I did NOT inhale, honest.

[boznarras]

I have never had a compound bow, but I have to admit to you and Dr. Phil something I did last night. (And NO, you do not smell compound on my breath, just maybe a little on my clothes)
I think there may be some dusty recurves and longbows here, but I don't see them. I keep going to the 3D course that the "Archery Club" set up in the woods a few years back (they are all compound shooters) and have run into those guys only once. I went and cut brush alone on the range a few times, and offered to participate in a work party if they set one up. It's a small town; we all know each other and what everybody's truck (and boat) looks like.
So far I have been shooting alone for over a year.
So anyway, they invited me to come to the high school gym last night and shoot with them. They set up targets with a backstop and shoot the length of the gym. I got there and there were 6 wheelies going at it. They looked at my Predator, and say hi, and they give me the BIGGEST target    .
I am happy to say I did not miss the target altogether, but I did soon move it to 25 yards instead of the range that they were shooting, which was the full court plus change, over 30yds.
I was doing a paper plate sort of group, not representing the group as well as some of you would, but I hung in there and got some bullseyes along with the fliers. It was not my finest hour, nor my worst. There was a pressure and distraction factor that I should have anticipated, but I don't know what I would have done about it anyway. Get more worried, probably.
I think they were all shooting less than 3 inch groups, some a lot less than that. In my dream fantasy I would have shot right along with them, maybe split their arrows  :p  , but that didn't happen.
Still, I had a good time and enjoyed hanging out with somebody else trying to shoot an arrow. I loaned one of them an arrow gripper I had, and gave somebody a new nock to replace his broken one. Just guys messing around.
I don't think I got very good practice doing this, but it was an interesting situation. I have an open invite to come back, they do it once a week. Overall I am glad I did it.
Who else does this, and what do you observe? How do you approach it? Do you think it does harm? I want to step outside the competetive angle that creeps in, and be a good rep for another part of the community, but it is new ground for me. Any insights appreciated.
Thanks,
Walt

[Brack Shooter 32]

keep going to the shoots and before you know it you won't be the only one in there shooting traditional tackle....trust me on that one  

[Bowferd]

Keep it up. Fine Job. Well done, You will be a formidable opponent, and have fun at the same time  

[Pennsyltuckey pete]

I have inhaled and still do occasionally.  How to approach it?  First, you are not in competition with anyone other than maybe yourself.  I will often shoot wheels after shooting stick and vice versa.  The accuracy level is totally different.  IT would be like asking you to race a WWII fighter plane against an F111.  No contest.  Yea they both fly but that is where the comparison ends.

Approach it as a night out with new friends.  Shoot the breeze, offer to let them swap equipment if they want.  Go ahead, inhale, and try a wheel bow.  It won't make you love your styk any less.  The most important thing is that everyone has a good time.  Who knows in 5 years they may all have discovered the love of a styk bow and you may have fallen for one of those sleek little dynamos with the fast cam and release that ooze accuracy.  

pete

[Whip]

Sounds like you did us all proud!            
Good job     - they'll never be exposed to the fun of traditional archery if we just stay hidden in the closet!

[turkey522]

Too each his own,just enjoy the company.Sounds like everyone had a good time.Just relax and have a good time.

[flinthead]

Shoot with everybody . I have a Drenalin LD [compound]and some Hummingbirds , a Crow Creek and a Widow . There is fun to be had with all bows .I am mostly Traditional but do not feel you have to wear a pink dress to shoot a compound . If our club had to depend on all Trad , members we would not have a club. Have fun with whatever you shoot . One opinion . Thanks , Flinthead

[oxnam]

I'm glad that you stuck it out.  The nice thing is a lot of compound shooters will expect next to nothing in the accuracy department, so they are frequently surprised and entertained at good shooting.

I think adding pressure to shooting situations is great practice as long as it doesn't crush you mentally.  

Set up shooting situations or some fun challenges that favor trad equipment and really highlight it's advantages.

Here are some ideas:

It is a lot easier to shoot with or out shoot them in the fading light of evening.  Their accuracy will drop off much faster than ours will in that situation.

Speed shooting with points based on accuracy is a fun one.  Keep it close or all the extra arrows in the world won't matter.

[Chris Shelton]

Well during the summer months we have the local Izacc Walton that holds 3d shoots on thurdsays and saturdays.  So I go as often as I can to stay sharp so to speak.  Some of them are kind and really some good guys, but some of them give you the nastiest of glares you have ever seen in your life.  Then you have the tip of the nose type look, where they are upmost superior in there mind!  And aside from my buddy, and a older guy, who I met once, and of course myself.  They dont see sticks very often.  I heard one talking once, he was actually saying to his buddy how well I was doing.  Then he went on to say how someone offered him a recurve once and he told that guy "no way in ****, you can shove that stickbow up your ***".  The one thing they all like to do, except one feller, is they let me pass.  They dont like to feel pressured.  

Our club is usually a stop for the Southern Triple crown.  Althought it wasnt last year, we had several regulars qualify for worlds.  Even a kid that was about 12.  But all in all they are a decent group of guys.  It never fails though, no matter who it is, I always feel the need to NOT miss around them.  Which makes for some real good buck fever practice.  I can fortunatly count the number of times that I have either put in a terrible shot or missed all together on one hand while in front of those guys!  I definatly appaud the comrodery between yourself and the "group"!  And it is definatly a good way to practice in the warmth!

[Buckwheaties]

The problem with you shooting one of theirs is that they are Very shooter specific, I mean if it doesn't fit you perfectly/ peep adjustment/draw length etc you won't be able to shoot it worth a sh$$.I let my non archery brother "try" mine and he shot the arrow way over the fence/ like missed by 10ft at 20 yds. Now they can usually shoot yours, no problem..

[Predator Man]

personally I dont like shooting with compound guys. There slow and boring. Take them into the woods with you and make them shoot your course.

[Michael Pfander]

I started shooting at an indoor 3-d on weds. nights almost 3 years ago.  It was all wheels except me.  Last night we had 5 guys and gals on the line shooting trad.  So I guess you could say that being there brought others out.  As it turns out almost all of the wheel shooters have trad bows and enjoy shooting them.  The problem is that its tough to get a shot here in the desert at game that most people can make with trad bows.  That said I still manage to kill a few critters from time to time.
MAP

[GREASEMAN]

Hang in there with the Trad Equip.,It'll rub off or you will attrack others just like you!

[boznarras]

Just got a knock on the door. My neighbor's 11 year old boy wants a lesson.
Guess I was hitting closer to a bullseye than I thought.

[metsastaja]

When I want to shoot 3inch groups at forty yards I inhale.  When I want to have fun I grab one of my recurves or my longbow.