# Why you hunt Traditional?



## stick-n-string (Dec 6, 2009)

My question for yall is why did you choose traditional bow hunting and how did you get started?

For me, this forum is what got me interested and you guys helped me to fall in love with it! 
The reason why I love it, is because when you shoot it, its all you. Your not dependent on sights, releases or crosshairs its all you! Also with me I love the challenge of getting close. I believe that traditional archery will make you a better hunter as well.
All in all, I have absolutely fell in love with it and wanted to hear how yall got started and why yall hunt traditional.


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## johnweaver (Dec 6, 2009)

Fred Bear.   When I was a kid I used to watch The American Sportsman on TV .  Seeing Fred hunt with stick and string all over the world got me dreaming of doing the same thing.  I always wanted to go hunting with Papa Bear but never got the chance.


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## shawn dooley (Dec 6, 2009)

its the fack that you dont need all the sights and releases  and all that other stuff  just remember   REAL MEN DONT NEED TRANING WHEELS  and it a way of life not just a thing to do thats all i got to say bought it   I JUST LOVE TO WATCH A ARROW FLY


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## fountain (Dec 6, 2009)

i played with it years ago when i was younger cause a friend gave me a 45# bear kodiak magnum.  he and my dad shot compounds for a long time, as did i, and they would often get a wild hair and shoot recurves for a bit.  i would do the same.  we would all pick them up and shoot them for a while, then go back to the compounds--something that we could actually hit what we were aiming with!
i killed my first deer--a little spike--with the recurve in nov of 98.  i put it back down to grab the compound until january 2008.
as most of you know my dad had a stroke that affected the opcipical lobe in the brain--diminishing his vision.  this left him with few options to shoot a bow.  shoot traditional or shoot a compound with s single pin sight without a peep.  
he had a compound set up that he could shoot with, but still wanted a longbow.  after calling robert carter we got a recurve from him, and later traded that same recurve back to him for a very nice longbow.  at this point i was still shooting my compound and had began to shoot the new longbow off and on as well.
with my dad being "blind" now, he had retired from the GA forestry comission where he had been for 13 years, and was stuck at home now still ablw to get out and piddle.  this left him a lot of tv time. 
 as hunting season 07 was in full force, so were the hunting shows.  the vs channel has some great ones on friday nights, including Tred Barta!  the more my dad and i watched his shows, the more we yearned for traditional archery.
finally one cold january afternoon we orederd a Barta bow and a lot of other "necessary" stuff from 3 rivers.  this was the kindling to the fire.  when the bow arrived we quickly set everything up to the best of our knowledge at the time and went to shooting.  i picked up the longbow we got from robert and we were off!  i longed for the weekends to get back and shoot more and go stump shooting around the house.  
in march of 08 we went to our first all trad. shoot in culloden--the tbg state shoot.  before this i got on the forums here and looked and asked a lot of questions.  at the state shoot we met a lot of new people and learned a lot about traditional shooting that we had never heard of and thought of.  it was great!  
now headed in the right direction with our gear, the fire is burning out of control.  we are loving it.
now coming up on two year of traditional shooting, we are still having a blast and have found a new passion, a passion that many of you here on the forums have helped with.
to date my dad has killed 2 hogs and a doe with the longbow.  i have taken 3 deer and 3 hogs.  
traditional hunting/shooting is a sport of oppotunities--often failed attempts, but when it all comes together, it is a very sweet feeling that cant be replaced.
when getting into the trad. shooing, i did it as a side hobby--never figuring i would make it the love of my hunting--as my dad did it to have a way to hunt.  this has been something that we have both grown in over the last 2 years and spent a lot of time together, either at the bowshoots we have been to or the two of us in the wood hunting.  
it is a great sport that we have learned together with the help to many, so many that i am sure i would leave half of them out if i named names.  so, a big part of my/our trad. shooting go out tothe help i got off of this forum.


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## fishdog (Dec 6, 2009)

it's fun.


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## ChrisSpikes (Dec 6, 2009)

For the challenge.  Every shot hangs on my ability, and my ability alone.  It's all hand-eye coordination.  No reliance is placed upon my equipment(except that is doesn't break).  I do all the work, and I receive all the credit.  And if I do everything right, it's deadly.


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## stick-n-string (Dec 6, 2009)

Thanks guys! Keep them coming!


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## John Cooper (Dec 6, 2009)

it's all i've ever know except for about a 5 year stretch where i jumped back and forth in the early 80's..........plus it's just plain fun!!!!!!!!!


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## BOFF (Dec 6, 2009)

Shot traditional earlier in life, went to compounds, and then lost the "heart in the throat" when hunting and taking animals with the compound after many years of use. 

I've changed a lot in the later years, particularly in my view of hunting and what makes a successful hunt. I picked up a traditional bow for the second time, and I was like a little kid again with the joy, excitement, and renewed life. Still experiencing the same feelings, and still growing in my relationship with the outdoors.










God Bless,
David B.


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## Necedah (Dec 6, 2009)

Because the BEST PEOPLE ON EARTH hang out here!


