Why aren't all hunters hunting trad ? POLL

[Running Buck]

I find it funny how we judge others about their freedom of choice. The joy and challange of shooting a stickbow can be anger and frustration to someone new to bowhunting. Compounds shorten the learning curve and bring a higher success rate. Regardless how hard you work, success in even the smallest form will keep you trying harder.  In the world of bowhunting there are no "slam dunks" if you don't do your homework you get to eat crackers. Hunter success, woodcraft etc. has nothing to do with what kind of weapon you carry. Practice with your choice, become a proficient shot and make clean ethical kills. No one will ever find fault with that.

[madness522]

I don't think it matter much what a person chooses to hunt with as long as they choose to hunt.  I have and hunt with a longbow and a compound depending on how I feel the day I go hunt.  I grew up hunting with a compound as did a good number of hunters.  I think it is just foolishness to consider either better than the other.  Each has advantages and disadvantages and for a group of hunters legally hunting to bad mouth ANY other group of hunters who are also legally hunting is totally unacceptable.

[KodiakMag]

This has been my experience.

Someone who hunts with trad only and refuses to hunt compound is mocked in most of the places we go. I have been in shops when they aske me what I shoot and snicker at me and walk off.

The trad hunter is faced with the challenge because he chooses to do it that way. Yes, getting in range is harder for a trad hunter but, with practice your range can double. It wasn't that many years ago trad hunters were known for shooting 40+ yards at an animal and making a clean ethical shot. To many people have seen on TV all the technology and the "ease" it seems to make hunting. I know a lot of wheel guys who don't take deer for years between each kill because they don't know how to "hunt". They think with the stuff they have they don't have to know and respect the game they are after. To many times compunders have looked doen their noses at me which is why I refuse to go to any archery shop anymore. I hunt how I want to hunt and personally I think I am pretty good at it because I have the tags to show, however, if someone wants to hunt with a compound thats fine hunt how you want no problem. It is your tag, your money and if you are legal shoot what you want. What the issue to me is when compunders start talking about the ethics of hunting. A lot of the guys I have run into in my home town don't respect the animal they are after and take shots they shouldn't take. Regardless of yards if you don't have a clean shot hold off. Too many times I heard people say I lined my pins up right behind the shoulder and I know I double lunged him. Sorry, you didn't if you double lung a deer it will be down in seconds. Our bodies function with blood and if you hit two major blood organs they will die. Also, a lot of the wheel guys I know are so focused on shooting an animal that they let that get in the wy of enjoying the outdoors. There is more to the hunt than a kill. I get so sick of people relying on their equipment to do stuff and then say "I just shot a deer at 50 yards". No, you didn't, your bow shot a deer at 50 yds. You just sighted it in for a few hours and were good to go. I have no problem with compunders but when they compare their success to a trad hunter I don't put them on the same podium. The Trad hunters I have come across are ones with a very real sense of the woods and what it takes to take an animal. And I will go out on a limb and say that Trad hunters are much more humble because we have failed 10X more than we have succeeded and is what life is.

/rant off/

[30coupe]

This poem kind of sums it up for me: nothing wrong with either method, I just happened to choose traditional and I'm fine with that. What others choose is up to them. I'm fine with that as well.

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

[Zradix]

Killing is only a quick/small part of hunting.

Compounds are just plain easier to master and the "archery guys" behind the counter can help you get those set up. So even that part is easier.

Many people (just a few years ago I was one too) want the latest and greatest, most easy to use/master killing tool they can get their hands on.

The compounds are an easier way to go.
Sights. letoff..etc.
Same mentality comes in to play with why so many people put down their compounds and use crossbows just as soon as they became legal.....its just plain easier.

[Jeff Strubberg]

I'd say the main reason msot don't hunt trad is a subset of the reason most don't archery hunt.

Time.

I find that it is easier to shoot a deer with a longbow or a recurve than it was with a compound. I have seen a disturbing number of younger guys with modern stuff, not be able to put their shot together when shooting at game and end up taking a guesstimate sort of instinctive shot without using their sights at deer. It rarely goes well.
  It is probably easier to believe that just because you bought all of the right doodads that you will be an expert, than it is to spend money and have to think about developing form and strength and abilities through effort and with work it may pay off.
  Some of us would rather have a canoe than a big, stinky, noisy, irritating speed boat. Some of us long for adventure.

[bsoper]

They have erased from their memories all of history from the beginning of man when he used a stick bow to hunt, and replaced it with the last 30 years of compound usage.

