Current state of trad archery

[Russell Southerland]

GEE.EEZZzzz. I did it again!!!!!

I posted on the wrong post.

Looks good of you have visited the New Members  post.

[Squirrel Hunter]

My statement about longbows and wood arrows not being allowed at nfaa shoots was about local attitudes, not the NFAA. I have seen no reason to think the NFAA is anti longbow or anti trad bow. This was what I was told by the guy who used to run all of the NFAA activities here in NM. He was pretty nasty about it but it was just him and a few other people. He’s gone now, so it may not even be true any more.

[GCook]

Honestly most folks shouldn't be hunting with trad equipment.  And it's questionable if they should with compounds.

Then what should they be hunting with?

Hunting is not a risk free sport no matter what equipment one is using. People wound, miss, lose and cripple deer with shotguns, rifles and crossbows every year.

I think the current state of traditional archery is in a weird stage. You have two sets of people in the sport and neither are right or wrong. You have old timers that are doing it the same way it's been since the 70s with wooden bows etc. Then you have guys that are into the extreme curves and metal risers/ilf rigs etc, about as close to a compound as you can get with a single string. I really don't care either way, as long as one is happy with what they do.

I used to frown on people for equipment choices and so on. But honestly who cares, I'm just glad we are still able to hunt in the current world we live in.

I understand your point and I should have said many instead of most, but way too many pick up a bow as an extra season weapon.  Even the two guys I own a ranch with seldom shoot their compound bows outside of season and very little during season.  Do they kill stuff?  Sure.  But there are always a few can't find ems each season.  That's with a sight and release aide. 
I lose some as well.  But do better than many of the compound archers I know.  Maybe I'm just expecting too much of others.   I expect more of myself though.

[GCook]

That said I like that on forums like this tuning, broadhead sharpening, form and such are discussed as well as emphasized.  This helps tremendously.  Unfortunately too many aren't on forums to learn from experienced archers like here. 

[mahantango]

Alive and well here. Most of our local clubs have trad only shoots, and my "home " club had a record turnout at our fall shoot clearing almost $6000. You need to head up to ETAR in July.

[BigJim]

I have no hard facts, but I would say that trad is growing leaps and bounds! FB forums are full of newbies that most here wouldn't have much contact with and trad only events in most cases (from my experience) are alive and doing well!
I can see where regular 3d events wouldn't continue to attract and grow trad classes as trad shooters find out about existing trad only shoots.
For the most part, I don't see trad archery as much of a social group except on forums and close friends. I also see new bowyers popping up at every turn.. and some getting out of business because they don't like dealing with the public as much as they like building bows. Same old same old.

Like every other thing in life, it revolves. As we get older, some leave one passion to go to another.. Others step in and fill the space quietly.
BigJim

[McDave]

Reading Big Jim's post made me recall some changes I have observed myself in recent years.  Young people (under 50) don't seem to have the patience or desire to spend as much time on activities as we did.  In our area, country clubs are dying on the vine due to the lack of desire of many people to spend all day playing golf.  20 years ago, I and my close friends looked forward to our monthly archery club shoots, which fizzled out about 5 years ago.  Since then, somebody or another would comment at monthly club meetings that we should start it up again, but nobody wanted to take the reins, so I finally volunteered.  After 8 months, I can never seem to get more than a dozen players, so I plan to fold it up again at the end of the year, because a dozen people is really not much of a competition out of a club with 350 members.

What the new members do like is the ability to drop in casually and shoot a round in an hour or so on their own terms and their own timetable, with or without friends.  The ability to offer this spontaneity may be a reason for our uptick in memberships in general, and possibly even the uptick in interest in trad archery vs compounds. Trad archery has always seemed more spontaneous to me than compounds, but that could just be the way I feel about it.

Hunting is an activity that requires dedicating a large chunk of time, more than a round of golf or a club shoot (although less often, generally) and the lack of desire or ability of young people to commit that much time to an activity could be a reason for the decline in hunting among that age group.

[Mike Bolin]

Where I live, in west central Indiana, there is a good number of traditional shooters. In our local group we have ages ranging from the mid 30s to the early 70s. Cloverdale is just about an hour away from where I live, so I'm sure that has some influence on the local number of trad shooters.

