Why do we use traditional gear

[WidowEater]

For some it is the challenge, or the getting back to the roots.  For some it is much like this:  Bowhunting was too easy with a compound so I switched to recurve (or longbow) and things got more challenging.  

This thread is for all of us to share our insight into why we do it.

For me it is not necessarily because of the challenge.  Traditional archery has, if anything made it easier to bag game.  It has however cut my range down to 20 yds or less.  That has been the main drawback.  They biggest challenge of it was to master instinctive shooting (still trying) which took a tremendous amount of time and is still a work in progress but instinctive shooting has made it so I can hunt any animal.  I could never do that with a compound because aiming was done with mechanical devices and now it is more done with the brain itself.  Hunting with traditional gear has made it possible for me to make that shot where I only have a window of less than a second to take that shot.  Stalking and small game hunting are viable options now.  

Any other thoughts??

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Why? Because it's fun and I enjoy it. For me, there's really nothing more to it than that.

[kennym]

Its fun and theres nothing to go wrong with your equipment if its shot in before season!

[flightmedic]

to escape the super competive world of compound shooting, and meeting some of the old timers at our archery club and the special bond they shared with each other, i had to be part of the traditional world.

[ChuckC]

I agree with Jason.  For me, it isn't about being harder, or easier, or better or (worser ?)

It is just a feeling.  It makes me feel good to shoot sticks with sticks.  I like it and will keep doing it.  It really doesn't matter if I harvest game or not, long as I get to chase thru the woods with my longbow, shooting leaves and stumps and things I am happy.  Course, If one of them stumps has a ten point rack... cool !
ChuckC

[centaur]

Longbows and recurves, wood arrows and the like put me more 'in tune' with nature. The simplicity of a stick bow gives me much more pleasure than wheels and cables. Just looking at traditional equipment speaks of a simpler time, and most of the bows are truly works of art. You can't say that about 'modern' equipment. To each his own, but I personally don't see myself ever using compounds; I really enjoy the simple stick and string. Yes, they are harder to master than compounds; that is part of their intrigue.

[JEFF B]

i am with you widoweater its all fun that other thing you know the swear word  its just well we wont go there  

[Cal Bergsma]

For me it is because shooting deer with compounds had become to stinkin easy. The challenge and thrill was starting to drop a little and going back to traditional has made me feel like I am 12 years old and just discovering archery again for the first time. Now I feel overwhelmed with the challenge, the thrill, simplicity and beauty of traditional archery.

[BD]

Shooting deer with a compound was actually much harder for me than killing them with a recurve. I was a better shot on targets with the compound, but routinely missed chip shots. I rarely miss a chip shot with my recurves and am more effective in hunting situations. Oh yeah-that and nothing compares to watching the flight of the arrow!!

[WidowEater]

i love seeing the spin of the arrow as it leaves the riser as well

[dino]

I like bowhunting and I've been using it since it was just "bow" and before it was "traditional".  I've never hunted with a wheelie before so it has nothing to with the challenge or simplicity of it.  It was a sport that I was raised with and fun to do.  Guess that is why I do it, enjoyment and don't feel like changin'. dino

[Ben Maher]

its good fun....
longbows abd woooden arrows, recurves w/bow quiver...doesn't matter, every day afield resonates with some adventure.
plus....i look so much cooler with a longbow and back quiver chocked full o',  woodies, whilst wearing a fedora and check flannel shirt,,, ha ha
ben

[bentstick_55]

Trad bows and feathes are pretty. Chicks dig em.....lol

[Diamond Paul]

I was so serious about target shooting with compounds that it ate me up.  If I ever missed an "X" indoors, I would get so angry that I wanted to kill someone, usually myself!  I would beat everyone's brains out on a 3-D course and come off it cursing and pissed off because I missed some 12 rings.  I didn't like myself, and neither did the guys I shot with.  One day, and older gentleman offered to let me take a few shots with his recurve at the indoor range of the shop I managed.  I couldn't hit anything, but it was fun.  I could shoot a bow and not worry about winning or whether I achieved perfection when I shot.  It still is fun, and I still don't care about winning or missing. . . .

[John3]

I am a trad guy because---

I escape the modern crazy paced world, no deadlines, computer or damn cell phone.

Challenge of just "me" as a bowhunter.

The beauty of an all wood bow and arrow.

It's so much fun that this becomes a way of life.

[JDinPA]

For me it is to be a more effective hunter during the whitetail rut.

I've had deer come in on me and had a few seconds to shoot. On one week long hunt in Iowa I had two Booners within 5 yards and I couldn't get a shot off with my compound. Last year I took a deer who busted me at three quarter draw with the recurve.
I never came off my "spot" and I was able to get a   double lung shot before he had a chance to react. I never could have got a shot off that fast with a compound.

[Basic Instinct]

For me it's IF!!! I ever get that 350 bull you know the ones you see on TV and wish I had one like that. I want to have taken him with my Stick and string.  I Love the simplicity of no gadgets. Just pull back and let her go. I know it's just not that simple, but in a way it is. I Like the dedication I have to put into become proficient with my  Trad equipment. It's the people on here, and 3d shoots that shooting Trad that make Trad hunting fun!!  To sum it up, I shoot Trad because I CAN!!!

[nutmeg]

It's the way it's always been with me since 1962. I never jumped on the compound bandwagon. It's fun and easy for me. It's simple and beautiful. There are no excuses but my own. I don't have to think about anything. No range finder,, no sight pins, no peep sight or fiber optics and no release aid,no D loop.My God, that's  not even archery!(nut)

[koger]

I have kept a trad. bow for the past 25 years,always loved to shoot them, killed my first buck with a recurve. Killed a lot of deer with wheel bows over the years, but the last 3 years have went traditional, sold my compounds. like a lot of people, i got caught up in wanting to kill a P&Y deer, and after I got two of them, I realized that I would never enter them in the book because this is a personal achievement and a benchmark for me, not someone else who would always be comparing these deer to others. When I take a doe, or small buck with a self bow I built or a recurve I bought, usually under 20 yards, the instinctive shot feels better, is its own reward and any deer taken with trad. gear legally is a trophy! The oldest buck I have ever harvested, 8 point was aged at 8 years old by field biologist, first week of bow season in 2006. I shot him with a hickory self bow, #60 at 27", on the ground from a natural blind at 16 yards. His rack was still in full velvet, huge crowns, good mass, 16 inch inside,but short tines as his rack was going backwards. His teeth were just little brown nubs, worn out and he weighed 175# field dressed in the first week of Sept.! To put it simply, trad. hunting puts the arch back into archery and along with being loads of fun, the spritual aspect is the most rewarding, knowing when you have been blessed and leaving EGO out for me. Any one know what EGO stands for? Edging God Out of your life!

[Bowspirit]

Mine are not noble reasons. It's simply the fact that no other weapon (not compounds, crossbows, atlatls, rifles, shotguns, pistols, or blackpowder arms) has ever peaked my interest like traditional bows have. Never felt the urge to hunt with anything else...