Got a few things to say

[LinemanARK]

First thanks for all the info I get from here. I really like all the storys from all of you. All the hunting pics and Kid videos they are all great. I just wanted to tell all of you thanks. Heres a ? for all of you what do all your none trad friends say about you shooting a bow that is out of date when you could be shooting a bow that shoots 350' per second. Although my is way smoother no noise and I promise cost more than theres but you cant convence them of that. I love trad just wish I had found it first. I also wish I had an older mentor to hang around with where I live that was an old trad guy so I guess I leave all that up to you guys   Thanks Mike  Just a little note to say thanks really.

[drewsbow]

Mike : I catch a ration of crap about my bow choice from some of the guys but I just smile , laugh and go kill something with my bow . That usually shuts them up for a while. I don't let it bother me at all cause i'm confident im my choice and know in my heart this is what I love to do . Good luck to you . Drew

[LinemanARK]

Mr Drew you are right I don't let it bother me it just gets old from some of them lol. I run a little bow shop out of my house I work mostly on compounds and cross bows but when a costomers ask what I shoot and I pull out my Dakota hunter they just kinda look at me like why arnt you shooting a compound lol but then we go outside to shoot and out shoot them at 30yds they rethink things haha  Mike

[Altiman94]

I don't worry about what other people say about the equipment I choose to utilize.  I'm hunting for the enjoyment of the sport myself so it doesn't really matter to me what other people say.  I also don't fault others for what they choose to hunt with.  We're all sportsman after the same goals.   I'd rather we work together to preserve the resources than fight amongst one another for choice of weapon.  Bow (whether compound or traditional), rifle, muzzle loader, cross bow, handgun....we're all hunters.

[Pat B]

My wife gave me a TC Hawkins black powder rifle for Christmas in 1979 when I was 29. When I began hunting the next fall(I wasn't born into a hunting tradition) the guys I hunted with told me to go get a real gun.
   I've been shooting trad bows since about 1984 or '85(with a few years with mechanical bow like thingy) and started hunting with my selfbows in the early 1990s. The guys I hunted with told me to go get a real bow.
 I hunt and shoot with what I want to and disreguard the nay-seyers. I don't allow their ignorance to guide me through my life.
 What we each shoot and hunt with is our own decision and not what the crowd thinks we should shoot and hunt with.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I'll tell you a little story my friend. I learned to hunt with a rifle as a boy, and didn't get into archery until after i was 30 years old. i started with an old Martin Linx compound bow & got total into the whole archery scene. I proceeded to get all my buddies into it first helping them get their gear set up, and then prodding them into going to 3D shoots year round.....It wasn't long and we had a core group of us hunting elk and deer with a passion.

Personally i was obsessed. I shot year round both 3D and indoor target leagues, and started entering competition. Then I purchased a 3D target bow and ran the IBO circuit for a few years rubbing shoulders with the top shooters in the nation.

As the years went by i finally got out of the competition shooting and just focused on hunting. Our hunting group did very well year after year. all of these guys were pretty dang good hunters.

Then one late fall day at a 3D shoot i ran into a couple guys shooting home made long bows and gave it a try....something clicked inside me. I sold my fancy compound bow & bought a band saw....

I'll cut to the chase here.... To answer your question, When i walked into Elk hunting camp that following fall with the first long bow i ever built, my hunting partners thought i had lost my mind. They razzed me pretty hard that season and watched me pass up 3 different shots on elk that i could have easily made with my high tech gear in the 35-45 yard range.

When i came back the fallowing year i had 3 different bows with me, and was getting pretty efficient with all of them. A few of the guys in camp wrote me off as just being nuts. my close friends saw that i had dedicated myself to doing it the hard way. I gained respect from them as the years went by, and worked harder at getting closer to the game. I haven't recruited one of them  to hunting with a stick and string yet, but they have all shot my bows, understand the challenge i have taken, and are rooting for me now.

Doing it the hard way is a very personnel thing to me. I find myself unconcerned with what others think about it anymore. It was one of the most humbling things i ever did in my life, and has made a better man out of me.....  Kirk

[jwingman]

The only one you really need to please is yourself - enjoy shooting and shoot often. Don't worry about what the others think. I do just fine with my trad gear and always have. No need to change. Happy Holidays

[LinemanARK]

this is why I like trad so much but this thread wasn't about my buddys ribbing me so much as it was to thank you guys like I said before its yall that make me want to shoot more be better and a proficient hunter. I want to learn for your tails and listn to storys love it.