They honestly dont' think you can kill something with a stick bow.

[horatio1226]

Vermonster makes a good point. They simply aren't exposed to it. As far as being elitist, Wasn't trying to be.I don't have a problem with compounds ot anything else for that matter.I'm pretty open minded. I was just trying to get a feel for why people here think that all hunters aren't feeling like we do about trad.I started this thread because I feel that these threads are interesting. It helps us to reflect on why we are going out with our stickbows at a time when some of us are just getting ready to start our season.Sorry if some find the poll to be biased.Guess I hadn't thought of everything. Thanks for posting on it. Good luck this season!

[snakebit40]

Like Zradix said...its just plain easier to hunt with a compound/crossbow.

[LeeBishop]

Yeah, anyone can pretty much pick up a compound bow, and most definitely a crossbow, and be accurate enough to hunt within an hour.

A traditional bow takes practice and patience. Generally, people aren't going to decide to take the more difficult and challenging route if they don't need to.

However, I have recently decided to use traditional bows instead of a compound because I want the challenge.  It's something that takes practice and skill. That's what I want. I want to have to earn it and I know it will be more rewarding in the end.

This coming Saturday will be my first time hunting with a traditional bow. And it's got me excited. I've not been this excited about the opening day of deer season since I was a kid. It's all been kind of clinical before.

[LeeBishop]

Originally posted by KodiakMag:
This has been my experience.

Someone who hunts with trad only and refuses to hunt compound is mocked in most of the places we go. I have been in shops when they aske me what I shoot and snicker at me and walk off.

The trad hunter is faced with the challenge because he chooses to do it that way.

I'm going to be honest with you guys. I was in that crowd for years.

I grew up shooting only compounds since the age of 12.  I bought into the whole high-tech part of the compound bows. But my interest in compounds started waning about six years ago. I started to see how phony it was with regular working guys, without the paychecks they thought they had, worrying about the newest, baddest, and fasted space-aged compound bow that was made of lighter carbon fiber and promised 20 more feet per second of speed. The price tags were getting ridiculous as well.

I used to see traditional archery as being antiquated and silly. It was just a simple 1 lbs piece of wood in and a string. It was something cute, but not a real piece of hunting equipment anymore.

Then I started researching for my documentary film about Ben Pearson almost two years ago. And I have been converted. Is the equipment of traditional archery simplistic? Yes, but that's what makes it so great. And it's something that takes real skill to pick up and really EARN you kill.

Can I shoot 30 yards with my 45+ yr-old recurve bow? Yeah, but it's not as tight as with my compound. It's going to take practice and a lot of time. But, I think it's worth it to stick with it. It's much much fulfilling and I feel like I can actually feel like I earned the kill.

[Stone Knife]

 The term "lazy" is derogatory  

Sorry Ben, wouldn't put you in that category. I may have made a mistake using that term in such a broad way. I just feel it requires a bit more work to get inside 20 paces of you quarry than it does to get say a 40 yard compound shot or 300 yard rifle shots. So I wont say lazy just maybe not as ambitious  

[Javi]

One of my students summed it up this way… As he was getting ready for his very first elk hunt (he’s 23) with a longbow he asked me if he should take his compound along also.. I answer, Why?  His answer… What if I see a really big one at 40 yards and all I have is my longbow… I told him to leave the longbow at home and just use the compound…. He wasn’t ready to make the commitment to getting close or accepting that today wasn’t the day… He got a nice 6X6 at 10 yards and wishes he had been using the longbow… This weekend he is leaving the compound at home and going after a whitetail with his longbow..  Hunting as we do is a mindset that not everyone is willing to accept, but that doesn’t imply that we are somehow better than those who don’t hunt with a stick and string… we are just different

[Lee Viv]

Maybe I am naive, or unaware, but I really don't think it has much to do with easier, harder, the right way, etc....it seems to me to be a matter of choice and what we are exposed to.....

Some people drive Fords, some Chevy....some people wear commercial camo, some plaid and earth tones...some like IPhones, some Droids.....some people like football, some soccer or other sports...some like jazz, some rock, some country...it is what makes living in this country great...freedom of choice and diversity.....

We all make choices...some people choose compounds because the learning curve is shorter...and it fits their lifestyle and schedule.....nothing wrong with that.....in fact....seeing some people on the practice ranges at traditional shoots leads me to believe that a great number of stickbow shooters should consider switching...and stop making fun of "training wheels"!

