Any Traditional Archers out there?

[Dark Cloud]

Anyone out there useing longbows or recurves?

Im seriously thinking of getting into it. It has always interested me - the simplicity of the gear, the NEED to practice alot, the need to get close, ect...

Not that im bored with bowhunting with a compound but there is no doubt that modern gear has made the aspect of shooting well rather easy to atain. Sure bowhunting is way more than being able to shoot targets, but I think the whole experience could be turned up a notch. Plus I really enjoy shooting my bow but it has been back burnered the past few years by boredom and time restraints. A new bow and angle of attack could bring things back...

Anyone start with a recurve/longbow go to a compound for awhile and go back? Or start compound and turn traditional?

Just interested in some stories and experiences...

[DonBo]

When I first started shooting, the stickbow was the only game in town. I have since found a better way and I ain't going back. But that's just me...

[Cheetah]

STORY TIME!

I hunted with a recurve from I think around 16 to early 20s. I started first with a compound when I was 11 or 12 and hunted where my dad went and mostly did what he did. When that didn't work so well I went my own way with a 50# Martin Dreamcatcher recurve. Dad thought I was nuts. It's a great bow, I bought it brand new for I think $325. Martin still makes it, but the price has doubled. It has very nice wood inlays and design, smooth to draw, and was as close as I could get to a nice custom bow at a third of the price. One of my uncles is a big traditional archer and he influenced me heavily in that time.

I shot my first deer ever with that bow the first year hunting with it, a button buck on a neighbor's land down the road. I hunted the field edge next to a small overgrown dirt mount that I sat next to with a small tree at my back, two deer came right up and stood next to me only a few feet away at the end of shooting light and I was able to get one. After that I shot my first buck and a couple more deer. I also missed quite a few deer, one really nice buck I hit in the shoulder blade and had the broadhead curl on me, but it is all fun to think back on. I never was a great shot on actual deer and standing targets with the recurve, but I was good at shooting dirt and grass clumps all over the yard. Once the deer got to 30 yards that was the furthest I would consider shooting, most shots were 20 or less. Grass clumps were always dead at that range, the fun was going for the ones 70+ yards out.

These days I don't use the recurve anymore. I stopped shooting it after a few years of college when I moved out of my parent's house. I no longer had enough time to practice, and didn't have the yard space that I grew up with to shoot in. I also started elk hunting in Montana with my dad and that required that I be able to shoot out to 60+ yards accurately.

I still keep the Dreamcatcher ready to shoot and every so often I do take it out to a few local city ranges that I shoot at in the summer. It is still ready to hunt with if I want, and I keep thinking I will do it, but haven't. Maybe next year.

[Bear55]

I have given some serious thought to shooting some traditional gear but I am not sure I am there yet. Maybe when enough large bucks have fallen to my compound and the kids are grown up and I have more time on my hands I will take on the old school bows.

[Neighbor_guy]

.... I found a better way and I ain't going back. But that's just me...

Me too. I have not shot a compound in 7 years. Sold off all the gear and will NEVER go back.

I have taken deer with wheels, cams, recurve, and longbow. I will say the recurve is my weapon of choice.

0-45yards. When I am in hunting form come September I will kill a deer on the first shot every time. Silent bow, silent arrows, calm deer. And I dont have to think about yardage at all. Just I am going to take that deer and I do. Magic.

I have NEVER had a deer I shot at with a recurve or longbow "jump" or "duck" a shot. They simply never hear it. Anyone who says that about their compound is a liar. Your "fast" compound will never be faster than the speed of sound, thus you will always get to worry about the jump.

We all get to see things different ways though....

Harder sure...

better, mabe....

will I ever shoot 1" groups with 8 arrows, probably not....

but I am confident in my ability and my equipment, and that is what counts....

[sticknstring]

Started out with the recurve when I was young. Never did kill anything though. Switched over to one of my grandpa's compounds, an XI Ultima. Never killed anything with that either. Still shooting compounds but feel the urge to shoot instinctive every season. I'm guessing in the next 10 years I'll make the switch back and probably stay with it.

[Scoot]

When I am in hunting form come September I will kill a deer on the first shot every time.

[DonBo]

I have my dad's old recurve, a 1972 Bear Super Kodiak

I have one just like that. Killed many deer with it back in the day, but now it only comes out for demonstration at my Bowhunter Ed classes.

[bmc]

I hunted one year with a Martin X-200 recurve. One evening I missed a 6ptr at 15 yds 3x in a matter of 5 minutes. I almost got a 4th shot when he walked under my stand, but he was to quick.

I would love to get a deer w/ my recurve.....maybe next year. Living in town makes it hard to practice everyday, which is a must IMHO if you are going to get proficient w/ a recurve or longbow.

I heard a story about Byron Ferguson. The way he got so good was shooting at a lit candle in the dark.

Brian

[Archerysniper]

I have a martin hatfield take down that i am deadly with on tree rats and bunnies but not deer the last time i took it out for deer I had shot a rabbit in the yard at 32 yards and decided to take it to the tree that night. I had a doe at 22 yards jump the string and the arrow hit perfectly where she had been stand but she was allready turned and going the other way after that a decent 10 came out and I just shot under him when he was sniffing the arrow from the doe I had missed, then the kick in the shorts was a monster 12 came out and fed in the beans at 32 yards for a half hour and I would not shoot for fear of wounding him. So bring on the traning wheels I love my compounds and not going to stray from them the hatfeild now just gathers dust.

