My 43-Year Old Son Asked why Traditional

[toddster]

There are a lot, but for me sum up this last summer, talking with a guy at a car show, he asked me this, "Why use a stickbow?"  I asked him, "Why did you buy that corvette, when any car will do?"  He said, "The Vette just makes me feel good".  I said, "That is why, it just connects me with history, nature and fills my soul, besides cann't enjoy the flight of arrow out of a compound".

[MCNSC]

One of my reasons was simplicity. My working life I was a machinist/toolmaker/mechanical tech , always working with tools. Sometimes setting up a compound seemed an extension of work. Looking for something simpler while at the same time more challenging.

[Steve Clandinin]

I’ve noticed one thing about all the people above , we’re all old farts lol. To me it is so much more than just shooting a bow ,it’s a lifestyle. I worked for years in a high tec environment and today I want nothing to do with that I don’t own a cell phone and don’t even where a watch anymore .The smell of Port orford cedar and burning turkey feathers , Latigo leather and damp wool just can’t be described. I really learned to shoot watching Fred Bear on the American Sportsman and my Dad telling me about Howard Hill, so many deep memories I’m just not ready to forget. For me plastic ,pulleys and metal just can’t replace yew, leather ,wood and feathers.

[George Tsoukalas]

Steve, you made me laugh. What you said is so true. Our hearts, though, are in the right place.
Time with family shooting our bows of whatever ilk (compound, trad, all wood) is precious. Jawge

[SS Snuffer]

I shoot a long bow cause I can, when I can't I will shoot a compound and when I can't shoot that then I'll shoot a crossb    NAAaaa   I'm to darn old!!

[degabe]

I tried the compound thing and found that I didn't care for it. Fast foreward a bunch of years and my oldest Grandson started shooting a longbow. When he decided to try bow hunting he got a compound to hunt with Then he bought a crossbow and used it one season> It sets in my gun room and he is hunting with a recurve because its more of a challenge.

[Bowguy67]

It’s all about the added challenge and the accomplishment when we succeed. Think of the small minority ever actually felt this. If someone doesn’t understand you really can’t force them to. Sport hunting is supposed to be sporting

[John Cholin]

Life is way too short to spend it hunting with an ugly bow.

JMC

[RJonesRCRV]

I like that I can toss my bow across a slick gulley before crossing, and I don't need to worry about knocking anything out of wack.  Its the same if I lean it against a tree and it falls, or if I accidentally drop it from a tree stand.  As long as it doesn't hit a rock or something sharp, a quick glance is all it takes to make sure everything is good.

[KentuckyWolf]

Because having a stick bow in my hands feels natural.

Because it’s simple.

Because it’s as close to my ancestors as I can get (spears and atlatls aren’t legal here).

Because it’s as close to “fair chase” (being on a equal footing as the game pursued) as you can get.

Because it’s not easy, it’s a challenge, it take dedication, practice, patience and effort

Because of the sense of accomplishment


Because game taken with a stickbow taste better

Because of tradition and family history (I grew up in archery and my dad, brother, cousins, uncles, great uncles, grandfathers, etc are/were archers).

[Kirkll]

 I learned to hunt with a rifle, and did so for 20 years. I didn't get into archery hunting until 1990 at age 35.
I loved the compound bows, and did very well hunting deer and elk for about 15 years. I shot competitively with a compound bow too for about 5-6 years, and I had a lot of fun with it... I could shoot a hundred yards as well as most guys could shoot a rifle before it was all said and done.....I got a kick out of balancing and blueprinting arrow shafts for long distance accuracy. It was a hoot!

But ......something just changed in me when i shot my first long bow....Hard to explain really....After my first exposure, i was already researching the art of building my own bow, and i never looked back. I just fell in love with the whole thing. Building my own bows and arrows from scratch, and the challenge of getting proficient enough to hunt was an incredible experience..... All my hunting buddies thought i'd lost my mind, but i didn't care at all.

Then I developed a passion for designing and building different types of traditional bows, and to this day I still enjoy the bowyers trade.       Kirk

[Roger Norris]

I have shot a recurve or longbow since I was 5. I am almost 60. I spent every summer as a kid near Grayling. I played "Fred Bear" in the woods chasing gophers and red squirrels.

I bought a compound the first year I was out of the Army, about 1985. I hunted with it for about a season and a 1/2. This was about the time of the Traditional Archery resurgence. G Fred Asbell caught my attention, and I immediately ordered a recurve. I never touched my compound again. They just don't do a thing for me