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## Bubbaforsure (Dec 6, 2009)

Necedah said:


> Because the BEST PEOPLE ON EARTH hang out here!



A..........................men!  
It's a special place......


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## gurn (Dec 6, 2009)

Years ago I saw a longbow, Martin ML14 it was a work of art. At the time I was a compound speed freak. 
It just kept calling my name every time I went into the archery shop. One day I couldnt take it any more and she went home with me. Problem was I didn't know squat about traditional shooting, and neither did the bow shop. They sold me the wrong spine arrows, and offered shooting advice that was wrong.
I had no one to go to for help. I gave it a good effort, but never gained the skill or confidence needed to hunt with it.
I became fustrated and it was sold.
About three years ago I walked into a sport shop, and there she was. A Saxon American longbow. Again the bow just kept calling my name. My little peach noticed me always looking at it. Her and my daughter slipped behind my back and susprised me with it on my birthday.
 Long story short, I bought all of Mr Asbells books,got on the internet, and found folks like yall. That put the the  puzzle piece in that I was missing. 
Little did I know a whole new world would open up for me, as far as help and unbelievable kindness and character of the people involved in this sport. I have tried to get as many folks into this thing as I can. 
I know this sounds like I'm sucking up but, out of all the trad boards I've been to. You Georgia folks beat all. 
I spend more time here than boards I mod and admin at.


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## SELFBOW (Dec 6, 2009)

gurn said:


> Little did I know a whole new world would open up for me, as far as help and unbelievable kindness and character of the people involved in this sport. I have tried to get as many folks into this thing as I can.
> I know this sounds like I'm sucking up but, out of all the trad boards I've been to. You Georgia folks beat all.
> I spend more time here than boards I mod and admin at.



That sums it up real right there...


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## pine nut (Dec 6, 2009)

It is fun, and what Dave (Necedah) said.  Some amazingly good friends here!  I've shot bad ly around some of them , but I've never had a bad time around any of them.  Bill


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## hogdgz (Dec 6, 2009)

I shot a compound for years and killed a many of deer and hogs with it. I got plum tired of trying to keep up with everyone on the newest equipment and the most speed. Dont get me wrong though, I had alot of good times hunting with the compound and going to shoots with my buddies. 
I have always loved archery ever since I was "knee high to a grasshopper". But I was longing for something more and started looking into trad bows. I went to onr if the hunts at Horse Creek, first person I met was Steve, followed by Dennis, RC, and many others. They gave me some pointers and spent some time with me shooting. I then went to the next gathering at Chicksawhatchee (still had my compound) and had a blast there. I met AL for the first time along with Dendy and many others. Those 2 hunts are what got me hooked. The hospitality, generosity, and friendship is like no other, I had never experienced so much enthusiasm and willingness to help others as these folks had placed upon me. Growing up I never really had a good Father figure to turn to, much less a father that liked to hunt. So I guess you could say that I really look up to and look at alot of these guys on here as a father like figure. Enough of the mushy mushy stuff. LOL  From there on out I was hooked, I know own about 8 trad bows and no compounds. I sold my mathews to a fella in Canada and have since been trad only. I love trad bows, I feel like it has changed my life. Even though it is alot harder to get a shot on a deer or hog than a compound, it is much more rewarding (not trying to bash any compound guys, different strokes for different folks).  Thanks to everyone who has helped me.


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## longbowdave1 (Dec 6, 2009)

i bought a pearson 45# couger recurve back in the mid 70's. shot in an archery club in high school on saturday mornings. still have that bow but haven't shot it since. did the compound thing for many years.
 about six years ago i built my first selfbow on a dare that i couldn't kill a deer with it. after i did harvest a deer with it, everyone that i hunted with, said i should put it away. you know, did that, then move on. well they were dead wrong, and i new i'd never go back to a compound bow again. i had found the excitement that left the hunting part of bowhunting years ago.
 when i see adds in magazines or tv shows for the new fangled compounds, one word come to mind,"WHY?".
 i just don't see the need for all that "stuff" any more.
 i just had a discussion about this at work friday, or should i say all the compound shooters were ganging up on me. i told them i wouldn't even take one of those new matthews if they gave me one for free. this wasn't a wisecrack i made, it's how i really feel about them. i welcome anyone who likes them to shoot compounds but it's just not for me.
 i told one guy, give me your bows, arrows and release. i'll take three shots to see how you have it set up and then i'll put every arrow after that in the bullseye. then i give you my bow and cedar arrows and i'll see how you do!  he walked away.
 it just more fun, more challenging, more rewarding, and you meet more down to earth people. and one other thing
, you meet some pretty darn creative and handy people in the trad world. it's that whole "homemade thing" thats really something special!


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## robert carter (Dec 6, 2009)

For me its kinda what a lot of you fellas said. Its a whole lotta fun. I shot a compound a few years and I can never remember getting as excited as I do now before a shot on a critter but more so after the shot.
  I have a few stickbows that mean a lot to me. I don`t know if love`m is the right word but they got "soul". Three of`m are a part of me when "we " shoot. Without thinking they just go to the spot most of the time. I can pick up either and be "on" right then and they are all different. You won`t do that with a lotta compounds. Not knocking them but they have never had any keepsake value to me like some stickbows do.
  I once tried to count up the critters I`ve killed with stickbows and the best way I could remember is by remembering the bows I`,ve owned and I could remember bout all the kills with each one,the arrow and broadhead as well.Crazy I know but its hard for me to keep up with them past a couple years. I just started writing stuff down like Mr. Warren and Chris and wish I had in the past.

