GOING TRAD

[Florida bowhunter]

JUST CURIOUS IN THIS WORLD OF HIGH TEC, WHY DID YOU BECOME A TRAD BOWHUNTER????

[Piratkey]

Because it's our roots    

[VA Elite]

Im not there yet....In the process. But Im just tired of all the tech with compounds. I wnt a deeper meaning to my bowhunting. I bowhunt because it's primative. Compounds take awy from that quite a bit. After 56 deer kills with a compound I long for yet more natural and instinctive form of bowhunting.

[tracker12]

Just another fun thing to do.  I have not given up shooting modern firearms, muzzleloaders, handguns or compounds.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Its More Fun!

[nineworlds9]

In this high-tech, weak moral, watered down multi-culti world we live in today it's one of the only truly primal and pure things left for a person to do.  Honestly it's one of the only true multi-cultural things around, not some crap that's been invented to make everyone boring and the same, as traditional bowhunting is present in some form on every continent except perhaps Antarctica and it's fascinating and beautiful how different cultures have influenced the design and use of the bow and arrow; It's in our DNA and heritage.  It's authentic.

[dbd870]

I was loosing interest in archery and I had to do something so a little over a year ago I tried going back to the recurves of my youth - it worked! Enjoying myself immensely. I could have had all the deer I needed for the year had I still been using my wheel bow, instead I had a several 5-10yds just past my range; it was worth it. Yeah, it is more fun!

[JMG]

I gave up wheelie bows and all their reference points and smoke poles several years ago. I wanted to consistently challenge myself. I know wheelie archers who don't touch their bows until the end of July. If I do that with one of my recurves, it will surely cause me to have a bad season as well as a empty freezer. If you have been blessed to have harvest a animal with a traditional bow, then you know the feeling. And those that I have met in the traditional world have been the very best. I also find myself having a genuine respect for the animals that I hunt as well. It's a never stop learning process for me and it has cured me of my "instant gratification" flaws as well!! And besides that, it is what I enjoy the most!!

[Kip]

Wheels were not invented till a year after I started bowhunting.Tried a compound for one week and went back to my simple stick.Kip

[reddogge]

When I first got a hunting bow in 1967 I didn't have much of a choice.

[pbr]

Anyone can kill a deer with a compound or rifle, if you hunt for sport the stick bow is the most rewarding challenge.

[BigTimber]

I started that way a long time ago.

[mcgroundstalker]

Stalking, Still Hunting and Trad Bows go together like white on rice... Lost interest in compound bows cause needing to know the range to target, not having total control of the arrow, too many gadgets, seemed like "too much work"...

... mike ...     ...

[britt]

Spiritual, simple, fun, challenge, family ,fellowship, and good therapy.

[VA Elite]

"Lost interest in compound bows cause needing to know the range to target, not having total control of the arrow, too many gadgets, seemed like "too much work"...

this right here^^^^^

[Izzy]

Traditional bows are more effective hunting tools than compounds in my opinion. Still gun hunt some and will never give that up but for bowhunting, a stick bow is easier than a compound with the way my brain functions.

[LookMomNoSights]

I dont think I went "trad".....  At around 7 years of age,  I loosed my first arrow.....and it was with a recurve.  Several years later,  I did explore an alternate path,  littered with mechanical inovation and alleged advancements that appeared to lend themselves to having the upper hand with such a weapon.  For me,  that path proved to be a trap of eye catching flashy gizzmos, gadgets and ding dongs that I was attracted to as a young man.  One day, after years of traveling that path and as natural growth should do to a person,  I started to look into what life is really about....and what really matters to me.  As a result,  just one of the things that changed was the tackle for something I fell in love with as a young boy....archery and hunting with the bow and arrow.  Im not exactly sure when the last time I shot a compound was, or even touched the riser of one was.....many years.   Things kinda came full circle for me as I see it. I started with that little yellow fiberglass recurve I can see in my parents pictures.  Approaching 40 years of age now,  I feel as though I channel through the longbow, with my leather glove pressed against my cheek with a split finger grip and an imaginary steel rod rigid plane at full draw,  between my nock point and my rest.  As I pull through my anchor and my glove slip-pops off the string,  I think and will my arrow to a mark and its beautiful magic every time.   I'll never shoot a compound bow again.    
   
Now that's just me....not nocking others who love thier compounds.

[Hackbow]

Started with a recurve as a kid. Saved some money. Wanted to buy a better one. Bow shop guy laughed at me and said they don't make those anymore. Sold me a compound. Never used sights or release for 19 yrs. Killed plenty including a running deer and a running rabbit, so it was effective for me and I wasn't mired in gadgetry. Friend and I were rabbit hunting one day in 3' of snow. After several hours trudging through the white stuff and briars, my arm was ready to fall off. Told my buddy I was switching to a stickbow. I did 2 mos later.

A stickbow fits my preferred hunting style better than other weapons. I agree with Izzy. For me, it's the best tool for the job. No romanticism, no heritage. Simple, fun, efficient and extremely inexpensive if you want it to be.

I made the switch to trad because of the challenge; because of how much harder it is to get good with a trad bow. I was very humbled the first time I attempted a 3D shoot with my first recurve. I lost, bent, or broke every arrow in my quiver and had to borrow an arrow to shoot the last target that day. I did not really have a good time that day either! As I drove home from that shoot, something clicked in my head. I decided that I was not going to let it beat me and that I was WAS going to learn to shoot a trad bow. After i was able to kill my first animal with a trad bow, I realized how rewarding it is also.

That was a long time ago, and things have changed now. Back then archery was just a fun hobby. Now, traditional archery is a big part of ME, and who I am. A part of me will die if, or when, I ever get to the point that I cannot shoot my trad bows any more!!!

Bisch

[Diamond Paul]

Lots of trad hunters use just as much high tech stuff as anyone else.  I did it because I enjoy shooting recurves.