... I wanted to simplify. And I wanted to harvest a deer with my grandfather's 1950s bear polar semi recurve. But in my journey to simplify, I've complicated things. I now have at least 10 trad bows. I want to commit and tune the polar this year with som arrows and continue my journey. Why did you start?
I started in the early days with stick and string then with the re-curves some bear and mostly Martin/DH the last thirty five years, longbows, and the last three self- bows. I am not going back to any previous types, sticking with the self made type, much more satisfying and you can adjust it until it fits whether it be the weight or grip.
When you go hunting, the satisfaction of getting meat with the bow that you built from a tree using scrapers, files and sandpaper can't be matched.
I started shooting recurves at 8 yrs old and bought my first compound at 26. After a few yrs went back to a recurve. Just do not like the feel of shooting a compound, and they’re ugly to boot!
I got interested in archery and bowhunting because of watching Fred Bear on T.V., and reading about his adventures in magazines. So in 1969 I ask my Dad for a bow and some arrows. He bought me a 1969 45# Bear Green Fox Bowhunting Set. All the accessories that came in the set are long gone, but I still own the bow. I've been shooting recurves and longbows ( mostly recurves ) for 50 years now. I shoot everyday. I just enjoy shooting my recurves and watching my arrows go down range.
I started out with a Hoyt Super Slam Compound which was a blast to shoot at the target range. Then one day I took the compound out into the woods to rove shoot stumps etc and suddenly had a moment of realization what I had been missing all these years my Longbow of my childhood. The compound felt like the kitchen sink and out of place for what I wanted to do. Now it’s a recurve and what a difference!
I started when I was really small with limb bows and Ironweed stems for arrows. My uncle was active in field archery and was also good friends with Dan Quillian and that's the environment that I came up in. My uncle passed away many years ago and I was able to reconnect with Dan while at UGA in Athens GA which was also a long time ago. Never moving that far away from Athens I stayed in contact with him. I've never owned a compound bow, I'm not really negative towards them, I just never wanted one and I shot one belonging to a friend enough to know that. I don't know how trad that I am but I only own Longbows and Recurves and that has worked out pretty well for me.
They made crossbow legal in my home state . I went back to where I started . A recurve . It gives me a solid ground for debate against crossbows . And they are blast to shoot! It was a good decision
I started the same reason a lot of wheelie bow folks do now. I wanted the latest and great in technology. Saw an add in 1961 about this really fantastic hunting bow by Bear that was cool looking and modern in design. I thought it was the answer to everything after reading NFAA's Archery magazines at the metal Scout hut and seeing all the target bows in there. It also went along with the idea of a good looking short bow as I had studied a chapter in a book about building a Drake style flight bow with a spyder. This bow was not that short, but it was real short compared to the other bows I read about. So I bought this really cool new bow after saving my money the next yeat...a 1962 Bear Kodiak Magnum. You know what...I was right. It was the best looking short bow of it's time. Yup the latest and greatest.
Met an instructor through my Dad who took me to archery events and hunting too, so that interest just grew and grew.
Wheel bow was like shooting a rifle. Fooled around with Pearson Spoiler recurve my brother gave me back when I didn't know anything about it. Should say that was before the wheel bow. Finally started shooting the Pearson again and got hooked on trad.
First bow I owned was a sinew backed Howatt yew self bow. Then went to a recurve and now back to longbows. I shoot animals, targets, golf, and flight in no particular order. Guess I have never shot trad, but I've enjoyed almost all phases of archery for almost 65 years now.
Had an Indian recurve as a kid , my favorite “toy” and constant companion. Decided I wanted to bow hunt around the late 70s or early 80s. Went to the only archery store I knew of to look at bows. They had only compounds, I asked about any recurves but they acted like I was crazy. Bought a compound and shot them for quite a few years. Found a used recurve and after 3 years of on and off practice decided i was good enough and that I wanted to take a deer with it. I thought that if I got one deer I’d go back to the compound. I never went back, had too much fun.
