Well, first their gonna have to figure out how to make a bow that is 100% efficient, and that'll be easy compared to making one 101% efficient. So as they say "it aint gonna happen".

Eric

Yikes man- wouldn't it be more satisfying to just get a mirror and study the lint in your navel?

Every guy that has ever built more than one of anything has always tried to build the second one better than the first.To think striving for better performance in todays bows is new or wrong is way off base.It is normal and very traditional for man to seek for "better", be it in performance or overall quality in a product.

Ethics has nothing to do with what you use,how fast it shoots or what it is made of.It is all about how "you" use it.

Earl: If your bow doesn't have wheels or string holding devises... It's Trad.

James on Laptop: Every guy that has ever built more than one of anything has always tried to build the second one better than the first. To think striving for better performance in today's bows is new or wrong is way off base. It is normal and very traditional for man to seek for "better", be it in performance or overall quality in a product.

Ethics has nothing to do with what you use, how fast it shoots or what it is made of. It is all about how "you" use it.

I like and agree with both equally,
K

I think Uncle Gene said it best in his last book.  Something about not overwhelming the deer with too much technology.  Let's face it...deer do not much care about the latest and greatest technology.  I'm not against gun hunting...I just don't wanna do it anymore.  I'm also not against compounds..since I used one years ago, but I gotta say...the compounds of today are much more advanced than they were even 15 years ago.  There are alot of compound hunters who could easily "bring home the bacon" with traditional gear, but many have never been exposed.  My dad did not deer hunt with bows.  When I started...I did not even know you could get traditional gear at the time.  I've said it before, but the writings of Gene and Barry Wensel changed my life.  Not just how I hunt...but my life.  Good stuff!

QuoteOriginally posted by vermonster13:
I like to hunt with bows where I hold all the weight. Call it what you like. I also like to hunt with the most efficient bows I can so that I know that I am doing all of my part to get a clean kill. I practice diligently and stay within my self imposed limits. I don't need a title for it beyond bowhunting, the rest comes down to personal choices. Do what fits within your ethos and is legal and we can get along fine.      

Well said, Dave! You pretty much summed up my feelings too.  

We live in a time where hunting has become a BIG business. Hunters have and will be bombarded with anything that gives them an "edge over the game". The modern world produces blister pack outdoorsmen who want instent gratification every time they are on the water or in the woods. Everyone here knows someone who needs all the new toys of the year to be a more proficient killer in a shorter amount of time. As Traditional archers we pride ourselves in doing things the hard way in order to savor the entire hunt, not just the outcome. If you look at what the stick bow industry has produced in the way of techno/cutting edge products in the last 10 years you will find nothing has changed. The bow/string/arrow improvements have done more for the longevity of the gear then its overall use. Yes, I agree we see a few more feet per second and a fast flite string will outlast a b-50 and a carbon arrow will take more punishment then a footed ceder shaft. But this still has not given anyone greater ability then they had 10 years ago. The bottom line, its not what you hold in your hands but what you hold in your heart.

Running Buck i totaly agree !!!!!!!!!!

QuoteOriginally posted by Foxtail:
Yikes man- wouldn't it be more satisfying to just get a mirror and study the lint in your navel?

I did (wasn't satisfying).

Was "traditional" though (all cotton)  

For me, technology doesn't kill traditional archery.  I enjoy better designed widgets and probably always will.

Complication is what kills traditional archery for me.  Keep it simple and it doesn't make me a bit of difference what's in the lam layers.  A bow, a string, an arrow and a target.  What else do you need?

There are more effective tools available to us other than a stick and string...it's a matter of choice, and ethics has nothing to do with it.

I sho0t bows to hunt. I went back to trad bows 18 yrs ago cause they made it FUN again! All I shoot at 3D, etc, is practice to hunt.

I hunt cause I love deer meat.  And I love the excitement when a critter steps out and I get to watch it unobserved: chippy, fox, coon, turkey, deer or bear. It's a God-rush. I love the "juice."

I embrace what technology I can so I can shoot the best possible combo of bow and arrow I can, invest the time I can to improve my abilities...and then embrace some technology to help me minimize whatever human error I might induce inadvertently.  

I respect the animals too much to ever let pride forbid me embracing some technology until I'm so good, it doesn't matter.

    Yeah, that's funny!At least the last part!    

Oh, on that note: Thank you Bob Morrison for coming up with a foam core, carbon limbed longbow set-up for my Cheyene riser. I now have decent lethal power at my constantly reducing draw weight to keep me in the game a bit longer!  That THAT, Arty Ritis!  

Well, look at ted nugent. he shoots a compound bow but it has no sights or stablizers or anything and he shoots fingers.

The answer seems to be that FPS can be unlimited as long as the bow looks "traditional". Standing 20 feet away from 2 shooters, one all super duper and the other all self bow and wood, both with the "traditional " look, I would dare say that the guy that will impress the most is the one drilling the "bull". And when we go over and talk to the "winner", we'll all want to know about his equipment. Arrow cast may, or not, be evident but the grouping will be the most impressive. If you need/want the newest and bestest - go for it, if not - go for it. As long as it "looks traditional", it'll BE traditional.

Actually. .  . I wonder if those guys before fiberglass would have cared or would even have rolled their eyes and said "what next".  Everybody was looking for an advantage, a way to get or be better.  

I really don't think that even the initial advent of the compund bows caused that response, other than they are heavy and loud and ugly.  

I think that it is more recent, since compounds (Mfr's) have been striving to make it easier and easier for anyone to shoot a bow and making them faster and faster and with more and more let off.

ChuckC

"In other words, when does the term "traditional archery" become invalidated by technology... even if the bow looks "traditional"?

Never.
Words have no "inherent" meaning. If the masses say something is "traditional" then it is traditional. After all our current concept of "traditional archery" is only an artificial construct. We can enjoy it only because of the thousands of humans before us who followed the "tradition" of seeking better ways to do things and took advantage of them. We are able to practice traditional archery only because of our modern lofty and comfortable vantage point that technology has brought us.