I understand the sentiment that some should not be hunting with traditional equipment from the shooting I have seen at some of the local shoots. BUT, just because you see poor or inadequate shooting on a 3D course doesn't mean that those folks are hunting with their trad bows. One young man made the switch to trad recently and only felt comfortable out to 15 yards. He made the decision to hunt with his recurve this year and to limit his shots to 15 yards and under. He passed on a couple of nice bucks at the 20-yard mark, but filled two tags, one with a nice young buck, and another with a mature doe. We all had to learn how to shoot. I shot a recurve at bow shoots for several years before I actually hunted with it. Even though I shoot fairly well now, I still try to limit my shots to under 20 yards and I only let go of the string when it "feels" right.

Overall, I'd say that traditional archery is growing here in the midwest. I frequently get calls and texts from younger guys that are looking to make the "switch", asking about bow weight, length, arrows...the whole gamut. A couple of my friends have several bows, and they loan them out to new shooters on a regular basis. It's not uncommon for newbies to come by my house or a friend's house to try out different bows and get a bit of coaching.

[Wild Bill MCP 808]

Traditional Archery is alive and well as a matter of fact I think it is growing leaps and bounds. Pick up a copy of Traditional Bowhunter Magazine to get your head focused again. Go to ETAR in Morris, PA at the end of July you will have a great time and see for yourself the state of Traditional Archery. or to the Sawmill Shoot in June at Morris, PA you will learn a lot and have fun. Make up your mind to commit to it and get back into physical shape so you will enjoy it. Bowhunting is not easy, it is not suppose to be. Have Fun and Best of Luck to you Sir!

[TSP]

Where the concept of trad archery is probably headed....Lord help us.   

[Burnsie]

Reading Big Jim's post made me recall some changes I have observed myself in recent years.  Young people (under 50) don't seem to have the patience or desire to spend as much time on activities as we did.  In our area, country clubs are dying on the vine due to the lack of desire of many people to spend all day playing golf.  20 years ago, I and my close friends looked forward to our monthly archery club shoots, which fizzled out about 5 years ago.  Since then, somebody or another would comment at monthly club meetings that we should start it up again, but nobody wanted to take the reins, so I finally volunteered.  After 8 months, I can never seem to get more than a dozen players, so I plan to fold it up again at the end of the year, because a dozen people is really not much of a competition out of a club with 350 members.

What the new members do like is the ability to drop in casually and shoot a round in an hour or so on their own terms and their own timetable, with or without friends.  The ability to offer this spontaneity may be a reason for our uptick in memberships in general, and possibly even the uptick in interest in trad archery vs compounds. Trad archery has always seemed more spontaneous to me than compounds, but that could just be the way I feel about it.

Hunting is an activity that requires dedicating a large chunk of time, more than a round of golf or a club shoot (although less often, generally) and the lack of desire or ability of young people to commit that much time to an activity could be a reason for the decline in hunting among that age group.

I agree and disagree with your statements about the younger crowd not wanting to spend as much time on activities.  I think it is the amount of time and effort it takes to do/master the activities that determines if they will participate.  People will spend hours on end in front of a monitor and play video games, they will spend an entire weekend binge watching the latest series on their streaming service.  But if its something difficult, or its requires a commitment, or it may cause you to break a sweat, then participation rates drop greatly. An example that hits home with me is the wrestling program at my High School Alma Mater.  It was always a force to be reckoned with. We were/are a tiny school, but were always able to hang with the best in the state.  We had kids 3-4 deep fighting for varsity positions at every weight class. Up until about 10 or 15 years ago this was still the case.  This year they are barely able to field a team and many of the weights have to be forfeited for lack of people. The amount of work and commitment required to be good at the sport is not appealing to many any more.
I know, I sound like an old fart "back when I was young....bla bla bla" but it really does feel like there is a growing attitude of "if it ain't easy, I'm not doing it"

[Sam McMichael]

This topic has come up numerous times before, with many seeming to think that that trad is being pushed out. I don't think so. Trad has for many years been just a sliver of the archery community for many reasons. I believe the main reason is that it is simply more difficult for most people to master. You know, the old instant gratification concept. Nonetheless, you still see good crowds at so many trad shoots. It takes a certain mindset to enjoy going against the grain and doing the work to accomplish something that many others just aren't willing to do. It does seem, though, that our numbers seem to go up and down over time, but I truly think trad archery will still be flourishing for a long time to come. We are simply those who chose the road less traveled by.