[Jim Wright]

When asked, I reply first that this is all fun and games and I'm fine with people shooting whatever they want. Next I tell them that personally I find compound bows heavy, cold and mechanical and that they simply leave me cold, they are no fun to shoot and that my bows are an absolute pleasure to shoot. If I know them, I might add that my bows are beautiful and that compounds are "uglier than a frozen overshoe" to which a surprisingly large number will readily admit.

[Jasper2]

It is hard for those don't shoot trad bows to fully understand. In my opinion, this is because of the mental aspect of this type of hunting and how most people measure their success. It takes a different mindset. Until you are willing to immerse yourself totally into trad archery........you will never completely "get it".

Don't worry about convincing your friends of anything......true friends will recognize and accept your passion even if they never travel down the same road.

[Roadkill]

Toyota Ford, Dodge. Most folks have preferences and you have to answer to no one for yours.  You do have an obligation to shoot that bow as well as youcan

[Steve O]

I explain to people like that I feel much more involved in the hunt and kill with my stickbows. I don't need any pulleys, triggers, or sights; I am DIRECTLY CONNECTED. I am pulling the bow and holding its ENTIRE draw weight with my two hands and ONLY my two hands. My fingers are on the string and arrow that will do the job. My eyes and brain are sophisticated enough to do the job of sight pins and scopes.

Stick bows make you an integral part of the process; you are not just a trigger man.

[Jon Stewart]

Michael, don't respond but with a smile and then continue to shoot and have fun.  You are not going to convince a hard core compound/crossbow shooter to change over to traditional and they are not going to convince you to change.

We have a handful of traditional only shoots in Michigan. No score cards and pencils but laughter is required.

My wife and I shoot in a church league in the winter.  The archers are about 50/50 trad/compound.  More than one person came down to our end of the hall and commented on how much fun we are having laughing at each other, shooting at each others arrows and hiding bows on each other.

It is just about having fun and I just have more fun shooting a longbow or a recurve.

[beendare]

Hey, I'm a compound guy too [and I shoot a varmint rifle for coyotes and ground squirrels]

Put a trad bow in a guys hands for a few shots and I don't care if they are a compound shooter or never shot a bow- they smile because its fun to shoot trad equipment.

[Sam McMichael]

I no longer shoot at any 3D events that are not all trad, so this is not much of an issue anymore. The compound archery clubs in the area closed down a while back due to economic reasons.  I got some good natured ribbing from a few of those guys, but nobody ever got snarly.  In fact, many of them were interested in my trad gear and jumped at the opportunity to shoot it. Two of these guys bought trad gear specifically from shooting my bow. Generally, I was the only trad shooter there. Trust me, if you shoot reasonably well, amongst the sarcasm sent your way, there will be a grain of respect also.

As for hunting, I am the only one at my hinting camp who is an archer at all. No, I did not really mean hunting camp. We have all gotten so fat and lazy in our old age, that we merely hint at being real hunters over deer camp weekend. I do hunt seriously most of the season, but this weekend is more social than serious; consequently, they do harass me quite a bit about my equipment. Yet, when a couple of the non archers picked up my bow they conceded that it does require a bit of skill to do it.  

In short, it does no good to argue about the effectiveness, tradition, or fun with those who criticize our sport. But, if one shows interest, let him shoot your bow - you just may create a convert.

[David Spear]

I use to kill one or two deer a year using a compound bow since  "08" I've killed two deer with the stick and sting (both last year) I wouldn't have it any other way.

[threeunder]

I turn 45 tomorrow.  None of the guys I hunt with regularly shoot trad.  As a matter of fact, rather than compounds, most shoot crossbows.
They are intrigued by what I shoot, but that is about it.
But, and I say this in the most respectful way, I could care less what they think.  They are my friends, but I do this because it is something I want to do.  Its a challenge I enjoy much more than anything with wheels or that is horizontal.
I would be elated if they became interested, but I don't expect them to.
It is making me a better hunter and woodsman.  Plus, the archery side is fun again.
Being in the woods with a longbow is almost a magical experience to me.  Pure satisfaction is the best way to describe it.

[tradarcher816]

A lot of head shaking and "why don't you carry bring a compound so you can kill something" statements

[ron w]

Just tell them you like to have fun.......

[Fastltz]

I guess I've had the other side of it. When people ask what I shoot and I say a recurve or my selfbow they tend to be in awe. Many can't believe it can be done and end up saying they'd like to try it someday. Even my wheelie friends tend to give me "props" for doing it our way.