Common Sense Traditional Bowhunting

[Rob DiStefano]

It's human nature to think the hills over yonder are greener and just better than where yer feet are currently planted.  

That can all too easily also happen with traditional bowhunting as well, with respects to tackle and shooting.

What are the true, basic essentials one needs in order to be on the righteous road to being a successful traditional bowhunter?  Indeed, what does it even mean to be a "successful traditional bowhunter"?

Is it a light or heavy holding weight stick bow?  

A fat or skinny bowstring of Dacron or HMPE?  

A woody or carbon arrow that's 8gpp, or 10gpp, or 16gpp, with no FOC or a hefty FOC, and 5-1/2" full helical or 2" dart fletchings?  

A single bevel, or double bevel, or tri-blade or quad blade broadhead that's at what realistic degree of lethality?  

Then there's the shooting part.  How many of us truly practice like we're actually hunting, and not target shooting?  

And for that matter, how many of us actually know what takes place during a trad bow shot process?

In essence ... What matters most with traditional bowhunting tackle and stick bow shooting form, in order for you to be a successful traditional bowhunter?  Do the successful bowhunters of nearly a century ago know less about tackle and shooting than we do today?  Do we have better and more advanced traditional bowhunting tackle and shooting knowledge than those before us?

I sift through threads and posts here at Trad Gang, and I'm not sure all of us are on the same basic traditional bowhunting page.

Your thoughts and comments, fellow traditional bowhunters?

[bunyan]

I think it goes beyond equipment. Other than a tuned bow and arrow combo and a sharp Broadhead so much of bow weight choice, style of bow, aiming or shooting style is about personal choice and consistency in the shot regardless of how its made. If you watch masters of the bare bow you see son common themes in shooting but then you also see so many variations that all accomplish the same goal and prove that there's more than one way to skin a cat! But as it applies to hunting, you also raise a good point about practicing as a target shooter vs as a hunter. Standing upright at known distances in the yard and shooting I much different than from a treestand or in a ghillie suit. Shooting so many shots in a session and ignoring the bad ones isn't the same as sitting in the cold for hours and getting one shot at an animal. I think our predecessors made up for a lot of technical deficiencies with woodcraft. I know guys who aren't the greatest shots, but make up for it by being real good at predicting animal behavior and intercepting game at CLOSE distances.

[Bvas]

I believe there to be many..... I will call them "levels of dedication" to traditional archery. There are those who are simplistic and are in love with the "romance" of trad gear. There are also those simply looking for a new way to challenge themselves. All of the levels are joined by the use of basic stick and string archery equipment.
There is a full spectrum of levels that fall in and around those I mentioned. I believe the biggest factor that determines each persons place in the spectrum is their own personal balance between success and romance.
That is why we see so many discussions on bow types and equipment. To some, success,whether it be hunting or 3D or whatever, ranks higher. While to others, the romance ranks higher.
Another way of looking at it is to compare trad gear to automobiles. There are a lot of different varieties out there. Most were created with a specific purpose in mind. And some are fancier than others. But all serve the same purpose of getting you from point A to point B.

[longbow fanatic 1]

Interesting points, Rob. I have ILF bows, one of which has a magnetic flipper rest, plunger and heavy weights added to the riser for balance. I also have a wood longbow and wood recurve. I really enjoy tinkering with tuning and bow setup. That said, it's totally unnecessary from a hunting standpoint. In fact, when I shoot my wood bows with wood arrows, I enjoy the simplicity of design and function. From a hunting perspective, my personal goal is to shoot deer size animals within 15 yards. That said, all my practice shooting spots helps to develop solid form. Then, shooting 3-d tournaments nearly every weekend helps to translate that form into more realistic hunting scenarios. Although 3-d events, or perhaps stump shooting, aren't exactly equal to hunting scenarios, it's the closest thing without actually hunting. What really matters from a traditional bowhunting essence standpoint, IMO, is a well tuned bow and arrow combo. As far as what kind of bows, arrows, shooting styles..., that is just personal choice.