[JohnV]

From what I have observed, attendance is down at all shoots, both trad and compound.  Most bowhunting organizations and local clubs have seen a decrease in membership numbers.  There are exceptions.  Seems the younger archers have less interest in joining organizations and clubs and instead prefer to do their socializing online.

[Hunter74]

I don’t think this has as much of an impact on the trad numbers cus I would say overall it’s growing but I was in a local sport shop I like to visit once in a while and Dean, the guy that runs the archery side of things said over the last year sales have been 80/20…that is 80% crossbows to 20% compounds. Hearing that sort of broke my heart and left me a little angry.

[buckeyebowhunter]

Reading Big Jim's post made me recall some changes I have observed myself in recent years.  Young people (under 50) don't seem to have the patience or desire to spend as much time on activities as we did.  In our area, country clubs are dying on the vine due to the lack of desire of many people to spend all day playing golf.  20 years ago, I and my close friends looked forward to our monthly archery club shoots, which fizzled out about 5 years ago.  Since then, somebody or another would comment at monthly club meetings that we should start it up again, but nobody wanted to take the reins, so I finally volunteered.  After 8 months, I can never seem to get more than a dozen players, so I plan to fold it up again at the end of the year, because a dozen people is really not much of a competition out of a club with 350 members.

What the new members do like is the ability to drop in casually and shoot a round in an hour or so on their own terms and their own timetable, with or without friends.  The ability to offer this spontaneity may be a reason for our uptick in memberships in general, and possibly even the uptick in interest in trad archery vs compounds. Trad archery has always seemed more spontaneous to me than compounds, but that could just be the way I feel about it.

Hunting is an activity that requires dedicating a large chunk of time, more than a round of golf or a club shoot (although less often, generally) and the lack of desire or ability of young people to commit that much time to an activity could be a reason for the decline in hunting among that age group.

I agree and disagree with your statements about the younger crowd not wanting to spend as much time on activities.  I think it is the amount of time and effort it takes to do/master the activities that determines if they will participate.  People will spend hours on end in front of a monitor and play video games, they will spend an entire weekend binge watching the latest series on their streaming service.  But if its something difficult, or its requires a commitment, or it may cause you to break a sweat, then participation rates drop greatly. An example that hits home with me is the wrestling program at my High School Alma Mater.  It was always a force to be reckoned with. We were/are a tiny school, but were always able to hang with the best in the state.  We had kids 3-4 deep fighting for varsity positions at every weight class. Up until about 10 or 15 years ago this was still the case.  This year they are barely able to field a team and many of the weights have to be forfeited for lack of people. The amount of work and commitment required to be good at the sport is not appealing to many any more.
I know, I sound like an old fart "back when I was young....bla bla bla" but it really does feel like there is a growing attitude of "if it ain't easy, I'm not doing it"

Kinda like the way people hunt these days..

[buckeyebowhunter]

I'm afraid I'm turning into the grumpy old fart too, at the age of 32 haha. And I don't mean to be that way. But it is hard to fathom how much things have changed even in just the last 10 years. I teach high school kids for a living in a moderate sized rural high school. You wouldn't believe the amount of kids that don't hunt and have zero desire to hunt or even enjoy the outdoors.

When I was in school everyone hunted, very few with traditional bows, but many of my friends and family hunted and did outdoor activities. Those that do hunt seem to only be interested in the easiest way to get a set of horns. And of course when I was a kid I wanted a big buck, and I am still pumped to chase big bucks, but I just wanted to hunt and I still just want to hunt. I'm just as excited about harvesting a doe as I am any other deer. I just love this stuff.

I know not everyone is like me or has the same mindset. But it would just be nice to go back to the days when people just liked to hunt and got excited about learning how to hunt. When I was a kid it didnt matter if you shot a big buck, small buck, doe or button buck people were just excited about hear about it. I'm afraid this has changed, and the state of trad archery has sort of followed suite. I think a lot of people still enjoy and appreciate trad bows, but I don't know of anyone in my area except myself that actually hunts with one 

[GCook]