Brian everyones journey is a little different. Enjoy your journey. I think your really going to like the way that old Bear Polar shoots. Those semi curves are really good shooters. That's really cool that it was your Grandfathers good luck hunting with it this year. That bow has good MOJO. Remember enjoy YOUR journey.
I enjoy the challenge and the thrill of a good placed shot. I enjoy the flight of an arrow at Trad speeds. I enjoy the challenge of the hunt. After all, it is hunting not long distance shooting.This is my reasons and do not mean to offend anyone.
Oh yea. My journey started as a kid making bows from saplings. Then I got a solid green glass no name long bow. Shot that bow a long time. My first hunting bow was a Browning compound. Used it for 3 years. Then I picked up a Bear Kodiak magnum. And I used to hunt from trees all the time. In my TSS climber. Now I hunt from the ground and I enjoy it even more. Looking forward to next season. still enjoying the journey... ;-)
I just purchased a Bear Polar last week at a 3D shoot I attended. Cleaned it up, put a new string on it. I was impressed with how well it shot. I was not expecting good results given the age of my bow. However, it is a fun bow. Mine is #38 @ 28. Also I was Trad before compounds.
The guy across street when I was growing up got me started with Bear bows and then later and wood arrows and shooting sticks.
Then I learned by trial and error till I got a mentor in my later twenty's. That's when I started shooting in a group of guys and having real fun and getting the killer feeling like they had.
Home on the farm when I was kid, there was a knock on the door on a Friday afternoon. Two city fellers- they asked my Dad if there was anywhere he could suggest that they could try to shoot something with a bow. They'd brought the herbs and spices but no food- they were going to live off the land for the weekend:) Dad told me to show them the way to the hut at the shearing shed, and told them they were welcome to stay. On the Sunday I drove over to say hello. The two city blokes were sitting in the shade. They were tired, hungry and thoroughly demoralized. They'd walked a lot of miles and shot nothing. I drove down to the creek, shot 'em a duck with my rifle and gave it to them. They had it cleaned and on the fire in about two minutes and ate everything except the feathers and the quack. They called in at the house to thank my Dad on their way out. One of 'em looked at me and said "Wanna buy a bow cheap?" And the rest is history:) JayInOz
I shot a 25# then a 35# recurve between 11 and 14 years old. All glass bows...made arrows and bought some. Was a pretty good shot. Wandered for miles and plunked arrows at everything. Shot some grouse and hare.
Then I was given a single shot shotgun at 15 and off I went gun hunting for the next 20 years.
Deer numbers went up in Ontario in the 80's when selective harvest was introduced so archery seasons followed.
My brothers were shooting compound bows in the 80's. I watched them always fiddling around with those contraptions and remembered the simplicity of my youth. So no compounds for me..heavy, complicated, unelegant and clunky.
Another brother who lived near Grayling brought me up a 1968 Super Kodiak he bought in a yard sale for $10...common price then.
That was 1989. I read Asbell's book and I tuned the bow and practiced and shot a couple of deer. Then found a 1986 Howatt Mamba in 1992 and that was that.
When I was young the "Robin Hood" series was on tv. I also saw the short clips of Hill and Bear at the movie theater. So as a young kid I made bows from saplings and shot sticks with small stones for tips. When I got old enough I got a real recurve and hunted with it for a few years until compounds became popular. I went to compounds for many years but I always had the love for the beautiful recurves from my youth. One day at work a friend asked me if I would be interested in buying a bow that he had from his father that was just gathering dust. I thought he meant a compound but when he showed up at work with it it turned out to be a beautiful Black Widow recurve target bow. I bought it and started shooting it and it was just so much fun that I began to shoot the recurve more and the compound less. I got to the point that for hunting I bought a hunting weight recurve but I kept the compound for when the weather got really cold. Eventually the last compound got sold off and it has been recurves and longbows ever since.
