Easy or not that is the question

[Traditional-Archer]

We can’t give in to easy, that’s why we shoot traditional. Nobody can explain why we do this, heck most of us can’t explain why we shoot a traditional bow and shoot instinctive. Most of us say it’s more of a challenge or is less complicated, in reality that could not be further from the truth, other than the challenge part.
A friend of mine was telling me he wanted to shoot a traditional bow. I started to tell him it’s less complicated than shooting wheelies, I had to stop myself. I thought for a moment and told him, unlike a compound you will most likely not go to an archery shop, pick out a bow from looks and from what a salesman tells you is the best on the market. Or pick out your arrows to fit your weight of bow, draw length, or tune your arrows by cutting them down one quarter of an inch at a time until the arrows fly like they are attached to your eye, and hit right where you are looking(most of the time). None of that happens when you shoot a compound, the archery shop will show you the equipment you will need and will tell you when it is time for adjustment, just bring the bow back because it has a three year warranty wow.      

I told him to expect to shoot hours in training, he would have to learn how to tune his bow and arrows, he would have to find a bow that fits him like a glove. He would learn about spine, FOC, EFOC, FF, Dacron, String tuning, Brace height, shooting from the shelf or elevated, split finger or three under. I went on and on.
Easy you be the judge.

we can’t give in to easy.

 

[T-Bowhunter]

Great post!

[Rob W.]

Practice, tuning, experimenting, etc.= fun for me.

Fun is pretty easy.    :D

[RC]

Easy no but not that hard.
  Before internet and I found out all the things I was doing "wrong" I shot purty good, killed stuff and did very little tinkering with my gear. Now after reading posts about arrow spine and foc and skinny verse big strings and r/d and string follow and....goes on and on. I wonder if I`m smart enough to do this sometimes.Then I`ll grab my old homemade bow that does not measure correct anywhere and some mismatched arrows and make 20 yard killing shots on pine cones all evening long.
  After all this "educating" I`ve figured out to get the most affordable arrows I can find that shoot purty good. Put big feathers on`m and go hunting. I`ll leave all the "perfect" setups to the folks that have the time and patience to do it. Good hunting,RC.

[damascusdave]

The great thing about living in a part of the world where we have freedom of choice is that Traditional-Archer's post and RC's post are equally valid...we get to choose where we want to be in that continuum...lest we think we are the only ones that can make complicated things simple I like to tell about a compound shooter we had in bear camp last year...Bob has been in the past a top level 3D competitor with all that entails...he is good enough that he was using a back tension release to hunt with, not something you see every day...one day I noticed that he had five different arrows with five different broadheads in his quiver...when I questioned him about that he replied "They will all do the job at 20 yards"...he did not see a bear that was big enough for him to loose an arrow, although he did have a small one climb up in his face,  but I have no doubt had he done so it would have been a quick kill...and as ethical hunters that is what we should all be about

DDave

[TxAg]

It's simple, but it aint necessarily easy  

[VictoryHunter]

This is a great look at it! I often have a hard time explaining this to people.

[Bowwild]

Interesting and different experiences and perspectives among the archer crowd.

I've been bowhunting for 44 years and in archery a few years longer.

I started with recurves, shot compounds 34 years, and am back to recurves (4 years now). Never has anyone tuned my equipment except me. I'd  no sooner do that or recommend it than have someone zero in a rifle scope.

Whatever vertical bow I've shot the arrows, accessories, and form had to be right on if I was to achieve consistent, acceptable results.

I do find the recurve more difficult to shoot but maybe thats because I shot the other for more than 3 decades?  

I find it pretty easy to get great arrow flight from the curves I shoot. Instead of starting with factory charts I start with Stu's Calculator. That get's me really close except for nocking point. Three shots through paper at 6 feet (just like the compound days) and the nock locator is set. If I have tears right or left I can build out or in or change point weights. Again, the same as with the compound.

If I want to hit the I-Phone I can shoot the curve. If I want to dial it, I shoot the compound.  Either way the I-Phone is dead.

Before axle to axle became so short it was very common for compound fellows to shoot with fingers, no sights, etc. Same as the curve. I did for years.

I don't like putting space between me and the compound fellow.

I think it appears simple on the surface because we do not use all the gadgetry that the wheel guys do. We have a "simple" piece of wood with a string attached. When you delve below the surface, a lot of the complexities that Traditional-Archer described comes to light.

Traditional archery really is not simple and definitely is not easy. It is for sure challenging and I think that is part of what draws a lot of folks to it. Those of us who stick with it and live it, know that it is much more than just a challenge.........it is truly a way of life.

I think the fact that it is soooooo hard is part of what makes successes soooooo much more rewarding!

Bisch

[m midd]

Its as simple or complicated as one makes it.

