range.
Arrow drop for a typical conventional bow is ~21"s at 30 yards.
Arrow drop for a typical traditional bow is ~59"s at 30 yards.
Even if one's traditional shooting skills match and/or exceed the hi tech advantage, you still may be required to judge distance approximately three times more accurately.
The magnificant quarry we pursue deserves nothing les than our best.
Your adherance to residing within your effective hunting range is also a mark of excellence in reperesenting our traditional family.
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I had a friend (RIP) who used to say:
Traditional bows are for people who like to hunt.
Compound bows are for people who like to eat meat.
I'd go to dinner at his house a lot.
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I was in a very similar situation not very many weeks back with a mature buck standing broadside at about 30 yards with nothing between us but air.
He actually stood in that same spot twice in less than 15 minutes. He had walked east then got a whiff of something he didn't like, went on alert and turned around an walked back the same path he had walked in on, stopping once again in almost the exact spot he had previously stopped.
The difference was this time I was up off my Waldrop seat, standing and with tension on my string. He took time to look all around, even looking straight at or through me.
I came away happy as I could be thinking two things, one, I was proud of my ethics and two, knowing if I was ever given the chance with one standing inside my comfort zone I'd be able to make the shot since I had just proven to myself I had the self-control to pull it off.
God bless,Mudd
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I cant think of any other pursuit in life that calls for such mental discipline. Be it hunting with a Trad bow, compound, shotgun, 300 win mag, etc. We all strive to kill game quickly and cleanly regardless of the category the animal falls into, toe head, to toad. Weapon choice has limitations and staying within those bounds under stress is key. When a person lets a critter pass knowing it is beyond the limit of their weapon it is a display of maturity, respect, and mental toughness.
When I make the decision to not shoot because of the animals body language, distance, shot angle, etc. I have won. Not that I beat the animal at any competition but I have victory over my human instincts and stress.
To some the need to kill game dictates their weapon choice to others weapon choice dictates the challenge they are willing to accept.
:campfire:
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You are not alone; I could have taken 2 does and an 8pt. the season if I was still using a compound - I have no desire to switch back - either you feel it or you don't.
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I agree and I like my choice of archery tackle too. I love having deer close, so I never worried about using more "advanced" archery gear to kill deer that came into my stand further away.
However.....
I'm working hard to get consistent out to 35 yards for a few reasons.
1. So that my traditional gear can do any job that is asked of it.
2. I want to be able to shoot further more accurately for elk hunting next year.
3. It is a TON of fun to watch the arc of the arrow as it flies longer distances!
Best of luck and happy hunting!
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The need to limit our shot distances is part of the fun and fascination of traditional bow hunting. I no longer feel angst when others make comments of the type you heard. They don't understand what drives most trad hunters and most likely never will, so I simply brush off their comments, while hunting my way. Hopefully, some of them will reach a point in their hunting lives where they will embrace the challenge and fun of our hunting style.
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IMHO if you use a Crossbow, ya might as well use a gun. Just my $.02.....No Offense intended.
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Originally posted by Friend:
You are doing well in recognizing,acknowledging and adhering to your effective range.
Arrow drop for a typical conventional bow is ~21"s at 30 yards.
Arrow drop for a typical traditional bow is ~59"s at 30 yards.
Even if one's traditional shooting skills match and/or exceed the hi tech advantage, you still may be required to judge distance approximately three times more accurately.
The magnificant quarry we pursue deserves nothing les than our best.
Your adherance to residing within your effective hunting range is also a mark of excellence in reperesenting our traditional family.
Friend, 59" seems way too much to me at 30 yards. Almost 5 feet, I'm not holding 5 feet high at 30. :help:
Chech this chart out for compound bows, doesn't seem close.
http://archeryreport.com/2010/03/arrow-flight-fact-fiction-pin-40-yards/
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Yea, I took my buck this year at 36 yards. Normally outside my comfort zone and I ended up making a poor shot. Honestly, I don't think about yardage anymore and am glad to not have to worry about it.
That being said, I use traditional equipment because I want to get close to the animals I hunt. I'm not interested in taking animals at long range. That's what I tell folks like the ones you met. Although I do practice out to 40 yards and find myself very accurate out to 25 yards.
I've never had a shot inside 20 yards at a buck over 2.5 years old. Any mature animals that I have taken (which isn't many) have been 20-38 yards.
That being said, it's easy to get within 50 yards of a mature deer...it's getting within 20 that takes woodsmanship and a little luck :pray:
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Everyone has their own comfort range. Mine changes a lot depending on the situation at the time.
