The love of traditionanal archery

[moleman]

After being indicted into traditional archery some 30 plus yrs ago by a wonderful old gentleman and being told by many that i would soon lose interest......im still at it these many yrs later with a great passion.
What is it that compels us to follow this wonderful path?
There are many other options that we could choose that would surely be more successful in terms of bringing home the game, but instead we choose the path and journey of traditional archery.
It takes time, practice, frustration and patients to be successful with our choice of weapons,... but we still do it!
What is it that draws you down this wonderful traditional path?  

[Sam McMichael]

When I decided some years ago, after many years away from the sport, I was living in the world of a high paced computer programmer. I wanted to get low-tech in my hobbies, so I stayed with traditional equipment. It was relaxing to return to something more slow paced and conceptually simple than all the gadgetry I saw with wheelie bows. It was a good choice. I may not be a great archer, but I enjoy myself, which what really counts.

[Muss03]

It's fun....that pretty much sums it up. I hunted with a compound for years but I never shot it nearly as much as I shoot my trad bows. I love just going out in the yard and flinging a few arrows. It never gets old.  I missed a very nice buck this year at less than ten yards and that can be quite frustrating. However, when I shot compound I missed a deer or two as well. I don't think it lessens your chances of bringing home game, depending on where you hunt. Here in Ohio most shots are pretty close (10-15 yds) so it really  does not matter what weapon you are using.

[MR BILL SHORTY]

[Thare1774]

A few years ago when I bought my first trad bow, bear grizzly, it was because my compound got stolen out of my truck. I didn't have money to replace any of my techy stuff that got stolen, so I went to my shop and got what I could to keep shooting. I figured I would shoot my Grizzly until I saved up enough to get a new compound. But wouldn't ya know it I found I actually enjoyed trad more. I think it was because I came from shooting target wheel bows where I was always stressing over getting that X. It got to the point where it wasn't as fun because I would get really upset if I was having an off day. But with my trad bows, I'm more relaxed, I just enjoy shooting. If I don't hit that X I don't stress about it because with my longbows and recurves I don't expect to be a perfect shot like I did with my wheel bows. Plus, any bow of quality, is truly a beautiful work of art that you just don't find in more modern compound equipment. Whoo! Sorry for the long post

[The Whittler]

It's hard to put into words. I got tired with all the bells and whistles and ever year something new with the compounds. It became a if you have money then you can have the best.

Over 25 years ago I grabbed a recurve and haven't looked back and couldn't be happier. When I shoot a trad. bow and get a bad/good shot I know it's me. Even on bad days it's still way more fun then shooting a compound. Simplicity at it's best. Youve got to love it.

[huntnmuleys]

Its a fun thing for me. I shot compounds for a long tome. Then did a lot of both, and finally realized I just simply enjoyed traditional archery many times over more then my compound, so its all I shoot. Funny, the part I liked about compounds wasn't the hunting and success, it was checking out all the new stuff every year, and shooting the new bows. Strange huh? And while I can say I don't have the desire to shoot the new ones anymore, I do find myself listening when guys who do say what they think of new compounds. They're not for me, but still interesting. I think shooting a bull elk with a traditional bow ruined any chance the world ever had of seeing me playing with a compound, just such a life altering ordeal for me.

[elkken]

I started as a youngster and now I'm 64, it keeps the child in me alive .....        

[moleman]

Whittler, i think for me a lot of what you say holds true for me as well. I think a lot of it is knowing that the shot is all dependent on me and my set up, and the enjoyment of always striving to be better at shooting as well as hunting is a never ending goal.

[Marc B.]

I started in 79 with a 58 Bear Alaskan. I did the compound for a couple of years but a Recurve always seemed like the right way to do it. I did hunt a couple of years with a couple of vintage Bears after the compounds.

I drifted away from archery for a few years and made up my mind I was going to bowhunt again with a recurve in 91. I had a young family and tons of bills so I saved $10 a week to buy a new Martin Hunter while working with Bingham bow done in high school. I've been with traditional bowhunting ever since.

The way I feel roaming the mountains with a stickbow in hand really can't be explained, its just right.

[buckeyebowhunter]

The word that comes to mind for me is probably the "Romance" of Traditional archery. The feeling of holding a wooden bow, the history behind traditional archery, thinking about the legends like Fred Bear, Pope and Young, Howard Hill. All of them got it done with a stick and string.

