3D shoots and bowhunting?

[Jegs.mich]

Here it is

[Tim Finley]

I go to every shoot I can I never get tired of them . I have friends from around the state and its where we gather , its good practice you learn alot from others,  great comradery .

[Mike Bolin]

I went to a shoot this morning. Lots of folks taking advantage of the cooler temps and blue skies! My buddy and I arrived a few minutes late and ended up shooting by ourselves. There were 8 other guys form our group, the Grumpy Old Archers that shot together, but with the large crowd there, we opted to shoot on our own. Had a great time and shot well. Larger groups let the two of us shoot thru and we were done with the 32 target course in less than 2 hours. It was a good confidence builder going into the deer season and it will be the last #D I will be able to shoot this year. Ladder stand in the back woodlot and my old beat-up deer target, along with some judos and leaf clumps from now until October. Have a great and safe hunting season!>>>------->

[Maclean]

I like going to 3D shoots, as long as they're trad only shoots. I went to a shoot recently that included compounds and it just sucked all the fun out of it. Out here in the Rockies we don't have as many as back east, and they're smaller so it seems like a tight knit group of trad shooters. Always a lot of fun.
But I really like stump shooting too. I do most of it when I'm scouting pre-season, and while I'm hunting, just to stay tuned up.

[bigmuleyfan]

After talking with several trad shooters in different parts of the US, I was surprised that many of them don't shoot 3D shoots. All but a couple of those guys have 3D courses in their area and most have attended a shoot or two. The majority of them prefer stump shooting/roving as their preferred method to practice. I found that odd as the group of guys I shoot with try to hit a 3D shoot at least a couple of times a month.

I ask this question because I have found my desire to attend 3Ds is not near as strong as it has been in the past. I am sure that my age and shoulder issues play a part in that, but I do enjoy just wandering around the back woodlot by myself, picking out a leaf, clump of dirt or even a shadow and sending a judo point on it'
s way. Maybe I'm becoming anti-social, but it's so much more peaceful and relaxing shooting by myself.

Not looking for an answer per say, just something I was pondering on a rainy Saturday morning. A point of interest to me is that 3 of the most successful whitetail hunters I know (well known throughout the hunting community) have only shot a couple of 3Ds in their 60+ years of shooting. I asked one of them why he didn't attend shoots and he said that shooting around a bunch of people wasn't fun for him. I guess it's a matter of different strokes for different folks!>>>------>

It is funny because I've gotten to be the exact opposite. I would rather go shoot 3d any day these days over going hunting. I love the outdoors and love seeing animals but I've lost the desire to "have" to shoot any animal recently. I get depressed every fall when 3d season ends.

[bigmuleyfan]

I like going to 3D shoots, as long as they're trad only shoots. I went to a shoot recently that included compounds and it just sucked all the fun out of it. Out here in the Rockies we don't have as many as back east, and they're smaller so it seems like a tight knit group of trad shooters. Always a lot of fun.
But I really like stump shooting too. I do most of it when I'm scouting pre-season, and while I'm hunting, just to stay tuned up.

As someone who also shoots compound and is looking to start putting on 3d shoots what part of having compound shooters there sucks the fun out of it for you?

[Gordon Jabben]

Jason, traditional shooters like to shoot.  For us to go to a shoot and wait on a compound guy to fool with all his equipment, chairs, umbrellas, range finders, binoculars, etc. is more than most of us can take.  Also, they are just so competitive, it doesn't seem like they are having fun. 

[bigmuleyfan]

Jason, traditional shooters like to shoot.  For us to go to a shoot and wait on a compound guy to fool with all his equipment, chairs, umbrellas, range finders, binoculars, etc. is more than most of us can take.  Also, they are just so competitive, it doesn't seem like they are having fun.

Here in Az all the trad shooters go out first at all the 3d shoots. They never have to wait on anyone really and rarely do they even see each other more than just in passing so I guess that’s never been an issue I’ve had to deal with.

[The Vanilla Gorilla]

Cam, we had a lot of fun! Doesn't seem like it's been that long ago, but it's pushing 20 years now. That was the longest duration that I worked out of state and the furthest from home. Meeting up with you guys kept me sane! We need to make a plan to get together sometime. I will be heading out to Tulsa to visit my brother sometime early next year. I'll message you once I come up with a date.

Mike, you just let me know.  Bring your bow too.  Right now my lease and my land has lots of hog activity.  We can plan ahead and I can make sure i keep em baited up. But you know how that can be.  If nothing else,  there’s a year round 3D course on Lake Eufaula that we can wear ourselves out on for $10.  You got my phone number I believe?

