I admired my mothers ben pearson hunter that she inherited from her father. IT being 45# I couldn't even string it but later found my fathers old fiberglass bow from when he was younger and started shooting that. Now i have my grandfathers bow and that is what i shoot and hope to take my first deer with.

Had made numerous stick bows as a child and then my uncle gave me a Little Bear recurve in 1969 at age eleven.

Possibly one of the greatest material gifts I have ever received.

Got plain old tired of puttin the thing on the thing and pullin the thing.

Patrick

i started shooting a bow in p.e. class,the bug hit me even if it was a cheap fiberglass bow.within a few weeks was my bday and told everyone i wanted money for a compound,well i got it for christmas instead.I was 12,at 15 my dad sent me some money for christmas and i bought a used shakespeare recurve.ive always had a longbow or recurve laying around,then i seen october whitetails and thats all it took....thanks barry,my wife hates you...lol

my compound bow has too many gadgets....all things that can break. there's just something about the simplicity and smooth lines of a trad bow.

In the fifties my dad was stationed in St Louis and we lived on Natural Bridge and Lindbergh. The other corner had a company called Hoyt. Earl sold me a defective kid long bow for seventy five cents.  They taught me to be safe. Sold me arrows for fifteen cents. I was hooked.....

I grew up shooting a compound.  One day while hunting moose in the interior of Alaska I had a slam dunk shot on a 50"+ bull.....only to be let down at the moment of truth by one of the gadgets on my bow malfunctioning.  From that point on I began to realize that "simpler is better" and not long after I began shooting a recurve.  

....Now, where'd that moose go....?  

I shot compounds for years. Five years ago, a friend made me a hickory self-bow.  That was it! Since then, I've purchased several custom longbows and recurves.  I always did my own work on my compounds, but love the simplicity of setting up and tuning my traditional equipment.  Shooting traditional is so enjoyable and relaxing, plus I've met some really great people.

Started shooting compounds.
Did that for 17yrs.
The last deer I shot with a compound I didn't feel the "rush". .. I thought "WHOA" I need to do something Different!

I decided I wanted to shoot the shortest recurve I could find. I wanted to rig it up with compound type sights, shoot a release. Basically wanted to do-dad up a recurve.

I bought my first trad bow ( herters perfection 46..used a 40" string )

Quickly found out there wasn't room to mount sights, the release aid made tons of noise..etc

Started using a tab with a bare bow and got hooked.

Found out too that it was too short for me to shoot well.

Anyway, I'm a few bows into the experience.
I've learned I like longbows..well a 62" savannah if you call that a longbow. Just like the non limb contacting string.

I'm really hooked.
Nice to know and truly understand what is happening from beginning of shot to the end. I never had that with a compound.

Gotta love it!

Never really got away from it

It is what I started with tried compouds but just never took a liking to them

That's all there was in the 50's.

honestly I got into it because people told me it was to hard.

Had an old ameican archery baracuda when I was 8 then my dad bought me an old 64 kodiak outta the bargain finder when I was 12 and before we knew it we had about 10 old bears, indians, and ben pearsons on the rack. I shot a coumpound maybe twice in my life. I never had any interest in them. I've been shootin recurves and lbs for 21 years now! Real archery not trad archery!

I started shooting my Dad's old Saunders recurve ten years ago with the intent of taking it on the hunt we never went on. He had died ten years before that. Hunted with that bow but never took a game animal with it. I've been shooting trad ever since.

Starting shooting in 1952 with my Sundy School teacher and been shooting and bowhunting ever since.

My grandpa passed on 2007. We all drove down from CT ro AL for the funeral and to help clean a bit. Hole cleaning we were allowed to take stuff as inheritance. I found a Browning Wasp that pulled 50@28. Been hooked on archery ever since!

Back in the early 70's my twin brother and I got fiberglass Ben Person Recurves (35lbs) for Xmas.  The following fall, while doing farm chores, a doe was about 40 yards around the corner of the barn.  Ran back to the house and returned with my bow, she was now about 15 yards from the corner of the barn now. She went down in about 50 yards.  We both went to wheel bows in high school for about 20 years.  For the last 16 years been shooting older recurves and will never go back to training wheels agains.

Didn't know I was in it.I just bought a K-mag in 1974 and started hunting with it and killed my first deer in 1976.Still don't know if I am in it or not.I am a bowhunter though ,for sure and have always used a stick and string.Kip

heheh - easy, there were no other kindsa archery back in '55.  :D

I shot wheels for about 17 years and then i got my dad's Brown Fox Hunter by Bear.  Got a new string for it and started shooting it.  The bow got a nasty crack in the belly so I continued to shot the wheels for hunting though.  Then about 4 years ago went to the Trad show in Kalamazoo and my son and I bought two used bows and loved not having all the stuff (gadgets) to come loose or break.  Love the feel of wood in my hand. Have not shot the compound since.