Why did you go trad

[Michael Arnette]

Originally posted by Cyclic-Rivers:
It was more fun.

Yep!

[Recurve50 LBS]

I got tired of hauling a heavy (5LB) compound in the woods, forgetting my release, and finding my range finder batteries dead.

[EWill]

I hated the "machines". I could shoot one ok, but never enjoyed it, it was a chore. The first time I shot a recurve for real it was just so much more fun and I knew immediately that this is what I want to hunt with. I was smiling from ear to ear with that bow in hand, and still do....for the most part.

[Cwilder]

I got bored with the compound
Switched and glad that I did. I have met so many great people from going to shoots    
It has brought back the fire for hunting and made it hard again

[3arrows]

Had two choices recurve or longbow, crossbows were not allowed back then.

[huronhunter]

I stared out with a compound in the mid seventies . Later I got envolved in the IBO thing for a short time . I found myself always adjusting and repairing the darn things . One day while on stand a medium size buck came in .when I went to place my release aid to the string it bumped my riser making a metallic ping ! As the  dear vacated to the next county I looked at what and how I was hunting ( not having fun ) and at that point I sold all of the compound gear and took a recurve off the rack . I've been hunting with trad gear now for 32 years and never looked back !

[Friend]

The works of the spirit within the freedom for excellence.

[Bvas]

Some might not agree with my realm of thinking, but I'll be completely honest.
My fire first got lit in the 12' season. It was a rough season as far as mature bucks go. I wasn't seeing any on stand or even getting any trail cam pics of big bucks. I had been shooting an old York recurve casually, but not real serious, I was still a training wheel guy.
I had set up a feeder. Yes I use feeders. What can I say, I love watching deer and it increases the number of deer I see. So I  started getting pics of a decent buck towards the end of December. Within a couple weeks I felt comfortable at 10-15yds with the York and the buck was showing up in pics during daylight. Long story short. That corn fed buck was tasty and I had my first trad kill.
The next two years I shot with and without training wheels. Mostly toting the curve in the winter when we had snow and I would go for long spot and stalk walks. I was successful again in 14' with a shed out buck(thought it was a doe) shot in his bed at a distance of 10 FEET. Not sure who was more surprised at my getting that close, him or me.
With two trad kills under my belt, I decided to go all in. Last year I made the commitment to trad hunt the entire season. I purchased a new to me Darton recurve and practiced hard. I extended my range to 20yds and was ready to hunt. My first shot at a very nice buck came in late October last year and ended with my lower limb slipping perfectly into my pants pocket and the arrow landing at the Bucks feet(bend at the waist, don't lower the bow arm). Luckily I didn't lose faith and continued to carry the recurve. I ended up scoring on my largest buck to date in early January.
Needless to say......I'm hooked and have no intention of using training wheels again.

[Bow Bum]

I switch back and forth myself. I had got so fed up with compounds and all the strange things that were happening to affect arrow flight, string stretch, cam timing, rest timing, limbs splintering etc...

I remember one of the old guys in our deer camp talking about how he could hit real good when he was strong enough to shoot a recurve, but couldn't hit squat with a wheel bow. I liked the idea. About the same time (2003 or 4) I found and signed up here under a diff name, and really got interested in trad hunting.

The biggest thing I like about trad hunting is the breaking away from the terrible commercialization and "bubba" mindset that has become the hunting industry.

Hunting trad to me is all about the personal discipline, the yardage limitation, the practice, tuning, respect for the game. It takes your focus off the gear so much and puts it back into the hunt.

Funny thing is that I can have that same mentality when I carry my evil crossgun. But I feel more true to hunting and true to myself when I have a tradbow in the woods. A trad kill is a very rich experience.

Regards,

BB

[Dave Worden]

I just never switched to compound.  Never liked the lack of string feel with the letoff.  I also enjoy of challenge of shooting instinctive.  I'll let technology improve my shooting when I've improved to the point that I can't get any better without adding sights, cables, wheels, etc.  I've got a feeling that'll never happpen!

[dbd870]

Originally posted by Bow Bum:
  snip  
I remember one of the old guys in our deer camp talking about how he could hit real good when he was strong enough to shoot a recurve, but couldn't hit squat with a wheel bow.  
BB

Interesting you posted that; I shot with a guy last weekend at a 3D shoot who shot the first half with a Hoyt compound and release. He was not shooting very well and put the wheel bow up and got out his Black Widow recurve - he shot the second half of the course better than the first. He was 71.

[gvdocholiday]

After years of killing ALOT of deer with a high-tech 4-figured cost rig....I did the math, and my average kill shot was less than 15yds with a max kill shot of 25yds...I was very good with a compound out to 100yds in practice but when all is said and done for hunting...I scouted and set my stand sites to get close to deer.  Figured I'd simplify my approach, have discovered that inside 20yds my longbow is a much more efficient tool.

Also I switched for the bragging rights, not gonna lie on that one.

[RedShaft]

I like shooting traditional more.  Way more.
And I like that they are slower and seeing the flight of the arrow ESP with big bananas or flu flu.
As far as hunting. I don't hunt as much with trad because the hunting around here is tough. And I like to take game. When I go to hunt I go to take game.
Sometimes I only get 1 shot a whole season. So it needs to count. And I don't have the confidence in trad gear.

[starshooter]

Simplicity and the joy of it

[riser]

I was interested in the level of performance with the level of simplicity with a trad bow.

I just wanted to learn an "old skill" and become proficient with it. I wanted to know how to make a bow/ arrow shoot well (tuning).

It's been worth it.

I also get to "plink" in my back yard quietly.  Can't do that with my 30-06.  Neighbors don't mind the archery.

[stagetek]

When I started hunting there were two choices, recurves or long bows. I did play around with compounds for a few years, and still own one. But, nothing, for me, will ever replace the history and simplicity of a recurve.

[dnovo]

When I started there was no "trad". It was simply archery. As a kid and young man I hunted with recurves. A Shakespeare Necedah was my first good bow. After a few years I got a Howard Hill longbow and have been shooting a longbow for the last 36 years.

[LC]

Simply because that was the ONLY way to bow hunt back then.

[Joeabowhunter]

For the challenge.  That and the fact that I always admired the commitment that trad hunters make.

One year I tried a heavy target bow setup, the next year I tried a short recurve three under, the next year I tried compounds, the first one broke opening day, the second one needed fixing every week, I finished that season off with a dead buck shot with an autographed Bear take down, the next year I went back to Hill longbows and a long string of filled deer tags and small game taken, that was 1972.  I didn't do it for the challenge, I eat meat.