I see the points.  Don't necessarily disagree but . . . I have a little bit different understanding why younger shooters aren't just flocking to it. 
As mentioned it isn't easy and takes time and commitment. In my decade plus as a scout leader I saw a lot of young men who came into the program but didn't finish the program. Oh it wasn't because camping was too hard or earning merit badges caused them to sweat too much.
It was just that life was busy. Most of them were in band or sports.  Some were theater people and others it just wasn't their thing long term.  Then they are dealing with all the demands of high school and college and romance and starting a family and broke and working to get ahead.  Then start carting two, three or four kids to all the different activities, both parents working and life gets full and stays full for a long time.
When I was in that boat and working sixty to eighty hours a week a compound was the easier way.  I shot year round but often just a few arrows once or twice a week.  I was intrigued by the traditional side but knew I didn't have the time to do it right. 
It isn't always easy to even have a place to shoot.  I don't know if you've noticed but cities are growing.  Rural communities not so much. In fact there are a lot of empty old houses around my place in Missouri.
Personally I think we were on a great upswing and COVID helped in a way but also hurt with people staying away from ranges and shops.
As mentioned there is always an ebb and flow to things.  But like a short person who puts on five pounds it's easy to see it. If they lose it as well.  Not so much with someone six foot plus tall.  We are a small segment. Single string in general is and hunting single string archers even more so. 
There are some things we can do to nurture growth but honestly it's never gonna be a group that dominates the industry. 
But accepting that very few will come into this discipline wanting to sport a fedora, flannel shirt and smoking a pipe would go a ways. Most of the new traditional shooters will be coming from wheeled bows.  Will want to still use camo, scent control, gps, cameras, single step and saddle climbing and a few other things you see some say isn't "traditional".  And I guess in a lot of ways it's not if you think it's a reversion lifestyle that defines it.  Unfortunately most of us do what works for us.  For some it's smoking our hunting clothes.  For others it's a whole system of detergent, soaps and sprays.  But is that difference worth telling someone they are traditional enough? 
It's seems archers beating up archers has become one of the most prevalent things you see on forums anymore.  Whether it's tab vs glove or feeders vs food plot vs crop fields.  Traditional vs compound vs crossbow . . . Even competition groups make rules against gap or crawl shooters to edge out what they define as cheating.
Seems anymore we have no love for those who are doing it differently.  Not much fun being around in groups like that.

[buckeyebowhunter]

Gary it would be pretty sweet to smoke a pipe while shooting! I once saw an old timer in our 3D club shooting with a cig hanging out his mouth the whole time. I could never figure out how his string didn't knock it out.

I agree and disagree with what you're saying. I always respect what you have to say. I love bouncing things off you. I think when you want to you find time for important things you just do. My dad worked  swing shift in a glass factory and raised 3 kids in the early 90s yet always found ways to teach us to hunt and fish. I just don't see it with these kids at school and it breaks my heart.

I still think there is plenty of love for others in the hunting community. Just not as many people doing it for the right reasons which is what causes the disconnect in my opinion.

[GCook]

Have to agree with that.  To many deer hunting teams and YouTube heros anymore.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy sharing my kills, but it's not why I hunt.
Unfortunately I know guys who hunt only horns but hate venison.   
I live on deer meat. Horns are just a remembrance of a special kill.  Next year it's on too the next one.
My son has wicked allergies.  Cedar and oak and other stuff tears him up.  So the outdoors was always tough with him.  He went a different direction. My helper wanted to shoot a pig.  Brought him down to the ranch and he shot a couple.  He enjoyed it but has other priorities. 
Some folks it gets in their blood.  It becomes more than a hobby or annual pilgrimage.  That's why I sitting here freezing hoping to take a doe for a family I know.  Would be a lot easier to buy them a couple of roasts at the grocery store. 

[Kirkll]

Traditional archery has a different meaning to different folks... To some it's a life style of days gone by that they want to be a part of, and keep alive. To some it's just a sport, and something to master.... others just a hunting tool....

As a hunting tool alone Traditional bows will never be the top choice. There are too many other choices making it easier to harvest game, with less time invested to become proficient.

 For some the stick and string is a more challenging way to hunt which takes an investment in time to be successful, to others its cherished as an art form that has developed into an instinctive level.....

Then you have the competitive crowd of single string archers that pursue the tournaments and 3D shoots much more  than hunting. Others do both.....

Some folks are really into it, and build all their own arrows, and some even build their own bows. They have as much fun tinkering with their gear as they do hunting or shooting 3D. Lets face it.... This can be a time consuming sport if you want to be proficient at what ever you do....

I think the bottom line on the OP's question is... Traditional archery has evolved into many things, and is doing well if all things are considered....      Kirk