Compound shooters regularly ask me questions like: "ya think ya might ever move up to a compound?" or "you'll problibly move on up to a compound at Some point" and sometimes they tell me "yeah its impossible to shoot a recurve or longbow as well as a compound"

Do yall ever get annoying questions like these?

"How far can you kill a deer with that?"

"How many times do you have to shoot one?"

" Are You really going to hunt with that?"

I usually tell them "I used to shoot a gadget, but I moved up to this".

Larry

Most of the compound shooters are in awe.They ask a lot of questions but for the most part theyre truly inquisitive.Unfortunately most of them dont have the desire or time to devote to become proficient with trad gear.But for the most part you dont hear any negative comments.
                              Izzy

I agree...I have never been insulted by one, they always think it's pretty neat.Goofy questions like we are posting don't bother me at all.

Once I was shooting the DART system with a friend. I was shooting my brand new Marriah Chinook longbow...it was my first truly custom bow, it was beautiful. There were 2 guys behind us watching, and my buddy and I were "on", shooting pretty well.

I heard one guy whisper to the other "Why are they shooting bows like that?" The other guy answered, "They probably can't afford a good one".

They were dead serious. It was pretty funny.

 

"When are you going to go back to the compound?"

My answer:  When my trad gear is no longer fun to shoot.

Whenever I am at a 3D shoot with mostly compound shooters the kids in attendence are facinated with my recurve; they usually say "look, that guy has a real bow" and then ask a lot of questions about it.

Just arrived at bear camp in Maine and started to unload my gear when the guide came over to say hello. As I pulled out my backquiver with ten or twelve judos and practice arrows in it he said, "My Goodness Boy! How Many Shots Do You Think A Bear Is Gonna Give Ya?"

Well, I just gave him a wink.    Think it was Uncle Barry that said: "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand"

... mike ...

i have a friend who carries so much junk with him i call him packrat, his compound has so many gadgets its unbelieveable, i like simple and enjoyment in the woods. traditional, easy enough

I just say compounds don't work for me. While my personal feeling is shooting a compound or crossbow (about the same thing) is not truly archery, I don't want to discourage a bowhunter. If I just tell them why I like shooting traditional, rather than demeaning their bows, some will try trad. If they do, they are hooked.

We have an archery shop in Mason City (10 miles from Manly). I have had him order a few trad things for me, but he mostly caters to the compound shooters. When he found out I was shooting a longbow his comment was, I can't hit anything with them. That's why I shoot a compound. I told him it does take more practice, but that I enjoy the practice too. I also told him he had the perfect place to practice (he has a 20 yard, indoor range in the shop).

Not long ago I was talking to a friend who frequently shoots in the indoor range. He said the shop owner is now shooting a recurve! Cool!

The guys who maintain that we should shoot compounds because they are more accurate remind me of a story:

A guy woke up one morning at a great hunting lodge. He went out hunting pheasants that morning and soon had his limit. The next day was the same, even though he wondered at a couple shots. He thought he was behind the bird, but still it fell in a shower of feathers. The next day, he purposely shot three feet behind the first bird. Again, it fell to the ground stone dead. The next bird rose in a perfect going away shot. He pointed his shotgun straight up and fired...the bird dropped at the shot! That evening at the lodge, he told this tale to the owner. The owner responded, "Don't you know, son, you have passed on? You were killed in an auto accident last week." The man said, "But if this is Heaven, it's no fun. When you never miss there is no excitement in the hunt!" The owner shook his head and asked, "Who said you were in Heaven?"

"Do not try to understand them.....and do not try to make them understand you.....For they are a breed apart,and make no sense."

Chingashkook - The Last Of The Mohicans

If you REALLY want to see some funny looks,tell them.....

"I have already moved up FROM a compound.....compounds are too EASY"

do as i was once told to do when wheelie guys are ribbing you. challange them to a contest. at this point they will be all smiles and laughing. tell them you bet them $100 you can out shoot them at 20 yards but they have to do everything you do. they will take the bet in a minute! next take your trad bow and throw it 10 feet in the air, let it hit the ground and tap it against a tree a couple times then shoot. now say " your turn!!" and see what happens!!!

At elk camp I was the only one with a stick bow. I didn't get any shots at elk but did kill a rabbit at 25 yards. The compound guys well, 4 rabbits 3 grouse 4 elk, all misses. They didn't have time to use their range finders.........stabow

My girlfriend and I were running part of the archery event at a big kids event one day.  We had a whole line of kids waiting to shoot a recurve at a 3D bear.  One boy about 13 yrs or so was in line and telling everyone around him that he and his dad shot "real" bows at home.  I turned to him and said, "Well, these bows don't have training wheels so you're going to have to step up a little to shoot them."  Poor kid was so pissed off he missed the bear with all 4 arrows from about 20 feet.  It didn't help that a little tiny girl in a pink dress pinwheeled the bear just before his turn.

Guy

It seems that these days the wheelie guys not only bring their bows to the range, but their radar detectors as well. One wheelie guy came over to the range where I was shooting and told me that unless bow my shoots an arrow 300fps it aint worth shooting. Some guys just crack me up....

Some tell me that your doing it the hard way,I just tell them no I'm doing it the easy way...

My favorite is "I can't believe you killed all those deer with that".And better yet "I have never seen anyone squirrel hunt with a bow before."    
You show by example and the questons change tone.