Traditional Journey Philosophies (Bows)

[Chromebuck]

Based on comments and questions I frequently receive in the Classifieds.  I wanted to share a philosophy I've developed regarding my journey...

First off, it seems commonly thought that we can learn to shoot any bow we set our minds too.  If all a person had was one bow; that person would learn the nuances of that bow and make it work.  I prescribe to this idea also.  Though I’ll let the prepper/survivalist types and conspiracy theorist give the myriad of scenario’s that attest to the merits of this concept…

The way I approach the bow aspect of my trad journey is by keeping two bows on hand at all times that I am completely confident and shoot lights out with.  These bows are the result of having gone through a ( relatively speaking ) pile of different bows.  However, even though I have my static brace of bows I always have one, sometimes two  :cool:  in some phase of procurement.  When a new bow shows up that meets or exceeds what I have on hand then a static bow must go just to keep decision simple, reinforce my confidence, and help to fund the next project.  This is one reason I don’t post bows in my sig. line anymore.  It can appear a bit squirrely to observe a person’s bow tendencies.  Although my two reining champs have held their title for far longer than I expected.

The bows I keep have, out of the box, shot and fit like a natural extension of my body.  If a bow requires me to learn it beyond basic tuning it creates a level of anxiety which seems to be directly proportionate to the amount of time I waited to receive it.  After trying so many different bows now I liken the experience to a bell shape curve.  A build up of anticipation(Y axis) until arrival, a short plateau, and then plummet back to the X axis.  The craftsmanship, finish and performance are always exemplary, but the fit is quite often non-existent.

This is precisely why I will hardly ever give any consideration to a Shrew vs. Griffin vs. Toelke vs. Centaur thread.  Or what’s your favorite longbow?  Regardless of maker, it is a ridicules notion to believe what works for you will work for the masses, yet alone silly ole me…

Caviot - This approach has not a single foothold in economics!  As probably about 20% of used bows I recover cost and O% of new bows.  Loses aren’t huge, but over time I’m sure the number is significant, relatively speaking again.  

What say you?

[maineac]

I have been more moderate and slow in my approach to finding "the" bow.  But I think you have stated a very valid point.  Waht works for your body, and shooting style might not work for me.  Each must find their own.  But isn't that the fun, joy and frustration of this traditional journey? I wouldn't substitute it for the guarentee of sights and a relase for anything.

[Bowwild]

Interesting, thoughtful comments Chromebuck.

I started tinkering again with recurves in 2001, again in 2004 and then seriously in 2010. Since then I've gone through (mostly) several different recurves. A bow I really like for awhile can quickly go for sale or worse, taken down and put in a case or hanging, unstrung from the bow rack.

Initially I was drawn to customs with great reputations that met my idea of a good looking bow. Good looking to me is first a recurve, second mass in the riser, and third made of exotic woods. For a period I thought I could shoot any of them equally well (or poorly, depending upon one's perspective). A couple of times I've even gotten silly and shot an arrow from each bow to see what I could do.  This exercise usually ended in a little frustration.

Now I'm drawn more and more to bows that feel good throughout the draw and the shot. The grip must guide my hand into the same and proper position every time. I'm discovering, somewhat to my dismay that an awful lot of bows I really like have hand-shock. Once you've shot bows without this hand-shock it is pretty difficult to tolerate it.

I'm starting to keep to myself new bows when I get them instead of talking them up here.  The reason is that in weeks or months, maybe more, I'll move on to something else (better?).

Some things I know for sure:
1. I will only give recurves a try.
2. I would rather be under-bowed than over-bowed.
3. Aesthetics don't trump shootability.
4. Every brand of bow has fans.
5. And like a favorite here on the "Gang" often points out, the arrow is key.

[Chromebuck]

Originally posted by Bowwild:
Initially I was drawn to customs with great reputations that met my idea of a good looking bow. Good looking to me is first a recurve, second mass in the riser, and third made of exotic woods. For a period I thought I could shoot any of them equally well (or poorly, depending upon one's perspective). A couple of times I've even gotten silly and shot an arrow from each bow to see what I could do.  This exercise usually ended in a little frustration.

