Blaino, the way I see it, it's an all win situation. You're joining an organization that promotes traditional values, knowledge through experience, and conservation. There's also some really great people to meet!!

Well I'm glad my humble inquiry has perhaps helped raise a renewed interest to some people who, like me, were/are unfamiliar with such a great organization. I am happy I looked into it and (once my membership is activated) doing what I can to aide in furthering the cause(s). Thanks again for the replies!

Welcome to PBS Lucas! Just getting to meet Joebuck is worth the price of membership!

Welcome new members!  As others have stated, the more you put into PBS the more you will receive in return.  Whenever I have moved from job or school, one of the first things I did was look up PBS members in the area I was moving to and a few phone calls/letters later I had a bunch of new friends eager to include me in local shoots and had invitations to join them on hunts.  PBS is a big family of people you actually like and want to spend time with.

John V., that's an excellent idea. And as a Soldier I suppose the idea has a special merit. Thanks for the welcome!

Welcome to PBS, Lucas!

I guess I'll be the  negative opinion.  I just got my first renewal notice in the mail and I don't think I'll pay again. I wasn't terribly impressed with the magazine, and the website doesn't seem to get much traffic. I think I'll try BHA next.

QuoteOriginally posted by Cyclic-Rivers:
Lucas.. First of all welcome.

I think this thread may be best suited for their web site.

I joined because its an organization I believe in. I am not very active yet but hope to be one day.  I am getting my feet wet right now.

Even though I think there is some cross over with "like" activities here at Trad Gang, you will find guys over there live to Bowhunt and do everything in their power to not only promote Bowhunting but ensure its around for as long as possible.

I think a  lot of Members here at Trad Gang are PBS material who haven't Joined whether they are not familiar or not interested so I often mention it to guys through PM's if I think there is a possibility of them or PBS benefiting from their membership.

Just wanted to let you know that when you mentioned PBS to me nearly a year ago in a private message I looked into it and ended up joining soon after. I think it's a great organization with solid ethical standards. Just wanted to say thanks for planting the seed with me to look into it!

Welcome Lucas. I just found out that the Odd Year Gathering will be July 2015 at Ojibwa Bow club in New Berlin WI. Always a great time.

Wish I would have read this earlier.   PBS threads have been welcome on TradGang since day one.  A lot of us here on Tradgang live to bowthunt whether they are members of PBS or not. Some folks just aren't joiners.  I know a few guys that are 'professional bowhunters' but they aren't members of PBS for one reason or another, some if these guys I know are dear friends of mine.  Nothing wrong with being a member of PBS either, great organization.

TradGang use to Host their forum here...and would do so again.

Nothing wrong with chatting about PBS here at all.  No need to apologize for anything.  

   

Welcome Lucas  You made a good move.... Great  organization.... great dedicated members.  
      :

QuoteOriginally posted by Terry Green:
Wish I would have read this earlier.   PBS threads have been welcome on TradGang since day one.  A lot of us here on Tradgang live to bowthunt whether they are members of PBS or not. Some folks just aren't joiners.  I know a few guys that are 'professional bowhunters' but they aren't members of PBS for one reason or another, some if these guys I know are dear friends of mine.  Nothing wrong with being a member of PBS either, great organization.

TradGang use to Host their forum here...and would do so again.

Nothing wrong with chatting about PBS here at all.  No need to apologize for anything.  

       

Thanks Terry. I think I can probably speak for just about every PBS member to say we really appreciate what you and Rob and all the moderators do for traditional bowhunting and the PBS.

I will also say that one really needs to attend one of the Gatherings or Odd Year events to get the best feel for the PBS. Very hard to understand the PBS from the magazine or an internet site.

This is an organization that I have been hemming and hawing about joining for a long time now. I don't know why, I have just been thinking about it for some time.
I stopped by the booth at the Compton shoot this year and asked pointedly, what the PBS does. I got nothing but blank stares and nothing verbal aside from "just a group for likeminded people".

This is why I still haven't joined I guess. I just cannot get a read on what it is that the PBS does. Kinda like a secret society  :D
Hopefully, someday I will find out the tangibles that will allow me to get me head around this group.

Any organization is only as good, only as "driven", only as focused, as it's "active" members wish it to be.  PBS is going thru some subtle changes, to help us be a better organization for the members, and ultimately for bowhunting - as we see it - as a whole.   There is a desire within our ranks (PBS) for us to be more than just a gathering for likeminded bowhunters.   I think most of us realize now, that we need to be more visible, more active in showing the world who we are and what we stand for...or risk fading into history as some sort of footnote.  

