Any of you young guys out there....(35 and younger)

[stick_string]

Hey Guys/Ladies,
I have some questions for you all and just curious if we think the same:

1. Why do you pick Trad hunting over Wheel Bows?
2. Young folks are typically sterio-typed into wanting faster/newer gimmics all the time...do you fit that mold?
3. What style of hunting with a trad bow do you like? (stands/stalk/blind)

I am asking this because I here alot kids and younger folks at the archery shop always wanting the "fast" bow (mostly becasue Michael Wadell or some other show host shoots it...and that is surely the only bow that will kill).

Just curious about you younger guys (like me) who have just started the trad journey ....

[stick_string]

I guess I should go:

1. picked up trad fro the simplicity of it, I started focusing too much on pins, distances, and everything working right....didn't like it.  I get the same exciment at kill time but the getting there is what I didn't like.      

2. I dont fit the stero type...I like the old school methods (some anyway), and actually dont want gimmics.
 - I think baking soda works in the washer
 - I dont think carbon clothes aren't worth near the price for what they probably dont do
 - I dont think you need High Def patterns to camo up with
 - I dont think you NEED electronics outside of a flashlight (one exception is for a GPS...but if your woods savy, a compass will do the job)

3. I am a tree stand guy.

[Tom Leemans]

I always tell 'em that the deer killed with trad equipment is just as dead as one killed with those speed contraptions.

p.s. I don't qualify for the younger crowd status.  

[bigleu]

for me:

1. there is just something appealing about shooting a piece of wood with a piece of wood. i just got into bowhunting and went strait to trad. i like the simplicity of it and the idea that for hundreds of years people have been shooting relatively the same way.

2. yes and no...i like the newest mac computer, but i drive a 25 year old mercedes. other than a few exceptions, i do like the old school, tried and true methods as well.

3. haven't hunted enough, but i'd say stalker...i'd get bored in a tree stand after too long  

[toehead]

1.  bought a compound in 96 sold it in 97 started with a recurve in 98.  hated the mechanical failures on the compound...

2. I bought camo for the first time in 10 yearslast year (walls had a crazy sale)...still have the camo jacket i bought 15 years ago works great...do have an old Bear Co. camo shirt I wear occasionaly.  I think television is going to ruin hunting as we know it.

3.  Love hunting on the ground until I get a feel for the area than I hang a stand...had a store bought ground blind (actually bought two) and gave them both away after everything looked like it was 20 yards farther than it was LOL, so now it's natural ground blinds when on the ground.

If young kids actually got out and hunted (instead of watching the "bamshamalamdingdon whacked that joker" bunch on television I think we would have more "hunters".

[stick_string]

Originally posted by toehead:
If young kids actually got out and hunted (instead of watching the "bamshamalamdingdon whacked that joker" bunch on television I think we would have more "hunters".

I cannot tell you how much I agree!!  

[TheFatboy]

1. I never shot a compound bow, but I don't like them. Every time I tell people I'm into archery, and they ask if they may see my bow, they're always surprised when I pull it out of the bowsock, 'cause they expected to see another compound bow.

2. Well, I love fast, powerful bows. But I'd never go compound just to get the fastest bow. Then again, my bow is already powerful enough to take out pretty much anything!

3. I haven't yet been out hunting with a bow yet, simply because I don't have a license yet. I've hunted with rifles though, and I definetely prefer stalking  

[mscampbell75]

It is to challenge myself.  I love archery.  And I like the simplicity of trad.  I just wish I had found trad years ago.  

The wheels became too easy. Too much like a gun with the trigger release and sites.  So for me the next step was trad.

I will never forget years ago, I used to hunt with a guy I worked with.  His father used a recurve and for the life of me I couldnt figure out why.

 It took more than 10years but I now know why.

I hunt mainly out of stands but I do have a couple natural ground blinds  I use if the wind is right.

[Cmane07]

I'm 21 and I just love it for the challenge... It just feels so natural when I shoot my recurve and I don need the fastest bow( I do love fast cars tho ha) I could care less about the latest trend and I normally always hunt out of a stand. I love telling people I shoot traditionally and they look at me like I'm crazy and say "can you actually kill a deer with one of those?" ha I tell them it is a bow and not a sling shot

[Broken Arrow 1]

I started shooting Recurves and Longbows when I was 6yrs old continued shooting them till I was 22 went to the store saw a compound asked what is that they told me thats the best bow and arrow on the market. I bought it shot it for a year and a half and then finally realized with the help of some good friends to get rid of that darn contraption. So long story short I Traded my compound for a guitar and a couple bucks bought a new longbow and will never go back to compound shooting.I am 25 now and have a lot of years (good lord willing) to spend in the woods with longbow in hand.