Now I'm drawn more and more to bows that feel good throughout the draw and the shot. The grip must guide my hand into the same and proper position every time. I'm discovering, somewhat to my dismay that an awful lot of bows I really like have hand-shock. Once you've shot bows without this hand-shock it is pretty difficult to tolerate it.

I'm starting to keep to myself new bows when I get them instead of talking them up here.  The reason is that in weeks or months, maybe more, I'll move on to something else (better?).

Some things I know for sure:
1. I will only give recurves a try.
2. I would rather be under-bowed than over-bowed.
3. Aesthetics don't trump shootability.
4. Every brand of bow has fans.
5. And like a favorite here on the "Gang" often points out, the arrow is key.

Roy,

Great reply, and some of the ideas I'm really happy to take away from this discussion.

   

Spot on!

Mike I admire and read many of your post thanks.

~CB

[McDave]

I like to collect bows, and currently have about 20.  Whether I keep a bow depends on on whether I can make it shoot where I look, and whether it is a joy to shoot. I have ordered some of the most expensive bows made, and have put some of them up for sale within a week after getting them, and have kept others. Same with less expensive bows. I don't think anyone can make a product out of wood that has to work like a bow has to work and guarantee the outcome. Anything can be made to function with a fiberglass backing, but they all have their own personality, some good, some not so good.

[Sixby]

I agree with you in every respect.
 
God bless you, Steve

[Chromebuck]

Dave,

Can you explain what that means?  As in lets say the opener of muley is in one week.   Have you practiced for weeks with one bow or do you rotate between them all and just blindly grab one from the twenty on the rack for opener?

[McDave]

[McDave]

Before this year, I would already have the bow picked out that I planned to hunt with well before the opener, and my backup bow, which would shoot about the same, and would practice with both of them exclusively for weeks before hunting season. This year, I bought a new bow, doesn't matter from whom because it could have been anyone's, that I knew I loved from the first shot. I knew that it would be my hunting bow this season, and maybe for a long time to come.

Some of the other 20 are target bows, some are specialty bows like self-bows, some are bows that I used to hunt with that are now too heavy for me, and some are perfectly good hunting bows that I might use in the future, but I've just found other bows that I like better now.

[Tutanka]

I personally don't buy into the bow makes a difference theory.  I feel that too many people find it easier to blame the bow rather than themselves for the way they shoot a  particular bow.  I would be interested to know how many people  can consistently shoot a 270 or above on a 300 round or shoot 360 and above on a 40 target 3d round.  Everyone says that each bow is different, but what if they were to spend more time with a particular bow, would this said bow maybe tell them things that are wrong with their shooting form.  Things like a difference in sound from shot to shot, or a difference in feel in the vibration of the bow.

I look at some of the accomplished hunters on this site and its suprising to me how few bows some of these guys actually own.  Look at Guru and FerretWyo for example, how many bows in the last couple of years have you see these guys go thru, not many.  But, look at the results that they have each year.  Shedrock is another example of this but in a different way, he has a lot of bows, but they have all been made by the same bowyer.

Anyway, interesting topic for sure.

[Sixby]

I moderately disagree with the post that the bow does not make a difference. I say moderately because I know for a fact that it makes a lot of difference to certain individuals and not at all to others.
for instance I can pick up just about any bow and shoot it after a couple of shots. Some cannot do that. However those same people can shoot certain bows very well. Give them a different grip or different feel and they just cannot seem to adjust;
Therefore the bow does make a tremendous difference to them where to me it does not unless it is some untunable piece of garbage.

That is why I said moderately disagree with Tutankas statement. Not completely and in fact I do agree with some but not all as we are all different.