As far as archery knowledge, I believe today we are more educated on the physics of shooting a bow and arrow. There were likely some misunderstandings of the physics in earlier times before slow motion video confirmed theories of physics in a visual way.

In terms of all our individuals trad archery bowhunting journeys, there are many of us who enjoy time afield without a realistic care if an animal is harvested. The harvest is just a big bonus to the experience. I tend to fall into that category. There are others who are just flat out deadly predators with trad gear, and thats great too.

[Rough Run]

I am not a successful traditional bowhunter, yet - only a novice traditional archer.  So, speaking only in terms of traditional archery, and speaking only of my personal experience, being aware of / in tune with my equipment has been very important.  

I started traditional archery before I knew of TradGang, or any other website source.  I am a reluctant technology user.  So, I started as I did years ago, by trial-and-error experimentation.  And while I was all over the place in terms of equipment and practices, it did allow me to learn & become very familiar with my equipment.  So as I found other resources and, began educating myself, I was able to "reverse engineer" a lot of what I was doing, to determine where some of issues may be off track.  In some cases, I was way off - in others, I was much closer than I would have expected.  That really helped me, and my learning process.

I read once that Bobby Jones, perhaps the preiminent golfer in American history, did not have a matched set of golf clubs - an apparent hodge-podge of various makes, that would resemble a thrift-store collection.  However, at some point after his retirement or perhaps his passing, someone analyzed his chosen set.  And they found that each club was nearly identical in terms of shaft stiffness, swing weight, flex point, etc.  He did that through "feel" and practice.  Amazing.  

That is what I would like/aspire to do.  But I have the luxury of technology to help me.

Originally posted by Rough Run:
 He did that through "feel" and practice.  Amazing.  

The golfer described above did not find success on the driving range alone but by skillfully navagating the tight drives, sand traps, wet greens and variable winds.

Basically, the guy figured it out, did what works for him.

The above post by Rough Run takes me to a fork in the river.....do I continue to develop accuracy - shoot targets at known distances on level, clear shooting lanes  -or- do I want to hunt?

I believe many trad archers never, completely dedicate themselves to a necessary balance that leads to a successful hunt.

[captain caveman]

Ever wonder how well matched Native American arrows were.  They lived it can't imagine the level of woodsmanship they achieved.  I don't claim to be an expert but if I limit range and keep the wind in my face I feel like I have a legitimate chance of success.  Either way the simple common sense approach leaves me with the satisfaction of knowing I had a real hunt.  The adventure and escape from modern life is why I do it anyway.  It's like an itch I have to scratch.

[Charlie Lamb]

Archery/bowhunting is ageless. And the cool thing is that it's whatever you want it to be. Nobody sets the rules.

In essence ... What matters most with traditional bowhunting tackle and stick bow shooting form, in order for you to be a successful traditional bowhunter?  Do the successful bowhunters of nearly a century ago know less about tackle and shooting than we do today?  Do we have better and more advanced traditional bowhunting tackle and shooting knowledge than those before us?

I sift through threads and posts here at Trad Gang, and I'm not sure all of us are on the same basic traditional bowhunting page.

Your thoughts and comments, fellow traditional bowhunters? [/QB]

The first thought I have is...

Why do we all need to be on the same page, and more importantly, should we be?    

Man has been striving to improve every aspect of his life from time immemorial.  Bow hunting is no different.

One of the most respected and loved traditional archery and bow hunting icons of the last century was probably the best example of someone who was always striving for improvement.  Whether it was materials, designs, methods or manufacturing, he was never content to stay in the past.

Where would we all be today if Fred Bear and Nels Grumley had stayed on the same page?

[huskyarcher]

Originally posted by Charlie Lamb:
Archery/bowhunting is ageless. And the cool thing is that it's whatever you want it to be. Nobody sets the rules.

Love it!!

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by Tooner:

...

Why do we all need to be on the same page, and more importantly, should we be?    

... [/b]

My statement of "I sift through threads and posts here at Trad Gang, and I'm not sure all of us are on the same basic traditional bowhunting page." was meant in the vein of folks going off on a don quixote quest with both tackle and form that's needless, if not at times counter-productive to traditional bowhunting success.

