Haven't we already fought this battle?

[Kevin Dill]

David...good example. This ball definitely bounces both ways!

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

I guess I didn't realize we were at war with anyone. Recurves and longbows haven't been mainstream bowhunting gear for decades, so it's no wonder there's a generation or two of bowhunters who are honestly unfamiliar with them. It doesn't make those people ignorant, idiots, or morons, and it shouldn't be fodder for their ridicule. Maybe if they question whether or not recurves are effective hunting weapons it's because they've seen one too many person prop their stickbow against a 3D target while they look for yet another missed arrow in the weeds. Or perhaps they've seen one of those hunting shows where the host misses several shots in a row with his longbow.

My best friends son, fell to peer pressure and dumped his longbow and went compound. His friends, all newbies that I noticed hunt with the wind at their backs because that is where they put the tree stands, could probably shoot tighter groups and they poked fun of his old stuff.  Like a couple others that I started that never put in the work to get good with trad gear, got a big ego about how good they were because they could finally shoot a 6 inch group at twenty yards and occasionally hit a bulls eye at 40 yards. Those kids immediately try their game on me, I make fools of them, because I can out shoot them on targets and I can shoot quarters out of the air, I can shoot game in situations that they cannot even begin to make work and game on the move. I think it is the fluoride in the water that makes them think they have something when they in reality have nothing, other than a mechanical conveyance that allows them to finally do one thing, shoot groups.

[Jeff Roark]

My favorite hunter, and yes I watch him on TV every chance I can get, shoots "traditionally" with a compound bow. His son does the same thing. He is as "traditional" as anyone here or there to me.

honestly, this has to be one of the most goofy arguements there is. Some good humoured ribbing between friends is fine, but to get all up in the feelings over something like this is hilarious.

[EastTexasRedneck]

I have not taken a deer with my trad gear yet in three years of trying. But I have had more fun and enjoyed my time in the woods more than I ever did before. All my friends that shoot compounds kill deer every year, but they admire and respect my dedication not to go back to the "easy" way. They say they dont have the will to put in the practice and time it takes and they dont want to give up their ability to take 30 or 40 yard shots.

[WDELongbow]

Take it as a compliment.  It would have been a nice one "with a bow".  Killing any deer with a bow is, on average, more difficult than doing so with a rifle, sitting in a heated stand, prop'ed up, looking through a 8x magnified scope at a yardage measured with a range finder, etc., etc.  If I passed on a young buck hunting "with an obsidian spear", would you not think the same thing?

[Jake Fr]

i tell my self this lil saying all the time and to my trophy hunting friends that only kill big deer and look down their nose to others who don't.


SUCCESS IS NOT MEASURED IN INCHES. IT'S ALL IN THE EXPERIENCE AND ADVENTURE WHILE IN THE WOODS.

[WDELongbow]

In general, as the level of difficulty increases (due to choice of weapon in this case), the bar for "a nice one" is lowered. Next year I plan to hunt with a Creek Indian bow and arrow made as close to authentic as possible (real sinew string, bow sealed with bear fat over fire, reed arrow with stone point, etc.).  No arrow rest, no knock point, etc.  Both the bow and arrow are made precisely from measurements of real artifacts in a museum.  While stalking!  

Compare this to the guy with a computer designed carbon limb recurve shooting a perfectly matched carbon arrow, using a non-stretch FF string, from a treestand that has patterned the deer using a number of trail cameras.  A doe would be a true trophy for me, while the other guy may be looking for something with antlers.  I hope someone says "wow, that is a nice one for that Indian self bow".

[Bowwild]

It relevant only to me the equipment I use and how and what I choose to hunt.

[YORNOC]

Originally posted by Jason R. Wesbrock:
I guess I didn't realize we were at war with anyone. Recurves and longbows haven't been mainstream bowhunting gear for decades, so it's no wonder there's a generation or two of bowhunters who are honestly unfamiliar with them. It doesn't make those people ignorant, idiots, or morons, and it shouldn't be fodder for their ridicule. Maybe if they question whether or not recurves are effective hunting weapons it's because they've seen one too many person prop their stickbow against a 3D target while they look for yet another missed arrow in the weeds. Or perhaps they've seen one of those hunting shows where the host misses several shots in a row with his longbow.

Hiya Jason, just in case this was directed at my moron comment, the only morons that I personally am talking about are the ones who ridicule or belittle others on their choices.  Has nothing to do with non trad guys against trad guys or wars or anything like that. Just the morons who say "my stuff is better than your stuff" or "my choices are better than your choices" all based on their opinion. A group of friends shooting the bull and picking on one another I get. But from what I'm reading here the discussion is not about that?
If it wasn't directed at my comment, Never mind!    
   Funny, I'm getting wrapped up in this one and when I first read it my first reponse was "who cares?"      I'm off to the woods!  Good luck everyone.

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

David,

It wasn't directed at your post, with which I agree. It was more general in nature since this type of thing comes up frequently.

[MI_Bowhunter]

I shot wheel bows for a long time before picking up a trad bow.   I still shoot both as there are aspects of both that I appeciate and enjoy.

When I initially picked up the recurve, most of the wheel bow shooters that I associated with thought it was cool and many said they had longed to try one themselves.  (I'm not aware of any that actually have as of yet  :-( ).   Most of the razing I got came from friends that had razzed me about gear beforehand.

The only truly hurtfull comment I have received were from a few people that I perceived to be new to archery and ignorent to the fact that people still used such "outdated technology".  I tried to talk to these folks and educate them on the many forms of archery.  Some were receptive and some were not.