   I have hunted with folks in my compound days that made it seem like work and they were very unhappy if they did`nt make meat.They were bitter toward each other sometime and would`nt dare tell a Buddy where a sweet spot was at. Heck ,the fellas I hunt with constantly keep in touch and try to steer each other on a critter.I`ve hunted with my Buddy John when I was in "dry" years and he would pass gimme shots on hogs while we were stalking so I could get a shot. Not a lot of folks do that. Kinda proves my point. We mostly all family and know why we love this thing even when some of us have never made a hand shake.God Bless Ya`ll,RC.


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## tignalljeeper (Dec 6, 2009)

For me, it was because I had no chance to do anything else.  My daddy has always been traditional,   thats what i thought was normal.  Wouldn't want it any other way.


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## BkBigkid (Dec 6, 2009)

Well I will try not to be long winded. 

I started off shooting a Bear recurve bow when I was a Wee little bitty thing ( if you have seen me you know that was a LONG time ago ) any way I always enjoyed it till the girls and High school came along. From there I went in the army and unfortunately sent many years out of the woods until I hooked up with Locals at one of the places I was stationed at that Took me under their wing. I Killed my First buck hunting with them and will never forget it. Well that got me hooked again on hunting. I had a Ex-brother in law that got me Back to shooting archery with him on those wheel Bows and just stayed with the wheels from there. There wasn't many folks that dealt with Trad archery and I spent one afternoon running out to Athens to Dan Quinnlians shop.  I looked at the Bows and Dreamed of Having a trad Bow at the time but it wasn't in the cards. So back to playing with The wheelies again. They were easy to find parts for. 
I picked up a few Trad bows at Garage sales a couple of years later and had them sitting in the garage for 7 years plus just sitting there. I didn't know how to set them up and all my friends shot Wheelies so I stayed with them Until I started having shoulder Problems and hung it all up. Fast forward to two years ago. I was Cleaning up the garage after finding Woody's and Put to Bear Grizzly's up for trade for Firearms. I meet with one of the nicest Folks that I have met. FVR on here and we talked archery for a good 30 minutes to a hour and he convinced me to buy some strings for the bows I had and to start shooting them. 

Well I thought about it some more and got on here and started Reading and finding out that I could find the stuff I need on Various websites. Stings Arrows Lesson how to shoot correctly what to do with the Knocks Shelfs and all that stuff. My love for Trad archery Blossomed again and I regretted Trading the Grizzly Bow but at the same time was Glad I did because of the Knowledge I gained in the trade. 
I got the strings from three rivers Stringed the Bows up and started shooting Daily. I Went to my first Trad shoot in Culloden that Year. I didn't shoot the course but hung around the Targets up front taking everything in and Learning along the way.  I met  up with AL shortly after that and spent the Day flinging Flu Flu's at Cans and taking Pointers from AL.  ( I have wore that Target out Al) I also went up to the NGT and shoot a couple of times when Work and Play allowed me to get up there. the Following Year at the state shoot in Culloden. I shoot the Course with Turtlebug and entourage, Jack and his lovely wife.  

I Have embarked on a journey that I truly enjoy. I Bought several Bows off E-bay in the months past and 
At current Count I have 16 bows here at the House and 2 loaned out to Dendy.  (A few others but the are youth bows) 

This Forum is like a family several of us have learned on here. Now we are passing it on to the New group of interested folks now.

Thank you to everyone that played a part of making me feel welcome here. I wished I had more time to make More of the shoots and hunts But I have to divide my time between this and other hobbies. I feel fortunate to have found this Site.


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## Bubbaforsure (Dec 6, 2009)

***   Kinda proves my point. We mostly all 
family and know why we love this thing 
even when some of us have never made 
a hand shake.God Bless Ya`ll,RC. ***

Very well said RC... It's true ..We do share 
a very special bond.


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## GrayG (Dec 6, 2009)

Nothin' else compares to the adrenalin rush I get when the shot is inevitable. I can almost hear my heart pumping. I just don't get this with a rifle or compound. Never took drugs but this has to be comparable. Even when I feel bad or am not sure if I want to go huntin', the possibility of getting this rush gets me up and in the woods. Countless hours of shootin', scouting, sharpening broadheads, etc. is all in preparation for this moment of truth. When it all comes together and I kill a critter, the high lasts all week.  They're all trophys to me. Nothin' else like it. I'm addicted.


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## OconeeDan (Dec 6, 2009)

Compounds.....BORING
Trad bows.......FUN


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## FVR (Dec 6, 2009)

I also remember watching Fred Bear on Sunday nights, right after The Wonderful World of Disney and Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.

