Attraction

[paleoman]

#3409

What has attracted or kept you in the “trad tribe”? While my personal ethical evolution has been an ongoing process, the initial catalyst was the visual beauty of our “tools”. Ever since I was 5 or 6 and saw some turkey fletched arrows stuck in the ground on a glorious October day in Vermont, I wanted to hold those things and weave them into my fabric. I’m so thankful to have not grown up with the ‘net! Any memories or stories to share?

[Doc Nock]

#19583

Wow, P-man, that is almost “romantic” to read.

I unfortunately, have no such artistic trail that led me here.

Instead, mine is pure knuckleadedness, if there is such a word!

When I started hunting deer, I HAD to have a deer rifle and bought a mil surplus 06 from a mailorder house before the GCA of 1966. Upgraded it over time and its a fine weapon. Got into reloading to milk more enjoyment.

Once I’d shot a couple deer, I wanted something more challenging, even though many years would go between harvests…

I ventured into revolvers and single shot pistols…to add more “juice”…then flintlocks… and finally bows…

Now, I STAY because it suits me. I get more excitement and reward from having a deer RIGHT THERE, then to put meat in the freezer from farther away. I LIKE not knowing that if a chance comes, it’s a dead certainty that I will connect! I love the rush of close encounters.

I still favor venison over all other domestic meat, but I like the “Juice” that archery, especially instinctive archery, has provided me for 30 yrs…with that short sojourn into the Dark Side.

I almost envy your more romantic draw… but that is who I am. Once I harvest something more than once with one type weapon…I try something more challenging…even though I might have long periods of no success in between.

Same with fly fishing…I’ll work one rising fish till I can catch and release that ONE fish… while friends will race up the stream taking every less picky one — often our total catch and release #’s are very close…

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#19666

Honestly, from the first time I picked up a bow, I don’t think I ever had a choice. I knew immediately that it was something I was meant to do, and I connected with it like nothing else. Being in the woods with a longbow in my hand just feels right – and I’m sure that if I’d been born in a previous era, it’s probably what I would have spent all my time doing.

But beyond that “gut level” immediate connection, the experiences I’ve had, and continue to have as a result of trad bows, are irreplaceable and what feed my soul. The close-up, intense encounters with wildlife are things I think about throughout the year. The excellent people I’ve met, the dedication and craftsmanship that people put into building bows, quivers…all of it. For me, it’s the antidote to, and the refuge from, the modern madness.

Like I said, I have no choice! 😉

[Bernie Clancey]

#19852

I started with a compound and shot it for two years. Shot it bare bow, off the shelf. Bought a recurve after two years of compound shooting and thought of shooting it as being similar to plinking with a .22. Loved the looks, the nostalgia and the fact that it did not hurt my shoulders like the compound did.

Sold the compound and haven’t looked back. Love the traditional stuff, longbows, recures, wood arrows, feathers, etc. it seems more like comparing spin fishing to fly fishing. I simply love to carry a trad bow in the woods. Maybe it just seems like the natural thing to do.

[jonas]

#21294

I’ve been a bowhunter for 21 years. I bought my first bow when I was 13. A Proline compound with a laminated wood riser. My Dad has had a Bear Kodiak Mag since 1974, so have been round traditional equipment all my life. I became interested in all things traditional approximately 8 years ago because of the high speed progression of modern bow hunting. The desperate “need” for the newest invention and garbage gizmos. The advertising bashing the competition. The boasted ability of many in their 50+ yrd shots. And I believe the unethical fascination to “prove that I can too.” I recently walked into a Cabela’s in Grand Junction, Co. and saw a big display on the newest camo with temperature sensitive dye, it is green during warm temps and then changes to brown in cold temps. It nearly made me sick to my stomach.

I have been hunting long enough to have learned it’s more about the journey than the “trophy”. I have built a few longbows and am getting started on my first wood/glass laminated bow. I don’t need all the trash of modern archery to have the best time in the woods. In fact, my time hunting improves with the more I learn to do without.

[David Petersen]

#21702

Last line, what Jonas said!

Plus, it’s a great way to meet girls. 😉

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#21809

When I walk in the woods longbow in hand, I can’t help to think about my very distant relatives who did the same thousands of years ago in the Swiss Alps and thick French Forests. I wonder about them: What were their names, what did they look like, How did they live, etc…. An avalanche of thoughts and questions! Enough to keep me entertained for the rest of my life!:D

[James Harvey]

#22189

The original attraction for me was simple romance. I think what keeps me in the ‘trad tribe’ is a large dose of what Alex describes, that connection to those who have gone before us.

Another personal factor is the wonderful zen of archery, standing on the range committed to (attempting) perfecting a process and all other concerns disappear. It never happened to me shooting compounds and it never happens to me shooting firearms, but drawing a string on a stick, releasing and watching an arrow drive into a target is at times a meditative experience for me.

[David Fudala]

#23780

I burned out on all the technology. It became a burden and a crutch to me more than an advantage and I feel like it took something away from my experiences in the woods. This past season was my first full season in the woods with traditional gear only and I felt like a true bowhunter again. I stayed on the ground, carried minimal accessories and just got out there and soaked it all in! Having a weapon of wood in my hand rather than machined metal made me feel more like I belonged out there again. A closer connection to the process you might say? I didn’t connect on any game this past season… And it was the greatest year I’ve ever had! I envy all of you who have for so long “suffered” this addiction I have only just found!

[1shot]

#23877

Because that was what my Dad used, and while he went out hunting with Rifles also, I could make my own Bow and wander around our woods and become the “Great Provider”…

What has kept me attracted to recurves is the simple form of stick and string, the challenge of getting it done with such a simple weapon, and pure intent of doing it the Hard-Way, which gives me the most enjoyment…

I’m with You DocNoc, I’ll also sit and watch for that big fish with flyrod in hand till I can rise him to take a fine dry-fly, hopefully first cast(Roscoe,NY BeaverKill, Willo, East and West branch of the Delaware, my “stands” are still there, the flat river rocks made into bench seating overlooking prime lays of big trout)…(I have sat all day waiting/watching and never taking a cast, even while knowing a well placed nymph would cause a hook-up…silly me, but thats my way hehehe)

[Juspassin]

#24229

Been at it this way since I was a kid. Killed my first Deer with the bow in 1968. It has always worked for me and I’ve never needed anything more. Have killed any number of critters with guns as well over the years for the freezer, but that’s not hunting, just shooting.

[grumpy]

#35364

I’m a minimalist at heart. Don’t feel I need anything more, would rather increase my skill to do it with simple equipment than use tech equipment that requires less skill.

The other main reason is that I find the same values/feelings here that I find in some fly fishing sites.

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