Why do we use traditional gear

[Scott J. Williams]

Wood! The archin path of the arrow! The thump of ths string, and the fact that all of that never gets old, and feels the same way it did when I discovered it at the grand old age of 9.

[Willow]

Its the most sporting form of hunting with projectiles. Ive never wasted a minute thinking I would shoot a gun or coupound. I knew it had to be traditional.

[Apex Predator]

Because I like to shoot every day!  I didn't enjoy shooting my compound as much.  It's therapeutic for me.  I feel like a kid every time I take a traditional bow afield!  My longbows and recurves  continue to amaze me every time I hunt with them.

[Robert Warnock]

I'm 57 years old and I just got into trad within the last year.  Two things attracted me to traditional archery. (1) The bows and arrows are just so beautiful.  I love seeing the wood grain and appreciate the work and craftmanship behind traditional equipment. (2) Also the guys and gals who shoot trad have so much fun and share such closeness.  I suppose I could add a third reason, forums like this where people are so willing to share ideas and help out beginners.. I am really enjoying my new hobby, thanks to a lot of new friends I have met through trad.

[Aaron Proffitt]

It's ultimately more effective...
I'll be damned if I am going to miss the shot of a lifetime because I used the wrong pin,"didn't have time to shoot",or any other myriad of excuses.
Screw that...inside of 25 yards,the stickbow is the ultimate weapon.

[dtgiacomini]

I got into hunting almost 2 years ago, my first bow was a compound and I shot it with my fingers and I loved to shoot it.  Then I worked hard over the summer to save up and buy a better compound.

After getting the new bow, I started to lose interest, I was using a mech. release and it just was not as much fun.

So then I found this website and bought a recurve just before xmas, and I now love shooting more than ever...Thanks again tradgang.

[Ineoin]

You know there is just something nice about walking thru the woods with your family at an event like the Baltimore Bowman Trad Classic or shooting in the backyard enjoying something as simple and nice as Traditional Archery and leaving the troubles and hassles of everyday life behind.

[bowhunterfrompast]

Started out with a used recurve after getting out of the Navy in 1972. Taught myself how to shoot and hunt by reading Fred Bears Bible. a few years later I went to a local archery shop to get a new recurve but didn't carry any so wound up with a #&*%$^^&& compoud. I shot the wheelie instinctive and still hunted ( sneaking along ) for years because of the challenge. Never killed large game with it but did manage to kill some small game and fish. In 1987 back to recurves and my bowfishing success increased 99.9%. Killed 3 deer with the recurve.   I guess I have always been a traditionalist when it was just bowhunting long before it was called traditional. The simplicity of the recurve made it even sweeter.

[EASTERNARCHER]

I recently sold all my compound stuff to focus on TRAD. Why? Cuz I got tired of hearing and reading about all the gizmos and tweak this or that...BE careful and don't bump your sight!
When something went wrong or a target missed, several people I know immediately blamed the equipment instead of looking at themselvevs as a possible cause.

I never shot a deer with a bow YET! and up here in NEw Brunswick, it's tough with our hunting laws and thick brush to be successful even with a compound.

I found that when I carry a trad bow in the woods or shooting at the club, I catch myself grinning from ear to ear....I just enjoy myself so much more - more at ease, relaxed! Not to mention taht I have always been considered by others as being "old-school"....and that's fine by me.

SteveMcD said very well.. "Traditional Archery says something about the person. Appreciation for the art, craft, skills and spirit that goes into it."

[Whitetail Chaser]

Going hunting List:
bow-check
arrows-check
tab-check
armguard-check

I love the simplicity of a recurve bow.  All the equipment I need to hunt is listed above.  I don't want to be complicated by a bunch of gizmos on my bow.

Brett

[Curtis Haden]

I resisted reading this thread for quite a while, but I figured there were others who have traveled a similar path as mine.  May not be worth reading, if you can't see between the lines.  I suspect most of you can, though.

First "real" bow (don't get your nose out of joint - I mean something other than a sassafras sprout and a length of yarn) was a Bear Whitetail Hunter, bought with lawn-mowing money when I was a kid.  Quickly figured out I wasn't an archer, and lost it to a garage sale.  "Inherited" a Browning wood-riser compound as a young man and again figured out I wasn't an archer...

Bought a Shawnee Traditions longbow in my early 20's and struggled with it for a year or two.  Traded it off for a White River recurve, and struggled with it for a year or two.  I sensed there was an archer in me, but I had no guidance, no consistency, and no confidence...

Traded the recurve for a super-duper-deluxe High Country compound, and you guessed it... in less than a year, I figured out I wasn't an archer.  I could hit my mark, but why wasn't it any fun?

After a decade and a half away from bows or contraptions of any kind, I bought a new recurve, and found some good information on the web.  I found Trag Gang, and found out what "form" was.  I've lurked here and a couple other sites for a lot longer than I've been posting, and thanks mostly to Terry and a few others on this site, I found that old, elusive, "archer" in my soul.

I enjoy bowhunting, but I finally matured enough to figure out that the experience was less important than the outcome.  I'm not enough of a poet to describe the joy and satisfaction of a well placed shot with a simple bow.  Others have done that.  I'll just say that watching an arrow fly to its mark, delivered with simple, quiet, and beautiful bows, can make any man an archer!

[NDTerminator]

For me, it's was not just a decision to simplify, it was a practical matter.  I had Lasik surgery which corrected my distance vision but could not do anything for the inevitable aging related near vision issue. Because of this I cannot see bow sight pins or open sights on a rifle/handgun well enough to use them anymore.  

So being, I have to shoot bow with both eyes open and focused downrange on my target. Tailor made for Trad or my Reflex Caribou shooting barebow/fingers...

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

I guess I am just a firm believer in the  K.I.S.S. Principal... "Keep It Simple Stupid"..
Secondarily I have found out I can miss them just as well with a wheelie bow as I can a stick, so why carry all that other stuff.

[Bonebuster]

When you are a kid, fun comes easy. You have fun with almost anything you do.

I`m not really sure when you change from being a kid to... something else, but when it happens things aren`t always so fun.

Shooting a traditional bow brings back the kind of fun I had when I was a kid.

[Flinttim]

Top 10 reasons I'm Trad

10- After building , shooting and hunting with flintlocks for 27 yrs, wheel bows just don't make sense
9-I grew up poor and am still cheap to a point.
8- I like "old " stuff.
7-I cut my hunting teeth on al old Mossberg .22 bolt action
6-And still have that gun- a traditional trait
5-As a kid, the first time I saw Errol Flynn (Hill)loose an arrow, something stirred inside me.
4-For me, a hotrod has a small block Chevy, no fenders and Moon  hubcaps
3-I still open doors for ladies and take my hat off for the Star Spangled Banner
2-It's just easier!!!
1-But the number one reason I go Trad- I just look too damn good in a Fedora and back quiver.

[Hattrick]

IT JUST SEEMS RIGHT!