Started with a little red Bear bow.  Then was given a lemonwood my uncle made for my mother.  Hunted with trad. until I joined the USMC.

After that it was all wheels and cams.....UNTIL.........one afternoon I ventured up to Traditions to shoot my cam bow while my girlfriend went shopping.

Well, it's a good story and you can read it in the Dan Quillian thread on Tradgang.

Long story short, Dan converted me back in less than 30 minutes.

It was a good day.  Next thing ya know, I'm making bows because back in the 90's I thought they were just to expensive.

Hmmmmmm.......what was I thinking?


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## 730waters (Dec 7, 2009)

The first bow I had was a Ben Pearson longbow 45# at 28". I loved to shoot with that bow and I got to the point I could nail a gallon jug from as few as 5yds to well over 60yds, (no joke). When in season I started  shooting quail as they came in to land in a field at my home. My dad and I quail hunted and he laughed and said he would eat feathers and all if I got one, ( later he said he liked feathers)!! To make a long story short I went to a long axle to axle compound (with sights) that I cound shoot with fingers and really never had the same feeling I had with the longbow. I shot this type compound  bow going up in quality to a Hoyt for several years. Recently I saw a beautiful Martin Savannah, (still want one), but I could not get it at the time. Got a PSE Legacy and haven't picked my compound up for the last 2 seasons!! Now I know what I missed about hunting with the longbow!! Have a great journey, I know I have!!
D.


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## Tarboo hunter (Dec 7, 2009)

started in 2007 for me.Made a new friend and hunting partner and we were on a scouting trip for the modern fire arm elk hunt.My new friend showed up with a longbow and an archery deer tag and I just brought binos.On the way up to the area we were to scout we spotted a couple of legal deer.He never got close enough for a shot because another member of our party who had a compound bow started flinging arrows at about 70 yrds.Jerk!!!.Anyway the next day we ditched him and continued scouting for elk.Managed to sneek in on a herd and spent 45 mins or so right in the middle of them.I was hooked.WE were successfull  that year with modern firearms.From then on its been traditional bows for me.Sold my rifle and bought a liberty bows contender from Allen Boice.Came really close to getting a shot at a big 5pt bull in 08 but passed on the shot due to vine maple hiding the vitals.To date I have Two trad deer kills.Still trying to reproduce that first elk encounter but its the most fun Ive everhad in 47 years of hunting.


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## dpoole (Dec 7, 2009)

Gets you back to the basics of hunting as it has been done for untold years. With a modern rifle see deer kill deer. Compounds just to fancy to many thing a ma jigs on them .


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## TNGIRL (Dec 7, 2009)

Because it's a challenge!!! You challenge yourself and you challenge others to shoot one's best. It's a sport that you can relax and be yourself with. It's the best group of people involved in any other sport, you'll ever find. This is something that anyone, at any age, with any disability can participate in, excel in and love!!! What other sport can get close to that!!!


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## frankwright (Dec 7, 2009)

It was easy for me, compounds weren't invented yet when I started bowhunting.
I started with a pearson recurve that was given to me. I hunted with it for a couple of years and did not kill a deer.

After the compounds came out and they got away from the brackets that were bolted on to hold the pulleys and went to a split limb, I bought an all wood compound. A Browning Cobra I believe.
I hunted with it for two seasons, started with a sight and then went instinctive and shot with my fingers. I never liked it and killed one deer with it.
I sold it and bought a Ben Pearson "Big Ben" longbow, killed a deer the first year I hunted with it and have been traditional ever since.
I like the pure simplicity of it and I don't need to kill a deer at sixty yards and it is such a pure rush when things come together and you make that perfect kill. There is nothing like it.


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## stick-n-string (Aug 5, 2011)

Some good reads right here! Great stories guys


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## Barry Duggan (Aug 5, 2011)

For many of the same reasons I went from rifle hunting to mostly handgun hunting years ago. Found the former becoming quite boring. Still got a compound back there, somewhere, but found them to require too much stuff and quite boring. Wheel bows are marketed like golf clubs, in that you are led to believe you absolutely must upgrade each and every year, if you're gonna hang.
If it was all about just filling up the freezer, I'd still be hunting with a rifle, all the time. But, that's not the total package, and not what it's about to me.


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## Al33 (Aug 5, 2011)

frankwright said:


> It was easy for me, compounds weren't invented yet when I started bowhunting.



Same here Frank.

I have always loved the trad bows for many of the reasons already noted by others and love hunting with them. If that's all there was to it I would be more than satisfied but fortunately for me that is NOT all there is to it. The past 10 years or so have been extra special because this love of mine has evolved into a full year round adventure of fun and fellowship with people I truly love hanging out with. Prior to the past decade+, shooting and hunting with the trad bows was almost a solitary thing for me but since I have met so many wonderful like minded folks here my calendar is full of trad archery events/hunts I look forward to being a part of. Seems more than ever I simply cannot get enough of it.


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## the ben pearson hunter (Aug 5, 2011)

I couldnt hit a deer to save my life with a compound... I sure wish it were deeper than that lol


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## Bucky T (Aug 5, 2011)

I've yet to hunt with my recurve but I know my intentions.

