Current state of trad archery

[LJOHNS]

Hi all,

I have been out of the trad game for about the last 20 years.  Work and family life limited my practice time so I went back to compound back in 2004 or so…
I now find myself in a stage of life where I have much more free time again (unfortunately, I am turning into an old fart now!).
Seems like there is less interest in trad overall now days.  A lot less bowyers around and I dont know anyone shooting trad anymore.
What is the current state of traditional archery and trad hunting now days?  Are the events still well attended?  Just curious…

[mgf]

I'm the only "trad" archer I know around here. Even my son has set the bow aside for firearms. 3 rivers is the closest thing I have to a "local" shop.

I can buy what I need on line and I just do what I do.

[goingoldskool]

I think it's on a comeback here in NW Missouri. The last 3d shoot I went to had about equal numbers of trad shooters and compound shooters.   I know more people shooting trad than crossbows now.  A couple years ago there were more crossbows.

[McDave]

My personal experience is that interest in traditional archery is growing.  When I joined my club, back in the ‘80’s, the ratio of compound shooters to trad shooters was about 80/20.  During the last few years, the ratio of new members who are compound shooters to those who are trad shooters has been about 50/50.  The overall membership ratio hasn't changed that much because there hasn't been much change in the preferences of existing members.  I would say the overall ratio of compound shooters to trad shooters is probably now around 70/30.

However, I think most trad shooters, including me, are like mgf: we're not out to win a popularity contest.   Honestly, if I was the only trad shooter in town I would probably shoot my trad bow as much as I'm already shooting it now.  I would miss the company of other trad shooters, sure, but I wouldn't change my habits.

[Pat B]

Come to the Tenn Classic outside of Nashville at the end of April next year. You will see 600 to 700 trad shooters there. Only trad and primitive allowed there.

[Sean B]

I’ve been in it for over 30 years now and I’m seeing a rapid growth over that last ten years or so.

[stevem]

I see growth and more bowyers than ever (at least the past 20 years).  Perhaps your view is due to trad hunters naturally being lower profile than some modern equipment types.  Grab a bow, dip your toes in the water and have a good time.

[Maclean]

It's kind of hard to say. The people I hang out with are all trad archers/bowhunters. But that's human nature, gravitating toward like minded people who share the same interests and perspectives. I mean, that's why we're all here on this forum right? I joined a traditional bowhunter organization in my state because trad archery/bowhunting is my passion and I enjoy being around people who share that same passion. It's not that I have anything against the compound crowd, it's just that I find trad bows so intriguing, especially longbows. They're mysterious and elusive, and it takes dedication to master the art of shooting a longbow. As to the percentage of traditional archers to modern equipment archers, I don't know or much care. I guess I'd rather hang out with, learn from, and trade experiences with folks who find the stick bow as fascinating as I do.

[MCNSC]

Here in SC I’ve never seen that many Trad shooters. I suspect that how a state sets it’s deer seasons for archery will play a role in how many archers , especially Trad shooters there are. Although we can hunt with archery equipment all season long our “archery” season is sept 15 til 30 , with primitive weapons being till Oct 10. Makes the effort of using a Trad bow maybe not worth it. States with longer archery seasons I would think would have a higher numbers of bowhunters and therefore a higher number of Trad hunters.

[GCook]

Our archery season is October.  November into January general season.  Yet somehow I hunt November through January with my bow too.
Just because guns are in the timber to doesn't change me sitting in it with a longbow.
Traditional archery is going strong in Texas and there's some great folks representing it.

[Maclean]

In my state our "archery only" season is the month of September for deer and elk. And there are a good number of traditional bowhunters here. We do have a late season hunt in several units for deer, with short range weapons only otherwise known as bows and muzzleloaders.

[Roger Norris]

Most of my hunting buddies are traditional shooters...mainly the ShrewHaven Crew.

My son, son in law, and one of my best local buddies are not. My son missed the buck of a lifetime 3 years ago with a longbow...he switched to a compound and we won't see him back until his life slows down.

Traditional archery is different now, at least for me. 20-25 years ago a lot of things were "new". Heck, even the internet and this website were kinda new. We spent a lot of time defining/arguing what traditional archery was.....which seems silly in retrospect. I remember serious arguments about carbon vs wood arrows...longbows vs recurves, is a short longbow really a longbow, etc. etc.

These days, at least for me....I have taken on a "live let live" attitude. I shoot recurves and longbows for ME. Not to be part of a group....although many of my friends make up this group. I do things exactly how I want with regards to bowhunting. If carbon arrows and a Krylon painted short recurve make me less traditional, I could not possibly care less.