PBS ranks are filled with the "best of the best"...and yet we hesitate to step forward many times in a critical role for fear of losing perhaps the best thing about PBS - the fraternalism that really seems to be the glue that keeps us going.   Unfortunately, that means that outside our ranks, many don't know about us, and enough time has passed and "other" organizations formed to make PBS lose some of it's attractiveness to other potential bowhunters.    We have never worried about that, really, as PBS'ers have always believed that not all are PBS material and you can't "force" something on someone that never really "gets it" anyway.   But we do recognize that times change and we must adapt.   Hence the website, the forums, and other changes too.    And we need new blood and new ideas.   There are lots of Trad-gang members who most likely never have heard or checked out PBS.    For some of those who haven't I would like to invite you to check out our "Journey of Challenge" website as well as the PBS's main website....and feel free to ask more questions about any of it.

I joined PBS many years ago to be able to share "my" bowhunting with likeminded friends...and I've never regretted it!   The magazine, IMO, is worth the price of admission itself.  Again, it's only as good as it's members contributions, but at times it rivals any magazine out there, and I guess I'm old fashioned enough to appreciate a good read in my hands vs. a computer screen.   The banquets are among the best across the country, and members everywhere are stepping up and holding all sorts of events.   And don't forget the youth.....

Enough already....check out this link and the video that is a PBS endeavor featured.

http://www.journeyofchallenge.com/

The PBS is a lot of things. Its a conservation group, its a lobby group for bowhunting rights and legislation, Yes, it is a group of like minded people.  Its funny but G. Fred Asbell had an article in the latest TBM.  The Title is "What's In It For Me?" Now, I haven't read the article completely, but it seems to be going the way of the inaction of some who may want to reap the benefits of the work of others.  I for one try to join as many bowhunting, traditional bowhunting, conservation groups as I can because they're are the ones doing the work.  

I had a guy complaining that NY is allowing Xbows.  I asked him if he belongs to NY Bowhunters or any other group.  He said no.  I told him not to complain then.

Mark Baker...
Had I heard anything (like what you just posted)I probably would have signed up at Compton. Thank you.
My wife and I have participated and involved ourselves plenty throughout our lives but we don't involve ourselves in things that don't offer any benefit... not to ourselves but to the things we believe in.

I was not aware of any of the new things you mention and they are things that were needed IMO, because in years past, there wasn't anything of substance to make oneself aware of what this society was all about. Not that one could find, other than some comments here and there.

That's how I have seen it and I have seen it that way because of what I have been exposed to, or lack thereof, should I say.

Thanks so much for the link!!

Welcome new members and potential members. I agree that you can't join enough pro bowhunting organizations in order to protect our sport and guarantee our right to bowhunt for the next generations.

Mark, great post.

You're more than welcome for that link....and by the way, I'm sure there is someone more than willing to accept your membership still!  

For years I was happy to just be among friends and feel like I was a part of something...but as I got older, and perhaps wiser (some my doubt it, though) I also began asking questions and demanding more from my organizations.   In this day and age, there are so many to choose from, and most of us can't afford them all.   One thing I know, is that over the years I have found (and as a result of belonging to PBS) that all those guys I "idolized" were really just like me...regular guys.   And as we struggle to compete for a limited pool of potential members with other organizations, we need to "step up" a bit.   It's far easier to take action from within an organization, than from the outside.  And what better than to light a fire under the most experienced and dedicated bowhunters in the world?   And they respond...as they have all their lives.  These are already many of the movers and shakers that have fought for your opportunities all across the US and Canada and the World for that matter - on a local and state level, for decades.   There simply is no better pool of experience anywhere.   That is potential...that is power just waiting to be put to use...that is experience every member has a chance to tap into - and without ego or pretension in the way.   That is PBS.   But we admit we need new eyes, new ideas, new blood, and fresh energies.   Join us, you won't regret it.

Well if nothing else hopefully PBS gets some folks taking a new or another look at what they've been doing lately. By reading posts here on Tradgang and many other groups I watch on facebook, traditional archery and especially bowhunting are slowly (but surely) growing. There is a generation (not specifically an age) of hunters becoming disillusioned with how "easy" hunting has become and are looking to get that spark back. Places like Tradgang and PBS are where they can and will feel less like they're the only people doing it - that they're not crazy. Throw in there the added benifit of learning from everyone things like field craft, ethics, techniques, conservation, etc. and the community as a whole benifits. I know when I found Tradgang it was like reaching an oasis, haha And with PBS I have a chance to give back in any way Im able to. Like someone said, it is probably not for everyone, and I don't see anyone any less for saying it isnt for them. We're all after the same thing and the trip there is unique for all of us, but as unique as it may be - places like PBS and Tradgang will ensure that the only time we're "alone" is when we want to be, in our stands and blinds. Haha Happy shooting all!

I have visited the PBS web page and can find no reference to the 50 pound minimum draw weight requirement they have promoted in the past . Is this still in force? I called their office and no one was available to take my call. I realize they could be closed for Labor Day. I have always hunted with 50 plus pounds at 28" but have recently gone down in weight. Now shooting, at 67 years of age,  47 to 50 pound bows. Just thought I would ask.