Not quite answering what you’re asking, but at least your shop has some traditional archery supplies. Went in the local shop here in my little town today….asked the dude at the archery counter if they made or stocked flemish twist strings for trad archery. He looked kinda bewildered and said, “Naw…..but we can put it on for you if you got one”.

Gee……thanks, pal.:lol:

I hate to see two people with the same desire (archery) argue. Training wheels or bent stick, we need to stick together. I’m sure there will be a loud gasp when I type this but there are people out there that want to stop all hunting :shock::D

tailfeather wrote: “Naw…..but we can put it on for you if you got one”.

Gee……thanks, pal.:lol:

Do you reckon he’d have charged you for that? 😆

Increasingly, I try to nominally broaden the topic beyond traditional archery and bowhunting to “traditional-values hunting,” in order to point out the observable fact that there are folks of every “weapons” persuasion who value the hunt more than the kill and wish to set themselves a real challenge by keeping gear as simple as possible and “doing more with less.” For me, that sums it up so far as gear, which is as far as most folks ever take the “what’s traditional” discussion. But to be a traditional-values hunter there’s one more element, far more important than what gear we carry, and which determines how we use the gear we choose, and that’s respect for the animals we hunt and for ourselves as hunters and humans. It just so happens that a clawing lack of respect is far more evident in some weapons choices than others and none moreso that the hi-tech, light-arrow, longer-the-shot-the-better mentality of the compound world. These aren’t bad people, they are merely shallow-thinking slaves to the bidding of industry and industry’s paid media flunkies. The traditional mind is a mind that likes to think for itself as well as do for itself.

And brother Ray, I must respectfully disagree with your “we must stick together (with never any detail on how far the “we” extends) or the antis will get us. Just pick up a copy of Bowhunter magazine and you’ll see who the enemy is and why we can afford to have no part of them. But that too is an old and apparently unresolvable discussion. Though I will say this and take it as you wish: If the only hunting available was hunting that embraced the hi-tech compound worldview, I’d be an anti-hunter. There is simply no respect anywhere in there, and in any aspect of life without respect, there can be no positive outcome, no gain in knowledge or integrity or good in the world. Stupid is evil.

I saw a video of a guy with a longbow track a doe, which was poorly shot, care way more about his video camera and filming than finishing of the deer in an humane manner. He then shot the deer again but not before he repositioned his camera for the shot… That guy was using a longbow and in my humble opinion was about as anti hunter as they come. He did nothing to promote hunting only to show off his screwed up kill. And then, like the person his is, he posts the video on YouTube for everyone to fight about in his comments. So I agree with Dave in that traditional values is the way to think about this hunting of ours. ‘Cause I know rifle hunters that would never do something like that.

I think traditional for me represents the challenge of the hunt with a trad bow. In the same way I pretty much almost exclusively use dry flies while fly fishing. If I used nymphs or bait I could catch way more fish but I enjoy the challenge of catching fish on the dry. I love watching trout take a home tied dry fly off the top.

For me there’s more of your own calories going into a shot and more challenge to get close enough and wait for a good shot. That’s what traditional is to me, the challenge and like Dave said the mind set to do it right.

David Petersen wrote: These aren’t bad people, they are merely shallow-thinking slaves to the bidding of industry and industry’s paid media flunkies…

Stupid is evil.

Haha, I see what you did there 😆

I need to sleep on this one more to follow tomorrow. Could be the most important thread we have to discuss.

Like an axe that makes firewood, traditional archery is a tool that provides a subtle opportunity to find a deeper meaning in a necessary act. It is a means not just of providing for yourself and your family, but of realizing that you, too, are part of the system upon which your existence relies.

In my opinion it all goes back to the key word, Tradition. Too many of todays hunters have no idea or appreciation for where the outdoor sports came from. They don’t know how those before us fought for the “priveledges” we enjoy today. I agree that the weapon used should not define one as a “traditionalist”. The actions and the ethics of the individual should do that!

A lot of good points made. Like many of the best things worth doing, I don’t think it all fits into one tidy, specific description very easily. But I know it when I see it, and it has as much to do with the person holding the implement, and the attitude they bring to the game, as it does whatever happens to be in their hand.

But I will say this – I’m grateful for this place, and the level of intelligent conversation and respect we have for each other. I’ve tried to spend time on a few other so-called “trad” forums and have been shocked at the level of discourse.

This is the place, as far as I’m concerned.

rayb wrote: I hate to see two people with the same desire (archery) argue. Training wheels or bent stick, we need to stick together. I’m sure there will be a loud gasp when I type this but there are people out there that want to stop all hunting :shock::D

No gasp from me. There are a lot of ways I separate the people with whom I’ll hunt from those I avoid, but whether or not they have wheels on the limbs doesn’t make the list. I’ve been to several dozen large traditional archery shoots over the years, and almost without fail the guys who can’t seem to go an hour without telling you how much they hate compounds seem to spend a lot of time scratching around in the weeds looking for their lost arrows. These same guys also never seem to have a shortage of “I missed him by this much” stories from their last hunting season. Thankfully, these folks are in the minority of traditional archers.

To me this isn’t a simple question to answer.Like Bruce said, it doesn’t fit into one description. I can’t bring myself to take in all of those definitions,or descriptions.