There has always been an element in traditional archery that I call the "look at me" crowd. Guys that do it to stand out, rather than a true love of a more simple bow. 20 years ago they were everywhere...I see them less now...they must have moved on to some other hobby. The traditional bowhunters I see today are less "show" and more "go". 25 years ago you could go to a large shoot like Compton, and some groups looked like a costume contest...Fedora, plaid shirt, beautiful cedar arrows, gotta be Bear Razorheads... etc....and most of those guys couldn't hit their rear end with both hands. Today at the big shoots, I see folks of all ages very serious about being able to shoot well.

I think it is positive and interesting to see some of the younger traditional archery enthusiasts as they find their way. 25 years ago, I might have made a comment about a 20 year old wearing Sitka gear and shooting skinny carbon arrows 3 under. Now I am just glad to see that they are carrying on the tradition in their own way.

[Tajue17]

In the 80's into the 90's I was part of a big group of about 20 regular folks out of Massachusetts and NH most of them 100% trad archery,  we went to a bunch of the somewhat local trad only shoots, shot for fun and competed did some hunts together it was a good time even meeting one friend to hunt a local spot.  I remember a regular 3D having almost 100 trad shooters and for here thats amazing!!   now though I am the only one still shooting and hunting with a stick bow out of most if not all of them. many had kids, a few got old and sore and a couple picked up compounds and never looked back. 

maybe theres a few new comers to the sport and I even gave a few stickbows away to some of the new compound shooters I met thru my job to maybe get them interested but in the end its pretty much only me getting the funny looks out there now.. 

shooting and hunting alone now I notice I keep to myself more and don't really bring anything up about what you seen from the stand or any stickbow related stuff because if you bring up that deer at 40yds you just watched because it wasn't 20yds their comments back being wheelie shooters with the latest gear are exactly what you can imagine so I don't bother talk about anything archery related anymore.     

So my opinion based on what I see locally is trad is done and yes maybe theres a few still doing it but I see very young kids with their joad inspired recurve bows who most likely will go to wheels soon I really don't see anything happening anymore.

[BAK]

Not uncommon for me to go to a 3d shoot and find I'm the only one there shooting traditional equipment.

[MnFn]

I grew up on trad gear. If somebody said they hunted with a bow and arrow, it was assumed  most likely he was talking about a recurve bow. My one and only foray into compound was one year I joined a local archery club and everybody shot compounds, so I bought a compound and jumped in. I sold it a year later and shot one more year of league with a target recurve.

One year later I was back to recurves and longbows just for hunting. Most all of my friends shot compounds and most of them have gave it up a few years ago. Don’t know why, I guess they didn’t enjoy it like I enjoy traditional equipment.

I have a couple of guys I talk with fairly often and have elk hunted with my son but for the most part I am alone hunting. The  old archery club went kaput but I see some activity with it and guess it is starting up again.

I’ve been to Canada bear hunting five times.  There  have been a number of traditional guys on all of them.  Great times when you share a camp with like minded folk.

[MnFn]

By the way, sitting in a stand as I type this waiting for a buck to cooperate and come by. All by myself and loving being here

[mjh]

Plenty of replies to get the idea.  Some regional and club variations.  Plenty of online resources.  Many shoots still going several decades.
In my local club we have a great diversity of shooters and hunters.  Shoot and hunt what you like and are proficient with.  I've only ever shot traditional. Longbows--recurves--even a selfbow now and then.  Hunt primarily with recurves these days.  Last few years with work and family the hunting has been minimal.  Still a primary reason to be out there doing what I enjoy doing.

[PrimitivePete]

Sometimes it's about availability. Where I live we had a decent archery shop with a good number of shooting lanes and it was very trad friendly, they even sold Toelke bows, Bob Lee bows. It was grand. Once it closed I found it harder to find a similar place and one local club was about impossible to join. Trad has become less of a social adventure and now more of a personal pursuit.

[TGbow]

I started in the 70s so I seen the compound surge and then traditional archery came back some in the late 80s early 90s.

I would say there's more trad shooters in my area now than 20 plus years ago.

Back in the 70s my dad got us boys into deer hunting with recurves..4 of us both a a couple nephews. Now there's only me n my younger brother  that still hunt period.

[Squirrel Hunter]

Around the country, I think it’s growing. Here in New Mexico, it’s not doing well. Lots of trad shooters at the 3D shoots, but events do not support them. Shooting distances are getting longer again. Few close range shots, average over 30. A recent shoot had only 3 shots under 40. Selfbows, longbows, and Olympic recurves with flipper rests and multiple long stabilizers are all in the same division. Sights are often allowed. My club just announced that from now on, rangefinders are allowed at all shoots. As I said, lots of trad shooters at the shoots (mostly new shooters), but I only know two other guys in the state who actually hunt with a trad bow. Most compound archers are good guys and don’t care what you shoot, but I’ve been told many times that trad bows should be banned and I was even told longbows and wood arrows are not allowed at local NFAA shoofs.