[Fishnhunt]

1.   Why do you pick Trad hunting over Wheel Bows?  

Pros:
-point of aim is much much much faster
-shooting in the dark is much much much easier b/c no peep and no pins
-shooting from awkward positions is much easier
-the bow is quieter on the draw and on the shot
-its super light for carry b/c I commonly hunt 6AM – noon. break for 2 hrs then 2PM to 7PM.
- fewer moving component to break
- tuning is easier so I can do it myself (or at least try to do it myself) which I could never do w/ compound b/c I didn’t try and didn’t care.
- its enabled me to meet a great group of guys who are into hunting and not horn porn
-the simplicity, the history, the tradition, the old school challenge
- # 1 reason is its just SO much more fun to shoot.

Cons:
- Practice time eats into my other hobbies (women/fishing).

2. Young folks are typically stereotyped into wanting faster/newer gimmics all the time...do you fit that mold? -  

No, not at all.  I’m going in the opposite direction.  Its weird how so many people get into archery for the challenge and do everything possible to make it as easy as gun hunting.  I have never shot a release in my life so I cannot attest to their ease of use but I have seem MANY first timers practice w/a release for a few days (OR EVEN HOURS) and then shoot kill zone groups at 15-20 yards.  To me, thats not the challenge I was looking for in bowhunting. That’s why I always finger shot compounds which took me months to get the hang of (and is still nowhere near perfected) and its also what drove me to shooting trad equip after mastering (and I mean that on a very PERSONAL & SUBJECTIVE level) the compound in my own mind.  I have nothing against compounds, only the way their use is applied.  I have not picked up mine since the first time I picked up a trad bow.  For me, its either trad bow or nothing.
I think one of the main problems today is that lotsa people don’t want to put in the time necessary to become proficient w/ the old type gear and the old type hunting. Nowadays its all about instant gratification. Horn porn and obsession with killing big bucks is another problem.  Texans are the worst with that.  I tell my hunting buddy when we go out “I’m going to kill the first legal deer or pig that’s positioned for good shot presentation (broadside or quartering away) regardless of what it look like"
One thing to keep in mind though….if you are trying to convince someone to try trad hunting I wouldn’t frame it as ‘this is real hunting b/c its more of a challenge and your compound bow is not real hunting”.   Hunting (whether via compound, recurve, crossbow, gun, atlatl) is a personal thing.  It’s a personal challenge and we should feel the right to speak up and voice our opinions but at the end of the day its up to each person individually to know their challenge and a 3rd party should not dis on another hunter’s modus operandi.  Me telling someone that their hunt method is not really hunting just smacks of pent up anger.  It would be like telling someone that they have an ugly wife.  The appearance of someone’s wife to you as an outsider is irrelevant, the only thing that matters is the husband’s viewpoint.  Calling someone’s hunt method unchallenging/lame is not the answer. The answer would be to explain why your method is more fun b/c after all (I hope) most of us just want to have fun thru this hunting thing.  And if you really love something the way many of us love trad hunting you will want to show others how its done to bring them into the sport or if they’re already a compound shooter to bring them to the dark side by showing em its more fun and more effective.   But we cant assume we know whats best for our fellow hunters.  In 90% of my hunting the recurve trumps b/c its stalking at close distance and recurves win hands down under those conditions.  When compond hunting I missed numerous deer at closer ranges (12 feet and under!!!!) due to sight pin confusion, not being able to and get to anchor quickly enough, not being able to get a shot in the air quick enough, etc!.  Those problems have all been solved by the curve.  If you want to show someone how fun it can be take em shooting and outline the PROs to shooting a recurve. It IS a better weapon!

 3. What style of hunting with a trad bow do you like? (stands/stalk/blind)
Every hunt is different (which is why I love this stuff!) but I usually sit in a tree stand or tripod until 10 AM (or 11AM or Noon depending on how I'm feeling about the spot and how animals are moving).  Then I will get down and stalk.  I never ever ever hunt ground blinds b/c I feel they take away from the whole experience (one of the main reasons I'm out there in the woods is to 'see' stuff and be close to nature and IMO the ground blind limits me from doing so).  Also my bow is 66 AMO and doesn’t fit well in a blind. About the closest thing I do to a ground blind is sit up against a big oak tree and let animals come to me.  That’s how I arrowed my first deer …. A stalk that led me to one side of an oak tree to get close to a buck about 18 yards from the other side of the tree.  While trying to figure out how to arrow the buck a young deer walked up to me from behind and I slowly turned, swung the bow and let it rip.

[Tim Fishell]

I am 27 and have never owned a wheelie bow.  I shoot trad because that is what my dad shoots and it is all I've ever known.  

I would say I do and dont fit that mold.  I like most of the old ways.  I like hunting with caplock and flintlock muzzleloaders.  But I also enjoy some modern things as well.  I still enjoy taking my rim fire rifles out and small game hunting with them.  

I enjoy walking around the woods more than anything else.  So I find that I usually end up still hunting.  I do sit in ground blinds and tree stands as well though.

[NorthernCaliforniaHunter]

I'm 36, so I guess that makes me an "old guy" but to answer your question:

I like any advantage I can have with regards to self-reliance. If **it ever hits the fan, I can - at least in theory - build my own and not need to rely on factories. All I need to do now is learn how to fashion my own self bow and knapp stone...  