I want to try something different in the woods.  I've been hunting with a compound for 20yrs.  Shot my 2nd deer with a bow.  Actually drew blood for the first time on a deer with a bow, but didn't find him...

I still get tore up when a nanny doe walks up to me in the woods.  Gun or bow.  I love hunting period and thankfully it hasn't gotten "Generic" for me.

I really like the aspect of the "instinctive" part of trad archery.  It's beautifully simple.  Very graceful.

I'm so used to setting my stands up close on deer, that's really not a factor to me.  I started out pretty much bowhunting when I got into deer hunting so it's natural for me to set up close even with a rifle in my hands.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming deer season with my recurve in my hands.

I'll keep y'all updated on how it goes for me.


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## Barry Duggan (Aug 5, 2011)

Over at Bass Pro one day, a fellow was telling all about his wheel bow that chrono'ed over 300fps. Said he was having trouble keeping his vanes from falling off. I told him I knew how to fix that, and he said please tell me. I told him to slow his arrow down about 100-125fps, and that would solve his problem. He looked at me and walked away. I still don't know why...musta been something I said.


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## stick-n-string (Aug 5, 2011)

Barry Duggan said:


> Over at Bass Pro one day, a fellow was telling all about his wheel bow that chrono'ed over 300fps. Said he was having trouble keeping his vanes from falling off. I told him I knew how to fix that, and he said please tell me. I told him to slow his arrow down about 100-125fps, and that would solve his problem. He looked at me and walked away. I still don't know why...musta been something I said.



Haha! Oh geez! I just had a mental picture of the guy looking at you funny then walking off!


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## Barry Duggan (Aug 5, 2011)

stick-n-string said:


> Haha! Oh geez! I just had a mental picture of the guy looking at you funny then walking off!



Just goes to show ya, with a trad bow that's normally, "one less thing to worry about", as Forrest would say.

He did look a mite puzzled.


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## jerry russell (Aug 5, 2011)

Lord I guess that there are not enough words to describe why I shoot a recurve. First of all it is the only bow I have ever had. I began bowhunting just before compounds became legal in Georgia in I think 1976? I didn't have the money for one and I never "got it" why people would want one. A buddy tried so hard to explain why they were better by saying "it makes bowhunting so much easier". Well, that was over thirty years ago and I still don't get why anyone would want to make bowhunting easier. It is the hard part of shooting a stickbow that brings me the joy in the first place. 

I am sure most of you feel this way but don't you love that feeling when your hand wraps around that handle just before that first shot of the day? Man it is just an unreal feeling to me and I pray it will never go away.

I know some of you are a bit hesitant to take that leap from the compound but you are feeling that tug on your heart from your stickbow. Take the leap and find out what bringing simplicity back into archery and hunting can do for you. You will find a joy that words can't explain. If you are one of those guys that is still hung up on killing something and you think a stickbow will reduce your chances at success, you will quickly discover that the hunter inside you will  rapidly grow and will compensate for the loss of pulleys and fiber optic pins. I promise you that the only regret is that you waited so long to do it.
I have been lucky enough to carry my recurve from  tundra to jungles and I feel that I am the luckiest man alive to have found something that has filled my life with so much excitement and passion since I was a little boy.
Dang, yall got me feeling a bit misty.


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## Shane Whitlock (Aug 5, 2011)

Growing up for me, all you could find were compounds. I remember seeing wooden bows and arrows in books, but nobody I knew shot them or sold them in their stores. I always wanted one because they were so beautiful and looked neat. Had it not been for this website, I would still be shooting a compound. I have learned so much here. Shooting a compound for me had become so easy, you just line up the sights and just like a riffle out to 40 yards,just was no challenge to me anymore. 

I have noticed that there are alot more people going back to the basic, and would be more if more hunting/archery store sold them and had on staff help that actually knew what they were talking about. I remember meeting joel for the first time at a store in griffin,ga. I kind of thought he was crazy when he told me he hunted with a 40 lb long bow, but after a few years of getting bored with all the new stuff, I started looking into thisTraditional Archery. Now I am hooked for life.


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## RogerB (Aug 5, 2011)

I have to admit, I still shoot a compound sometimes (probably not much worse than shooting a scum-bag bow some would think), I also shoot rifles with scopes as well as muzzle loaders.
But to answer the question, I enjoy shooting them, and I like the people that shoot them.


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## T.P. (Aug 5, 2011)

I saw Gene Bidlespacher, Rick Blase & Barry Wensel on a video called _Bowhunting October Whitetails_ back in the late 80's. I think Rick was shooting a compound instinctively, but when Barry Wensel pulled off a running shot with a beeeeeutiful Camo limbed Schafer Silvertip, I had to try it.

My first recurve was a Take-down Patriot I bought from Dan Quillian in Athens in 1990. I developed the worst case of target panic that has ever been documented in recurve shooting history. I would draw back and my bow arm would point straight at the ground, it felt like that bow weighed 300lbs.

I shot it till my fingers bled, somedays were worse than others, and a good day was pretty bad. I tried hunting with it and actually killed a deer that first year but wounded 2 others and finally gave up after 2 years and went back to a left -handed compound(no target panic left-handed).

