a strange ? for all tradgang hunters

[Dave Bulla]

Steve Hohensee, Hatrick and Don Stokes pretty much echoed my thoughts.  

It's not that carbon or aluminum are any less traditional to me, it's just that wood arrows are what feels right to me.  I've tried carbons for the last two seasons and while they certainly shoot real well, to me there is something missing.  It is a part of the personal process of preparing my gear.  

I don't know that there is much difference in the amount of work it takes to build one or the other either because while the process is different, the number of steps is about the same.

When I build wood arrows, there is a certain amount of forcing my will upon the shafts.  They are not all straight.  Not all can ever be straightened either.  Still, I cull and straighten.  I let them sit for a few days and check them again to see if some have stayed straight or some have warped again.  Some WANT to be straight and others do not.  I have to force some to become arrows.  There are little victories along the way.  There can be little defeats when I break one by trying too hard to straighten it.  With each step, a little of myself goes into each arrow.  

Wood arrows are part of what I think of when I think of traditional archery.  Like sharpening your own knife and choosing to do it by hand on a whetstone.  It's not that you HAVE to do things a certain way, it's that you CAN.  It's part of basic woodsmanship, part of archery.  Later down the road if you want to take a shortcut and use prebuilt arrows or mass produced shafting, more power to you.  But I think that if you jump right into artificial shafting and components, you are missing out on a big part of the experience.  

Maybe it works the other way too and artificial shafting can produce a better arrow for a beginner and help him shoot better sooner.

Like I said, I hunted with carbons for two years now but I think next year I'll be back to wood arrows.  Maybe I'll bounce back and forth in future years but at least I'll know HOW to build both kinds.

p.s.  Just reread the original question...."does someone harvesting an animal, using a recurve or a longbow, but using aluminum or carbon arrows ... in you mind decrease their accomplishment?"

Ah....gotta say no.  I don't much care what somebody else uses as long as it is legal and they hunt by the rules.  For myself only, yes, it does make a difference but not a lot.

[LV2HUNT]

No, good woodies are more a function of time and money than anything else. At some level there is a lot of expertise and craftsmanship but for hunting it is primarily time and money.

[Stiks-n-Strings]

The only way that I would say one is more of an accomplishment than the other would be making your own shoot shaft's, knapped heads, and selfbow. All made by you of coarse.
 there is alot of time and effort into making your own rig from scratch tip to string.

 I've been learning how to build selfbows and arrows and it is an endeavor in it's own, Makes a guy realize just how smart our predecessors actually were.
 Other than that any type of trad equipment is only as effective as the guy behind it and egually as challenging.
 I shoot aluminums only out of my recurve cause they are a little quicker to build.
 I'm getting my striker and plan to shoot a set up of woodies and build a set of carbons for it.
 
 To each his own, being a member here at the gang puts you among fine company and there's a miriad of archers here wether aluminum, carbon or wood and from selfbow to laminated bow and they are some of the finest gents I have ran across in cyberspace.
 If you aint do'in it with wheels and sights then your doing the hard way plain and simple.  

[Sam McMichael]

No. Remember the fiberglass and aluminum arrows were used by many of our "heroes and mentors" of earlier times. Nobody talks down Fred Bear for using the fiberglass arrows in so many of his films.

[Broken Arrows]

My best friend uses wheels on his bow and we go out to hunt we both have the time of our lives and we both kill things to each his own.

[Killdeer]

Sights are fine, too, as far as I'm concerned. As long as YOU are pulling the string, feeling the power of the bow and using your muscles to send that shaft, then you are an archer.

Looking to gain status, or out-trad other folks is a blind alley that leads away from the path of the true hunt. Use what you like, what makes you feel good and works for you. Don't worry about the other guy, unless it is to say to yourself, "I would like to try that!" or "I remember doing that...it was a fine hunt." Even an "I'll never do THAT again!" is a worthy response.

This is supposed to be simple, and like hunting, and life, it is an individual journey. There are many of us, and we are all similar, but different in our own ways. Let's celebrate that, instead of cloning ourselves to a single, limited ideal.

Killdeer

[blind one]

I dont think so. I use wood out of 2 bows, Alum out of one and wood,carbom and alum out of one. I would like to use wood out of all of them, but I couldnt get them to fly right. I have been taking alum out here lately because I like shooting that bow the best. I'm more worried about a clean kill than wether its trad to shoot something other than wood......Roy

[Randy Morin]

I was thinking along the lines of Killy!!

[Old York]

Don't know what all the fuss is about, I miss equally, both with wood and aluminium.

[Pinelander]

...."does someone harvesting an animal, using a recurve or a longbow, but using aluminum or carbon arrows ... in you mind decrease their accomplishment?"

NO, the "accomplishment" for me is the HUNT while using a bow, not a machine. I've hunted with stickbows shooting wood, aluminum, and carbon arrows.... and haven't yet noticed that any of them make the HUNT any different.

And I feel the same way about anyone else doing the same thing. Pidgeon-holing "traditional" regarding specific equipment has never been a good thing IMO... and the less I see of that mindset, the better I like being a part of it.

[James Wrenn]

Dead is dead.    I have used all kinds of bows but bowhunting has little to do with what you are shooting.It has to do with getting in range and making the shot.Really no difference in you know how to use whatever you are hunting with. jmho

[Gray Buffalo]

I don’t care if you shoot a recurve, a longbow, a self bow or a BB bow with carbon, aluim. Or wood arrows you are still my brothers of the bow.

Enjoy what you like

[30coupe]

Originally posted by Killdeer:


Looking to gain status, or out-trad other folks is a blind alley that leads away from the path of the true hunt.
Killdeer

 
   

[Charlie Schweikert]

...."does someone harvesting an animal, using a recurve or a longbow, but using aluminum or carbon arrows ... in you mind decrease their accomplishment?"

In my mind - NO!  "Traditional" bowhunting is not [ WHO I AM! ], it is part of who I am and what I do.

Charlie

Mudd - I get the feeling you hate to build arrows.

Killdeer - I very much appreciated your eloquent post.

[widow sax]

NO does not matter.  Widow

[Brian Krebs]

what Killy said.

[DHR]

If you're proud of what you did that's all that matters.

[JMartin]

As fast as was possible, Native Americans switched from stone to metal. Why? Convenience for one, they could "trade" for a double handfull of metal heads it would take them a week to make. Durability for another, they miss an animal, no problem....just touch up the new-fangled metal point...you're good to go. No need to have to re-haft another knapped point to replace the broken one you just shot. What do you think they would thought about a fast flight strings...or carbon arrows.....? I think they were always trying to gain an edge, improve their chance at success, who knows. I do know this, as long as it is a longbow, or a recurve (all inclusive) it's good with me!

[Ray Hammond]

the ONLY person who can make that decision is the person taking the animal.

Who are we to judge someone else's accomplishment in this way?

You're right... that's  a REALLY strange question

[thunder1]

This is one of those questions that start to separate groups. Reminds me of a club I belong to. Shot gunners against rifles, pistols against archers. No I don't think it makes much difference what you shoot as long as you can harvest the animal humanely.