Well guys, I had the MRI on my left shoulder a couple weeks ago, and surgery will come next Wednesday, the 4th. My shoulder has deteriorated to the point that I pretty much can't shoot my bow anymore. I was wanting to hunt some during the late season, but that looks doubtful. My goal is to have surgery on my left shoulder, and work really hard to rehab it back to the point that I can go back to traditional bows. I shot recurves and longbows for 20+ years before injurying my shoulder in 2000. I quit shooting for several years, but later I've tried the compounds, but it's not the same. I love the Oneida bows, and really enjoy rebuilding them, but there's something that's not there. Back when I started bowhunting back in 1978, compounds weren't very old. I, of course, was looking for something to kill a deer with. It was a means for me to get out in the woods more. I didn't realize that there was a love for the bow involved. I started with an old six-wheel Bear Whitetail bow with 4 fixed pins, and a shooting tab, and loved it. And, then I began to grow, in archery terms. I went from there upgrading my equipment every chance I got, and shooting more and more. I was shooting "bowhunter shoots" every weekend all over the South. I even developed and dealt with target panic while shooting indoor over in Memphis. I continued to grow, experiencing all the new, fangled equipment out there. I went all the way through the releases, moveable sights, multiple stabilizers, and even the overdraws. I was there in the beginning of the speed craze. I was one of the first to take the new fangled "speed cams" off of bows that weren't necessarily the most forgiving bows, and putting them on the higher quality target, and upper level hunting bows, to get more speed out of them. And that's when I noticed it. I was shooting just to shoot. There was no enjoyment in it. There was no excitement left. Oh, I enjoyed the competition, the comradery at the shoots, and the bowhunts, but I wasn't enjoying the shooting. I was slowly losing something I wanted. Then one day after a local bowshoot, a fellow club member was out on the practice targets shooting an old 65# Browning Firedrake. I walked over and watched for a while. And then I asked him about it. He told me it was just a simple bow with a stick, string and arrow. I asked if I could shoot it, and did. All of a sudden, it was like the first day I shot that old Bear Whitetail from Wal-mart. I couldn't contain myself. So right there at the practice targets I found what I was looking for, and I talked him out of the bow right there, and bought it. I never looked back.
So, here I am, older and I would like to think wiser. I know the old body isn't what it used to be. And, I'm there again. The target panic is back, and the joy just isn't there. The Oneida bows are the greatest compound that I've ever shot. They're everything a hunter should want, but unfortunately, not everthing a shooter would want. No matter how hard I try, I just can't find the love, or the tradition in shooting a compound. There is no one-with-the-bow ideaology. No matter how hard I try, I can't get past the fact that they're heavy, noisy (compared to traditional equipment), and they're complicated. There is no joining of the bow and the shooter. I relish the past days of looking at the spot and feeling the pressure of the bowstring against my fingers and the tension in my back as in one fluid motion the bow raises, comes to full draw, and releases the arrow to it's mark. And all without a single thought about distance, windage, body position, or angle of the shot. The brain goes on automatic, just like throwing a baseball, or football. All the calculations are done in an instance, just from a single glance at the target, or prey. To feel the arrow leave the bow without a sound to be heard by person or prey. To feel the warmth of the wood, made by God, just like man.
So, if the shoulder can be rehabed, and I can get the strength back in my shoulders, I'm going back to traditional. I was planning on looking into making my own bows, before I suffered the injury back in 2000. That need is still with me. I'm pretty good in the wood shop, so I believe that it's possible with some experience, and a few years to learn the art of making a true traditional beauty, I could fulfill that dream of mine. There once was a time when I made my own wood arrows, and feel that I need to expand my horizons in the traditional archery world. Also, traditional archery is so much more personal. I want to share this love with my grandsons. I want them to experience the love of the bow, not the bestest, fastest, greatest thing to hit the rack at the local archery shop. So, with a little luck, God's help, and a really hardcore physical therapist, I'll make my way back to the true love of my life (in archery, I mean), and I'll be sharing stories with you about how humbling it is to miss a deer, or turkey, but how gratifying it is to bust the nocks on the arrows of some loud mouth at the bowshoot shooting a high-tech compound that laughs at my old stick and string when we're shooting together.
I'm compiling a list of questions for all you bowyers. With each post I read about building a bow, I find something I need to ask questions about. I'll make one big post here in a couple of days, and you guys can share your experience and knowledge with beginning bowyer, and a rehabed traditional shooter.
Topic: Find My Way Back (Read 217 times)