Well........ Just try stump shootin, rabbit hunting or sniping squirrels with a 300 ft/sec compound. Whenever I take a walk around the farm with my dog Jake, I'm carrying one of my stick bows and a couple judo points, just as I did when I was a kid. I'm 67 now but It's still a kick to hit a particular leaf on the path 50 +/- yrds ahead or to pick off a cottontail over a point by my Brittany Jake. A compound ain't no fun to carry and they shoot to hard for this kind of fun and there's nothing like taking a whitetail with a stick and string.
My dad didn't hunt/fish but supported my interest in it. Allowed me to use my money to order sears fiberglass kids bow when I was 8yrs old. Wish I still had it for the wall. Terrorized lots of critters in the neighborhood and just stuck with a recurve. I like the simplicity of stick and strings.
Started with a lemon wood LB. Then progressed to a recurve or two. Then progressed to a compound or three. Then got tired of lugging around a bow that I didn’t shoot any better than my recurves. So one day I strung up my Bear SK and never looked back.
As most started, the bows we shot were the most technically advanced archery bows out there. Like all shooting sports, it's addictive and so was the competition as well as the hunting, which gave us hunting stories that matched well to our fishing stories, which of course, last a lifetime. Always owned the best of the best, so my beautiful Brazilian rosewood recurves filled the bill for archery and matched my best of the best rifle, and best of the best fishing and camping gear as well.
Still own a few good representative bows from that same best of the best era, which are on my rack now. I'm thrilled they perform well at the few 3-D Events I can attend each year or for hunting. Still good looking bows too, and that's real important. Bows are like dogs. Always have a bow you can sit on the porch with and not be embarrassed.
Just liked the simplicity of a stick & string. Shot wheels for about 2 years in the early 80s then I met a guy who ran a small little archery shop out of his garage...all he sold was wooden arrows, longbows & recurves. Spent a lot of Saturdays at his garage & was hooked. Haven't shot a compound since.
I am now 66 but have always been interested in archery as long as I can remember.
My interest has always been recreational and target.
I progressed through some leamonwood bows and a fiberglass bow in the mid to late 1960's.
Bought my first laminated bow in the early 1970's.
Compounds were coming in back then but I stayed away from them until 1979.
Shot compounds from 1979 to 2000, but always kept my recurves.
Took a break from archery after 2004.
Got back into it late winter of 2018, looking at it as a main retirement activity (retired Nov. 2018).
I find all forms of archery interesting, some of them may not for me, but I don't make any personal judgements on them.
When I got back into it, there was no question that I would shoot anything but recurves and longbows.
I like the simplicity, unlike compounds, they are physically lighter, simple, no constant repairs/tinkering, no cables/moving parts to fuss over and replace, the bows don't go obsolete every few years.
Recurves and longbows are a first love of mine, and they suit my requirments and "bring me joy", that's why I shoot them now.
I got started about 1969 when I was 15. My dad got me a 35# Bear Polar recurve so I could start shooting with them. At that time I idolized Fred Bear because of his hunting adventures. Later, when I did start bowhunting whitetails, while practically everyone I knew shot "new" compounds, I just didn't care for "modern" archery and stayed with recurves and longbows. I just enjoy shooting simple stick and string without gadgets...I like the challenge, I enjoy seeing the flight of an arrow, etc. I usually prefer traditional over modern in about everything. I'm just wired that way.
"Tried compounds. Even tried crossbows. They are cool to shoot (kinda like guns), but they don't float my boat like my recurves & longbows do."
I didn't include that in my post, but my experience is similar.
I shot them one targets, for a couple years, in a division competing with other crossbow users.
They were interesting to shoot for a while.
I was not looking for an easier way to bow hunt because I did not hunt with them. However, I was a small minority, there. I found most people that shot them did so as a "game getter" and were not interested in shooting strictly for enjoyment.
I sold mine years ago, and when I returned to the sport in early 2018, I broke out my "vintage" recurves, bought a new r/D 68" longbow, and am shopping for more ;)
I love the feel of a stickbow in my hand, The simplicity, The warm wood feel. The compound bows don't really look like a bow. And owning a compound is like have a computer. In a year or two it is obsolete. A recurve or longbow can last a lifetime. I get much more out of seeing my arrow flight. And I like the history of the bow.
