Got a few things to say

[goingoldskool]

Most of the guys I hunt with ask me why do I want to step backwards????  These are the same guys that shoot in line muzzleloaders ( I have a side hammer)and all the latest wheelie bow gear....  

I switched over because it was getting too automatic....  If I could get drawn on a deer, it was a done deal.... period.  Too easy...almost reminded me of rifle hunting...  I NEEDED the challenge and now I have it and LOVE it!

Most all the deer shot with archery gear around here is less than 20 yards anyway.

Have fun with it.... I do!

Rodd

[David Flanrey]

Michael, what part of Arkansas are you in?  I live in Paragould.  I eat, sleep, breath traditional and primitive archery.  If I'm not hunting with trad or primitive equipment, I'm making it.  Give me a shout if you are close sometime.  

[bofish-IL]

I belong to a small local club that is 99% trad. When we go to a 3D shoot and a few friends shoot compounds the tables are turned.

We still get stupid remarks from the younger compound generation at times.

[hitman]

It seems like I get a lot of respect from the modern bunch of shooters instead of negative. They always are asking a lot of questions about my bow and how things are done. Whatever comes up try not to be on the defensive and explain to them about our great passion, maybe they might want to try it and you all know what will happen then.  

[Richard in OK]

II find that the older I get (I'm 69), the less I care about what others think about what I wear, shoot, think, etc. It's liberating, and you should try it. Really the only person you have to please is yourself.  
Richard

[damascusdave]

I decided this fall to just focus on shooting a mule deer...these deer live in typical whitetail cover where some days I see more whitetails than mule deer...I am just not patient enough to sit so I still hunted...I know that is a low odds way to hunt and I did it purely for the challenge...still I was within 15 yards of both a mule deer doe and a whitetail buck...I got three close shots at ruffed grouse which I missed (hint: trying to head shoot them with a broad head is very low odds)...I did kill one of the grouse with my bare hands when it flew right at me after I missed...from a game in the pot perspective I had a bad season...from a pure enjoyment perspective I had a great season...I am having a longbow built right now that I hope will give me just that bit of an edge I need

DDave

[Sixby]

My story is parallel to Bro Kirks except I have had a bow in my paws since I was 6. But I went through all the compounds from Allen foreward. Won leagues a few years and then decided to shoot professional. I shot unlimited for three companies. I have to tell you that it burns some people out. It did me. I got to wondering what happened to the guy that just loved to shoot stumps , rabbits, squirrels. and have fun with a bow.
I picked up an old Bear Grizzly and that year was blessed to kill a super nice bull elk with a 20 ft shot and watch the fletch disappear. I had taken close to 30 elk with a bow at that time and no telling how many deer and I don't think I had ever felt like that. What a charge!!!!!!! You know what. I might not have killed as many with a stick bow but I bet most of them I could have and some I did not take that came in on a run and stopped looking around for the other elk and then busted off I bet I could have killed with a stick but could not get on them fast enough with a com0pound.

Sure there are trade offs but I will never go back to a compound.

God bless you all, Steve

[far rider]

I have too admit, most I encounter are impressed or amazed with my traditional equipment. Most aren't going to switch because they need the instant gratification thing, but I remember one case where I was sitting around a table with some co-workers and the subject of an individuals elk hunt. Wes tarted chatting about hunting, and inevitably it turned to equipment. When I mentioned the Hill longbow....you could hear a pin drop.
I was chatting with the guy just the other day, and he couldn't wait to tell me that he had hunted part of his season with a recurve, and had managed to get within 12 yards of a 4x4, but didn't get the shot. He was hooked telling me that "now I get it"!
My boss last year was chatting with me on a trip about his whitetail season, when again one of the guys managed to work into the conversation that I shot a longbow. Next time I saw him, he couldn't wait to tell me about arrowing a doe with an old Wilson Bros. Widow curve.
It gets them thinking that they're not the top of their game if they have to depend on tech.

Tim

[mec lineman]

Aint nothing in life that comes to easy "worth a damn"    I killed my first deer in 1990 with a bow at the ripe ole age of twelve. I have been die hard ever since. Wanted another challenge and took up traditional bowhunting in 2005. Im convinced at close hunting yardage (0-15) traditional bows ARE SUPERIOR HUNTING WEAPONS! It takes practice, but if you can keep your wits stick bows are the way to go, not much equipment to ape up!

[Stumpkiller]

Originally posted by LinemanARK:
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.

I tell them I am working on hunting skills instead of shooting skills.  I practice every day so I can be effective with primative . . . or at least 1960's era . . . archery equipment.

I tried a modern compound in 1980 - 1982 and had no success.  No fun off-season, either.  Too many doo-dads and too noisy when drawn to be a good hunting tool.  Wasn't much good for squirrel, bunny hunting or stump shooting as it destroyed the arrows when the hit dirt or hard stumps.  What good is that?  

Maybe carbons are better than aluminum was - I haven't bought any to try.      

[CRS]

We had a new archery shop open down the road last August.  I stopped in a couple times, but it was hunting season.  Nothing gets in the way of hunting season.  

We shot last Wednesday night with all the modern archers.  The boys and I had a ball, and it was contagious.

So out of shooting one night.