Fast forward to 2009:

Flipping through the GON forum which a buddy had told me about and there was the trad section..... Like a recovering alcoholic taking another drink, I was hooked again. Pulled the old Patriot out of the closet and strung it up and to my surprise, the target panic had mostly disappeared after 20 years of shooting lefty. But that 66 lb Patriot was about 16lbs too heavy for me to shoot(most likely how the target panic started).

Nobody I know shoots trad for me to play with their bow, so I had to go and buy another bow. I got one this time I could pull back and it has been the most excitement I have ever participated in.

I have also seen some absolutely stunning longbows and recurves, I've never seen a beautiful compound bow.


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## T.P. (Aug 5, 2011)

Oh.. and my recurve weighs like 1.2 lbs, vs a 19 lb compound


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## Ellbow (Aug 5, 2011)

Because the guys are cute.  Ha! Okay, but seriously, it's fun and it's a way to work your frustrations out as well as reflect on your troubles away from all the hustle and bustle in life.!
El


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## dutchman (Aug 6, 2011)

Because of the kick I get out of all of it. Shooting a trad bow is BIG fun for me. I still have all of the rifles and muzzleloaders that I had when I started about three years ago and I'm still looking for my first Trad kill, but I hunted trad only last year and don't regret a bit of it. I'll quit missing one of these days, maybe...


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## NavyDave (Aug 6, 2011)

Cowboys and Indians!  Guess who alwasy wanted to be the indian.  In the mis 90s I found PA magazine and that sealed the deal.


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## Flaustin1 (Aug 6, 2011)

The sheer challenge of it is what got me hooked


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## Longstreet1 (Aug 6, 2011)

I traded BK a bike for a recurve a few years ago, I have been learning ever since. Trad is a great way to hang out in the back yard with some friends and family and just sling some arrows. I have'nt got a animal hunting yet but got real close to getting a hog. Plus all the great people I have got to meet on here.


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## choctawlb (Aug 7, 2011)

I shoot traditional equipment because it is getting back to basics, and it's something you have to work at to succeed.
Plus it is fun, and I have more true friends from this community , than from any other activity I am affiliated with.  The traditional equipment forces you to be a better hunter, because you have to be closer to get the job done. It is not just a sport  it is a way of life, and only those who share it , can understand it.
Ken


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## charlie 2 arrow (Aug 8, 2011)

when you see the arrow hit the target you know you did that ,not the latest gadget you bought.lots of fun . hoping for my first trad kill this year.


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## stick-n-string (Feb 9, 2013)

I really enjoyed going back and reading these stories and figured yall would enjoy them again too!


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## tee p (Feb 9, 2013)

seems like the older I get the more I want to hunt and the less I feel like I have to kill something, this, the fun factor, and the great people make trad a good fit for me


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## pine nut (Feb 9, 2013)

I did enjoy rereading these!  Thanks!


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## bbb6765 (Feb 9, 2013)

Dan Quillian tried talking me into buying a longbow many years ago, but peer pressure dictated that I shoot a compound.  So Dan reluctently sold me a compund. But he took the time to show me how to shoot a longbow, and I've never forgotten how deadly accurate he was with that bow, For years I always had that trad bug brewing inside me. In 2008 I bought my first longbow, a Mowhawk. I now have six bows, but it's still my go to bow. I have yet to harvest any game, but will keep carrying my longbow.


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## trad bow (Feb 9, 2013)

It is who I am. I am at peace with myself and a part of the woods when I am carrying my  bow in the woods. Whether stump shooting, small game hunting, big game hunting or just roving about, it just feels natural for me.


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## DAGATOR16 (Feb 10, 2013)

As a child, I loved the fact that I have indian blood. There were no bow hunters in my family, so I grew up making bows out of twine and limbs. I would shoot any stick I could find that might hang on the twine long enough to launch. 
At the age of ten, my best friend's step father got us into compound bows. At the age of 35, my then good friend shot trad bow and I was amazed that he actually took big deer this way. It was a no-brainer for me from that point on. Bought a Martin Super Diablo (used) with 12 arrows, arm gaurd, stringer, glove for the low, low price of $150 bucks and never looked back.


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## snook24 (Feb 10, 2013)

It just got to easy to kill hogs so I switched haha no my reason was an article I read in a Alabama outdoor magazine about a guy who made his own bow, arrows, and string and killed a big buck with it. I'd always wanted to get into it but didn't know anyone that did it and just never got into it. Then I moved to tifton for two years and started hanging out with jonathan(stick and string) again and he just bought his first recurve and that got me going with it. I don't do it full time like others here but I do it all of bow season and a lot for hogs an love every second of it.


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## 100hunter (Feb 11, 2013)

I'm just getting started, but sometimes you just feel like you belong in a certain place. When I was a kid we use to tie a string on a stick, bend a bottle cap around the end of a small limb and shoot frogs and lizards.   I'm a traditional kind of guy.  The best times in my life were the times when we had little and things were simple.  I quest I just enjoy the simple things in life.  I hope you guys will teach me all the tricks to make me successful.


