# The best Trad archers list



## blackbear (Jan 23, 2009)

Who would you think are some of the greatest Trad archers of all times?
No special order but a few i will include would be...
Pope & Young
The Thompson Brothers -Will& Maurice Thompson who wrote 'The witchery of archery 'after returning from the civil war,lived in calhoun, Georgia,explored Georgia & Florida everglades with longbows& handmade arrows in 1800's
Fred Bear
Howard Hill 
Paul shaffer
Gene and Barry Wenzel
Dan Quillion
Tom Gore
Byron furguson
Ben Pearson
Rev.Groscup
G.Fred Asbell
Glenn st. Charles
Our very own AL
Jay Massey
Paul Brunner
Ishi
R.C. Carter


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## turtlebug (Jan 23, 2009)

PAPALAPIN and Al33, I don't personally know any of the folks you posted.


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## Raineman (Jan 23, 2009)

Ishi

Jack Howard

Paul Brunner is pretty dang good.

(oops, just saw you have the first and last already listed)


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## PAPALAPIN (Jan 23, 2009)

'Bug.. they asked for the best Trad Archers...not the most handsome ones...I am  not even in these guys league.

Jim beat me to Jack Howard

Don't forget

Saxon Pope
Art Young
Chris Kroll
Bob Swineheart
Jim Dougherty

And then there is a whole passel of tournament greats

Gentleman Jim Pickering
Frank Gandy
Gertrud Hitt
Ann Clark
David Hughes
Rick Gilly

Too many more to list.


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## GeorgiaHunter (Jan 23, 2009)

I think this depends on who you ask , Most names I can reconize but some I do not. I have got books by Howard Hill and Fred Asbell . I think for anyone wanting to start shooting Instinctive and hunting from the ground , any book by Asbell is a must read. I think a more "Mature" Shooter should read Hill becuase some of his shots were "Out There" . Some of the shots I read in "Hunting the Hard Way" I would not recommend to anyone . But here is my List no order ,Art Young , Saxon Pope , Fred Bear , Howard Hill , G.Fred Asbell .


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## Jake Allen (Jan 24, 2009)

Matt Schuster!

 I will add Fred Eicher to those listed above.


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## gobbler10ga (Jan 24, 2009)

what no tred barta


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## notnksnemor (Jan 25, 2009)

I'd add Larry D. Jones to the list.


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## Apex Predator (Jan 25, 2009)

Jay Massey would have been phenomenal to hunt with.


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## bam_bam (Jan 25, 2009)

gobbler10ga said:


> what no tred barta




Ol' Tred can  miss with the best of them....


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## robert carter (Jan 25, 2009)

Fred Bear 
Howard Hill
Pope and Young
Thompson Brothers
John Shulze
Jay Massey
  As far as hunters I must say I have been blessed to have hunted with the two best pure hunters I have known of or read about.
Warren Womack a whitetail deers nightmare with a recurve and John Bookhart ,he averages around 18 hogs a year on public land along with 5 or 6 deer .All with a longbow.RC


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## robert carter (Jan 25, 2009)

I don`t know for sure ,Chris may but I think Mr.Warren has killed over 350 deer with a bow.Not on paid hunts but on his own.He`s not " sponsered "or a movie star. He is a union electricion. Ordinary fella with love of hunting whitetails and never stops learning from them. One heck of a good man to boot.RC


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## rapid fire (Jan 25, 2009)

Robert, I think it is around 345, but not certain.  Not all with a traditional bow, but still unbelievably impressive.  A feat that I will never reach in my life.


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## Apex Predator (Jan 25, 2009)

Yeah, I'll have to also add John Bookhart and Warren Womack!


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## ChrisSpikes (Jan 25, 2009)

Actually, Warren Womack has killed about 265 with a bow.  As rapid fire said, not all with a traditional bow, but no matter, a heck of an achievement.  The 350+ number is his total with gun and bow.  Here's a link to his website for some of you who haven't heard of him.  Some good reading for sure. 

http://my.att.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=16&groupid=207161&ck=



Jerry Simmons, I think, should also be on the list.  The last I heard, he had over 350 big game animals, mostly whitetails, with the bow.  Again, not all with traditional bows, but all shot instinctively.


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## Nicodemus (Jan 25, 2009)

From what I have gathered from research, His Crazy Horse was not to bad as an archer, either.