-I helped a young shooter that is trying to switch over to traditional for the 4H shooting sports program.

-The shop owner asked me to return Friday before they open to teach him about tuning traditional bows.  I demonstrated the bare shaft shooting method at 20 yards and was simply amazed.

-He asked me to make a couple Flemish strings for two of his customers.  

-He asked me to give a traditional archery seminar.  I am thrilled to have the opportunity to spread the passion and share my experience.

-I bought a family membership for the range.

I figure it is easier to catch them with honey, rather than vinegar.  I am excited to help him out.  He is truly trying to create a gathering/campfire feel to his shop.

As far as naysayers, life is too short to waste energy on them.

I am a self described horrible shot, when a negative comment comes up.  I simply state that I have not lost animal in over 10 years, and my longest shot in that timeframe was an 18 yard shot on a moose (vitals the size of a kitchen sink).  

I struggled mightily the first 10 years of this traditional journey.  It simply took that long for my hunting skills to catch up with my shooting skill.    

Another thing that has really helped me, is the simple fact that I can care less what other people think.  This is my passion, my hobby, who I am.  Not to be selfish, but I am doing this for me.  If I am not enjoying it, why am I doing it?

Archery and bowhunting is rich in fellowship.  But when it comes right down to it, an individual endeavor.

Sorry for the ramble.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Originally posted by 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.

The cool part about traditional archery is that the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. It doesn't matter whether your goals are IBO world champ 3D champion, or just getting good enough to kill your first deer..... the sky is the limit.... If you truly want to master the bare bow it takes dedication and training..... Nothing wrong with having fun while you train either.

Training with a high tech bow has much more to do with keeping all the Allen screws tight, judging yardage correctly,and learning how to shoot consistently with smooth back tension. Don't kid yourself it takes dedication to become an exceptional archer using high tech gear too. But not nearly as much fun.... You certainly cant go stump shooting or flinging Flu-Flu's at ducks or geese with a high powered compound bow.

If you haven't tried bird hunting with your bow yet bro, ya gotta try it!  It's a hoot! I've got two more months to hunt geese and its a blast!

[PaulRoberts]

Originally posted by Kirkll:
... and has made a better man out of me.
  Kirk

I had a kid tell me that he only needed to take four or five shots every year just to make sure his sights were still on then he could shoot  inch groups. I walked back to the road with him later this season and he was telling me how he missed a deer. It was a long list, from the peep sight not finding his eye to the wrong pin, to the arrow moved on the rest, his elbow snagged a twig, his stand moved, the tree got in the way of his draw, and the deer was too close. He asked me how I did it with that Robin Hood thing as we were passing a ladder stand. I climbed up pointed out a corn husk about twenty yards out and quickly shot my judo through it. He said 'you didn't aim, that was just luck'. So I shot a blunt through as well, but even faster. He still thought it was dumb luck. On the rest of the walk I took some long shots with my judo. He said that he didn't waste his time on that kind of thing, all I was doing was wearing out my bow and arrows. I don't ever want to meet up with him again. Hopeless.

[Dave Worden]

When people ask me why I shoot trad I ask them who's having more fun; the compound guy who's constantly griping because he missed the X or trad guy jumping for joy 'cause he got a bull's eye.  It's about enjoyment.  For me, there's just more satisfaction in a bull's eye with stick and string than in an X that resulted more from technological advances than from skill.

[7 Lakes]

I still think there are two classes of people that enjoy archery season.  There are Archers that enjoy the longbow and recurve, they shoot weekly for the fun of it.  They extend their fun through hunting, target shooting, stump shooting, arrow building etc.... it's their hobby.  They are my customers.

Then there are hunters, I label them Shooters, the only reason they use the compound or xbow is because there is a hunting season where they are allowed to use the highest tec equipment they can afford.

You can't explain the joys of archery so a shooter will understand it.  

To a shooter a .30/30 Ackley improved is a better rifle than a .30/30 simply because the AI is 175'/sec faster.

[johnm856]

Like some of the previous posts, the most common reaction I get is from those who give me "a lot of credit" for hunting with trad equipment. Often I hear how they want to do that "someday." I tell them that I switched to trad 3 years ago and wish I had done so 30 years ago.

Difficult to explain that feeling I get every time I walk into the woods with a recurve or a longbow. Something that never happened in my compound days. Much like the first outing with a caplock hawken rifle vs an '06. None of my friends seem to get it.

The biggest drawback to them not getting it is there is no one to be enthused with over a new longbow or a garage sale recurve find. Or worse, no one to help sort out tuning issues. I have those issues regularly.

So if you are in NE WI and find there is a shortage of trad people to shoot and / or talk trad with send me a note. Especially if you can figure out why my arrows keep smacking into the shelf...

[ISP 5353]

Honestly I have never had any of my hunting or shooting buddies say anything about my choice of bows.  We go out and shoot and have fun.  They shoot and hunt with what they want and I do the same.

I shoot what makes me happy and they do the same.  We just enjoy the fellowship.  Cams and trigger or stick and string, go shoot, hunt and have fun!

[jonsimoneau]

I'm not really an archer per say.   I'm a bowhunter.  So I figure if I'm gonna call myself a bowhunter, I might as well use a bow! HA!