Mostly,for me,it’s the ethics toward this way of life and respect for our prey,no matter their size;rabbit to moose.I mean by pursuing them with the proper equipment in order to kill them in as humanely a manner as possible.

Traditional archery does have to do with the gear we choose and how closely we choose to ethically pursue game.IMHO:roll:

Good thread,guys! Wayne

I don’t think I could add anything to this great discussion–“traditional values” pretty much sums it up. I echo Bruce’s comments what an enjoyable site this is, you all are a pleasure to communicate with.

Semper Fi

Mike

jpd wrote: I bought my new recurve to have fun with it not to become elite as the one man shooting the longbow was implying..—-jim

Whats wrong with being elite? I sure feel elite when I harvest an animal with traditional gear, using woodsmanship over store brought crap from China. When my buddies with the $1500 brand new set ups that grandma could shoot, and every gadget and trinket that Cabela’s sells, seldom do better. I sure feel elite when I pack my harvest out on my back – and listen to the fat slobs gripe about how hard it is. “I can’t believe you hiked this far, let’s go get a ATV”:evil:

Now I don’t mean to say being a snob about anything is a admirable quality. But lowering the bar so people don’t get their feelings hurt because they aren’t trying hard enough is why this country is going to hell in a hand basket.:twisted:

jonking wrote:

Now I don’t mean to say being a snob about anything is a admirable quality. But lowering the bar so people don’t get their feelings hurt because they aren’t trying hard enough is why this country is going to hell in a hand basket.:twisted:

Well said!!

Smithhammer wrote: [quote=jonking]

Now I don’t mean to say being a snob about anything is a admirable quality. But lowering the bar so people don’t get their feelings hurt because they aren’t trying hard enough is why this country is going to hell in a hand basket.:twisted:

Well said!!

Agreed8)

I haven’t been hunting with it yet, but this new Java Man makes me feel a little special(grin).

I had a friend, a Santee Sioux, that long ago told me “the white man won’t survive here because he doesn’t listen” and then he grinned a big grin. I think he would get a kick out of this thread because some do try to listen. That’s why I lurk about this forum.

ausjim wrote: [quote=David Petersen]These aren’t bad people, they are merely shallow-thinking slaves to the bidding of industry and industry’s paid media flunkies…

Stupid is evil.

Haha, I see what you did there 😆

Well Jim, I was going to make a comment about this quote too. You got to it first though… though I have to say I don’t see what he did. But I do have to wonder if being a shallow-thinking slave to the bidding of industry media flunkies isn’t bad, what the @#$%^ is?

Damn Dave, would you stop beating around the bush?

Ben M. wrote: Like an axe that makes firewood, traditional archery is a tool that provides a subtle opportunity to find a deeper meaning in a necessary act. It is a means not just of providing for yourself and your family, but of realizing that you, too, are part of the system upon which your existence relies.

This is exactly how I see it as well. My favorite thing in this world is being in the woods on a crisp autumn night – but what makes that experience infinitely times better is not just being IN the woods, but being ONE with the woods.

Carrying traditional gear while I sit in the woods makes me feel like I belong there; as if a deer were to walk by, it may notice me and be totally fine with my presence because I am in essence everything that’s pure about hunting in its most natural form.

I also can agree with you guys on the “elitist” idea. I would rather hunt with my recurve for 10 years and cleanly, ethically, and humanely harvest one deer at 6 yards than use my compound and kill 3 deer every season but risk a bad shot or tempt Murphy’s law at 80 yards.

Not only is traditional a state of mind, but also a state of being.

“Not only is traditional a state of mind, but also a state of being.”

I agree with this quote big time. How can you declare what is a traditional weapon. How far back in mankind’s history can you go? Is traditional the first rock that was thrown to kill a rabbit, the fist club that whopped the porcupine for dinner, the first bent stick and gut string with a crooked branch with a fire sharpened point, a snare, a herd of buffalo ran over a cliff? All weapons of old.

We continue to improve our means of killing whether for hunting or to insert our beliefs in rights and wrongs on other people. Tradition, as far as weapons go, changes with every few generations of man.

We, as a sector of society, have decided to call a certain group of weapons to be traditional, and that’s great, but some seem to ignore the point that it’s not the weapons we chose but the mentality of how we use them.

It’s the becoming as one with nature and of the beast being pursued that builds the tradition in one, not the weapon in hand.

I have also observed more strife caused at mixed archery tournaments by people carrying “trad equipment” than I have from the “other side” as they see it. Most of these mouthy guys have rifles and shotguns that they use so where is the trad part of their thinking, only with stick and string in hand?

I hunt with longbows, rifles and shotguns but no matter the weapon my methods and my ethics remain the same. I love to stalk animals and I do so with whatever I have in hand, even my camera.

I have not the “gotta kill” syndrome in my blood, want to take game, yes, but not the “gotta”. So I can watch and learn and enjoy and relate myself with God when I’m mucking about and go home empty handed but with a full heart. I’ve learned after all these years that getting home safe and sound, a bonus with a smile on my face, is quite a tradition and that I’m doing my best to cling to.

“It’s how your using what ya got, not what ya got that you’re using”. Ralph