I am 33.  Been shooting a stick for about 12 years.

God Bless,
Nathan

Made the switch to Traditional Equipment on my 50th Birtday. Now 53 and still at it.

31, shot trad for 7yrs.

Started Traditional bowhunting at 25 now I am 44.

41 and went trad only this year after 20 years of bow hunting. It has changed my life. Should have done it 20 years ago.

61. Archer since 6.

I'm 70. I started shooting the recurve in 1960. I bought a Jennings compound when it first came out and shot compounds for a number of years, but never lost interest in "traditional" bows. I love archery and still shoot recurve, longbow and compound bows......DaveMP

Interesting numbers. When I go to local shoots, I would guess the average age to be 50 or so. I am working on 65, in the spring.

60....I'll never be as old as KAT      

im 37.  ive actually noticed, at local 3d shoots lately, more tradtional shooters and in a much more varied age group.  liking that!

I am 48, got a 17 year old son who is nothing but traditional and a 26 year old son who is "wheels", but after a shoulder surgery in August, is crossbow this season.

46 years young and I too have noticed more "variety" in ages at shoots.

I'm sure most of us have seen or heard about the "stages of a hunter" and I wonder if this has anything to do with it: (As written elsewhere)

The Five Stages of Evolution of a Sport Hunter  

As with all things in life, a hunter's perspective of his sport changes as time goes by.  According to the Hunter's Education manual used by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, the five stages of a hunter's life are (a) the Shooter Stage, (b) the Limiting-Out stage, (c) the Trophy stage, (d) the Method stage, and (e) the Sportsman stage.

As the sport of hunting itself changes through the years, so do the factors that determine what "successful hunting" is.  Add to this the changes that take place in each hunter's life, and things can get a bit confusing.  Some of the factors that can determine or influence what kinds of hunters we become are (a) the hunter's age, (b) his hunting companions, (c) his role models, (d) his personal ethics, and (e) his and years of hunting experience.  All of these affect our ideas of "success."  Where a hunter fits into one of the five groups may change as he progresses in his hunting career.  What stage are you in now?  What stage would you like to be in?

The Shooter Stage

A hunter who is in the Shooter Stage talks about satisfaction with hunting being closely tied to being able to "get-in some shooting."  The beginning duck hunter says that he had an excellent day if he got-in a lot of shooting.  The beginning deer hunter talks about the number of shooting opportunities.  Missing game means little to hunters in this phase.  A beginning hunter wants to pull the trigger and test the capability of his firearm.  A hunter in this stage may be a dangerous hunting partner.

The Limiting-Out Stage

A hunter who is in the Limiting-Out Stage still talks about the satisfaction of shooting.  But what seems more important to him is measuring success through the killing of game and the number of birds or animals that he has shot.  Limiting-out or filling a tag is his absolute measure of success.  Do not let your desire to limit-out be stronger than your concern for safe behavior at all times.

The Trophy Stage

The satisfaction of a hunter in the Trophy stage is determined by the selectivity of game.  A duck hunter might take only greenheads.  A deer hunter looks for one special deer.  A hunter might travel far to find a real trophy animal.  Shooting opportunity and skills become less important than finding and shooting the coveted trophy.

The Method Stage

When a hunter has reached the Method Stage, he has accumulated all the special equipment that he could conceivably need.  Hunting has become one of the most important things in his life.  His satisfaction comes from the method that enables him to take game.  Taking game is important but secondary to how he takes it.  This hunter studies long and hard how best to pick a blind site, how to lay-out decoys, and how to call-in waterfowl.  A deer hunter goes one-on- one with a white-tail deer — studying sign, tracking, and the life habits of the deer.  This hunter often handicaps himself intentionally by hunting only with black-powder firearms or bow and arrow.  Bagging game, or limiting, still is a necessary part of the hunt during this phase.

The Sportsman Stage

Finally, as a hunter ages and after many years of hunting, he tends to "mellow out."  He now finds satisfaction in the total hunting experience.  Being in the field, enjoying the company of friends and family, and seeing nature outweigh the need for taking game.

Not all sport hunters go through all these stages, or go through them in this particular order.  It is also possible for hunters who pursue several species of game to be in a different stage with regard to each species that he hunts.  Some hunters feel that role models of good sportsmen, training, or reading books or magazines helped them pass more quickly through some of these stages.

There you have it, two studies with two very different ways of looking at hunters and how we approach our sport.  Does one of these categories describe you?  Where are you in your hunting career now?  Where would you like to be?  Each of us has to decide for himself what kind of hunter he wants to be, and to be the best hunter that he can be.

Qualifying Statement: Please know that I'm not a "everybody fits in a box" kind of guy but I'll admit to passing through a few of these stages to get where I am now.

Regardless of your age or where you are / aren't in these "stages" I'm glad we're a part of the trad group!

I started trad when I was 20. That was all I shot for years. Then I went to compounds and am now dabbling in trad again. Im 42.

61 - Old enough to know better, but still too young to care.

I'm 61 I have to sons 38, and 34 Who both shoot nothing bu tradational. I started shooting at 15. did Compound for less then 1 year before coming back to traditional. "Train them up in the way they should go...."  

41 here but don't look a bit over 1     8. Feeling it though.

I'm 45 and been serious about this for 21 years.

44 here. I would have thought I would have been on the "young" side of the group. Guess not...          

44 with 45 coming in December...