I started out with a Paul Bunyan bow, then went to a bear Kodiak Hunter in 1969. About 1974 or 75 I bought a Proline 2 wheel compound. I hunted with it for 2 years. Shot my first deer with it, but hated how cold it was in my hand during those frosty mornings in Michigan. I remembered that the wood riser from the recurve didn't freeze my hand, so I went to Anderson Archery in 1977 and bought a Howatt Hunter recurve. Shot my first buck with a recurve that fall, and have been traditional every since.
Started in 1975 with a Bear Grizzly, and have always stayed with recurves & longbows. Read and watched everything I could about Fred Bear, and that’s what got me me started.
I find it very disturbing how a 58 or 60 inch recurve will do it all for almost everyone. That is why I went to longer recurves with sights in the late 60s, looking for that next step. Tried compounds for part of one season in the early 70s, the first one a Wing Impact, cracked at throat of the grip on the first day of the season. I got talked into the two wheeler when I wanted a Wing Vantage Pro. When I brought the two wheeler back to Glen, did I get that vantage Pro? Heck no, I got talked into a 75 pound Wing four wheeler. I had a nice buckler-drilled, the big boy spun when the bow banged off a shot and spun, I hit two tail hairs. While looking for my arrow I bumped it and cracked the bottom pulley. I went and got that fixed. The next week I was climbing a very old tree stand with railroad spike steps, I bumped the top pulley and broke it. Before that season, I had a Bear takedown blow the limbs when my brother dry fired it. The Bear dealer who was a friend of Fred told him about, I got an autographed set of limbs in the mail. After that compound broke I held off, but one miserable cold day I put those 55 pound limbs on a short mag riser. Went out jumped a smaller 8 pointer close and put the arrow through the buck. My next bow was a longbow. Found that I prefer the low grip of longbows so I stayed with them since, but I still find 58 and 60 inch recurves to be tempting, I have a Wing Pro and a Groves, I just need to shoot with a straighter bow arm.
myself & a friend both bought recurves because we wanted to shoot ariel & moving targets mine was a 50# Hoyt ram reflex. a few years later I decided to kill a deer with my recurve & I did I was standing on a limb in a wild pear tree & shot a big doe @ about 4 yds that was 37 years ago still have that riser had it converted to ilf & plan on killing a deer with it this fall.
It was all that I had and have no interest in the tech bows, the recurve is an never ending challenge to master and a pleasure to dwell with, once I lose that I am done.
Yup, Fred Bear's books and episodes with Mr Gowdy on tv had a large influece, no doubt. Those stories played off the stories we read in earlier years by Russell Anabell and others (in Sports Afield and Outdoor Life) about the dangers of living, hunting, and trapping in Alaska or up north, along with hunting tales with fantastic illustrations of dangerous game such as hunting or being hunted by kodiak bears as an example. Those stories made Fred Bear's experiences, where he used a bow instead of a gun in those environments, especially fantastic. I just had to shoot a bow when I got old enough to drive a car and got a job that could support my new archery interest. Shooting a fancy looking recurve bow was a life priority then..........still is.
Have to blame ole Fred some for my spending money on a (traditional) new fancy recurve bow.
This post was great reading all the different stories and experiences, it doesn't matter what you picked or shot, I still say there is no such thing as Trad, it's all archery except for crossbows in my book.
RC, I called them a leaf-spring out of an old Chevy pickup and they weigh about the same...Ha!Ha!
An owner of an archery shop that I frequented was retiring and he had a PSE compound drawing 105 pounds that some macho moron ordered and couldn't pull the string one inch, so he had everyone who came in the shop to try and draw the bow, being that I was shooting my 60lb mamba everyday at least 100 times, I drew the bow slowly and without a single wobble, he gave it to me. Well not looking a gift horse in the mouth, I took it home shot about four arrows out of it and gave it to a friend, he took it to another shop and they were able to reduce the poundage to 90, he didn't keep it long before he pawned it off on someone else, they work well, but not my style. I shot re-curves, longbows and now selfbows, I never found a trad bow in any of the catalogs.
