Dude what is up with you & that bow!

[GRINCH]

Brad now thats funny,I;ve got a friend who shoots a 70lb compound when I got him into trad a 40 lb black swan was what he could shoot and hold comfortably.

[Encino Man]

I've only known one person that expressed a dislike for shooting a bow at a deer and that was my dad. Of course that's the same guy who would sit in the middle of an opening on a stump with a 30/30 in one hand and a Salem cigarette in the other and swore up and down "there are no deer in these woods".

[hitman]

Most of the people I work with have a real respect for what I do with traditional equipment. I can tell from the questions they ask. I think as far as I know that I am the only one here that hunts our way, but I have been sparking some interest.

[Hopewell Tom]

Where I shoot on Tuesday nights, one wheel guy looked at me and said "do you really hunt with that?"
I said I could hit a running target with it. He's looking really skeptical now.
I said "get running."

[Tajue17]

thats awesome!!  I love it and if you want to get some real funny looks head to a management area thats stocked with pheasant..  

1st they say "no arrow better land near my dog or us" I usually say "won't happen because I shoot at everything on the ground because they don't want to fly anyway" I'll shoot at running pheasants all day long but even the game warden says "you got to be kidding me"

[BCWV]

My nontrad friends have watched me go from modern firearms and wheelie bows to stick bows, progressively,in the last 35 years.
I went through hunting with repeating firearms to single shots, handguns, caplock muzzle loaders and then to flintlock. I've been stickbow only for some time.
The common question they ask me now is, are you hunting with rocks or clubs this year?
They like to razz us but they do respect the choice's we've made.

[1screagle]

I have been in a situation where my girlfriend and I were in a winter 3-D league and we were the only tradbow shooters there. Most of them all guys looking pretty serious looked at us liked we had 3 eyes. By the end of the league I think 6 of them told us they had purchased a tradbow. The spark in their eyes and the enthusiasm they spoke with was way cool. They were inspired and having fun, no denying it. It's the journey, the passion, which is the K.I.S.S. method. It's something deep inside if you have to explain is hard to put into words. Typically the words seem to fly thru the ears of most,continue to think your weird, but not all. Some do hear it and feel it. Yeah, it's kinda like you feel the shot. YES? NO?

[straight_arrow]

Unfortunate but have all had encounters with  folks that simply don't understand or have never been exposed to the traditional community.  It's up to us to keep the traditional spirit alive and well.

[PSUBowhunter]

My favorite comment came from the girl I car pool with. It wasnt so much of a jab as just a general comment.

She asked my what brand bow I shot, so I told her it was a Zipper. She said she never heard of it, so I told her it was a recurve. Her response was "do you mean one of those bows like we shot in gym class".....then told me "I can lend you money if you want to buy a real bow". I tried to tell her it was real bow, but she didnt believe me.

[lablover]

I truly have to say most of the folks around here may not understand why, but they respect the choice of those who choose trad. The rest don't count.

[koops4]

The response I have gotten to the fact that I shoot recurve is "how far can you shoot like 10,15 yards?".  When I tell them that I practice out to 30 yards (the lenght of my back yard) and feel comfortable shooting at game out to 25 yards or so they are quite surprised.

[wtpops]

ALL the comments I have gotten have always been good natured fun. It's always nice when I can get them back. The one I like best is when myself and some compound buddies are half way to our hunting spot one of them will say O dang we need to go back I forgot my release, I will look over and raise my hand and say I got mine.

One time I was walking back to camp and in the road was a very expensive range finder smashed into a hundred pieces; I scooped it up and put in my pack. When I got to camp there was a buddy looking through everything saying I can't find my range finder. I said I think I found it. I Dumped the pieces out on the table, his jaw drop and said oh no what I'm I going to do now. I just smiled and said, get close.

[Altiman94]

I like the looks at the range.  I normally bring my 3-D deer. Guys or gals will usually stay and watch if I actually can hit the target.  Some of them gather up enough courage to actually come over and talk with me.

I'm a compound convert myself.

[Montanawidower]

I remember watching my uncle shoot a recurve in "awe" as a kid.  I guess that did it for me.  

However, the local archery shop owner jokingly calls our trad group "the maimers".  We get no respect from him.

[NormanDale33]

My friends that I hunt with are both wheelie hunters. They give me a hard time cause I lost a few arrows shooting at a grouse in a tree (hard shot, although I am average at best) while we were hunting mulies this year.
We recently went again for blacktails and were stump shooting on the way out. I kicked there butts, and even smoked a shot at over 50 yards (crazy for me!). I was giving one of my buddies a hard time that he needed hearing protection to shoot his compound, and I told him I had seen a compound for sell for a good price. He said he had been thinking about getting a recurve or making a longbow with me instead.    One more convert I guess.

[PaddyMac]

I almost always get the same reaction when I show a compound shooter my bow. The word I hear most is "graceful".

I tell them that shooting it is like hitting the sweet spot in baseball or tennis or golf almost every single time.

[NotThe10thMan]

I get a little bit of that here at work, although overall, I'm regarded as a bit of an..."eccentric" anyways (to put it politely) so most of my colleagues wouldn't be surprised by anything I did.

To paint a bit of a picture here...

I work in a remote oilfield, where we're fortunate enough to have an archery range at our 300 man camp.  The range was hardly used for years, and there have been lots of ugly rumors of it going away permanently. (Kind of a "use it or lose it" sorta deal)

So, the day came that the Trad bug bit me hard.  I got equipped and started shooting Every night for at least 3-4 hours- at one point I was flinging over 2,000 arrows a week.  My passion bit into another colleague who has become a close friend that had a recurve collecting dust, and he started shooting as much as me.  On day to day perception, I'd say our colleagues have come to hold our skill in very high regard, and if anything give us more credit than we deserve.

Interestingly, With the two of us becoming regular Range Rats, we developed a clear interest in keeping the range open.  I brought up a right hand and left hand Sage, 35,40, and 50 lb. limbs, my 50 lb horse bow, his Hoyt, my own r/d long bow...we have enthusiastically invited anyone with a modicum of interest to come shoot with us, just to try and save our range, and maybe keep things interesting.

It's been strange to see.  Lots and lots of big, burly, tough men that could hardly pull the #40 lb. recurve, they all complained about their fingers getting sore and hurting, no matter what tab or glove we gave them to use.  Overall, of the many people we've invited out to shoot they all seem to consider the Trad shooting to be a bit too...hard core.  A few of them did go home and buy compounds though...  :rolleyes:  

Overall, it's been a bit discouraging in that regard, but happily, we probably get to keep our range for another year or two.

I've never regarded Trad. shooting as a "tough guy macho man" kind of thing, but.....???