Bowhunter Magazine's Trad Section

[LimbLover]

I'm a diehard Traditional Bowhunter subscriber but I've recently purchased two issues of Bowhunter Magazine - the St. Charles issue, and the most recent issue featuring an article by South Cox, the resurrection of Bear Archery, and shooting heavy wood arrows. Not to mention, Fred Eichler now has a column about trad in the mag.

I was pleasantly surprised.

It appears as if the magazine is making an effort to write to appeal to our audience..or is this a freak occurrence that has something to do with their Anniversary?

If it continues, I may pick up a subscription, as I enjoy the hunting articles in this mag.

[huskyarcher]

Ive noticed this as well, and i sure hope it continues.

[toppredator]

It's nice to see more trad articles in Bowhunter magazine, but why use Fred Eichler.  He's hunted with nothing but his compound for the last 2 seasons of his show.  I still think he's awesome, I just wish he'd use the old recurve on his show every so often.  TRW

[ron w]

Been a subscriber for years......It's about time! Now if they could get rid of the useless ads [like male enhancement and such] I "may" continue, but I'm thinking that is not going to happen!!  

[owlbait]

South gave me the heads up on his article so I could show it to my classroom but it didn't print soon enough. I am saving it for this coming year. That trad section this time was a good one for Bowhunter!

[LimBender]

At the same time that most of the popular  bowhunting magazines are giving a little nod to traditional, they are going whole hog with the crossbow stuff.  I guess they are trying to broaden their audience, but you can't be all things to all people, or so they say.

[LimbLover]

Originally posted by LimBender:
At the same time that most of the popular  bowhunting magazines are giving a little nod to traditional, they are going whole hog with the crossbow stuff.  I guess they are trying to broaden their audience, but you can't be all things to all people, or so they say.

I've noticed this as well. I didn't mind reading the compound stories as long as the story is good and not tech heavy. Crossbows seem to be dominating the industry (if wheelie bow magazines are any indication). At least lately.

In all fairness to Eichler, he's got a lot of traditional videos out there and claims that he hunts with the recurve far more than the compound. Honestly, I haven't watched his most recent stuff. I feel he is a good recruitment tool for the compound folks that have been interested in but haven't tried traditional bowhunting. If anything, he is that.

[hvyhitter]

I will bet that I havent picked up a copy to even leaf through in ten years. The last one was nothing but adds and gadgets and the stories were just longer adds for gadgets. One or two trad articles isnt enough for me to fork out the 4 bucks and buy an issue when 99% of it just isnt for me.

[Mojostick]

I can tell you why you're seeing more mentions about trad gear and trad hunting.

It isn't because of the goodness in the hearts of magazine editors. It's about business.

I'd predicted noticeable future growth in traditional archery because more of the masses of compound hunters who've been shooting compounds for years are getting bored with it.

Two of my hunting buddies just switched, as did I a while back. And all for the same reason. The compound offered little challenge.

Over the next decade, expect more compound hunters to make the switch.

That's why I also predicted that the growth in traditional archery isn't going to come from "the kids of present traditional hunters". The big growth in traditional archery is going to come from adults who were lifelong compound hunters, and probably very successful compound hunters who then grew bored with all the gadgets and are looking for something else.

Compound shooters make up the vast majority of archery hunters. That's the pool where the growth in traditional archery is going to come from. They already hunt, they already bowhunt. Making the switch is quite easy for some, especially those who are most successful with a compound.

The reason the magazines are pounding the xbow drumbeat is somewhat the same, there's great interest in xbows. It's business and ad generated. Be it from older guys or firearms only guys or guys looking for wonder weapons.

Magazines are there for a profit, afterall.

Archery hunting is actually becoming more popular, in a time when most hunting trends show a decrease in participation.

This is also why I suggest bow hunters, all bow hunters, press DNR's for LONGER archery seasons. We don't necessarily need more tags, just more dates.

Check out this info. This is from Mark Duda, perhaps the most renowned researcher of "hunter attitudes".

http://www.responsivemanagement.com/download/reports/Bowhuntingpaper-uga.pdf

While overall hunting participation in the United States has declined since the early 1980s, bowhunting has enjoyed a significant increase.

This affords industry, wildlife agencies, and organizations involved with bowhunting a unique opportunity. Social and demographic analysis of bowhunting can facilitate focused marketing plans and specific marketing strategies aimed toward this healthy niche.


The trends in hunting in the United States are part of a broad social and cultural picture. While hunting in general is declining, some areas-bowhunting in particular-are increasing.