And theres also the simplicity factor that we all love. Even though I'm only 22 I like to consider myself old school, I love old bear bows, and old black widows, and razorheads. I like wearing plaid and wool for my camo. And I love 80s Rock! :cool:   Most guys my age dont understand it, but I couldn't be happier shooting Trad and that will never change    

[Oldskool2]

its Old School!!  I love the sheer beauty and simplicity of it.

[Richie]

Simple and fun . Love to shoot , try to just about every day .

[Stumpkiller]

Quiet, simple, the fun of crafting and fletching wood arrows.

I made my first kill when I was anout 11 on my Grandpa's farm with a fiberglass selfbow.  I just love a stickbow . . . though I have a preferance for recurves.

Short of strangling an animal barehanded I can't thing of a more "fair chase" method of hunting.  It is the perfect way to hunt the perfect game - whiteteil deer.

[Bow Ben AK]

Tranquility,pure and simple.

[Alaskantransplant]

I've never been a big fan of gadgets. I grew up in southeast Alaska and hunted only with a rifle. I always had an interest in bowhunting but compounds never appealed to me. And there were no trad hunters in the small town I come from. I lived in CO, WY, ID, CA, OR, and WA and l always just hunted with a rifle. And waterfowl, grouse, and ptarmigan were what I enjoyed the most. Moose hunting was back breaking work to fill the freezer along with the salmon an halibut. Since moving to ND, where 97% of the state is private owned, I had to learn a whole new style of hunting. I laughed the first time I saw people "pushing a shelter belt" I told the guy I was with that "they're bird hunting deer" there are just so many people out road hunting, pushing, glassing and sniping that I got extremely frustrated. There were people everywhere. And with very limited hunting land I was ready to end my hunting altogether. Except for waterfowl and pheasant. But I had always wanted to shoot traditional. So, being 34 years old, frustrated with the large number of people and the limited public land being swarmed in rifle season, I bought a longbow in September of this year. I plan on shooting, and learning until next fall when I will feel I have enough skill to go after deer. I didn't want to go this year being that I still can't shoot well enough for me to feel comfortable trying to harvest an animal. So, with practice, patience and some help from the Big Guy Upstairs, maybe next year I will harvest my first ever whitetail, and I'll do so with my longbow. I might put in for a rifle tag too, for an extra option of putting meat in the freezer, but I have to admit that my main focus an goal will be my first trad kill. Than maybe a trip home to hunt moose with the family, but with a longbow.

[Flying Dutchman]

Being outside in a the beatiful nature and being able to shooth very accurate with socalled primitive gear.

See how your home-made woodies have a breath-taking flight.

Enjoy the beautiful traditional bows with the beautiful veneers and woods.

Enjoy the speed of the more reflexed traditional bows.

Being able to hit something at bigger distances without any sights, just shooting instinctive.

Always wondering what the next bow will be you buy.

Always developing the perfect set-up.

And this great forum ofcourse...

[Rustic]

"...What is it that draws you down this wonderful traditional path?"

The simplicity and nostalgia of the stick and  string, and the positive spirit of every traditional archer I have met...

[Birdbow]

For me, the French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery stated it well -
  "A simplification of means and an elevation of ends is the goal"

[toddster]

The challenge- all the effort that goes into making the perfect shot and then it happens and your like, now I just need to do that all time.

The Tradition- Having a kinship with the legends and a generational timeline that goes back a hundred or more years, that quite possibly the feeling I have or get was shared by the Thompson brothers, pope and yound, bear and Hill.

The Substance- Having an ability that cannot not be taken away nor stolen.  Like martial arts once mastered will always be with you, may get slower, may need the rust lubed, but you still got it.

Majestic- The beauty of the bow's, the color of the woods.  The flight of a woodened feather shaft sailing effortlessly through the air.

The Legacy- This one is big to me!  Passing on the passion, love and capabilities of the art.  Introducting a person to traditional archery and bowhunting.  Seeing there face light up and the exploritory questions they ask, bringing back memories.  Knowing that when I am dead and gone, that just a slight piece of me will always be hear, as they too pass the tourch on with, "one time this old guy told me..."