[R. Miller]

I've been bowhunting for seven years now only using a compound. Always thought about shooting traditional too, and finally made the jump, just picked up this longbow. I just love shooting and can't wait to spend some time this winter, next Spring and Summer practicing in the yard. I've got some quiet wood arrows being made for me as I write this...I'll probably hunt with both, and as long as you practice and can make an ethical kill, I don't think it matters what you shoot, but I do think recurves/longbows are a lot more purdy to look at...

[sticknstring]

That's a fine looking longbow. It would sure look nice laying across a deer next fall. Although it looks nice on the bear rug too.

[mabr]

WOW does this bring back memories. Like alot I started with a recurve. Never did take a deer with it but it sure was fun shooting at that age.

I inherited a recurve from my inlaws and this year finally took it out of the closet to shoot. I've wanted to try hunting with a recurve again for a while. WOW is all I thought!!!! Not only so much slower but SO much harder to pull and hold. Its only 50 lbs but what a difference from a compound. In the 1/2 hour I shot it I realized If Im going to hunt with it I have a lot of work to do. Maybe age or lack of time, but as much as I'd love to do it again I just dont see me going back to it. Those that are thinking of taking it up again, DO IT BEFORE YOU GET ANY OLDER!!

Im envious of those that do hunt with them. My hats off to you.

[Neighbor_guy]

Thanks for using some restraint and not lighting me up. My first post was a little on the abrasive side.

I shot compounds for a lot of years, then both for a while. Indian Head for years in WI, the entire circuit plus locals. I got burned out a bit. Then I broke some ribs after a fall. The act of drawing a bow would reopen the breaks. A traditional bow building up to peak weight as upposed to starting at peak alowed me to continue to shoot bows and play the game. I loved the simplicity of it. "Point and shoot". I love not having to judge distance or worry about breaking a pin or bumping a sight. The new relaxed act of shooting brought the enjoyment back.

Carry one around for a day of spot and stalk out west and you will wonder why you ever used a compound.

The other thing I tell everyone is this.... Climb up in your stand, 8',12',16', whatever height you chose to hunt from. Take your bow in your left hand (if you are right handed) and drop it. Make sure you try to catch it so it starts tubling as it falls. After it hits the ground pick it up and shoot it. Would you? I can, and I have. No axels to bend, not sights to break, no worries, just dust it off and shoot.

There are other things I can add but thats for another time.

I have a martin hatfield take down that...now just gathers dust.

I'll give you $20 for it.

[musky hunter]

I sure wish I had my Staghorn recurve back. Haven't seen it since the divorce 8 years ago. Shooting a recurve is like shooting a rifle. But the longbow can be shot by instict at close ranges. I know, becasue I had to bridge that gap and relearn how to shoot when I got my compound bow. Kudo's to you, it will be fun.

[Dark Cloud]

Thanks all for the replys, keep em comming...

My girlfriend keeps bugging me about what to get me for x-mas and I think im going to recomend a new bow! I found one that is reasonable and I like the reviews. Its either that or cloths or junk that I dont want...

Maybe im going through a mid-life crisis? Last year after many moons of flyfishing I got wraped up in bamboo fly rods. I ended up buying one to refinish and a blank I finished out. I enjoyed useing it last summer, bigtime...

[musky hunter]

Sorry, meant to say shooting the compound bow is a lot like shooting a rifle. About the girlfriend, maybe you could get her interested. Wish my wife liked to hunt as much as she likes to fish.

[Cheetah]

DarkCloud, if you're looking for something to burn time on, I was just reading through a few guides on making your own laminated recurve and long bow. The TradRag forum has some great threads going on how to do it. I was also reading about using goose feathers instead of turkey to make your own and how the goose feathers repel water naturally and are very nice.

[Bear55]

Sorry, meant to say shooting the compound bow is a lot like shooting a rifle.

Come on musky you could at least give us compound guys half credit.

[Dark Cloud]

DarkCloud, if you're looking for something to burn time on, I was just reading through a few guides on making your own laminated recurve and long bow. The TradRag forum has some great threads going on how to do it. I was also reading about using goose feathers instead of turkey to make your own and how the goose feathers repel water naturally and are very nice.

Yeah, I have looked into that too. There are also many options for buying a "partial" bow - you do the sanding and finish.

I havnt found the need for another hobby though. I need about 4-6 more hours in each day now, lol...

Im going to get a finished bow for the first one but if I get infected, I could see myself making or finishing one...

Holy cow there is a ton of info on the net to sift through on bows n stuff!

[musky hunter]

Bear:

OK there are a few who instinctively shoot the compound bow. Guy Fitgerald of Team Fitzgerald is pretty darn good at it, and he's using a compound bow. Undoubtedly there are others so if that's you more power to you! I just think for most of us, myself included, instinctive shooting doesn't work so well with a compound bow. As a result, we have to resort to the more deliberate form of shooting using a string peep and mechanical release. And if I had a recurve or longbow again, I'd surely appreciate just going out and shooting the way it was oringinally done.

[Dark Cloud]

Well, Santa-Girlfriend ordered me a new recurve today! I read every thread in every forum I could find and settled on a 45# Samick red stag from Lancaster archery. I have never dealt with them before but they were top notch and answered all my stupid questions without pushing me in any direction...

Looking forward to getting it, but ofcourse she wont let me have it till x-mas....

[DonBo]

Beautiful bow Dark. Be sure to show us photos of the real thing when you get it.

[Dark Cloud]

Be sure to show us photos of the real thing when you get it.

On christmas eve... We do things a little backwards, santa comes a day early...

[sticknstring]

Awesome - you're going to have a blast shooting it. Hopefully Santa GF stops at my place - I like her style.