[Rough Run]

Originally posted by Tony Van Dort:
 

Originally posted by Rough Run:
 He did that through "feel" and practice.  Amazing.  

The golfer described above did not find success on the driving range alone but by skillfully navagating the tight drives, sand traps, wet greens and variable winds.

The above post by Rough Run takes me to a fork in the river.....do I continue to develop accuracy - shoot targets at known distances on level, clear shooting lanes  -or- do I want to hunt?

I believe many trad archers never, completely dedicate themselves to a necessary balance that leads to a successful hunt. [/b]

While I did not mean to imply that there is a fork in the river, I do agree that some, maybe many, do not dedicate to that necessary balance, and perhaps perceive a fork.  I was just focusing on one aspect of traditional archery that has been important to me in navigating the waters.  In my mind and in my approach, archery and hunting are very much linked, like the sides of a coin rather than a fork in the road.  The two are not mutually exclusive, unless the individual chooses that approach.  I apologize if I was vague or misleading, that was not my intent.

[Shadowhnter]

Originally posted by Charlie Lamb:
Archery/bowhunting is ageless. And the cool thing is that it's whatever you want it to be. Nobody sets the rules.

X2 on this. Couldn't be stated any better in my opinion.

[TSHOOTER]

I agree with Charlie.  However, Rob I think what you are getting at has more to do with actual traditional bow hunting experience than traditional archery.  Traditional archery can be whatever anyone wants it to be.  Traditional bow hunting success has much more to do with a what actually works in the field.  For myself, traditional bow hunting success only came after I learned how to successfully tune my setup and developed consistent enough form to have confidence in my ability to ethically harvest game at reasonable ranges. 90% of the stuff most people stress over has very little to do with bow hunting success.  Give me a well tuned setup with a sharp coc broad head of any design, weight, foc etc and I am confident I can kill deer with it.  That is the definition of common sense bow hunting.

Originally posted by Rob DiStefano:
My statement of "I sift through threads and posts here at Trad Gang, and I'm not sure all of us are on the same basic traditional bowhunting page." was meant in the vein of folks going off on a don quixote quest with both tackle and form that's needless, if not at times counter-productive to traditional bowhunting success.

I understood what you were saying, and my point was directly along those lines.

Nels Grumley thought that the direction Fred Bear wanted to go was needless and counter-productive and as we all know...the rest is history.    

In my opinion, Charlie Lamb has it exactly right.  We already are on the same page, and that page says that there aren't any rules other than the ones we set for ourselves.

Jeff (Rough Run)

Your post was clear and appropriate.  I really liked the golfer anaolgy.  It took me back to the early 70s.  That was my point of transition just shooting arras to putting meat on the table....still learning brother...

[Rob DiStefano]

Yes, without a doubt and as always, Charlie is spot on ...

"Archery/bowhunting is ageless. And the cool thing is that it's whatever you want it to be. Nobody sets the rules."

Where I'm coming from is back to the basics, the real basics that most of us, Charlie included, started out with, back when.  What did it take then to become a successful bowhunter?  How does that apply to the here and now?  Think on that a bit.

Originally posted by Rob DiStefano:
[qb] Yes, without a doubt and as always, Charlie is spot on ...

"Archery/bowhunting is ageless. And the cool thing is that it's whatever you want it to be. Nobody sets the rules."

There it is in a nutshell folks!  Should be a top priority every here at TradGang.

   

[Michael Arnette]

Charlie hit the nail on the head!

Originally posted by Rob DiStefano:


Where I'm coming from is back to the basics, the real basics that most of us, Charlie included, started out with, back when.  What did it take then to become a successful bowhunter?  How does that apply to the here and now?  Think on that a bit.

"Basics" is a relative term and it's never static.  What was considered the basics for Charlie's era was likely more advanced than the era that preceded it.  What is considered the basics for today is more advanced than what it was when Charlie started.  Even what is considered a successful bow hunter has changed. Time marches on.