New poll-Who Are You?

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Who are you?

Primarily trad hunter. Trad archery is just a tool I use
19
54%
Primarily trad archer/shooter/collector/enthusiast
12
34%
No opinion/undecided
0
No votes
Don't care/not interested
0
No votes
Other. (please elaborate!)
4
11%
 
Total votes: 35

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Author
Captainkirk
Site Admin
Posts: 12787
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 8:19 pm

New poll-Who Are You?

#1 Post by Captainkirk »

With regard to trad archery and hunting; who are you?
Are you the guy that shoots because you love trad archery, it's roots, history, romance, challenges, etc?
Or are you the hunter who chooses trad because it's the most challenging form of hunting?
In other words, if you could no longer hunt, or no longer hunt with trad gear, would you still be shooting, bow-building, arrow making, collecting, target shooting, etc...?
Don't be quick to answer without giving it some introspective, unless the answer is clear as a bell and rock-solid. We've all taken different paths to arrive at our hunting camp here. What was YOUR path, and how did you arrive at your destination? I already know (or think I know) some of your stories, or parts of them. But jump right in and tell your personal journey for the new members, or future members to read. I'm sure they are all fascinating and very personal. After all, the main group of members here now are what I consider the real 'charter members' and founders despite an earlier false start here, so who you are and what you believe in are the core values of this forum now, and moving forward.
Take the attached poll. You may change your answer if you decide to at any time.
Aim small, miss small!

Crazynate
Posts: 444
Joined: Tue May 23, 2017 9:54 am

Re: New poll-Who Are You?

#2 Post by Crazynate »

I clicked the wrong one on accident lol. I am a trad only hunter and collector. Have loved the flight of the arrow since I was 8 years old. My dad bought me my first bow even though he wasn't into archery and that's how it sprung into my #1 passion. My grandfather was a hunter and fisherman but he passed when I was 14. Growing up in the inner city most of my friends chose drugs and alcohol,I chose hunting fishing and archery. Even though my parents were divorced my ma did a great job making sure I was around guys that hunted and fished. I have been a Fred Bear fan since I was about 11. I'm 35 now and have never slown down. I didn't into shooting trad until 2004 when I got out of the Marines. Archery and the outdoors is the PERFECT therepy especially for a high strung, former infantry Marine lol. If I couldn't shoot bows anymore I would still be a collector. I love the people I meet in the trad world and the relationships I form with guys that have the same passion as me. Whether I can shoot a bow or not my mission is still the same. To preserve these items for the next generation. To many young kids are growing up without mentors and they need hobbys. I mentored inner city kids for 12 years after I got out. A few of them are my closest friends and they love archery as much as any of us. I believe the impact archery has made on them has helped changed their lives I garuntee it. It's a great passion, a great hobby and a great way of life. I'm hooked for life.
Goodnight Chesty Wherever You Are.

Captainkirk
Site Admin
Posts: 12787
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 8:19 pm

Re: New poll-Who Are You?

#3 Post by Captainkirk »

Most of you know my story already, but for those who don't;
I was always fascinated by cowboys and Indians as a kid and naturally, being of cowboy descent, gravitated towards guns at an early age. But being given a glass Ben Pearson at an early age (10, maybe?) and being unleashed to roam the north woods of Minnesota started an interest for archery (compounds were not an option back then) that carried through into my teen years and unlocked a period of intense interest in Indian culture and society which naturally included archery...without wheels. 8-)
Then came college, marriage, family...hunting and archery went away for awhile. I began gun hunting again mid-nineties and found the bug bit very hard. I was easily talked into getting a compound bow for the extended seasons, and the fact that Illinois has the stupidest gun season rules on the planet (gun-hater/libtard state). Up to this point, all my gun hunting was reserved for out of state hunting as a result.
Once I began archery hunting, I began to appreciate the difficulties and skill required to make that kill shot possible. The biggest thing about modern bowhunting that bothered me were the "keeping up with the Jones's" attitude, and planned obsolescence by manufacturers and retailers. I shelled out some pretty good bucks for a Reflex Bighorn compound package and had it set up really nice, but after several years of hunting with it, the string broke. When I brought it in to be replaced (gotta have a bow press, don'cha know?) the guy replacing it could hardly keep a straight face, working on something so archaic and ancient. He explained how the Easton aluminums I was shooting were heavy, cumbersome and obsolete; I needed carbons. He sold me those carbons, but they didn't fit my rest very well and shot much flatter, so adjusting the sight pins for 15, 20,30 and 40 now had them all mashed together instead of nicely spaced. He suggested I buy a new rest and sight, and since the OD of the arrows didn't fit my bow quiver, well...he could sell me one of them, too. And while I was at it, why not just get a new bow that would shoot 100 fps faster? :shock:
I left the shop feeling depressed, angry, overwhelmed and betrayed. How could an expensive high-tech package be obsolete in only a few years? I kept remembering one of the closing scenes with Barry Wensel in "Bowhunting October Whitetails" where Barry launches a a shot at a running whitetail with a barebow, shot instinctively, and in slow-mo connects right on the money and thought..."what a bunch of BS this modern crap is...you gotta have this, have that, here's a guy with a bow design older than me, no frills, sights or technology needed and he waxes a RUNNING whitetail!" I thought about the times I stood in a tree or the back yard practicing, just hoping my wobbling bow would allow the right pin to align with the intended spot, and hoping I'd picked the right pin...
A week later I walked out of that same shop with a new Samick Sage under my arm, determined to re-find my roots and give the product-pushers the middle finger for once and for all. And that was the beginning of a new way of life. That's how I arrived in camp with you fellers here. I never sold those compounds, just no interest in shooting them. FWIW, I figure if I sell them, that means I've accepted the idea that they are truly obsolete junk and that the product-pushers win. As most of you know, I just purchased a vintage bow nearly as old as I am and I'm diggin' every second of it. Last night I watched a hunting show on TV where a guy with the latest and greatest 2016 high tech whiz-bang bow drew back on a monster 12-point whitetail...barely able to draw it back...and held full draw shaking and trembling as the cameraman filmed. He held his 40 yard shot for a few seconds while he lined up the lighted pins, then tripped the trigger on his release...and the lighted nock, high-tech carbon with expandable broadhead sailed right over the back of the brute...duffed a 40 yard 'sure thing' with the best equipment on the planet.
Have we REALLY advanced that much in 50 years, from the days of my heroes Fred Bear, Ben Pearson, Howard Hill, Paul Schaffer, Barry Wensel and others? Think what you will, I say no.
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
But back to the poll question...I'm a trad archery lover, collector of sorts, arrow-smith and target shooter. If I couldn't hunt trad it wouldn't change a thing as far as trad goes. I would still do just as I am today. Because it's in the blood.