[Mike Bolin]

Cam, I'll shoot you a text, I still have a number, but not sure if it's current.>>>------->

[Maclean]

I like going to 3D shoots, as long as they're trad only shoots. I went to a shoot recently that included compounds and it just sucked all the fun out of it. Out here in the Rockies we don't have as many as back east, and they're smaller so it seems like a tight knit group of trad shooters. Always a lot of fun.
But I really like stump shooting too. I do most of it when I'm scouting pre-season, and while I'm hunting, just to stay tuned up.

As someone who also shoots compound and is looking to start putting on 3d shoots what part of having compound shooters there sucks the fun out of it for you?

I agree with what Gordon said, too competitive and too much reliance on gadgets and technology. They were constantly arguing amongst themselves about who's range finder was the most accurate, or who's LED sight pins were the brightest in low light, or who had the best latest greatest arrow launching machine. And if their shot wasn't perfect, it was something wrong with their equipment and certainly not their lack of skill as an archer.
So yeah, it got old quick, and sucked all the fun out of it.

[Kirkll]

I used to shoot a lot of 3D for many years. Back in the early 90’s on the west coast it was primarily a compound bow game, and you rarely saw traditional archers at theses shoots. Originally my hunting partners and I used this as practice for hunting, and rarely shot from the stakes or kept score at all. We would side step into the brush or trees to create realistic hunting shots that were more challenging, and to learn your bows trajectory…. Do you shoot over that branch? Or under it? What happens shooting through a fern or small leafs to hit your target? It was good training and we didn’t use range finders at all.

Then I got the competition bug, and started spending all winter shooting indoors to fine tune my accuracy. I bought a light weight 60# competition bow that I could shoot 200 arrows a day with and became deadly accurate with it clear out to 80-100 yards. I shot the IBO circuit for a few years with some incredible archers and rubbed shoulders with national champs on occasion… it wasn’t hunting at all, but it was incredibly good training. I harvested a lot of animals with my compound bows before something snapped inside me one year. I could shoot 100 yards more accurately than most guys could with a rifle, but the animals can move before the arrow gets there….

I  had a nice bull elk that was laying down 80 yards away. Wide open shot, and I took my time setting up just like I did shooting 3D competition. The moment I let the arrow fly, the bull stood up, and the arrow stuck in the ground at his feet…. The bull didn’t even move except to sniff the arrow and then look around a bit….Something snapped inside me that moment…. I could have easily nocked another arrow and shot again, but instead I plopped down on my butt and laid down my bow… I was done with it. I watched that bull for another 20 minutes, then walked away…

That was the year I got into traditional archery, and I’ve never gone back. I did a bit of competition with my trad bows, but never really got back into it. We do not have all that many traditional archery clubs out here in the west, but there are a few clubs. The 3D events I attend have dwindled over the years to practically nothing now….    Kirk

[Mike Bolin]

Rereading my original post and the replies that followed it became clear to me that at least part of the reason I have lost interest in 3Ds is the compound shooters. I don't have any issues at all if someone choses to shoot a compound...some of my best friends are compound shooters.
All of the local shoots cater to the compound crowd as is to be expected as there are more guys shooting compounds. Most of the time (not all, but most) our group of Grumpy Old Archers will number from 5 to 10 shooters. We will break into groups of no more than 5 shooters. Most of the time we will catch up with a group of compounders even though they may have been 3 or 4 targets ahead of us. Very seldom have they offered to let us shoot through. We've even been told that if we were in a hurry, we should've got there earlier! This past weekend we shot a local range, and the conditions were beautiful...cool temps, low humidity, light breeze and blue skies. Maybe it was the weather, but every group we caught up with offered to let us shoot through! A few even asked questions about our bows and complimented us on our dedication to to "doing it the hard way"! It made for a very pleasant day.>>>----->

[dnovo]

I still very much like to shoot 3D shoots. I only have a couple buddies who share that interest and one of them was in a bad accident years ago so is unable to navigate much rough terrain. I'm the same as mentioned above about the compound shooters taking the enjoyment out of it for me so we stick to the large traditional shoots. I've always wanted to shoot the Rinehart 100 but have never done so knowing about the time spent waiting on each target. That will suck the life out of you. I have many times passed up groups of compound guys with their blessing and made sure we didn't miss any to waste their time while looking for arrows. But at some shoots it doesn't matter as there is no place to go with groups all stacked dup.

[Mint]

I'm lucky, my archery club is 20 minutes from my home and we have a 30 position 3D course with at least two rineharts at every position so I shoot 3D every Sunday. We have actual 3D shoots too. I think 3D helps me be a better hunter picking out where to aim etc.