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## Southbow (Jan 26, 2009)

If I could follow one guy (past or present) through the woods for a year just to learn it would hands down be Warren Womack. Most of his kills are on public land, walk in scout a spot and hang a stand and kill em. His success rate is amazing and he's still hard at it now in his sixties. He self taped a bunch of his hunts. He was using an old video camera and the film quality is not that good, but it's well worth buying just to see his hunts.

chris


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## Southbow (Jan 26, 2009)

Just remembered one of Warren's stories. I talked to him on the phone a couple of times and he told me about hunting when his sons were just old enough to hunt by themselves. He would walk in and hang a loc on stand using climbing spikes, come down the tree and have one son climb on his back and hang on, go up the tree and put him in the stand, climb down and get the other son, go back up the tree and put him in the same stand, then come down and go find another spot to hang his loc on. My legs get weak just thinking about all that climbing!

chris


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## FVR (Jan 27, 2009)

Doug Kittredge 

Add him to the list.  I remember back in the early 70's reading Field & Stream or Outdoor Life along with a variety of bowhunting mags and he was a contributor.

His stories always left me craving more.  I later found out that not only did he write, he was also a heck of an archer.  I think I read somewhere that he may have helped Jim Dougherty get his start.

I am honored to have met, many here have met him, but I can remember shooting my wheely bow at Dan Quillian's place in Athens.  He was good.......after that day.......I picked up a Longhunter, traded the Mirage and have never looked back.  He seemed to do that to alot of people.

I met an Archery Legend.

Also add to my list; Dr. Bert Grayson, Jay Massey, Joe Mattingly, Reginald Laubin, and Ishi just to name a few.


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## Al33 (Jan 27, 2009)

I cannot pick a greatest, just one I seem to admire the most and that is Fred Bear. Maybe because he was so much talked about when I was a kid growing up learning to shoot. I liked his humble demeanor not to mention his hunting successes and stories. I also admire his business sense and foresight.


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## ChrisSpikes (Jan 27, 2009)

Add these:
Sterling Harrell
Bart Schleyer 
Rick Welch


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## Bubbaforsure (Jan 27, 2009)

Fred Bear..

I was blessed to have the oportunity to meet Fred Bear in 1972. I was a senior in high school and worked in a local sporting goods store after school. He was on his way to one of the opening hunts at St.Vicent Isalnd and me and three of my buddies skipped school to be at the store the next day we he came by. He spent over a hour just talking with us. He acted like he came to see us. Great Guy. He was wearing his famous hat,plaid shirt,tall ,skinny as a rail and had a hand shake like a vise. He signed post cards for all of us. Mine is the one of him standing next to Kodiak Brown Bear. It's was a special day .....Even when we went to school the next day and my teacher realized the note from my my mother was not in her hand writing..he let it slide. He said if he had known Fred Bear was going to be in town ...he would have skipped too!


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## SOS (Jan 28, 2009)

I vote for RC.  Pig killing machine!


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## blackbear (Jan 30, 2009)

SOS,Yes,I agree,RC=Master trad. hunter for sure!RC we are all Proud of your accompishments and you have really set the bar high for us to follow in your tracks thru the swamps for sure!Thanks for shareing with us all your great trad. hunt adventures & Keep it up!!
You are for sure a inspiration for us all....
Peace& Happiness


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## PAPALAPIN (Jan 30, 2009)

Let's not forget  Melvin Edwards.


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## robert carter (Jan 30, 2009)

Thanks guys but them other fellas are hunters. I`m just lucky a lot.RC


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## blackbear (Feb 2, 2009)

Robert Your... SWAMP WISE!!!!


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## fishndinty (Feb 2, 2009)

+1 on Howard Hill.  Dude could routinely drop pheasants with his bow and flu-flu arrows, not to mention taking deer at obscene ranges with a longbow.  

Every traditional hunter also owes a debt to Fred Bear.  The footage of him killing a standing (two legged) grizzly is still my favorite outdoor footage in history.  I am gonna try to find it on the web.  Anyone wanna help?

Same with B. Ferguson.  Remember right after 9/11 he was on Letterman and shot the clay pigeons with Bin Laden's picture from like 40 yards away as they flew through the air.  Pure talent.


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## Night Wing (Feb 2, 2009)

After reading all the names mentioned, I haven't seen this man's name. Bob Lee, a living legend in his own right as a bowhunter and a bowyer.


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## Rabbitslayer97 (Feb 2, 2009)

Night Wing said:


> After reading all the names mentioned, I haven't seen this man's name. Bob Lee, a living legend in his own right as a bowhunter and a bowyer.



i was gonna say that too bob lee was an excelent archer along with howard hill fred bear and many many others........i love goin to trad soots just to sit around a warm camp fire and listen to the old timers speek of there  times when the met  people like howard hill  or in the case of one guy i know  have years and years of friendship with mr hill  gosh i miss goin to them things


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## Night Wing (Feb 2, 2009)

My first custom recurve bow was a Bob Lee Signature Hunter TD and I drove to Bob's shop in Jacksonville, Texas to see his bow models, but also, to meet the man. He gave me the "nickel tour" of his shop. Bob still bowhunts and still makes the bows that bears his name. My recurve bow, the riser was made by Bob and my limbs were made by his son, Rob.