Some kid, once upon a time...

Image
Aim small, miss small!

Captainkirk
Site Admin
Posts: 12787
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 8:19 pm

Re: New poll-Who Are You?

#4 Post by Captainkirk »

Crazynate wrote:I clicked the wrong one on accident lol.
You can edit your answer, Nate.
Aim small, miss small!

Carpdaddy
Site Admin
Posts: 9469
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2013 7:36 pm

Re: New poll-Who Are You?

#5 Post by Carpdaddy »

Hunter most all my life, Trad archery became a part of that equation in the mid nighties when an elder Deacon in my Church gave me his old Browning Recurve. That bow ended up causing me to sell my compound and loose my marbles! Still have the bow, he said he gave $26.00 for it New.

stumper
Posts: 2688
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2016 7:40 pm

Re: New poll-Who Are You?

#6 Post by stumper »

I put archer, haven't really been successful at the hunting part yet.... However, I am a trad enthusiast down to the bone.
Nothing clears a troubled mind like shooting a bow.

Jamesh76
Posts: 2019
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2016 6:05 pm

Re: New poll-Who Are You?

#7 Post by Jamesh76 »

I am going to select other. I really don't know where I am. I enjoy hunting with multiple methods. But at heart, I am a hunter/predator, I like to put meat on the table. I hunt trad/compound/firearm. I do find myself hunting with the Trad bow more than anything else the last 4 years and have been shooting trad for 10 years. I have put 7 on the table with stick and string. I only hunt deer with Trad bow, I enjoy shooting in the back yard and taking the kids out for a round of stumps. I shoot the trad bow almost daily. I initially got into traditional because using a compound was easy. I wanted something more challenging, knowing if had be I could fill tags with a rifle fulfilling my "hunter/predator mentality" during firearms season. In years past, I would find my self tagged out by the first or second week of November for several years. I wanted something to "extend" my hunting season especially having a teenage son who hunts. I wouldn't consider myself a collector. I have probably had over 100 different bows over the years. Most of them sold and several of them given away to youth or less fortunate hunters who had an interest in Trad. I try and keep 6-10 bows on the wall though just incase. I keep a variety of different weights from kids bows to 50#. Family enjoys coming over for gatherings and shooting so I need a few bows anyone can shoot. If I ever reached the point I was physically unable to hunt, Yes indeed I would still shoot a trad bow recreationally. As for the individuals who year after year are successful and harvest nice animals of multiple species with stick and string. My hat is off to you as you have reached a level beyond where I ever could imagine being.

Longbowfanatic
Posts: 251
Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2017 10:41 am

Re: New poll-Who Are You?