Industry and agency planners must not adopt simplistic explanations for the decline in overall hunting, or for the increase in bowhunting. Both are part of a larger, and very complex, pattern of the changes in American society.


Because inactive bowhunters report that time constraints are the major factor in decreased activity, any effort to make bowhunting more accessible, more convenient, and easier will probably meet with some success.

For example, archery seasons typically occur at the same time across broad regions. There may be opportunity for more spring, late winter, or special archery seasons.

Other options, such as making areas that are closed to gun hunting for safety reasons open to archery, may be possible.


Marketing for bowhunting should concentrate on the individual hunter. Marketing should be directed at active and inactive bowhunters, as well as active and inactive gun hunters. There is little potential for non-hunters to become directly involved in archery hunting, although there may be some potential for non-hunting archery.

[East Coast archer]

I know this is a traditional site and the poster gave props to Bowhunter mag. for the trad. section, but I just hate how all these mags. have no problem putting ads in their rags from the xbow companies.  Now it seems they have no problem with articles about them either. It seems that all they really care about is $$$$.  I remember when their staff used all the little known clothes and gear such as day one etc.  Now you can't find an article where a staff member isn't wearing head to toe sponsor clothing and using all the sponsor's gear. Thank goodness for Traditional Bowhunter, Trad Archer World and all the other mags. that care more about integrity then $$$$.  Hope I didn't go off on too much of a rant, now I gotta go to work.

[Tree Rat]

I know that Bowhunter has two special trad sections a year. Maybe you've hit the special months....Maybe they are coming around....

[LimBender]

I recently read the Trail's End column by Jim Dougherty (who is great) on his renewed love affair with the recurve.  He hit on a lot of familiar themes.  Not surprisingly, he said something about how he had to switch to compound early in his career due to sponsor demands.  

I also think Mojo is right that converts from compound will represent the bulk of traditional growth, if you didn't start with traditional it makes good sense.

[Eugene Slagle]

I've been getting the subscription for free for about 2 years.
Never renewed with em because it was all the same ole stuff each issue & I know they have not charged me but hey.

I'll have to look in the magazine at home to see what y'all are talking about.

[Bernie B.]

I also hope that Bowhunter Magazine continues to highlight the traditional way of hunting.  As someone who has every issue of Bowhunter since it's inception in 1971, I hope they continue down this path.  I also think we're about to see a big growth in trad archery due to a lot of seasoned compound hunters looking for an added challenge.

Bernie Bjorklund

NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin

[Bails]

I used to subscribe to Bowhunter Magazine , I loved the hunt write ups and loved the Trad section more , although it wasn't that big , it was one of the factors that decided me to go Trad only  . Think its about time I resubscribed , unless you can suggest another mag thats better ????

[illianabowhntr67]

I haven't read bowhunter mag in a while.I do like some their contributors.At least they aknowlege trad bowhunters.

[snakebit40]

Originally posted by toppredator:
It's nice to see more trad articles in Bowhunter magazine, but why use Fred Eichler.  He's hunted with nothing but his compound for the last 2 seasons of his show.  I still think he's awesome, I just wish he'd use the old recurve on his show every so often.  TRW

I feel the same way. I was very surprised when I saw he has his own line with 3Rivers. I, like you, think he's still awesome and would love to hunt with him. Just disappointed he doesn't hunt with his recurve on his shows as much.

[ThePushArchery]

Toppredator,

Eichler has been hunting more with his recurves the past two seasons on his show more than ever. I believe this past season of Easton Bowhunting featured only two compound episodes out of the 10 or 12 shows. All the rest was with his Palmer but mostly with his Buffalo. Which was still in the R&D phases during the show. By the time the shows were airing, the Buffalo had been on the market for a month or so.

It was cool to watch that bow develop throughout the series, with him hunting with Bondo applied to the riser to build the shelf out. By the end of the season, he was hunting with the production ready prototype, which then hit the market a month after filming.

You must have missed this past season of shows. He is a champion of our sport, glad we have one of our own in a main stream mag like Bowhunter. Good promotion for Traditional in my opinion.

[Mint]

I agree cpnhgnlngct, the shows i have seen have been mostly Fred shooting traditional bows. Now on the shows website  www.hunttv.com  you can request that he shoot even more episodes with traditonal gear.

[Ken Taylor]

I don't know the dates of the shows we get up here and I do miss some episodes, but I have almost always seen Fred Eichler using a recurve.

And Bowhunter was always one of the better magazines... I can't remember ever seeing a crossbow advertisement in it either. I don't know if the policy has changed under new ownership but years ago Don Clark and Fred Wallace were at the bear camp I worked at and they told me that Bowhunter would not publish crossbow ads (back then).