North versus South

[Whitetail Addict]

Originally posted by Biathlonman:
My experience has been quite the opposite.  Folks have treated me with more respect then when I carried a wheel bow and compliment me on my equipment choice.

I've been turned down by land owners a few times, and when I mentioned that I hunt with traditional bows, they changed their minds. they probably figured I wasn't much of a threat.   :D

Bob

[bowheadhunter]

North more compound and cross bow areas game out in open areas for  making a poking an a  hopen arrow sticking with Trad very hard,

South more tree stand hunting and blind hunting great for that lucky sticking with Trad equipment,
NJ deer after 40 years have now trained their brothers and sisters to look up in the trees for hunters We get busted every time in tree stands now we use ground blinds and put a stuff person in tree stands near us when the DEER are looking at the fake man in tree stand they over look us in ground blinds ,Ak the game dumb anyone can get close up here Ak a great place for Green Horn hunters they can still impress their lower 48 friends with great kill story's,

[bear bowman]

I hardly see anyone else at the local 3d shoots with trad bows. It is funny though, remember the old movies when the guy would walk into a saloon and all the people and music stops? That's kind of how it is. But it usually leads to questions and I always offer to let them shoot it, they never do.

[JohnV]

I lived in central NC from 1988 until 2000.  A lot of serious traditional archers and bowhunters in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida.  That said, Michigan had a very strong traditional group during the mid-1980's when I lived there.

[Doc Nock]

I'd hazard to say any broad-brush statement is prone to error for any area...

I know my experience has been I seldom saw hunters with trad sticks where I hunted, but again, we're a small percentage of the archery market...so that stands to reason...

I personally can't wrap my head around it being geographical... just that where some of us hunt we seldom see other trads...  Shoot...if I see more then one or 2 other hunters period, I am inclined not to return to that location...

I've not found trad shoots here in the NE TN area yet, but they tend to occur where there are enough people to make it worthwhile...

Good luck to all this season... shoot what you want and be glad in it!

[bowheadhunter]

A dying  breed the stick bow??? just like Ham Radio the cell phones killed ham radio now archery well you just see trad getting better with new bow makers making faster bows ...speed sells and materials improve,,

[Bowwild]

A mature (knowledgeable) compound user will respect the person who hunts with a  recurve.  

Of course that respect can (and should) be lost or be misplaced if the archer (no matter the equipment) is uncouth or incompetent.

Recurve sales are growing. You can tell this by product on shelves. Some in the archery industry have told me that 11% are shooting them.  I know some folks in the archery industry though who don't appreciate the recurve shooter though because we buy less equipment (especially accessories).

I know several fellows who shoot recurves, longbows, and even one self-bow shooter in my area. I don't see them in the woods because we all hunt our own private spots.

[Tall Paul]

A few years ago, I met 5 or 6 guys that lease some land that adjoins mine. One of them said "I can't believe you're hunting with that old bow".

This from a guy about to climb into a shooting house with a high-power rifle, so he could peer out a small window overlooking a food plot.

I think there are fewer traditionalists in the southeast because we have long rifle seasons. Very few of them actually hunt, they just sit in these "shooting houses" and blast whatever comes out into the open.

[bowheadhunter]

well shoot at everything comes in open is a low blow could start a war here,,,

[tomsm44]

I can't speak to the percentages in the north vs the south, but it does seem like I see a lot more Northern hunters on trad sites like this one, and it seems like I hear about a lot more trad events up north.  Maybe it's just that there are more people up north, which means more hunters, which means more bow hunters, which means more trad guys?  I do occasionally have somebody make a wisecrack, but most people are just interested.  

Matt

[reddogge]

Last week in DE I had to get the cable guy to come out and hook up another line. He walked by the truck and spied the "Traditional Bowhunter" license plate holder and the conversation was on. He was in his late 30s and a dyed in the wool compound speed freak. I'm 71 but we had that bowhunter thing going on. We talked bowhunting until I had to invent an excuse for me to go inside so he could finish my job.

