if you could do it all over again , What different?

[joebuck]

traditional bowhunting ( or trad archery to those that don't hunt) . what would you do different? Three under? Or shoot a self bow first?

mine is easy......wished I would have taken a lot more pictures of friends and acquaintances at all the trad functions/ banquets/ camps over the years.....so many good times....

[ozy clint]

start trad earlier.

[Dan Adair]

I'm going to get flamed for this...  BUT.


I would have never picked up the first TBM mag.  I would have stripped all the junk off my compound, and shot it barebow, 3 under.

I would have told both worlds to F off and shot 3D matches and bowhunted for my whole life and never gave a squat what anybody thought.


But there was Schafe, and the Wensels, Ed Dowdy, Matt Riley, Rosey, and Dick, who all had some influence, and now here I am.  A pretty damn good barebow shooter and fair bowhunter, whose got a ton of stories with a recurve in God's country.  

The bow is just a vessel, and we are all travelers.  Don't take the non-conformist thing too far, or you'll be another radical conformist.

Hippy rant off...

[flyne]

I wish i had Stop switching from compound with all the trimmings to trad every 6mths for the past 18 years  and just setteled and shot trad from the get go I would have saved at least 30 grand lol

[Firstarrow]

Dan good post. I felt the same way... I am very grateful ro gave been introduced to the other simpler side of Bowhunting. Even on the trad side we can get caught up in the gadgets and the faster/stronger draw of technologies.

Joe more pictures and more journal entries.

[Panzer]

I think Dan summed it up rather nicely.

[ghall80]

Dan the man !! i am with you brother 100%

[ghall80]

Ok glad i got a recurve 10 yrs ago wish i had done it sooner. I wish i had not played with so money different bows and found my go to bow sooner. A lot of money was wasted in those 10yrs and just found my bow of bows!

great thread !!

[Green]

I started in archery at 10 y/o.....40+ years later I got a coach.    

[Duckbutt]

Joined the PBS when I picked up the bow and started seeing the "I'm the PBS" ads.  Since there was no internet then and I didn't know other folks that hunted with trad equipment, it took me way too long to find all my brothers of the bow.  Going to a PBS banquet 15 years ago would have changed a lot for me.  
The other thing would be buying points out west earlier than I started.

[YORNOC]

I started off snap shooting too heavy a bow many moons ago. Did this for a few years and was very inconsistant, therefore passed  on some really nice animals on some very expensive hunts. I knew nothing of correct form till I started shooting FITA/target, then applied the basics to my hunting bows.
Boom, it all came together.
Wish I started that way.

[Bowwild]

I was too picky in the early 80's.

[jonsimoneau]

I would have taken shooting lessons from someone who knew what they were doing before I ever started shooting!

[ron w]

Put the recurve down in the late 70's and early 80's to rifle hunt up north, good learning experience, but never knew how much I missed bowhunting with a traditional bow. One of the reasons I have only had one shot opportunity since 1971! As they say to old to quick, to smart to late!      

[Steve O]

I wish I would have found a Rod Jenkins kinda guy to teach me "old time archery" and proper form rather than trying to teach myself thru reading "instinctive" shooting books. That and actually going to Bighorn to get fitted for my first recurve where they set me up with a 60# as a nineteen year old kid...should have stayed in Michigan and picked up a home grown #45 Super Kodiak!

Hunting wise, I wish I would have bought a chunk of land here at home where I could safely spend my old age when I was young.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I don't think I'd change a dad burn thing myself....Why cut to the chase, when you can experience all the little transitions along the way?

There's a great write up on "the 5 stages of a hunters evolution" i really enjoyed reading that could be applied to archery in general for those who are not hunters in many ways. ( See The age thread going right now)

a professional fighter doesn't wear the world champs belt by winning all his matches. He gets there by getting his ass kicked enough to move beyond that stage and avoid the errors he made along the way.

[Red Beastmaster]

When I started in '86 I went to the local sports shop to buy a recurve.

ANY BRAND NEW BEAR RECURVE WAS $20!

I had no idea what I was looking at and picked a Black Bear #45. I'm sure there were Super Kodiaks as well as all the other models but I picked one that felt OK in my hand.

If I could do something different it would be to borrow the money if I had to and buy every single bow the store had.

[WidowEater]

I wish I never would have picked up a compound.  Im sure Im not alone here.  I started at 11 with a 35# Bear Cub.  Graduated to a 45# Grizzly at 15.  Then fully drank the compound Kool Aid at age 19.  It was kool aid too.  As much as I shot that compound it was never as easy and quick to hit a target.  I kept telling myself this was superior to old recurve in every way.  Not so much.  It was very accurate though and only took a short time to become so.

[twitchstick]

I should have not left traditional archery for 10 years to shoot a compound barebow. It just never fit me right. I was always thinking of going back it just took me longer than I thought.

[lilbobby]

I don't believe I would change a thing, this journey has been great! Even-though i'm not a very good shot or a good hunter, I enjoy every minute. If the time comes when it isn't fun any more then I'll hang it up. "Trying to master this sport is a great journey"