Traditional?

[Gordon Jabben]

For me, traditional archery has alot to do with thousands of years of history, the magic in the shooting of a bow by feel, and the great people in the sport.

[-Achilles-]

"everybody bickers over trad or not issues but its still archery to me"...from the song "its still ar-cher-y to me"...by me

[DeerSpotter]

I have questioned, and it will be like what is traditional. Let's try this one;

If you have traditional bow, and it's made out of wood, and you're in a tree stand " is that traditional hunting"

I hunt with the traditional bow " sometimes " I do still hunt with that other kind. I am fortunate for the past eight weeks I had been hunting in tree stands, never did that before, always on the ground, up until 2002, I never hunted in a double bull, " is hunting in a double bull traditional?"

Do you see where I'm going. You see when I stepped into the woods even with my other bow, I'm still a traditional hunter, I may have some different components on that bow, but the traditional hunter is in the mind, not any equipment. Sometimes I feel I'm cheating, when I'm in a tree stand, or double bull, but it's all in the attitude of what " traditional hunting" you could even say that using a black powder gun is traditional hunting.

When you step in the woods and if you are relying on your equipment you are not a traditional hunter, but if you're relying on the skill to use that equipment it's a different story. The attitude of the hunter is that he beats his wildlife in its own environment, on its own turf. To me that is traditional hunting, yes you get some guys that think that equipment is everything. But they're only fooling themselves.

My idea is that your archery equipment becomes an extension of you, and you're traditional hunting becomes a way to implement the outcome of that hunt. I have always had to forget about what other people think. People think that I'm weird because I turned down big bucks and go after matriarch doe's. " Traditional hunting" is an attitude no matter what you have in your hand. If you have the attitude that you can bop into the woods for 45 minutes, fill your tag and walkout, you might as well buy a so-called hunting video. Save yourself some $$$$.

So again " what he is traditional hunting"
it's not the equipment, it's the attitude of how you use that equipment.


Pastor Carl

[Killdeer]

I have been reading all the posts, thinking, "Why didn't I say that? Yeah, that is what I shoulda said!" I have seen post after post echoing what my heart has kept close.

The result is a feeling that archery is very healthy in today's modern world. People are out there who treasure old ways, basics of hunting, family, and (eek!) ethics. Archery and hunting contain as many facets as there are people. That I have seen as many purely good hearts in one thread, let alone in one site, has made me a bit less apt to fall prey to depression, brought about by a general malaise affecting modern culture as portrayed by popular media. Thanks for the best Christmas present one could give me. I am honored to be here.

Killdeer

[ishiwannabe]

Well said Killdeer....I think thats what I have been trying for with all of these posts. I started this with the intention of it heading this way....I wasnt expecting it to come together so well. It does give one hope....pride...an overall sense of belongig to something special.

[MI_Bowhunter]

Interesting question and a lot of interesting responses.

I've always held the game I pursue in the highest respect and I've always tried to hunt in ways that put me close.  I've never taken game with any type of gun or bow beyond 20 yards. My successes or failures in the field have always been based on the experience of the outing rather then the quantity or quality of the game taken.  

I really can't say that using one hunting tool vs. another has ever made me feel more spiritual or in tune with nature than another.   The bow or gun I carry is just a tool.   The real experience for me is still just being there, existing in nature regardless of what I have in my hand

Picking up a traditional bow didn't change my ideology but perhaps my ideology is what caused me to migrate to the traditional bow.  

Am I traditional?  Some will say I am and some will say I'm not.  I don't know; I just am what I am.

[Stringwacker]

I think about this entire traditional thing all the time and I can't say that I have ever reach a concrete conclusion of what it is...or isn't. About the only thing that I have convinced myself of is that traditional archery is a matter of degree as opposed to a specific kind.

I'm fairly sure that shooting a "traditional" bow doesn't neccesarily make you a "traditionalist". To choose a stick bow because it represents "the hard way' and then shoot a carbon arrow out of it seems to represent a conflict of ideas. On the other hand, we should strive to be as good a shot as possible for the game we seek in terms of responsibility and ethics. Perhaps our equipment choices represents our comfort zone on self limitation more than it does a replication of history.

I think todays traditionlism has it's origins in the 1980's traditional revolution as opposed to the 'real' history of an actual era. The 1980's was a revolution of sorts against the compound bow as opposed to the arrows or accessories of the time....at least that's the way I see it.

I guess I shoot a high performance Black Widow recurve with a carbon arrow (most of the time) as a matter of simplification. I think traditionlism can be honored as whatever the individual defines it...without neccesarily replicating the actual equipment used in the past given a certain era.

[IndianaBowman]

Traditional bowhunting for me is a rekindling of the spirit of the hunting experience. I've been bowhunting for over 30 years and a traditional bowhunt is joining family and friends I've hunted with for many years. It's a tradition to hunt together on opening day, it's a tradition for my two sons and I to stop at McDonalds on the way to our cabin, it's a tradition for us to fry up fresh deer heart if someone is successful, the list goes on and on. We make OUR OWN traditions! Traditional bowhunting is for each of us to decide. I choose to include a longbow or recurve in my traditional bowhunt, others may not. Defining a traditional bow is a whole other topic!

