How Successful Are You With Trad Equipment?

[Hoyt]

I've only been back with recurves for two partial seasons. First season I shot over all the deer. Last season I killed a nice buck and doe.

I hunt public land walking distance from my door and get more than my share of shots. This season I hope to do much better due to much improved health.

After many, many days of shooting I have just as much confidence with my recurve as I did with my wheel bow.

[Biggie Hoffman]

Originally posted by RC:
You gotta hunt whee there are some critters .I would be fibbing if I told you I could hunt for days and be happy without seeing game. I hunt to kill stuff. Success to me is an arrow through ribbs.

Amen brother    

[chuckbow]

I think mine has gone up as well! but for me honestly i have become a trad only hunter and that was a big one for me ! For me i had rather take one doe with my trad equipment than 10 of any the other ways! i think its personal and I am completely happy with the outcome, mostly just happy to be there with my stick and arrow!
best of luck Chuck

[Michael Pfander]

Not to put too much pressure on you, but....... I have killed bigger elk with my long bow than any of my hunting buddies with wheels or rifles.  I don't know how everyone else feels, but for me the shooting part is the easy part.  I've been a shooter all my life.  Particularly out here [AZ] hunting desert whitetails is tough.  Maybe that's why elk hunting keeps getting easier.
MAP

[trad.-ed]

I've been at it for a few years and haven't had any luck harvesting anything.  I enjoy getting out with the kids and just being out in the woods, one day I may succeed but every hunt is at least a chance to be out in the woods.

[legends1]

I havnt switch because im a trad guy but traditional archery is not a disadvantage.Take a look at my website and you will see just a few of my and others animals taken.I was born into a archery family.Shot my first Blacktail buck at 15 years old.Im 52 now and alot of animals large and small have fell to my bow and arrow and i never thought about my equipment as a disadvantage.The wheel bow guys i know dont get anymore animals than me.Hunting location and skill play a bigger part.

[macster]

over 100 deer, 15-20 ground hogs, 2 turkey, lots of squirrels, rabbits, fish, coon, snakes, just got to get serious and be relentless.

[elkbreath]

In all honesty, it hasn't dropped off a bit for Elk or deer.  I got lucky the first year, made a bad shot on a bull, but still nicked a lung and was able to sneak in close to finish the deal.  the rest of the time the kills have been mostly good and consistent.

It sure isn't as quick and easy, but thats the point I suppose.  I'm a better hunter as a result and theres no doubt my consceince is cleaner.  Also, more emotion goes into the whole process.  Taking the life of an animal is now a rite, an exchange, a handshake.  

Now, for antelope, I haven't been able to tie the knot, spot and stalk, since my switch.  Waterholes fill the freezer there.  However, I much prefer to stalk them.  I have missed, flat out, 6 goats in that period, of 4 years hunting antelope (a bunch of years in there, since starting, I didn't have time for goats).  most of them ducked, two of them got lucky as all get out being saved by ghost peices of brush.  

In other words, in all cases, it was my fault.

Spot and stalk antelope is my nemesis right now, its been 8 total years since I killed one not at a waterhole.    This year will be the year!

[Kip]

I put up the rifle about 6-years ago and I kill less deer but of course all  bow kills than when I was a two season hunter.Do not miss the rifle at all.Kip

[rolltidehunter]

i still have the same amount of chances at game. i do miss alot more. thats going to happen. i have gotten to the point in my hunting journey that killing a deer with a rifle or compound is not fun any more. i do not want to do it. i just dont enjoy doing it. i would rather kill a spike buck with my long bow than a boone and crockett whitetail with a gun. its not about killing numbers. its about getting close. stick bow close. i do not even want to kill one at 40 yards with a recurve or long bow. i want to kill them at 10. there is so much more to it than filling a freezer.

my last year i shot wheels i killed 13 does in one season. yes i was thinning our herd and we had a intense doe harvest that year.. but now i am staistifed with killing 4-5 every year and missing 4-5. i do not get down on my self for missing. i reward my self for picking the right tree, (THE TREE) to  finding the right trail (THE TRAIL)..

