Traditional Question

[Al M]

#5695

Hi, I’ve been practicing every day and I own a few bows. One is a competition bow recurve and PSE recurve. They both have sights. My old Bear Kodiak recurve has no sights and neither does my Martin long bow. It is so much easier for me to get a good group with sights. Would it be bad to put some kind of sight on the Bear Kodiak? Would it still be considered traditional?

[Fallguy]

#44012

It depends on your definition of Traditional. It would not qualify to be used at any of the Traditional Shoots around the country. I am not aware of any rules against it for hunting. The question is what do you want to do with your archery experience. It is your bow and your enjoyment of the sport. If you want tight groups at longer ranges a site can help. If your goal is to develope your own personal skills then range does not really matter. Some are Pro Golfers and the rest are Golfers they all can have fun.

[Al M]

#45252

I enjoy target archery and I also like to hunt. I have decided to leave the long bow and Bear Kodiak as is and sharpen my skills in bare bow. My practice area is 20 yards. I can go to 25 yards but then I would be seen from the street. That may cause problems.

[Ralph]

#34890

There was a long period in time during the 50’s and early sixties or so (perhaps before but I wasn’t mingling with other archers prior to that) when a sight on traditional equipment was a common sight.

You maybe wouldn’t believe some of the inventions people came up with to “engineer” a sight for a bow. People can be quite ingenious.. 😉

I just sold my old Black Widow take down recurve, a 1958 model, with a metal riser that was drilled and tapped for sights. 😥

It outgrew me but I found it a good home. 😀

So it’s not allowed now at trad shoots, so don’t use a sighted bow if you choose to attend. Simplifies life.

Sometimes traditions are are dreamed up by people that ain’t even been there yet.

My thinking says if your comfortable with a sight on a bow and it perhaps prevents you from wounding an animal, go for it.

It’s your bow, legal (I’m guessing in your area), your’re traditional.

I liked this I found.

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1465530

[Stephen Graf]

#42619

Well said Ralph.

The number one, get your panties in a wad, most important thing to remember about archery. The thing many folks seem to forget. The thing that makes it worth doing in the first place, and the only thing that will attract kids to the sport, is a simple thing…. Have Fun!!

Missing the target is no fun. So tape a site on your bow and start having fun! No Worries about it.

[David Coulter]

#49608

R2 x 2 = good sense. Dwc

[David Coulter]

#59104

I just read some of the thread on the other site and I think I’ll stay right here, not that things can’t get heated now and then.

Sights or no sights, enjoy yourself. I really appreciate that you want to be accurate especially when hunting. The animal is making a sacrifice, involuntarily, so it’s truly our obligation to be empathetic to that aspect. Best,dwc

[wojo14]

#21138

dwcphoto wrote: I just read some of the thread on the other site and I think I’ll stay right here, not that things can’t get heated now and then.

Sights or no sights, enjoy yourself. I really appreciate that you want to be accurate especially when hunting. The animal is making a sacrifice, involuntarily, so it’s truly our obligation to be empathetic to that aspect. Best,dwc

Well Said!8)

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#31935

Personally, I feel that the most important aspect of whether it is traditional or not, is whether it has wheels on the limbs or not. Once we cross that border, we’re on traditional land. After that it’s up to us on how far we want to go on the trad journey. And the trad journey goes anynywhere from heavy machined riser recurves with sights all the way to self bows and cane arrows. I personally have fluctuated between all of the options, and I just happen to have made trip back to a heavy riser recurve, no sights :D, but I probably will go back to longbow. It’s all about what Steve said: Have fun!

[John Cholin]

#23246

Al,

I’m new here so don’t take what I have to say too seriously.

I left the compound bows decades ago and never looked back! Now I have a Bear Cheyenne. I LOVE it! It is the bow I hunt with, using cedar arrows and feather fletching. It is equipped with a sight because I can hit better with the sight and I owe it to my quarry to hit well enough to cause a quick death.

If I decide to hunt with a rifle, it, too, will have sights for the same reason.

Best Regards,

John Cholin

[David Coulter]

#45370

John,

Welcome to the site. I appreciate your thoughts on using a sight and why. Best considerations for the animal.

If I restricted my range with a rifle to the 15 and under I do for a bow, I might be able to get away without sights!

Cheers to you, this Thanksgiving day. dwc

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