To me, it is a matter of what fits the person and the situation they are in....am i better for shooting stickbow...most certainly not....being proficient at whatever weapon you use is what matters to me.....

As far as longer shots, most friends from my archery club takes an average shot of 20 yards and in...in PA, especially in early season, there aren't many places where we get more than that...unless you hunt open fields .......and with the hunting pressure in this state....that doesn't happen till well after shooting hours......

[KodiakMag]

Originally posted by LeeBishop:
 

Originally posted by KodiakMag:
This has been my experience.

Someone who hunts with trad only and refuses to hunt compound is mocked in most of the places we go. I have been in shops when they aske me what I shoot and snicker at me and walk off.

The trad hunter is faced with the challenge because he chooses to do it that way.

I'm going to be honest with you guys. I was in that crowd for years.

I grew up shooting only compounds since the age of 12.  I bought into the whole high-tech part of the compound bows. But my interest in compounds started waning about six years ago. I started to see how phony it was with regular working guys, without the paychecks they thought they had, worrying about the newest, baddest, and fasted space-aged compound bow that was made of lighter carbon fiber and promised 20 more feet per second of speed. The price tags were getting ridiculous as well.

I used to see traditional archery as being antiquated and silly. It was just a simple 1 lbs piece of wood in and a string. It was something cute, but not a real piece of hunting equipment anymore.

Then I started researching for my documentary film about Ben Pearson almost two years ago. And I have been converted. Is the equipment of traditional archery simplistic? Yes, but that's what makes it so great. And it's something that takes real skill to pick up and really EARN you kill.

Can I shoot 30 yards with my 45+ yr-old recurve bow? Yeah, but it's not as tight as with my compound. It's going to take practice and a lot of time. But, I think it's worth it to stick with it. It's much much fulfilling and I feel like I can actually feel like I earned the kill. [/b]

Good for you!    

[Sam McMichael]

I think a lot of people just like the precision that can be achieved with the compound, particularly those who consider a kill to be the primary measure of hunting success. I have never owned a compound but have been to many shoots where I was the only trad shooter. Most of the compund shooters were enthralled with the accuracy that could be achieved at distances I would not even shoot. Also, many indicated that they were able to shoot very accurately in a relatively short time. Therefore, I belive that ease of mastery ( I realize that is a very relative concept) is why many guys prefer the compound. As they become more proficient, as indicated on Trad Gang, many decide to take the road less traveled and come over to the trad side of life for grater challenge and a renewal of the joy of bow hunting.

As for the second question, the answer is YES. Hunting is the pursuit of game and does not necessarily include a kill. It took several seasons before I claimed my first deer, but in my mind, I hunted just as hard as the guy who killed the world record. If you are making the effort to take game, you are a hunter. If you are doing it with a trad bow, you are a very special hunter.

[Shawn Leonard]

See Brian, people do agree with me. I never said you have to kill to be hunting, but that is the reason we hunt. I get a kick out of the guys like you and Ken that say it is a soulful experience or whatever you say, that is fine butif the ultimate goal is not to kill something, why not just carry a camera. I am not a killer, I am a hunter in the true sense of the word. I put more work into hunting than anyone and I mean anyone I know. It is a passion for me that I would be sick without, if I don't kill something it is not the end of the world but am I disappointed, you bet your butt I am!! That is what I work and strive for all year. I spend a couple hundred days a year in the woods and fields and that defines me. Whatever floats your boat is fine with me, but as has been said by many I never feel handicapped by something that I chose to do!! Handicap- an impediment of a condition that effects ones ability to perform normal function: not of ones choice!! That is a definition I found on-line! Read the last part, not of one's choice. There you go, choosing to hunt with a stick and string is not a handicap by definition. Shawn

[adkmountainken]

[Lamplighter]

Disclaimer : i didn't read all 6 pages of responses.


Around here, Trad is taking off big. I have a friend that was shooting Widows in the 80,s in Howard Hill tournaments. He ran a licensed bowfish charter service. He taught the big pro shop owner and his team all of them, he taught how to shoot. At this time he has sold ALL of his trad bows and he said he went bought the latest Bowtech Compound.  He simply said he had done it all, for so long, and just got tired of it.

I know many compound shooters that envy us and do have full intentions of going trad. I see no reason why any of us cannot switch sides every now and then just to do something different.

Finally, I think compounds have done achieved all there is to achieve. Technology has no more place to go. End of the road.