Can Some Of You Tell Me Why? .........

[mcgroundstalker]

Why do I (we) love the Trad Bow so much? Seems I am losing my interest in firearms for hunting. Maybe this goes with my age of 52. Let me know what you think. Thanks.  

... mike ...    ...

[jwingman]

After taking game with a traditional bow, I found it to be very anticlimatic to kill anything with a gun or other weapon. It just isn't the same for me. Nothing gets my heart pounding or is anywhere near the same as hunting with a stick and string. Just my two cents worth. I think your right though, we love our trad stuff!

[centaur]

For me, it is having to get up close and personal with our quarry. Rifles make meat across canyons; we need to get in the 'danger' zone to be successful. Plus, I really like flinging arrows. There is great enjoyment in stump shooting; just roving about shooting at various targets and watching that arrow fly. A simple pleasure, but very real.

[San Juan Slim]

I wanted to shoot a traditional bow since I began shooting in college about 24 years ago.  It wasn't until several years later that I met some guys shooting recurves and longbows and realized you could actually buy those things.  I switched to a recurve in a hurry and later to shooting mostly longbows.  I don't think it has anything to do with age.  It's just an enjoyable and challenging experience to hunt game and shoot arrows with such a simple mechanism.  I haven't made a bow yet, but I do really like crafting arrows and flemish strings.  That adds to the enjoyment of the sport for me.  Plus, unlike high-powered rifles, it is really fun just to go out and shoot the bow.

Mike

[ishiwannabe]

Something special about hitting what you want, and being close enough to your quarry to do so. I would think it is a safe bet to say that killing our quarry is not why we all hunt...its more about the journey, the experience.
Not only that, its kinda cool the way other bow hunters look at ya.

[NDTerminator]

Maybe I'm the odd man out here, but I love hunting with, working with, & shooting my rifles and shotguns every bit as much as my recurves.  

I'm primarily a Trad guy but I thoroughly enjoy shooting my Reflex Caribou barebow with fingers, and even break out a compound with sights & release now & then.

About the only thing I've given up is handgun hunting due to near vision issues finally making it hard to see the sights well enough for precise shot placement.  Never had much use for bellyguns anyway, other than professional carry and the Kimber 45 I tote off duty...

It's all good...

[BobW]

They all have a place in my soul.... but traditional archery is near the top.  I still like the "kaaa-boom" of my BP guns (which I use during our gun season), my 12ga for turkeys, and cracking off rounds with a pistol at targets.  The only thing I really don't miss is shooting my "C-bow".  Something happened there, where it isn't fun anymore.  The rest of it just gets my juices flowing (and for the record, I'm 41 - you decide if I'm "old or young" - I know what I think).

BobW

[mcgroundstalker]

I don't think you are odd. In fact we must be alot alike. When I stated I was losing intrest in firearms for hunting it wasn't 100%. There are times that I "bow hunt" during the rifle season with an old Winchester and tell myself to keep shots at game around 20 yards or so.

True... It is all good. Glad we live in the wonderful U.S.A. Maybe with our trad bows it takes much more of what we have inside to get it right, when it comes to hunting that is.

... mike ...

[centaur]

I still hunt with firearms as well. It just isn't as much fun as the bow. When I hunt elk with a gun, it is with a 45-70, in black timber, with shots that rival compound bow distances.

[La. bowhunter]

For me it is just a lot more fun shooting trad gear no worry about sights, rests, and all the other gadgets just a piece of wood and a string and the instinctive skill that God gave us. Also it much more challenging to get closer to what you are hunting.

[Deer Slayer]

I have taken some small game with my trad bows, but am still trying to get my first big game kill. I have taken several big game with rifles in the past. But since I started using Trad equipment, I haven't even picked a rifle up or even really thought about it to tell you the truth. Not that I never would again, but a simple stick and string is what makes my heart sing these days.

It for me, is so much more personal in every way to hunt with traditional tackle. It forces you to become a better hunter in many ways, as well as notice many things along the way that I used to take for granted when I hunted with rifles. It is romantic as well. It is like stepping back in time and walking in the footsteps of our ancestors.A legacy if you will. It is primal as well as spiritual for me. The experience is so much less about killing an animal and alot more about being alive and alert and savoring the sights ,sounds and smells of God's creation in all it's wonder. The hunt IS what tradbow hunting makes so special.