Not trying to start anything, maybe I am,...Ha!Ha! Just making fun.
I started shooting recurves 'instinctively' because I was getting frustrated with shooting my compound. In hindsight, if I had gotten some good coaching I might have never switched. Who knows?
It's been fun and fascinating the way it has gone. And I've been lucky enough to associate - here and elsewhere - with some mighty fine folks.
Mentioned stories by Russell Anabell above. Mispelled his name. It was Russell Annabel, and he was a fellow who could really spin a tale about living/hunting/trapping in remote Alaska in those old sportsmen magazines.
Because back in 81 my friend said “ you should get a bow and we could go deer hunting “ so I went down to the sporting goods store and bought a Browning Recurve for $35 and they are just so damn cool
My cousin kept asking to go bowhunting so I finally bought a Darton Lighting compound because it was the only LH bow in the bow shop and some 2413 alum. Loved it. Shot the hell out of it. After a yr of shooting I got bored shooting poker chips at 40yrds. Saw a trad 3d shoot that was being held weekly at the archery shop. I again bought the only LH bow they had which was a Hatfield TD which I still have today and a dozen Kustom King 4 fletched tapered cedars. After a cpl yrs sold the compound and now its been only longbows and woodies.
Like so many others, I started years before I ever even heard the term "compound bow". I made my own bows and arrows that were really bad. I do remember Mr. Johnson who lived across the street. He was the first bowhunter I knew. I was too small to pull his bows. When I was an early teenager, my buddie's Dad killed a spike in the East Texas Piney woods at a time when there were very few deer there. He was my hero. Went to Gibson's Department store and bought my first Bear.
Started in 1990 with a 2 other guys, we all bought XI legend compounds.
Then next spring they upgraded to the XI legend Mag, I couldn't afford to.
The next year the went to a supped up PSE, I bought a used Legend Mag from one of them. But the writing was on the wall, I could not afford to keep up with them buying new bows every year.
When Windauer bought Silvertip bows, I jumped on the chance to buy a timeless bow, that I would not have to keep upgrading and breaking the bank.
The recurve I bought from Dave was the last bow I bought, 12 years ago.
1950'S MY BROTHERS AND I MADE OUR OWN HICKORY BOWS AND SHOT HORSE WEED ARROWS AT EACH OTHER. DIDN'T KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THAT WAS! COURSE WE DIDN'T RIDE OUR BIKES WITH HELMETS ON EITHER> NO GLASS BOTTLE OR "SPARROW" WAS SAFE WHEN WE HAD BB'S FOR OUR RED RYDER BB GUNS EITHER. WE ALL SWAM IN THE BIG RIVER WITH NO LIFEGUARDS! WOW IT'S A WONDER WE SURVIVED..... THEN ALONG CAME WHEELS AND PULLEY'S AND EVERYTHING CHANGED!
I shot compound for many years. I became proficient with them, allowed too much competition into my shooting and totally lost all the fun in archery. So when all this was happening my father shot a long bow and I would give him so much crap because I thought he was hunting with an inferior weapon. Well I got tired of my wheeled bow and decided I just wanted to have fun and one year I picked up my dad's 72# long bow by Heritage Archery and shot a two day 40 target 3D shoot. The only goal was to have fun and have a couple arrows left in the quiver at the end of the weekend. I made it, my shoulder hurt for 3 months. I've put that bow down and went to recurves and have not shot a compound since. Sorry for all the crap I talked to you dad! LOL
Well, at 8 yrs, made a stick bow and arrows, shot it daily, lots of fun! Then at 16, bought a Wing RWH, still have it. Been a stick bow guy ever since, but also shoot black powder, modern centerfires, and compounds. Love the challenge of sticks and string, now shooting selfbows and arrows, (made by me), for hunting, no better feeling than hunting and harvesting w/ your homemade equipment! But when it's time to fill the freezer, and do game management, I do pick up the rifle now and again. It's all fun! Been doin' it for 64 years!