[frassettor]

Originally posted by Bisch:


Traditional archery really is not simple and definitely is not easy. It is for sure challenging and I think that is part of what draws a lot of folks to it. Those of us who stick with it and live it, know that it is much more than just a challenge.........it is truly a way of life.

I think the fact that it is soooooo hard is part of what makes successes soooooo much more rewarding!

Bisch

Well said Jerome        

[Traditional-Archer]

The great thing about this post is, everyone is right.    
I hope it did not come across like I am a compound hater, I have a lot of friends that shoot bows with training wheels LOL, heck I shot them for a couple 10 years anyway.  I loved shooting my compound and I shot almost every day, every week for sure.  

[jrbows]

I think the statement in the original post about terms and skills he would have to learn is pretty important, a learned skill is very important in our hobby when you can't go to the local sporting goods shop and buy a string or go to Wal-Mart and get a dozen cedars, besides being of the opinion that the hobby helps promote self- sufficiency to a degree I also think the person has to fit the hobby, if you're willing to invest the time it pays great rewards.

[nineworlds9]

Howard said it best, it's 'hunting the hard way.'  It takes personal investment and learning to be able to shoot a traditional bow and take game with it.  There are people that like to engage in archery on a less involved level with a potentially higher success return..hence the compound.  You find that mentality in practically any human endeavor.  To each his own, apples and oranges.  For me I often compare it to the Harley/cruiser crowd and the sport riding/track day crowd.  Some people like to get dressed up in fringe and chaps and cruise at 70 mph till their @#$ is numb while others, like myself (though have taken a hiatus), enjoy riding highly tuned machines, knee on the ground, learning about every aspect of riding artistry from when to enter a turn to how to maximize traction while coming back onto the throttle hard at exit, learning about tire selection, on/off camber turns, body positioning, etc.  To me traditional is more of a purist endeavor, that combines nostalgia for our primal roots with the best of modern man and the difficult road of practice practice practice and the great rewards that can be had through dedication and patience.  

I agree with the poster who said 'everyone is right' here.  This is all as easy or hard as you make it.  I spend time tuning and researching spines and string setups, but also many days I just "wing it" and do just fine shooting exactly where I look.  Variety is the spice of life.

[HighTecRedNeck]

I am making the change myself. It is to late to hunt with my trad this year so it will be my Hoyt


There are many reasons why I decided to switch after so many years of wheelies. I picked up a Howatt a couple months ago and WOW, all I could think of was   " Git-r-Done "

#1, The simplicity of the device. A stick, a string and a smaller stick. In the world of high tech I work in during my down time I want simple, not to mention, when you make that perfect shot it is all YOU.


#2, the people who shoot trad are different. It's hard to explain. The only thing I can think of is the attitude is completely different. Always looking to help out their fellow shooters rather than beat them.

Well. thats just my personal thoughts for what they are worth

[TonyW]

Bruce -
         

[old_goat2]

Some days it's easy, some days it's hard, and it's always fun teasing my compound toting buddies:)It's all give and take, I had to pass last year on a couple of monster bulls that I more than likely could of taken the shot on with a compound, but there was stuff in the way of my arrow arc with my curve, it was still way way exciting. Sometimes shots are more suited to trad gear and sometimes they are more suited for a flatline compound shot. I know personally with my eyesight it was getting way hard to bring everything into focus through a peep and all with the compound. Last year was my second year to hunt with trad gear and I managed to take two critters that eluded my arrows with compounds, I took a grouse and I took a whitetail doe. So maybe it is easier, lol! When the pictures of them pop on my screen saver, they bring a lot more fond emotions to the surface than the picture of the cow elk I shot with my compound. Plus, I can stump a lot easier with my curve while we are hunting, when we find a good spot to shoot while elk hunting, we mark them with the GPS so we can wander that way again, we love it!!!

[Shawn Leonard]

Yes RC but you can shoot a broomstick with a string on it and a old whittled hickory limb and still kill plenty, you have that special gift! Shawn

[Todd Cook]

Originally posted by m midd:
Its as simple or complicated as one makes it.

This

[Traditional-Archer]

All is true, but I think this is about why do we do what we do. Why does a guy split wood by hand with a splitting mall when he owns a hydraulic splitter or hike off the trail and take the rough road instead of using the easy path, he gets more satisfaction out of that.
 
RC did bring up a good point, but it’s just my opinion that’s why we tune and learn, practice and become the best that we can in this sport, its ethics caring about the game we pursue enough to become good woodsman all together.  

I have to say it is hard for me to watch the hero’s on TV shooting the compound out to 60/70/80 yards. They have no regard for the animal. I saw a woman on a show shoot a buck running across a field at 57 yard according to her laser finder. She hit the buck clearly in the guts and bragged about what a great shot it was. They let the buck go until morning and found him. That’s luck folks not good woodsman ship and definitely not ethical.