Why Traditional Archery

I originally switched to trad because I am a very competitive person, and traditional shooting is hard. Over the years trad hunting has become a part of me, so much so that I do not hunt with any other kind of weapon. I also believe that trad successes are more rewarding because of how hard it is and the work it takes to be proficient!

Bisch

[britt]

Its a feeling that I cannot put to words.

[darin putman]

Simply because it's simple!

[monterey]

For me, it's cause I never new anything else!  My dad was an archer (field) and bowhunter.  We lived in a small town in the UP where hunting was an embedded tradition.  My dad caught the fever while living in Cleveland working as a machinist during WWII (4f).  He saw an exhibition shoot by Howard Hill and took up the bow.

 He shot a 60# lemonwood self bow.  About 1954 he got me a lightweight bow like his.  I and several other kids in town spent many hours roaming with our bows.  It was all in the true spirit of roving and stump shooting.

I bought a couple simple round wheeled bows in the early '70's and enjoyed tinkering with them and learning how they worked.  Even with those, I found it necessary to shoot simple setups.  I found a satisfaction in fiddling with them.  Very much like the pleasure of tuning an engine to run perfectly.

Nowadays I get that same pleasure out of building and tuning longbows.  

To me, it's the simplicity of it that appeals.  And, I'll happily say that I find the same enjoyment in shooting and hunting with side lock muzzle loaders and old milsurp rifles.

In the end, regardless of what's in hand, the important thing to me is the solitary immersion in and melding with the wild.

[Wannabe1]

For me, I like a challenge and really want to earn my first deer ever. I owe it to the animal to give him as fair an opportunity as possible. They work hard to stay alive and I'll work just as hard to put the meat on the table. Hence this being my 8th year and still looking for that first ever!

Wouldn't have it any other way, though I could easily do it with a rifle!    

[Mr. fingers]

[ChuckC]

I don't really think of it as a challenge, its just what I do.  When I go out in the woods, I carry my longbow (or a recurve sometimes).

 I hardly shoot guns any more, no point (for me) and I WON'T get another compound.  I might build me a crossbow outta Ooops longbow limbs I have in a pile in my shop.  Not for hunting but for screwing around in the yard. Might be fun.

My friends kinda chide me for not grabbing a high tech compound when I go out west, after stories of all my "close, but not quite" encounters. .  all of which would have been quite easy (longer) shots with a sighted compound.  I don't get their need to kill something to feel successful, and they don't see my joy in the being there.

I guess we all have buttons, different buttons, and shooting sticks pushes some of those buttons for some of us.

CHuckC

[freedomhunter]

Well, I guess I must be a little different to some extent.  I am not meat hunting.  If my family was relying one me for food I would be bringing my rifle 100% of the time.  It's a challenge with trad equipment.  I am still waiting for my first harvest and this is year 2.  

As for the high tech bashing, I think its amazing that we criticize ourselves over technology made to be better.  I do agree people just go out into the woods and expect results without work, and part of that has to do with commercializing.  I will never look down on someone using a compound or crossbow as their way of hunting (I would like to see a trad season in FL), but between those two weapons they are pretty much the same.  If your into pure basics all the way down to making your own bow, much respect because I found it hard just getting my bow tuned right.  The fact is some new age stuff is just flat out better.  A topo map will not do you any good here in FL.  Compass or GPS is what you need if you are going somewhere, say the everglades.  Most of our area is roads and water, kind of hard to get lost in any area where I hunt.

What is considered basic by one person might not be the same to others.  I for one just don't find any interest in dressing as a Indian to hunt deer. Nothing wrong with that just not my cup of tea.  Just like people catching hogs in traps for harvest.  Nothing wrong with it and its legal where I live, just not my cup of tea.

[monk]

The longbow allows me to the closest (1/2") to 'naked' primordial existence.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Simply put....I like it!

Plus I can walk around acting like I am better than everyone else       :p

[Wannabe1]

"Plus I can walk around acting like I am better than everyone else [smileystooges] [Razz]"


Charlie, that should ruffle some feathers!      

[monterey]

Plus it's an excellent alibi when coming home empty handed!

[ISP 5353]

Some really interesting and thought provoking posts in this thread.  I guess I never really thought about it that deeply.  I love to bowhunt and I choose to use a recurve.  I have never found that I was at much of a disadvantage to guys using a compound.  

Compounds are easier to shoot accurately and I understand that some guys do not want to practice or train much.  I love to shoot my bow.  It is just what I do.  It makes perfect sense to me to hunt with it.