Anyway, I could go on and on and make a short story long, but for me, it just rings a chord in the nature of who I am, and am now realizing more and more....who I want to be.

Mark

And for the record, I take nothing away from gun hunters in any way shape or form, as we are all brothers of the hunt and to each his own. Oneday I may pick up a rifle again should the urge ever arise. I am just glad I live in a country where I have the option to make that choice!

[San Juan Slim]

Originally posted by NDTerminator:
Maybe I'm the odd man out here, but I love hunting with, working with, & shooting my rifles and shotguns every bit as much as my recurves.

It's all good...

I, too still own and shoot many firearms.  I even hunt with them during the late season cow hunts we have in Colorado.  I especially like chasing quail around the desert in Arizona.  Anyone who would try using a bow for that is definitely crazy.  But, I certainly can spend much more time and enjoy that time more shooting my longbow than I do shooting my 30-06 or 7mm mag.  Now I do enjoy breaking clays with my O/U 20 ga. and my S/S 28 ga--so much that it makes my shoulder sore.  But again, I could shoot my longbow all day long and not even have to buy or reload shells.

Mike

[Huntrdfk]

For me it has just become part of who I am, I love the simplicity, the challenge and all that goes with traditional archery.  Along with that it is just plain fun, I love to watch the flight of the arrow, whether it is a 20 yard shot or 70 yard shot at a clump of grass in an open field. I haven't hunted with a gun since 1990, which is my own personal choice, and one I am very happy with.

David

[b.glass]

I think the original bow and arrow was a gift from God to his creation. He put into the minds of mankind to come up with a tool that would improve our quality of life. It is an age old thing of beauty to watch a good arrow in flight. Whether it is your own or that of fellow archer. And when it is one of your on making, it is breath taking.

[Covey]

I killed my first deer with a gun when I was a kid,never cared for it much.I just love to hunt! Hunted with a compound for years switched over to good ol trad gear 3 or 4 years ago and I love it would not have it any other way.It is just the way it ought to be,for me anyway. Jason

[Diamond Paul]

They are aesthetically more pleasing than compounds, which now look more like laser guns than bows.  They are each unique, individual creations, as opposed to mass-produced compounds.  They are more challenging, and therefore we get more satisfaction out of hitting things with them.  They do not require rigid, orthodox shooting positions and form in order to shoot them effectively, which makes them more enjoyable to shoot than compounds.  All the peripheral things that go with them are enjoyable: building arrows, strings, unique quivers, etc.  Mainly, the people who shoot them are good people, who aren't concerned with who wins, just having a good time shooting.

[mcgroundstalker]

Thank You one and all for your input. Bona, what you stated was, well... Beautiful.  

... mike ...    ...

[Stone Knife]

I'm the same way Mike, I could really care less if I gun hunt anymore. For me the challenge lies in close contact with the game I'm after and the game I'm not after also. I also love the time frame that our archery season is, I don't need to go into detail about how wonderful the fall is and what it means to any bowhunter. I had pretty much given up hunting small game till I started hunting with trad, now I would rather do that than hunt big game some times, it's a blast. The whole experience is just more peaceful with out the big bang in the end.

[reecool]

Coming from France and no hunter in the family , used to shoot recurve for fun . Coming in your country i tried hunting with a riffle but i never been excited about it but with our bows and arrows what a great feeling and rushes !...
I just got a turkey and a squirrel and waiting for my first deer but still excited and roaming the woods and flying arrows at stumps that's cool and so quiet , and my dog hates gun shoots !
 Love my recurve
 Eric .

[dagwood64]

Originally posted by mcgroundstalker:
Why do I (we) love the Trad Bow so much? Seems I am losing my interest in firearms for hunting. Maybe this goes with my age of 52. Let me know what you think. Thanks.    

... mike ...     ...

I know what you mean, but age has nothing to do with it. I bought a Longbow 2 years ago, when I was 41, went out and shot it about 50 times, went in and put wheel bow and accesories on e**y and sold it all. At same time put my hunting guns for sale, and hunt strictly with my Longbow.  Duane