This morning I had a great sit and I had sometime to reflect while I watched the woods wake up. I was wondering about why I enjoy traditional archery and reflecting on just how much I truly love being in the woods.
Why traditional?
This question has been asked a thousand times on here and in archery clubs throughout the country. For each person I would imagine it's a little different. I had always wondered why exactly I liked traditional archery. I never could come up with a good answer, until this morning.
I'm not old by any means, I just turned 25, but I've always felt like I was an old soul. I have old fashioned values of hard work and respect. I have a deep appreciation for craftspeople and would gladly pay good money for their works of art. Shoot even the way I dated girls was considered old fashioned. So I guess it only came natural that when I started bowhunting at 16 that I would choose a traditional bow. It just felt right to me and I didn't even consider any other option.
So as I sat there this morning thinking about all this I realized that it's not so much hunting with a traditional bow that I enjoy. It's each individual aspect that I enjoy. Making arrows, building bows, sharpening broadheads, scouting, trail cameras, making bow strings, shooting, tuning bows...everything that goes into making a hunt possible is what I enjoy. It's the whole process that's fun and the more involved in that process I can be the more fun I have. You can only have that kind of fun with a traditional bow and even more so with a primitive bow.
And that's when I realized traditional archery and bowhunting are about taking extra steps. Adding new elements that make the whole activity more enjoyable. Bowhunters learn more about deer activity than gun hunters because we spend more time watching them. We see deer and other critters do things that a gun hunter might not see in a lifetime of hunting. It's those types of encounters that make hunting fun even when we don't punch a tag.
Back to this morning...
A few fawns followed by a few does fed toward me. My heart began it's usual accelerated rhythm and pumped adrenaline through my body. The big old doe without any fawns that I have been after was in the group. She split off from the main group, which was feeding 10 yards in front of me. She started to work her way to my left and stopped giving me a broadside shot but there was a sapling right over her vitals. She kept easing to my left when I realized she was trying to circle down wind of me. She stopped and stomped. With a snort her and the other does trotted out of sight. I was bummed but really happy. It was good to have another close encounter and another lesson learned.
Enjoy the moment and enjoy the process. Lessons learned in the woods.
Topic: Reflections on traditional bowhunting: it's not about the bow (Read 725 times)