There are people everywhere that feel the need to tear others down.  There are people everywhere that feel that their personal choice is better then everyone elses.  Sometimes these people can be reasoned with sometimes not.  Sometimes people just need to resolve their own way in their own time.  Trad archery is not for everyone, nor are compounds.  

The end goal for all of us is to hit what we aim for and enjoy what we are doing.  I've never understood why the tools we use to achieve that end generates so much controversy.

[perry f.]

It seems my point has been misunderstood. I don't care what people think or say. I too, smile and move on. My fear is this.... If over time more and more people tend to believe this, then who is to say our right to hunt with our weapon of choice will be threatened. We have enough trouble with the antis, we dont need criticism from our brothers! I could care less what others do, say, or hunt with!

[Kevin Dill]

This the point where the coach says, "Do you want to worry about what you think someone said...or do you want to play football"?

Let 'em talk. Do your "talking" on the field.

[Matty]

You need to give in and go buy a compound bow!
Kidding...
I think we all know that its just ignorance. All smart archers return to their roots..Simple is better. As long as you know the truth, In yours and your equipments capabilities, Thats what really matters

[Stone Knife]

I carry pics in my phone of game i have taken with trad gear, most of it is better than what the naysayers have taken, so they rethink their position.

[Scott Teaschner]

For the most part it is just there lack of knowledge. I would not say they are putting your equipment down. They way I interpit it is they are intrested in trying traditional. They are not confident because they dont know. I think they are saying they would not chance screwing up on a big buck when they have limited experiance with traditional equipment. When I made the switch back in 94 I shot both compound and recurve all summer. I hunted the rut with my compound because I was more confident with it at that point. I late season hunted with my recurve and I did not have any undo pressure on myself. I was mainly looking to harvest an antlerless animal. That winter I shot my first deer with my recurve and never looked back. No matter what your weapon of choice it is our responsibility to become as profeciant and knowledgeable as we can. Every one is at diffrent levels and has diffrent ideals. We can not impose our believes on some one when there skill level and experiance may not be the same as ours. I would personally rather see some stick with a compound and be an ethical hunter. Switching to traditional is a huge commitment and I would rather not see a half hearted attempt  with wounded game. Hunting in general is a very personal. You deal with every thing from a casual hunter to some one like me who lives to hunt. I can not exspect every one to be as serious as I am. I would just alianate every one if I did. What I would like to see is just a little more common sense. Like maybe study anatomy of animal you intend to kill. Dedicate enough time with practice to be good at resonable and realistic bow ranges. I think your coworkers are just leary because they dont know and thats a good thing.      
Scott

[snag]

Don't worry about it. Even rifle hunters tell each other that they under powered..."you should be shooting a .300mag instead of that little .270w".

[Iowabowhunter]

I shoot a compound, use trail cameras, shoot 5 days a week, compete in archery tournaments, my arrows are perfectly matched to my bow, and utilize my range finder. My father and grandpa use crossbows, and we all love to use our shotguns and muzzle loaders during gun season. I would be hard pressed to find a more patient hunter than my grandfather, he taught me everything my dad and I know about hunting. While my dad doesn't get to hunt much because he works 70-80 hours a week, I don't feel that they have any more of an advantage than I do, by using their cross bows. They still have to be proficient with their weapon of choice. I was ridiculed by a few older guys (because of my age and the fact I shot with a compound) and made to feel like I was less of a hunter because of my "alien" bow. On my way to the register to pay for my shooting and leave, ready to have that place kiss my you know what, the shop owner walked over to me. He apologized for the way I was treated and let me keep my $5 shoot fee. He asked me why I came into he shop that day, and I told him to shoot my compound a little, and because I had been interested in traditional archery, but decided not to explore that interest because of the old bastards in the shop. He said to not let them bother me, and commended my accuracy with my compound. Tom (shop owner) said that he would understand if I didn't want to come back, but said to give him 5 minutes of my time. I agreed because he is a nice guy and I was still interested in learning the traditional way. After 3 hours of talking with Tom, I decided to forget about the old timers. I couldn't b happier that I did, because I am well on my way to shooting traditional. I am not going to give up my compound, I've invested a large amount of money and hundreds if not thousands of hours of my time. I think it would b the coolest thing to be able to be hunting proficient with both my longbow and compound. Sorry for the rant, just wanted to get that out there. To each their own, and I was taught that hunting is about the experience and the journey, not about what you choose to take long with you anyway

[Aunty]

Had the same thing happen last night was at a young farmer shin dig after a few big bottles of beer hunting came up in the conversation. My parnter said I hunt with a recurve and they were shocked that I did. they asked  if I had managed to shoot anything with it then they asked why. All I said was I have shot game with my recurve and I hunt with it because I like the challenge of getting close to animals and shooting them with the bow. Then a young fulla piped up and said why carnt you do that with a gun. I said because I like hunting with bow game don't spook with a bow like they do when you use a gun. Then range came up how far can you shoot ect I said the object is to get as close as you can. Unlike where you pour money and time into a gun you can shoot as far as you want. With a bow its not so much about the bow it's about you how good you are to sneak in on game into there living room were you have succeeded in getting past his sences to shoot him. You don't shoot all the game you see but that's the joy of hunting sometimes you get him sometimes you don't. It's interesting most of the people think it's magic to hunt with a bow or something but I like to think they are interested in how or why we do it.