When I was young, just seeing and shooting a recurve just excited me. Plus, what is Trad now was Archery then. I went to the compound in the mid 70's with a PSE 2-wheel sizzler, then the Jennings Split Tees' Hoyts, etc. But always still envision a recurve when I thought of Archery. A few years back, I was thinking about a different compound but was shocked with the prices of the bow + the accessories. Then WI did full inclusion on x-guns. I decided at that point of taking the leap back to a Recurve. It's the best jump I have ever taking archery wise. I love shooting it, hunting with it, hell just carrying it. I guess, just keeping it real.
I started in the 90's when my eyesight would not longer allow me to shoot a compound with sights. As things happen sometimes I am now back shooting a compound with sights. And I am also shooting guns with iron sights. My optometrist told me to never try to explain changes in eyesight.
It made me smile when I shot. Something about the simplicity and beauty of the fine bows being made today. I guess I'm just a romantic at heart. My compound buddies don't get it. And that's ok with me.
I got my first compound in ‘79 when I was 11. They were pretty simple compared to what’s out there today. I traded a tree stand for a Hoyt TD recurve. I fell in love. Shortly after that compounds started to become more high tech and implementing “target bow” features in hunting bows. To me, All the technology does not belong in the woods. Too crap to go wrong. I had a prong rest bend on me and that did it. I hung my compound up and never touched one again. Back then you still had the mentality of close shots. (20 yards and in). So I really wasn’t giving anything up as far as shot distance.
By being uninformed. In 1977 just finished 4 years of college. Just before that, 2 years in service. Not able to hunt all those years but wanted to get back to it. When I went to store, I found 30 or so recurve bows marked down 40-60%. I didn't realize they were being pushed aside by the new compounds behind the counter. But got a good deal on new recurve so stuck with it. Couldn't afford to back track. Have yet to buy compound but have had many recurve and Longbows.
In my 66 years I have never had the desire to even pick up a compound bow, much less shoot one. I don't know if that makes me 'trad' or not, I simply shoot what I've preferred all these years.
In '97 when I turned 5 my dad got me and my twin brother our first bows. I got a bear youth compound he got a bear youth recurve. We'd trade and swap them, and when we grew out of them we both stuck with recurves. Been a blast shooting longbows and recurves since then. Matt R
DJ, trad is a made up term/contraction because traditional is too many syllables to pronounce. It is just a term (that I don't use) that in itself doesn't hurt anything, but the way it is used can convey many meanings from a genre, to an attitude. I still say traditional archery or just archery. "Trad" has developed it's own personality and sometimes comes across as elitist or snobby.
I grew tired of the compound and all the bolt-on gadgets that go with it and seemed to never stay tight or in adjustment. I wound up with a 12 pound machine to carry in the woods. OK but not my style. Then I saw some guys shooting recurves one day and I really liked the wood bows, wood arrows, all steel glue-on heads, leather shooting gloves and arm guards. The simplicity of it really attracted me. Bought a Martin Hunter as my first recurve, then went full tilt and ordered a Bighorn. Back when you still could order a new Bighorn.
trad was what i saw when i was a kid. even compounds were shot with fingers and no sights. so i always felt like i was missing something when i hunted with a compound with a release; which i did for a very long time,. and i was missing something, but ive found it now! id see pictures of fred bear and paul schafer and think these guys are doing it and im just a poser. i might still be a poser but im a trad one now and playing on the same field as those heroes from the past
That was all Fred Bear made back then. TV was black & white an 3 or 4 channels at best, party telephone lines, need a phone on the road stop at the street corner use the pay telephone, computers were large size of TV's floor models. Dick Tracy & Get Smart are reality today.... LOL
Only recurves and longbows when I started. Never got hooked on compounds because the visual aspect is too ugly, especially today with the enormous cams, sights and rests. No against them, you have to shoot well but it took many years before I got trad. bows to do what I expected of them. The problem is the existing paradigms, it's NOT the lack of the archer/bowhunter's talent.
