One of "Those guys"

[joe skipp]

Back in late 60's when I started bowhunting, you could walk in the 3 Sporting Goods stores here and buy a good recurve...Bear, Browning, Pearson, Colt and Wing. Plus, all the Cedar arrows you wanted.

When the compound hit the market heavy, all the stores and shops jumped on the "Wheel Bandwagon" and those great recurves, arrows etc...were no longer available.

We had to purchase our gear from Kittredge Bow Hut, Anderson Archery or Robin Hood Archery out of Montclair NJ. I stayed Traditional all these years and I'm honored to be considered..."One of Those Guys."

[flinthead]

I shoot competition and hunt with  compound and traditional.Both have their attractions, but shooting Trad. 90% of the time. Traditional archery has a much higher fun factor.Have run into compound and Traditional shops that seem to like insulting the potential customer.  
Take away the bad attitude and ignorance of the archery store salesman---and you have a duffus that insulted a customer and ran him off without buying anything. Why would the owner put up with this clown that is running off business-a helpful attitude might have had you buying or ordering something. This is beyound rude-it is bad business. Thanks, Roy

[4 point]

The "one of those guys" statement goes both ways. It comes up all the time between eastern and western hunters, gun and bow hunters and trad and compound guys. I like to stay in the middle, that way I can spend more time out there hunting. Let "those guys" sit around and brag about how great their equipment is. I enjoy my time outdoor the same no mater what I'm carrying.  

[Jake Diebolt]

And that's why I shop for archery equipment online. Its hard enough finding traditional equipment without someone telling you that trad equipment is somehow inferior.

[bsv]

That might make a great "t" shirt.
I"m One Of Those Guys! with a pic of a recurve/longbow under it

I'm one of "Those Guys" too........and proud of it!!!!!

I love to shoot and hunt with trad gear because it is HARD and it takes a lot of effort to get good at it. I don't knock anybody else for what they choose to hunt with (as long as it is legal). I kind of think it is funny when I get a comment about how trad gear is not as "good' or "eficient" as other gear. I just break out my phone and show thema bunch of pics and they usually leave a bit enlightened.

Bisch

[Duncan]

Been one of those guys since the late 70's. Had 2 compounds and went back to being one of those guys about 82 and will always be till my toes are turned up.

[LongStick64]

Don't worry many of those "other guys" will probably drop the compound in favor of a Cross you know what, I can't name it here, in a few years anyway.

[Bladepeek]

Keith361, next time, come on a little farther west to Rockford, MI and check out Black Dog Outfitters. I guarantee they won't treat you that way and they have more than just "a couple of recurves hanging on the wall".

I'm so thankful there are still some places that cater to "those guys" so we don't have to shop only by mail.

[grouse11]

There is a small archery shop close to my grandfather's house. My dad went in to get his bow worked on and the owner started to talk to me. Once he found out that I would be hunting with a recurve that year, he proceeded to tell me that I would never be able to hit anything. I was 15 at the time and was shocked to hear n=him say that. Needless to say, I shot a buck and a doe that year and I thought it would be a good idea to hang the pictures in his shop.

[kawika b]

hhhmmm... is this thread gonna get ugly? I'm not the "kumbaya" people but if I don't want people to label me or put me in a box I won't do it to myself either. Don't hate... educate. No need to distance one's self if you don't want to be in the first place.

[Sam McMichael]

I think everybody who shoots a bow feels his way is superior, at least to a degree, and that's the way it should be. We should all be happy on our archery path. Some guys are proud to break lifesavers at great distance with wheels, and others are proud to take a deer at 20 yards with equipment they made themselves. Yes, we are all glad to be one of "those guys" but don't be too rough the wheel shooters as many trad guys started out that way too (and with that same attitude). Remember, a certain number of compound shooters will probably become one of "those guys" some day.Just make them feel welcome to our way of life when they change over.

[gringol]

Most compound shooters I've met seem a little jealous (maybe a little perplexed) that I hunt with a Longbow.  Haven't met one yet that criticized me for it.  We are all hunters, some of us just like to make things hard for ourselves.  

[Green Mountain Boy]

I'm with gringol, the guys I hunt with all use compounds mostly because they don't want to practice like I do.  Being competent with traditional equipment is a badge of honor in my hunting circle, it shows commitment to the sport that is unmatched in my book.  Maybe we should all write "One of Those Guys" in our signatures under our posts!

[LONGSTYKES]

Its great to be " one of those guys", I  enjoy my hunts more and just plain stumping.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Originally posted by Rustic:
To be honest with you, I have encountered more respect than ridicule from bowhunters that use a compound bow.

I too have encountered more respect than ridicule, but there always has to be a few guys out there that enjoy challenging the ways of old vs new technology..... but it's a strange behavior for a guy working in an archery shop.....

[dan d]

I'm proud to be "one of them guys" with that said, I will admit most people I see admire the fact I don't take the easy way out.

My feeling on the shops thinking we are "one of them guys" is that they cannot get rich off of us.

I used to get cought up in buying a new bow every year because this bow has 50% let off, oh wow, this one has 60% let off, well I have to have that one ! You mean next years bow has 80% let off ! Well put me down for that one !

As well as buying the new greatest sights each year, along with all of the new & improved arrow rests that come out each year.

Let's take a moment to Thank all the archery suppliers & bowyers out there (most of them now online) who made the decision to not be "one of them bow shops" who just want to make the easy money & sell the newest, latest greatest gadget.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

just the other day at a 3d shoot a compound guy asked me "  do you hunt with that?". I told him its all I have hunted with for the last 30 years.  Sometimes you run into guys/gals you can impress with the simplicity of  our gear other times not. I just feel its their loss, they are missing out on so much fun!

[LongStick64]

But Dan, they do want to sell bows, quivers, armguards, knives. To really be fair I see as much buying with traditional archers as I do non traditional archers. Most archers here have more than one bow, many own bows that cost more than a fully rigged compound. So while the sport may not be a gadget oriented sport, there still is a fair amount of buying and from what I have come across, it isn't a cheap sport at all.

[dan d]

I agree longstick64, I still spend as much on trad archery as I did on wheelie stuff, I didn't own 6 wheelie bows ! (I do own 6  stick bows) I just placed orders this week at 3 rivers & Kustom King buying more stuff. Will be bothering Chuck @ Two Tracks about another bow in a few months.

But........  I think there are just not as many of us as there is them, business now survive on selling quantity (didn't used to) verses quality. We tend to be a quality crowd (verses cheap quantity crowd)  & that in itself is "one of them guys"  

Dan