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## blackbear (Feb 4, 2009)

I think one of the greatest shots i ever saw on video was one where barry wenzel shot a recurve at a big buck running full speed across a field and he led the buck perfect and nailed him with a awsome shot,I think he used a 80#recurve?Anyway it was a dandy of a buck & running shot,The brothers have done a lot of good for the trad sport and both are great archers with super trophys,Miles keller has some nice recurve trophys & Larry D.Jones has a lot of great recurve movies and hunts for sure,I read some of Jay Massey adventures long time ago but never knew what happened to him....always dreamed of hunting with all those great archers,I did get to meet and shoot with Dan Quillion & his son years back at the old Tomocheche polar bear club shoot everyyear,great people with lots of helping hands to help there brother archers....also got to talk to him at the first buckarama,he told me he shot a real bow,handed me a 90#longbow and said here pull this one back.LOL
I didnt even get close,then he said here try this one,I pulled it back alright and handed it back and said how many pounds was that one,he laughed and said 90#....He was a big advocate of shooting the heaviest bow you could pull,it really increased his shooting when he started,his son also shot a 90#longbow like it was nothing,i saw Dan shoot at the polar bear target and it was like a 50yard shot,he made it look easy!Perfect heart shot,I think it was right before he went to alaska and killed the big Grizzly with his longbow.....I heard he had gotton frost bite so bad they had to amputate his toes on that Grizz hunt but i dont know if it was true or just something someone was saying and didnt really never find out the truth...he was a giant among men to me,him and Ben rogers Lee...what a crowd to have around the old campfire to listen to stories also we must throw in Georgias own Charley Elliott.One of my dream hunts was to always take a turkey with a recurve or longbow...I missed a few then gave it up,went back to shotguns..I guess nows as good a time as any to try again,the seasons right around the corner...i beleive i can do it,thats half the battle right there...I remember reading about Bob Lee,he strived for a good close range shot and had some nice bucks to prove it..allways wanted one of his bows and one of Keith Chastains bows and one of Paul shafers silvertips but never was lucky enough to have the money when i found a good deal,the Bear takedown i saw the other day was new and had a $900.00 price tag...Iam more than happy with my Great Plains take down,its a keeper for sure! You ever notice how a archer just cant never have to many bows& arrows or broadheads,whats up with that!!!!


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## Bubbaforsure (Feb 4, 2009)

Bows and arrows are like fishing lures...
You never have enough and always need one more!
Great Stories!


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## ChrisSpikes (Feb 4, 2009)

Bill Negley. 

 If it has already been listed I missed it.


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## smokdog (Feb 4, 2009)

Anyone ever hear of a fellow named Jimmy Taylor?


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## PAPALAPIN (Feb 5, 2009)

Old Football player?  Chicago Bears?


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## stick-n-string (Nov 23, 2012)

I didnt see Jonathan Bamford on that list!!!


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## Arrowhead95 (Nov 24, 2012)

As stated numerous time before. Fred Bear. I would have loved to shared a week long camp with him.


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## Finch (Nov 24, 2012)

I don' know anyone else on the traditional forum except Mark Land who really got me started in trad archery but I'm on here a lot and see a lot of animals posted and I don't know about being the best all time but Chris Spikes is at the top of my list for best on the GON forum he just kills so many critters and rarely misses and kills a lot on public land and just proves what a great hunter he is.  I would love to have the wisdom about deer hunting that he has.


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## lagrangedave (Nov 24, 2012)

Anybody ever hear of a guy from Newnan by the name of Dan Tull, bow hunting and muzzleloader champion?


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## ChrisSpikes (Nov 24, 2012)

Finch said:


> I don' know anyone else on the traditional forum except Mark Land who really got me started in trad archery but I'm on here a lot and see a lot of animals posted and I don't know about being the best all time but Chris Spikes is at the top of my list for best on the GON forum he just kills so many critters and rarely misses and kills a lot on public land and just proves what a great hunter he is.  I would love to have the wisdom about deer hunting that he has.



Brother, I really appreciate that.  But I don't feel that I'm any better, or know any more about hunting than anyone else on this forum.  If I were, I wouldn't blank out on deer sightings on about 75% of my hunts.  I just hunt really hard.  It would be difficult to find anyone who climbs more times during the season than I do.  I'm also not overly selective when it comes to the animals I shoot.  With deer, if it doesn't have spots, it's getting shot.  I feel like I'm being selective enough by my choice of hunting equipment.  When you combine those two attributes, I'm bound to kill a few every year.


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