Unfortunately I wasted 10 years of my life shooting compounds. I was never exposed to a recurve or longbow and when I did get exposed ive only shot a compound once since. Compounds shoot themselves now a days so whats the point?
to tomahawks point. when i started shooting compounds you had to shoot alot to worth anything as a shot and really know how to tune your gear estimate yardage etc. the last compound i bought was so good that it was kind of boring to shoot. i hardly ever shot it. add in a good range finder and it turned bow hunting into something not nearly as fun.
And now we have to call our caplock or flintlock muzzleloaders "traditional" to differentiate them from the modern in line,front loading Ruger No. 1's with scopes that they now call muzzleloaders!
I tried it and I liked it. It's all just shooting a bow to me. I got a buddy that calls himself a Sanitation Engineer, he's a garbage man. Be happy whatever you do or however you want to label it.
Started out shooting a recurve. Got a compound in High School enjoyed shooting it. A 60 yard shot was a piece of cake. Went hunting and killed deer after deer rarely missed one. It seems like I got bored with it. It seemed too easy. So I picked the recurve back up and have never looked back.
I started shooting trad archery with a Bear Kodiak Magnum in 1962 or there abouts that I purchased from Anderson Archery in Independence, Mo. Fred Bear clips got me started and then reading about Jack Howard in his catalog sealed the deal for me. Also Paul Schafer's bows and stories of his hunts along with stories by Paul Bruner and the Wensels. Been a great journey!
As many have stated here, I started whn it was just archery. Dabbled with wheels for about three years in the early 80's, but came back home to stay. Been shooting for 54 years and hunting for 42 years.
I wanted to learn how to shoot trad. Curiosity, overall.
My brother bought a 30# solid glass bow 10 years ago, and brought it with him on a visit. My wife and I had fun shooting it ( ignorance is bliss). We found a used Samick 62” Polaris 24# recurve, and we both shot it in the backyard for a a year not knowing what we were doing, but having fun.
Started YouTube videos to start the learning. Found “Shooting the Stickbow”, and I was on my way. Picked up a couple of bows, and was able to make the arrow go in the general correct direction.
Just wanted to learn the factors that made bows and arrows work, and develop some proficiency with them. Enjoyed the learning curve.
"And now we have to call our caplock or flintlock muzzleloaders "traditional" to differentiate them from the modern in line,front loading Ruger No. 1's with scopes that they now call muzzleloaders! "
I actually use a bolt-action Savage ML ;-) Accurate as all get-out but a heavy beast to lug around. Just can't shoot iron sights worth spit. Miss my old TC Renegade but it went to a kid who needed a gun, cheap.
Actually it was an article by Fred Asbell in (I think) Bowhunter magazine, about shooting 'instinctively'.
I'd recently screwed up when a pair of bucks came in at close range and I had no chance with my sighted compound. This fast, smooth style sounded like just the ticket! So I bought the book, borrowed an old Stemmler, and started learning.
And as the Grateful Dead once sang, 'what a long strange trip it's been!'
Just to set the record straight?...I never..."Started Shooting Trad"...what I started was..."Shooting Bow & Arrow"...(folks in the more formal neighborhoods called it "Archery")...but I started shooting bow and arrow for a few reasons...
one was my father would disappear for about a week each year with this beautiful curvy stick and come back with exciting tales of adventures he had in the woods with his hunting buds where one in-particular sparked my imagination where he and his buds had zip lines set-up across a canyon/valley (both ways) to access their hunting camp in upper NY State...I found that intriguing and couldn't wait to be old enough to go with him.
two was that 5 cedar arrows always seemed to outlast a tube full of daisy BB's...they were .25 cents ea. or 5 for $1 at Two Guys Dept. store and the 3rd reason?...was the cool shot this kid named Skipper used to make in the opening of every episode of this show I never missed...