#8 Post by Longbowfanatic »

I began my archery experience shooting compound bows. I hunted and shot 3-D's for decades, even going to the point of shooting long stabilizers, counter weights and a scope. During that time, I began to show an interest in traditional archery, but never really acted on it. In 2008, I began my traditional archery journey that became a passion. I purchased a used Browning Spartan recurve and began practicing. Within a few months, I was proficient enough to hunt within 10 yards, but really lacked good form and a solid mentor. As years went by, I was mostly a bow hunter, but I lacked consistency in my shot sequence. I really hungered to become a better shot, so I watched Jimmy Blackmon videos, Scott Antczak videos, Master's of the Barebow and others. At times, I was so frustrated with my lack of accuracy and consistency that I nearly gave up trad archery multiple times. I tried gap shooting, instinctive traditional shooting and several variations in-between, but nothing worked for me. I would have the occasional day where I was "on", but then would have a string of inconsistent days. Finally, I took a two day course with Rod Jenkins and after a lot of practice, my archery form improved as did my accuracy. Once I began consistently hitting the spots I was aiming at, trad archery became fun again. I'm really not a nostalgic trad archer, although I admire those who are. I love shooting all forms of trad archery. I have wood bows that I hunt with and love making wood arrows. I have a couple ILF recurve bows, one of which is an olympic style recurve that I use at most 3-D's. I string walk for 3-D's and hunt using a fixed crawl. For me, it works well. If I couldn't hunt with a trad bow tomorrow, I would still shoot, make wood arrows and compete in 3-D's. I love this sport and I have made some of my best friends through this passion we call traditional archery!

Jose
Posts: 858
Joined: Thu Jun 11, 2015 6:47 am

Re: New poll-Who Are You?

#9 Post by Jose »

Well I don't know what I am.....but I am sure my wife could fill in her own term... :lol: I guess I started out by being intrigued with Indians. I tried to make my own bows in elementary school with not much success. I became obsessed with hunting and received a wrist rocket slingshot for Christmas when I was 8 years old. Christmas day that year I asked to go rabbit hunting. My father laughed and said "be back before dark". I went hunting at the farm I grew up at and was able to shoot a rabbit that day. I ran all the way back to the house yelling to my father. I remember my fathers expression when he saw me carrying that rabbit. His eyes wide open just about as far as his mouth was hanging open. He told me that he was going to take me to "Bills Junk Shop" which was a resale shop. He said "if you can kill a rabbit with a slingshot I cant imagine what you can do with a bow". I felt like a king when he took me to the shop and we found a recurve bow which he bought for me. I felt like I was a man at that point. Years later I got into the high tech compound bows and would hunt with both the compound and guns. After while I started losing the excitement and thrill of hunting. I did not know what it was which was causing this feeling? When I started making bows I went to hunting and shooting with them exclusively and found that thrill again! I have a double bonus because I not only hunt with the trad gear, I was making my own trad gear to hunt with. I enjoyed the smallest doe with a longbow more than my bigger bucks which were shot with my compound. I found my true passion again.

I love to shoot longbows and love to hunt with them even more. I don't get near the amount of game as I use to but I sure get more out of the hunts now. I feel connected to nature now more than ever before. Trad gear has made me a better hunter and shooter. I am not the best target shooter by all means but when I'm hunting somehow it works out. If I could not hunt anymore I would still shoot. If I could not hunt or shoot anymore.........I don't know what I would do. It is definitely who I am. I do not collect bows and never really had an interest in doing so. I haven't even kept all the trad bows I have killed game with. Its not about a particular bow for me, its about the methods used. I LOVE hunting and SHOOTING. I got into frog hunting this summer and absolutely became addicted to it! Anything I am legally able to hunt with my longbows, I will, if I have the means to make it happen. I love it.....love it.......love it....!!I always know in the back of my mind that I will not be able to do it forever but until that time comes, it will be a part of who I am.

Mohawk
Posts: 403
Joined: Sat Sep 17, 2016 7:24 pm

Re: New poll-Who Are You?

#10 Post by Mohawk »

Well, I started deer hunting at age 12. I had gone with my dad and grandpa several years prior and thought it was time for me to pick it up. Back then there wasn't many deer in ks, and dad had found me an interarms 2506 cheap but put a leupold 3x9 on it. I hunted as much as I could with school being in the way, and never saw a deer. Finally, the last evening of the 9 day season arrived and I wanted to give it a final try. Me and the ol man went to the back 80 and got in a hedge row overlooking pasture where deer would frequent before heading to the crop ground. We were standing there chewing Copenhagen when all the sudden I hear something coming from the east, the opposite direction we had expected anything to come from. Turns out it was a small frame 10 point buck, who busted us and instead of turning around decided to cut across in front of us. I leveled off on him and shot, down he went. I had an interest in archery, but the ol man was against bowhunting. Then I let a guy you all know as Shadow get me interested in archery in a huge way! I found an old Browning Bushmaster compound fairly cheap at a local sporting goods store and bought it. So it begins. Shadow's parents offered to sell me a Red Wing Hunter for $40! I jumped on that but still shot a compound for several years following, although I still had the trad bug bite. I bought a Jeffery Archery recurve with a 65 lb draw. I ended up shooting a small 8 point buck with it and hunting with it for a few years, bouncing back and forth between it and my compound. I ended up selling that recurve and sticking with my golden eagle compound a few years, until I was at a garage sale where there was a Bob Lee recurve for sale. The price was decent so I bought it and finally realized that shooting a trad bow was much more rewarding and satisfying than shooting a compound. That's where it stuck. Now I have a few different recurves and 2 longbows. If I couldn't hunt, but could still shoot, I certainly would. If I couldn't hunt then I certainly couldn't work so I would shoot more. :lol:

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