[shikari]

I might be 34 yrs old but wa taught by some old time hunters who had taken everything from tigers to just about anything worth shooting in India,was taught tracking by a 74 yr old man who poached till a few yrs ago in india,the man who taught me to shoot was my dad's driver a retired 80 yr old sargent who was highly decorated in the british army in ww2.He taught me how to build machans what to do for leopards.The bows I saw in the meusems in india attracted me to archery in the begining and I started making bamboo bows in india when I was 6 yrs old.
Growing up I went on hunts with my dad's friends and other army officers who were friends of my dad's.
The reason I took up archery after moving to the U.S. is that I love the challange of taking game with the equipment I have made myself,I prefer to stalk game as I do not like to sit still for too long and love stalking ass it is what I grew up doing.

[ishiwannabe]

Im 34 and I shot wheels since I was fifteen until three, almost four years ago. I killed numerous deer, turkey and various small game with my wheelie bow.
When I was 14, my dad gave me an old shakespeare recurve, some wooden arrows and said go hunting. I missed turkeys, deer, pretty much everything I shot at.
After I began working, I bought a compound(later finding out that my father was very disappointed in that puchase, although he never said anything).

I began taking game every year. I think there were two years that I didnt harvest a deer.

Enter Shawn Leonard, and one of my best friends Damon Wilber. All thi talk about a bunny hunt with recuves and longbows. I sai I would go, and Damon and I started shooting regularly. We even went on a deer hunt with some close encounters, but no shots.

I had the time of my life. I was excited about the hunt, the simple gear. Not worrying about yardage, what pin, where is my release, etc etc.

I started getting to be an ok shot. Three rabbits later, I committed to form, anchor points and accuracy.

I harvested my first trad deer this year, a scrubby little four point.

Anyway, traditional is the way my dad taught me. I strayed for a while, but I think Im here to stay. Some friends get it, some dont.

Anway, I prefer stands or a good natural ground blind.
I did fall for the speed bug when I was younger, but quickly realized quiet was better.

[Westy]

I'm 28 (guess I'll be 29 in a week and 1/2) but for me...

1. Why do you pick Trad hunting over Wheel Bows?

I'm just getting into archery myself (don't even own a bow yet) but in talking to a couple guys that shoot traditional, it seemed like a good fit for me. I like the simplicity of the setup compared to all moving parts on a compound. I also like the thought of shooting instinctively - no sights to rely on or worry about getting knocked out of whack.

2. Young folks are typically sterio-typed into wanting faster/newer gimmics all the time...do you fit that mold?

Yes/No - I work in IT so I've always got new technology however I can shut it down in a heartbeat, grab some quality outdoor gear and forget about the daily grind. I'm not a fan of all the "scent lock" stuff, I think it's over priced - I'd rather play the wind.


3. What style of hunting with a trad bow do you like? (stands/stalk/blind)

Since I haven't had a chance to bow hunt yet, I can only base my response on what I've done in the past. By far I've hunted the most out of blinds (typically natural blinds I've built). Last year was my 1st year in the stand and I can see some advantages but I really enjoy having the animals in close when hunting on the ground - it gives me a huge rush for sure! The place we hunt isn't real big so stalking is something we haven't done yet.

[Chester Thompson]

1. I have tried to shoot friends compounds, and it was never "natural" to me, line up this with this, make sure that the bow is level, and after about giving the salesman a heart attack several times fro almost dry firing, I put down the compound and never have picked one up again.

2. I don't have the money for all of the latest and greatest stuff, so it does not really matter.

3. From what little hunting I have down I would much rather be on the ground. Either a ground blind or spot and stalk.

[katie]

I am 32.  Never had a compound.  My 1st bow was my father's old 1952 Ben Pearson.  I just love the romance of traditional.  No I do not fit the mold.  I love to have old things and bring them back to life.  I hunt all 3 ways.  Just depends!  Good thread.

[Kevin007]

I am 34 and I keep my options open. I am not biase towards any method and not shy to say that I enjoy shooting both my compounds and my recurve. I picked up a recurve this spring year and enjoyed it just a much as my compounds. Depends on what mood I am in. I gun hunt and I still like that as well.

Kevin

[joevan125]

Im a little older than 35 (41) and the reason i made the change this spring is because i have killed 178 deer with a compound. Living in Alabama all my life and hunting all the time thats really not a big number and please dont think im bragging. I just needed a change and i have found it in spades with these trad bows.

I killed 8 deer with my compound last year and all but one shot was under 15yds. I have always wanted a trad bow so this spring i ordered a ACS and WOW am i hooked. I now own 5 custom bows with 2 more on the way.

I love hunting from treestands but shot a decent 8 pointer this weekend from a ground blind 70 feet from our cabin, acorns falling everywhere. It was a 25yd shot and i hit him to far back and then it came a flood so i let him lay overnight and looked for him all day. Im going back tomorrow with a friend of mine who has a dog, i know he is in there but its so thick a rabbit would have a hard time moving around.

Sorry for being so long winded but i just love this trad life.