Even at 3D shoots, my hunting buddies know that I shoot a recurve.  Nothing is really ever said about it.  They shoot what they want and so do I. Simple as that!  Shoot your bow and have fun!

[Jahmi]

It was my kids that brought me back to Traditional. They had no interest in compounds and only wanted to shoot traditional so I dusted off my old Grizzly and joined them.

It's been 30 yrs since my last hunt with the Grizzly but that's going to change next year when I hang up the compound for the hunting season.

[randy grider]

Years ago I decided to start bowhunting and purchased a used compound (Bear  Blackbear) and a used Kodiak Magnum. I was told the compound was outdated and I needed a newer bow, and was advised to not even buy the recurve. taking them home, I spent money on a rest and sights for the compound. Had no luck getting it setup, and the K-mag just seems so simple, and fun to shoot. Since then I have known compound hunters that have had many "New" bows, and that old K-mag would still do the job just fine, like it did 40 years ago. I like simple, is my answer.

[Iowabowhunter]

I like both styles of bow (compound and trad)
Recurves are more challenging and thats the main reason as to why I like them.

Im not going to ditch camo, a gps, a replaceable blade knife etc because it's too "techy" thats a load of crap.

[Iowabowhunter]

I hunt in First Lite merino wool because I got a great deal on it (never hurts) and because it gives me the advantage of staying warm when its cold and cool whe  its warm. Plus it comes in ASAT which I think is one of the best camo patterns out there.

My hunting requires a lot of physical activity and I want the lightest gear out there to make myself more comfortable.

I have high tech bino's and a super lightweight frame pack which help me to be successful.

If thats not traditional enough, well I dont rightfully care. I hunt because I enjoy hunting and want to maoe the e perience last as long as I can.

I shoot my compound and recurve @ least every other day. There are plenty of people that practice with their compound bows more than quite a few people do with their trad equipment.

Hunting has a lot less to do with the equipment and a lot more the indian than most would care to admit. Havent gone 100% with my recurve because I dont have quite enough confidence in my abilities yet to make a clean ethical shot.

Hunt how you want too, join as many conservation groups as you can and leave everyone else be.

Sometikes it must be hard to stay grounded from way up there on such a high horse.

[Sixby]

Personal satisfaction, I love the simplicity. I also like to incorporate a bit of stump shooting and mushroom kills. If it was all about killing I would definitely use a rifle. That said I have strictly bowhunted for over 50 years.

about half and half with compound and trad bow.

I can say that I will never go back to a mechanical bow but when I get to where I cannot draw a hunting bow will probably use a rifle or quit.
 
Simply put hunting with trad bows and gear is the most satisfying and rewarding form of hunting I have ever done.
BTW I made a ghillie suit this week and sure never considered it to be a gadget.
At least its a bunch safer than tree stands , unless someone shoots me for a squatch.

God bless, Steve

[KyStickbow]

I shoot traditional because its fun and enjoyable for me...I never had fun shooting the compound. I was one of those guys that pulled out the compound a few weeks before season to check sights and I was good to go. With my longbow I shoot a lot...its relaxing to me...I love to watch that arrow fly!

I wanted to shoot traditional for a long time but didn't because none of my buddies did. I didn't want to get made fun of and poked at for shooting something different than they did. Finally I just said screw it I am gonna do what is enjoyable for me.

I didn't tell them what I was gonna shoot at the start of this season...I just show up on opening day with my longbow. They wore my butt out..."You cant kill anything with that"..."I didn't know people still shot those"...and on and on. 5 deer later all with a longbow...and one being a pope and young buck....they don't make fun anymore!!  

[warbird]

As a young boy my Grandfather gave me his Wing Gull recurve. I self taught myself to use it. Later in my youth I would learn a little more about the fundamentals of traditional archery at boy scout camp. In my twenties a workmate introduced me to bowhunting and I purchased my first compound bow. Over the next ten years I went from the basic entry level compound to the top of the line. I learned to set up these bows myself and make my own arrows. Then one day I just hit a wall. I felt no challenge. Form and yardage was all I needed to know the bow did everything else. There was a empty hole inside me I needed to fill. It came to light I needed to go back to my roots in archery. I knew only through traditional archery would I be able to become a better archer. Now many years later a feeling I can only discribe as zen like when I shoot. That in the yardage in which I comfortably shoot I am in control of the destination in which my arrow will hit the spot I am targeting. It is a very fulfilling feeling of confidence and control. I know now that I am exactly where I want to be.