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## Clipper (Feb 11, 2013)

My first bow was a Ben Pearson 40# recurve I bought back in the sixties.  I missed a doe the first morning I hunted with it.  After my dad realized I was serious about bowhunting he bought me a Browning 50# recurve.  I sold my recurve to buy a compound about 1976 and never had one I could shoot worth a hoot.  I finally got tired of it and went to Archery Traditions in Athens and bought a used Dan Quillian bamboo long hunter sometime in the early nineties. Never went back to compounds and started to enjoy bowhunting again. To me, hunting with a compound bow is like totin' a piece of scrap iron around in the woods.  They are machines, not bows.  Guess I sound pretty prejudiced, but that doesn't mean I look down on compound shooters.  I now shoot a 45# R/D longbow  that is kind to my arthritic joints.  I'm not the best shot in the world, but I am getting better with practice and advice from folks on this forum.


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## Blueridge (Feb 12, 2013)

Watching Fred Bear on tv as a 9 yr old kid and thinking, I have to do that. My dad ran a Western Auto and I had been shooting a fiberglass longbow since age 7.  I still shoot nearly every day, good exercise and a good way to walk and unwind after work.


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## Skunkhound (Feb 12, 2013)

I had hunted sporadically in my early teens, then again in my early thirties. I never really got into it that much, it was more a thing to do with my dad and little brother. I owned a few compounds, and even took one in the woods a couple times, but never killed with it. One day I was at a book store and I saw Traditional Bowhunter Magazine. I was so blown away by the idea that people still hunted with trad bows. I started buying the magazine, then eventually got a cheap longbow and gave it a try. I hunted one season with it(barely), then hung it up. Almost ten years later I found Hunting with the bow and arrow, by Dr. Saxton Pope in a thrift store. I read it in about two days, then broke out my bow again. I figured shooting a little and possibly hunting would be a cool little hobby. Little did I know that just a few years later I'd be totally hooked, with just about all of my spare time and money being spent on either hunting, equipment, or with the new friends of made in this sport. 
 No other activity, and I've dabbled in a lot of hobbies, has ever consumed me so much, or been so rewarding. I'm still a bit of a newbie, with so much to learn, and so much to see, but I'm a Traditional Bowhunter for life.


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## JohnnyT (Feb 18, 2013)

*why?*

just simple fun, had a bow when I was a kid, and always felt adventurous when out back with it.  And I have read some notes on here about how the trad archery folks seem so helpful and quality people.  I must say, I'm just getting back into it, and a shout out to Lagrange Dave.  He was most, incredibly gracious, in helping me get my son into traditional archery for his 14th birthday back in Nov.
J


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## Cavalry Scout (Feb 18, 2013)

Really cool thread!  I am just getting started. But, like alot of ya'll, the wheel bow just lost its "Wow" factor.  Worrying about how fast, how cool, how much it cost... I dont get any reaction at all with a rifle anymore. I have bought a few used bows and still learning how to shoot.  Hope to make meat this season.  Really want to get to a shoot and meet all the good folks on here.


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## oldfella1962 (Mar 28, 2013)

*Compounds are silly - too complicated!*

Sorry - any bow that you have to take into the shop and use a machine to change a string is too much for me.

My first compound (late 70's) had two wheels, no sight, no stabilizer, no anything, and was 50 percent let-off. It was really just a recurve with a leverage advantage.

I got away from archery for 25 years or so. Now compounds have a level. A level! I'm not building a house! And six sight pins....I don't need that kind of a choice when I'm hunting - it's hard enough focusing on what the deer are doing. 

So I figured I want to go as opposite a compound as I can - skip recurves and go right to a longbow. I love my longbow - total weight of a pound and a half, total price 200 dollars. 
Cedar arrows with natural feathers. They get bent, I straighten them by hand in five seconds. 

A longbow is an efficient, quiet killing machine that's been around for a long, long time because they work, period.

BTW my eyesight is bad at reading, seeing a sight, and other closeup things. Since I only look at the target, my eyesight isn't an issue at all. LOVE IT!


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## stick-n-string (Jul 24, 2016)

Man I just went back and re-read all these stories!! I enjoyed every one of them! I figured I would bump this up for y'all to enjoy again!


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## Todd Cook (Jul 24, 2016)

Because my life is fast paced enough; with enough technology and deadlines and performance standards. With my longbow,20 feet up a tree, or slipping along a swamp bottom, I can slow down and listen. I can get reconnected with things that really matter, and talk to our Maker. I appreciate the simplicity of a bent piece of wood transferring it's energy to another piece of wood. I appreciate the effectiveness of a simple file sharpened broadheads leading the way. And sometimes I actually shoot something.


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## Al33 (Jul 24, 2016)

stick-n-string said:


> Man I just went back and re-read all these stories!! I enjoyed every one of them! I figured I would bump this up for y'all to enjoy again!



Good bump Jonathan!!


