How old were you when you started with trad gear?

Started at 3, now 65. You'd think I'd be better at it!

[MnFn]

I had an old green fiberglass bow when I was about 8 or 9.  I think Kendall Techau and I had the same bow.

I remember waiting patiently for my dad to come home on my 13th birthday,(he worked away from home during the week).  He bought me a Shakespeare Wonderbow, 40@28" Shot my first buck with it in 1972. My mom sewed camo covers for it from some old WWII parachute. I still have it.
 

[b.glass]

39 yo. Trad gear from the start. Never any other.

[Arwin]

I was 23 when I started and I'm 34 now.

[stagetek]

I started shooting those fiberglass recurves when I was a little kid. But my first licensed deer hunt was in 1967. I was 15.

[kat]

I sure wish that I had started as early as many of you did.
I got started at age 56, and am still learning every day. But I guess you learn more every day no matter what your age.

[Roninrus1]

About 10.  Found a red bow with broken tip in dump while cutting pine poles for martin houses.  Used dad's small round file to cut groove for string and used model airplane glue to seal and hold glass together. Found a string at hardware store w/loop in one end and tied loop in other end at what I guessed was right length.  Cedar arrows were 25 cents at hardware stoe.  Nobody knew anything about spine, etc.  Shot rabbits and squirrels w/it.  When out of hi-school and had a min wage job got a new 49# Red Wing Hunter.  Been at it over 50 years now.

[Bldtrailer]

Which time I started with trad archery till I went into the army from the age of 7 and then went to the "dark side" compounds in 1982 when I got out of the army. tryed trad with a long bow in 1990-91  till a left hand injury stopped that,went back to the dark side. now two years ago I saw the light and have been all trad sence.  

[reddogge]

I was 11 in 1955 and my parents gave me a Ben Pearson lemonwood longbow, 30#, and an archery kit. I bugged them to death after seeing the movie "Robin Hood".

[L. E. Carroll]

1962 and I was 11 years old at the time.

Gene

[wollelybugger]

This is my 46 archery hunting season all with recurves and longbows. Shot my first buck with a Hill longbow many years ago. Shot him at 6 yards from the ground. Started shooting at rabbits and chipmunks before that but couldn't tell you when.

[Bonebuster]

Probably about 1973 0r `74 my mom bought me a Blackhawk/Cravotta longbow at a yard sale. It came with several arrows, a back quiver, a homemade finger tab, and a spare string. It was a STOUT bow for an eight yr old boy...but I adapted.

Went to a compound bow from `80 to `89, but I have been back "home" ever since.

[Ia Hawkeye]

When I was 10. I'm 72 now.