[Ghost Dog]

Traditional for me is about the bare essentials in equipment, coupled with a deep heart/mind commitment. It is about wood and leather and turkey fletchings. It is about dew on my shoes, and the scent of sage in the air, and the line of my people going back into pre-history. That is my reality and my passion.

[Terry Green]

Bows without cables and wheels......

Compound bows are the reason for the 'traditional' term being coined.....not arrows or materials used to make arrows, or materials to make bows, or some new quiver, arm guard, or broadhead. The compound bow drew the line. IMO.

[rybohunter]

Mine has been a long and complex journey. In some ways I feel very similar to the rest of you, but in others I feel very much different.

I do not look down on using a compound, as I still do sometimes. Will I always….I don’t know? Regardless of weapon in hand, bowhunting means getting up close and just because I have a bow capable of killing deer far away, doesn’t mean I take those shots. I’ve always believed in trying to attain a proficiency level and shot selection such that the shot is as close to a “given” as one can get. I don’t feel it can ever be reached, but trying is what makes it interesting. Returning back to trad gear has left me reaching even harder to obtain that goal. I hope I can get close to a level that I was with a wheeled bow. Time will tell.

One thing I know for sure, traditional shooting is a blast. I shot my compound cause I had to, I shoot my trad bows because I want to.

[Jedimaster]

I believe Terry's got it right. Dead on. Lot's of things make you who you are as an archer. The one tie that binds and defines us is the advent of the compound bow. Almost anyone when hearing the term "traditional" immediately invisions a bow without wheels.

All other traditions are personal. "Traditional" has many definitions but this newest definition is the one that defines who we are as a group and why tradgang exists.

[ishiwannabe]

All other traditions are personal. "Traditional" has many definitions but this newest definition is the one that defines who we are as a group and why tradgang exists.
 

I agree completely. I am very glad that I was introduced here. This site made learning how to tune, shoot and care for a wooden bow. The amount of stuff I have learned here in a single year is nothing other than amazing. Trad Gang is a very important part of the traditional experience for me, as a relatively new convert. I have yet to have a question go unanswered. It TG wasnt here, I might not be shooting trad only at this point. for that all I can do is    and say thanks to all.

[horatio1226]

I think that being traditional is a luxury as far as hunting goes. If you were relying on the hunt to feed your family, then you would use whatever you could to make your kill. Trad definitely is the attitude. The native americans used rifles as soon as they were available to hunt with. Didn't change their attitude, just their methods. If they could have got their hands on a compound bow and carbon arrows, you can bet your butt they would have used it and who could blame them? They ran herds of buffalo over cliffs for food, but did it with respect and gratitude. Today trad seems to mean, how did my father and grandfather do it. Not because they had to, but because they wanted to. Maybe its more about the memories.The time when we were coming up. Nostalgia is very powerful. Attitudes were different. Things were simpler in a lot of ways.I think that trad is a luxury that a lot of us are grateful we can afford. Although some of us are much more luxurious than others! IMHO.
Brian  

[Labs4me]

I shoot and hunt with a recurve and a longbow and refer to my bows as just that- a recurve  and a longbow, not “traditional” bows. Rather than calling my bows “traditional” and risk being labeled an “elitist, traditional snob“, my preference is to be labeled a “snobby, elitist traditionalist” for referring to modern compound bows as “non-traditional” bows. Either way, I’m viewed as “one of those arrogant traditionalists” for having the audacity to shoot a bow similar in design and function to bows first used by early Mesolithic man.

[Bonebuster]

It`s a feeling, a good feeling. Shooting my bow because its fun, not because I "have to practice".

Dipping, cresting, and fletching up some beautiful arrows, and my wife sets them on her piano because they are as beautiful as wild flowers.

Its finding your kids shooting their recurves, while they have brand new decked out compound bows hanging, collecting dust. (again,...more fun)

A bright red blood trail, created by an arrow I built, and a broadhead that I sharpened.

Handing my bow to a compound shooter, and watching their eyes light up.

Shooting a foot over a bucks back one day, and taking a squirrel in the eye the next.

Settling into a ground blind, knowing my chances for a kill are better in a tree.

I can go on and on,... and on.

[JEFF B]

to me its just getting out there and having fun dont matter if ya dont get an animal its all about being there. having fun with mates or ya best mate the 4 legged kind.and most of all being safe.      

[ishiwannabe]

Brian, good point. Technology has been sought for hundreds, thousands of years.
Labs....thats just too funny.
Bone...is nice to watch the wheelie guys scrunch their face up at first and then ask if they can shoot it.
Jeff....its all about the fun brother.

[BFinegan]

There is a good article in the Feb/Mar issue of Traditional Bowhunting that offers some insight along these lines of discussion.

"Natural Predators" A Plea for Consistency

[George D. Stout]

In the context of the term "traditional archery" it was not used or needed until the compound device came into use.  That settles it for me.