Using a bow with site pins, whether it's a stick & string or a compound bow makes no difference. Its all about guessing yardage and shooting the right pin... Using sight pins can increase your accuracy at longer distances a lot....
Shooting instinctively.... If you start thinking yardage you are screwing up... It's either in your comfort range or it isn't.
What ever you choose to hunt with, everyone makes their own decisions what feels right.... there is no right or wrong way of doing it, as long as its done legally.....
Actually....I've always wanted to play with a cross bow, but never have....But they are not legal to hunt with in Oregon in archery season.
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I have had a couple bucks but I have drawn down on and then decided against the shot just because I didn't feel comfortable.
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I take a lot of razzing at work. I'm the island of enlightenment in a sea of ignorance (compound shooters).
On one such good natured encounter I said, "You can tell the difference between a traditional bowhunter and a compounder.........the traditional hunter will be walking out of the woods with a smile on his face".
To this my boss quickly said, "No, the difference is the modern bowhunter will be dragging a deer!"
It was pretty funny, even if the joke was on me. And, it's so true 99% of the time. I've been hunting with nothing but trad bows for the last 28 years. I don't eat a whole lot of deer meat, but I always have a smile on my face walking out of the woods!
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I have had similar comments as well when I was relating a story about elk hunting to some friends. I had a legal bull coming into my call. I had him about twenty yards straight towards me, then about 35 yards angling away. I drew to about half-draw and something said bad angle/too far so I let him go without releasing an arrow.
Glad I did but hope I get a better chance one of these years- I have been trying for an elk four years now.
I like venison and various wild game but still more important to accomplish it my way. I feel that way more strongly about elk. Perhaps because I have been successful on deer already- I do gun hunt a little as well for deer with family members, but still hunt predominately with my bows.
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Red, now, ya see, none of that is actually really the truth.
The ONLY thing we give up with trad equipment is yardage. I KNOW I can easily shoot twice as far with compound as with trad. But I also know that I can kill a deer every single year, I can fill all my tags if that is the goal, all with Trad gear.
The mindset may be different. I hunt smarter to be able to get closer and pull off the kill at under ten yards range, but I do it none the less.
I find it unappealing sitting high in a tree at the field edge, wearing high tech scent proof clothing so that I have a 75 yard shot capability in any direction.
I can pull up and shoot in nearly any direction and if a branch is in the way, I can turn my bow sidewise or even upside down and get er done. No way can 99% of modern shooters do that. I can often get a second shot (if needed or if available), can't say that about most modern shooters.
I hunt from the ground A LOT and do well. Most modern (Eastern) archers don't believe it is possible to shoot a deer that way. Of course, out west, they do it all the time.
Nope, the distance is the biggie. Being able to hold at full draw is another plus, but I don't find that as totally important except maybe on turkeys.
I choose my way, not because it is harder, but because it is my way and I get something out of it.
ChuckC
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This is the first year I hunted the rut with my recurve. I could have killed 4 nice bucks if I had my compound. But I wouldn't have changed they way the hunts played out at all hunting with my recurve. I'm looking forward to many more hints like that
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I'm glad you had a great season. And it's hard to see good deer like that walk. Esp that class of animal.
I am on the opposite spectrum. And I dont frquent this place as much anymore. I am the exact opposite as I'm interested in putting game down. Why I have not hunted with traditional equipment this year. And Chose to hunt the exact opposite of traditional archery I will be N observer when it's time for my son to hunt. My hunting opportunities are just not there to be successful in the part of pa I live with trad gear consists y enough to suit my desires.
It's all in what you like. I never would condem for not shooting. As it is enjoyable to view deer sometimes with out the feeling of need to kill. I'm more impressed with how many bucks you seen. What's this in PA? If so that's impressive.....
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There are folks who can't get past the "score", or at least haven't yet, but that is part of the maturing process.
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It is a "glass half empty or half full issue".
One of my horn crazy friends has one of my selfbows but seldom hunts with it because his stance is; "what is a monster buck comes in just out of selfbow range and I have to watch him walk off"? He hunts mostly with a crossgun.
My stance is; What if a good buck comes within selfbow range and I have some high tech killing machine, this rare, special moment is lost.
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amen
ChuckC
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Originally posted by Eric Krewson:
It is a "glass half empty or half full issue".
One of my horn crazy friends has one of my selfbows but seldom hunts with it because his stance is; "what is a monster buck comes in just out of selfbow range and I have to watch him walk off"? He hunts mostly with a crossgun.
My stance is; What if a good buck comes within selfbow range and I have some high tech killing machine, this rare, special moment is lost.
I have heard that more than a few times. I always smile and say, "Just enjoy being there"