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## Barebowyer (Jul 25, 2016)

Excellent!  I really enjoyed reading this thread as I had not read it before.  Thanks Jonathan.  I hunted very hard for many years with a compound and expected success, and often too!  I have yet to experience anything better in the woods than a well placed arrow from a tradbow on game!  I cannot get enough of that.  I will say in hindsight, I have passed many more shot opportunities than I have taken in the past few years whether hunting a specific deer, marginal angles, etc.  People definitely mature as hunters in time and the numbers just don't mean as much as respecting the animal and staying true to your comfort.  (i.e....a wounded animal would be quite the opposite feeling for me).  Just a few more weeks and we shall be perched!!!


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## AllAmerican (Jul 25, 2016)

Trad is awesome!  Been shooting trad for 10 yrs.  I learned more in the past 2 years than ever and continue to learn.  Met a lot of straight up REAL people from all over.  I watched one of Eichlers earlier DVDs, my uncle told me about a guy named Byron he watched at a big Sportsman show.  That peaked my interest.

Plus I was heavily involved in a Compound bow league for years, I got sick of the politics, and some guy actually brought a computer to calculate his arrows and bow.  It was losing its fun.  

I just wanted the real deal, no more bells, whistles, sights, releases, it was making it seem to be much, that's when I started my journey into Traditional.  Working hard on getting some kills for this year...


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## oldfella1962 (Jul 27, 2016)

Everything these days is getting bigger, faster, louder & more complex - whether it's vehicles, food, houses, etc.etc. including hunting & fishing. I refuse to buy into that lifestyle - shooting & hunting with trad gear really keeps you focused & humble, as it should be interacting with nature IMO.


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## dm/wolfskin (Jul 27, 2016)

I can't remember my combination to my gun safe to open it.


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## NCHillbilly (Jul 27, 2016)

It's real, it's simple and the way it has been for thousands of years, it's effective, it's fun; and a longbow or selfbow is feather-light and feels like part of yourself. It just feels right and makes you feel like part of the woods and part of the whole circle of life. I also enjoy taking game with bows, arrows, and points I made myself, often using materials from game I've taken in the past. Bicycle bows have none of the above qualities. Everything about shooting and hunting with a compound bow just feels artificial, awkward, and wrong to me.


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## Jake Allen (Jul 27, 2016)

Man, that wonderful, magical, flight of the arrow and being able to see the feathers spin.
That feeling when the arrow hits exactly where you are looking, and even better when it slices cleanly through an animal.
The rush. elation, respect and thankfulness when it all comes together and the story is told by the red arrow stuck in the sand.
Ain't nothing like it! Man, I do love it so.


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## pine nut (Jul 27, 2016)

I think it makes me a better hunter.  Not only is it fun , but it introduces a challenging element into the hunt.  You have to get close to be successful and getting close comes, sometimes by accident , but mostly by developing skills of moving quietly, and skillfully through the woods, interpreting the signs you see, and it just makes you have a deeper appreciation for your prey , and give one a real sense of accomplishment when you put it all together.  It is simply more sporting in a nutshell.


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## Stickman1 (Aug 3, 2016)

Me I guess was when I was watching white tails eye to eye with Allen Altizer he was shooting a Blackwidow recurve and I thought that was the coolest looking bow!!! So after kinda getting board with compound bow and visiting this sight and reading post from guys like Jerry,Chris and a couple others I got the itch...


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## jerry russell (Aug 3, 2016)

Cool reading how everyone got there start.  For me it was simple.  I started bowhunting before compounds were legal and just never had a desire to shoot one.  

I guess the easiest way for me to describe the attraction is that it is the hard way to hunt, traditional that is.   For me personally there is no other method of hunting that has any appeal.
40+ years I have carried that recurve.  I hope I get to do it 40 more.


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## Stickman1 (Aug 4, 2016)

jerry russell said:


> Cool reading how everyone got there start.  For me it was simple.  I started bowhunting before compounds were legal and just never had a desire to shoot one.
> 
> I guess the easiest way for me to describe the attraction is that it is the hard way to hunt, traditional that is.   For me personally there is no other method of hunting that has any appeal.
> 40+ years I have carried that recurve.  I hope I get to do it 40 more.


 


That BW is 40 years old??? Wow that's awesome


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## stick-n-string (Aug 23, 2016)

Tbh I haven't even shot my bow in awhile. I guess I've been so consumed with school that I just got out of the habit, but these stories has got me wanting to go get it out and shoot!! 
Thank you guys for reminding me why I love a bow in my hand. 
I'm heading outside now to sling some arrows

####-------------->>>>>


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## johnnyk2000 (Aug 23, 2016)

I have not gotten into the traditional stuff.... yet.... My 16 year old son bought him a compound a while back and starting shooting that. Went into a bow shop to get some fancy stuff for it and started looking at the traditional stuff. He saves his money and is really into budgeting. After spending a few hours with the fella at the shop he walked out with a recurve. Now the compound hangs in his room and he is always out in the yard shooting his recurve. As Im out there with him watching him shoot I can feel the urge to get one for myself.. Call it bonding.. The stories here are amazing on how yall connect to nature! I have been in the woods all my life with a bang stick but I can definitely see the "connection" that you get with a traditional bow. Thanks for the reads folks.


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