[2Blade]

Good post fellas. Well I cant say I havent had a oppertunity I just couldnt get to full draw because the buck was 10yds. It was thrilling hunt and I think if the buck looked the other way I could have thumped him. That was 2 years ago and far as I know hes still in the swamp. I say this because he was a decent buck for around here and we would have heard about it either on Facebook or around town. Thated be pretty awesome to kill him with my Recurve or Longbow!

[widow sax]

I am way more sucessfull with trad then I was with a compound! It all depends on what your definition of sucessfull is. Does this mean I kill more game the answer is no but that is not how I measure sucess in hunting. How I measure sucess is in the experience I have while hunting and how I get the kill not that I get one. How I get a Kill means far more then if I get one so my eithics do not alow me to do things that will make it easier for me to get a kill no matter what weapon I am using. I like using woodsmanship and hunting skills to help me be sucessfull on game.   Widow

[joe ashton]

sounds to me like it is a luck problem.  You have to have opportunity before you can have success.
Hang in there.

[elkbreath]

2blade, to address your concerns with drawing, I have been astounded by how often I can get away with drawing right in front of an animal.  Coming from the compound world, I always though I had to draw an hour before they showed their pretty faces. Turns out, thats not often the case. And given the fact that I can draw and shoot acuraetely in one smooth motion now, especially at 10 yards, versus aiming for a few seconds with wheels, its incredibly doable.  just learn how to limit the total amount of motion needed, have the bow pointed the whole time, draw straight back, anchor and let her go, like a viper.

In fact, I switched FROM a compound mostly BECAUSE of its limitations.  I have only found the joy and spirit of a stick and string as a natural result.  

So as not to steal the thread, i'm going to to a seperate quick post on why I switched...
 enjoy, Dan

[riverrat 2]

I like Rob W.'s analogy. I have not been at it nearly as long as most guys here. But my 1st ever bowkill Whitetail was done with my longbow last year,and my 1st ever turkey was longbow killed this spring. So in 2 serious years of Traditional bowhunting,I guess I am 50%? But as
has been stated before,I FEEL THE HUNT now. Connected.

[Running Buck]

Being successful has a lot more to do with your setup, scouting and basically being where the animals are. Bowhunting is a close range sport, its supposed to be hard regardless of what kind of bow you are shooting. NY DEC's web site has a lot of good information on it regarding deer numbers taken from certain zones. Use that information along with google earth to find your next spot to scout.

[elkbreath]

I decided not to make that post, as it was largely about failing of wheel bows, i dont think thats within the rules here.  

Suffice it so say, the gadgets and such kept getting in the way of a real succesful hunt.  That doesnt happen anymore.  

We give up a little range, but that range being gone affords us a much richer hunting experience and hones our skills all the more.  Any inability to kill is just that, our own inability!  the process rewards us as the sower reaps.  regards and enjoy the search!

[centaur]

I have killed plenty of whitetails and turkeys with my longbows, but I do live in game rich country. Haven't hunted mulies for several years because I like eating whitetails more, but I have killed some with trad equipment in years past. I have only killed one elk with a longbow, but they seem to be the thorn in my side; I never can get them to cooperate, or I have a cow tag and see only bulls, etc. I never had much luck with elk even rifle hunting, so I don't think the equipment is as big a reason as the fact that elk just must hate me.       I haven't hunted antelope for a while, but I might this year because I have friends that like the meat; I'm not crazy about goat meat. I do have a black bear and one coyote via trad equipment, and lots and lots of small game and grouse.
You gotta be where there are critters, and you have to pay your dues. I put a lot of days in the woods, which ups the odds considerably.

[Bjorn]

I hunt in California and in Utah. I have 2 freezers that are crammed full and I'm really avoiding going to freezer no. 3. I just hope we can eat most of the Elk before it all starts again in a few months.
I don't know how you hunt or how often but you should not feel at all hampered with trad gear-it has been deadly for a long time.

[Bowwild]

I love bow hunting. I loved it before returning to recurves in 2010 and even more now. Three deer in two years.