As an example I failed to provide a grip that was right for a customer several years ago and I had him send his bow back. I looked it over and shot it and it was great for me. He had marked out what he needed changed but I decided the bow he sent back was just too nice to redo so I built him a new bow with the adjustments he wanted. God was good and this time we nailed it and that bow is his go to bow. Larry Altizier is his name and he loves that bow.

God bless you all, Steve

[Hopewell Tom]

I've felt like a pinball since coming to this site several years ago. A bit of a gearhead, I assembled a bunch of equipment, in particular bows, arrows and quivers, only to find that most of it doesn't suit me. But a lot of reviews spoke highly of each piece.

We don't have the shops, shooting lanes or gatherings up here that I see in the US, so each piece has to be brought in and tried out, unseen or handled beforehand. I've felt a bit embarrassed when some highly touted piece didn't pan out, as though I was missing something. McDave's comment about selling a new bow after only a week is a big help to me.
 
I'm in the process of getting rid of most of the gear that doesn't work and the economics are VERY bad in that respect, but better a few dollars than an unused piece of gear. A couple of weeks ago, I came to the 2 bow conclusion as good idea.
Not that it seems a whole lot easier, the vast array still exists!

I do have some better parameters now though, and feel it'll be a smaller search. It's very expensive to ship gear up here and I'd like to find a couple of bows/quivers that work well and then just work with them. The admiration and drooling can continue, but I feel better prepared to contain myself.

My father used to say that you should move every 6-7 years or so to help keep the clutter down. Since moving my mother to an assisted care facility last year, that comment makes a lot of sense. Whittle the gear down to a reasonable level and use each piece more is my new philosophy.

[Stumpknocker]

I've narrowed it down to two bows,  a widow plx osage and a Morrison Shawnee w/carbon foam. Both are 56@28.   It was a long journey that got me two these two bows, and some days it gives me fits as to which bow I should carry.  I cannot imagine having more bows to decide from.  I hunt with mine and would not be comfortable changing bows mid season.  I know there are other great bowyers out there that I would like to try, but doing so would further compound my angst in choosing which rig to carry afield.  It got so bad in the past that I would just have to break one down and hide it in the closet.  All I want to worry with right now  is where to hunt and staying focused.  To each his own though.  Nothing against trying lots of bows or having a full bow rack, but for me the focus currently is working out the particulars of learning how to shoot what I have.   Came right close to buying a Cheyenne off here not long ago, so the temptation is always lurking.

[Richie]

Nicely stated Chromebuck.  

[Brianlocal3]

I agree and do the same as chrome almost to a T. I keep two shooters and have a "trader" it gets hard sometimes.  I think you need two bows just in case of a breakage, and if I was a better shot I'm sure I could keep 20, but between tuning of different bows, having proper arrows and enough of each and then just consistency I do best with two.
I say that BUT my goal for a while has been to own a short aggressive hybrid, a mild d/r and a "Hill" style. I am currently waiting on my 56" sapsucker and that Gould round out my collection. To 68" LB and one 56" hybrid.

[Orion]

I've been shooting sticks for more than 50 years, and usually have a dozen or so in my stable -- longbows, hybrids, recurves, selfbows.  I shoot and hunt with them all, though I mostly use longbows.

For my out-of-state elk hunts, I usually take two closely matched hybrid longbows. For turkeys this spring, I'll be shooting a short recurve and a selfbow.  For deer next fall, I'll likely be shooting a hybrid and a Hill and a moderate r/d longbow, and maybe a short recurve in a particularly tight tree stand.  They're all close in weight and shoot the arrows I have matched to them very similarly. Though I tend to hunt  with one or two bows most of the season, it's not unusual so switch bows from one day to the next or even from the morning to the afternoon.

I don't buy the argument that sticking to one bow improves one's shooting.  Good practice improves one's shooting, regardless of the bow or number of bows one shoots.

Over the years, I have found that I go through cycles.  I shot recurves for many years. Then mild r/d longbows for about as long.  More recently I've been doing most of my hunting with hybrid longbows. I can already I feel the onset of the next cycle.  It's a return to mild r/d and straight longbows.

It's all good.