When he finished I asked him if he'd like to see my bow and maybe watch me shoot. He jumped at the chance. I'm shooting a high tech Titan III riser and BF Extreme limbs and carbon arrows I make myself. He almost didn't believe the GT blems were not woodies. My target was 25 yards away and I was lucky and put all 5 arrows in a small group around my aiming point, well within the vitals of a deer. He was immensely impressed with:

1. The quietness of the bow. He could only hear my fingers letting go of the string and the impact of arrow in the target.
2. The speed of the bow (although not the 360 fps of his bow).
3. The accuracy of the bow at 25 yards.

He wasn't a convert but was very impressed with the whole trad thing and I'm sure will talk about this with his buddies. He had never seen a traditional bow shot before and I'm sure this was the highlight of his day.

[Doc Nock]

Indeed... Those with an open mind are intrigued...those with closed minds will never be!

[Bud B.]

I'm not saying this to be a smart A, but does it really matter? I always try to be inviting to the sick and string and not condemn any who shoot other weapons.

Down my way we have a good showing of trad shooters/hunters. We just don't make that big of a deal of it.

[tomsm44]

I agree about respecting other hunters regardless of their weapons.  My dad is a good example.  He shoots a compound, though it is from the late 90s and far from a speed demon.  He started in the mid to late 80s with a compound with nothing but a rest and shooting glove and killed quite a few deer with it, and no doubt could have done just about as well with a recurve.  Even now with sights and a release, he rarely shoots over 15 yards.  I finally managed to convince him to take a few shots with my recurve last year.  He put his first three arrows in a 3inch circle at 15 yards after almost a 20 year break from instinctive finger shooting, then handed it back and said "I think I like mine better".  His wheels doesn't make him less of an archer in my eyes, and I know he is a far better hunter than I am.  Come gun season, he'll hunt with a muzzleloader, a single shot rifle, a lever rifle, a revolver, and an AR 10 rifle.  Pretty well runs the gambit, and he's deadly with all of them.  He just isn't interested in traditional gear.  

Matt

[2bird]

Originally posted by tomsm44:
I agree about respecting other hunters regardless of their weapons.  My dad is a good example.  He shoots a compound, though it is from the late 90s and far from a speed demon.  He started in the mid to late 80s with a compound with nothing but a rest and shooting glove and killed quite a few deer with it, and no doubt could have done just about as well with a recurve.  Even now with sights and a release, he rarely shoots over 15 yards.  I finally managed to convince him to take a few shots with my recurve last year.  He put his first three arrows in a 3inch circle at 15 yards after almost a 20 year break from instinctive finger shooting, then handed it back and said "I think I like mine better".  His wheels doesn't make him less of an archer in my eyes, and I know he is a far better hunter than I am.  Come gun season, he'll hunt with a muzzleloader, a single shot rifle, a lever rifle, a revolver, and an AR 10 rifle.  Pretty well runs the gambit, and he's deadly with all of them.  He just isn't interested in traditional gear.  

Matt

sounds like me and my dad...

[Cavscout9753]

I'm not sure one way or another. I think there is a growing yearning for the older ways of all things. Lots of folks are choosing ways (big and small) to try and re-wind the clock. I look at this "tiny house" fad thats growing and it seems like many things, the shiny world is burning folks out. Trad shooters, wherever we are, just need to be seen and be met. There's a population of disenfranchised hunters out there that is tired of the blood lust of rifles, high powered bows, cross bows, and technology. No one has ever looked down on me. My best friends are wheelie guys, they just haven't reached that burn out yet. When they do, I'll hand them a beater bow I keep around and some arrows and show them just how fun it is.

[VA Elite]

i had a guy tell me last saturday when he found out i shoot a recurve... " nah, i aint going backwards" were his words. most people say man that is cool but i just dont want to limit myself... limits are what brought to this journey, i have never felt more free with a bow in my hand

[boinky]

New to trad hunting, but in Georgia we have a pretty big group.  We have five out of eighteen hunters in our club hunt trad.  We also have a big trad bow hunt on blackbeard.......lots of fun.  I carried a compound last year.......and yes it was heavy.."..ill be carrying my recurve this year and I am proud to say that.   Funny thing, I never felt proud of my bow like I do the recurves I have.