Thanks, Gama. Just keep your eye open on this thread and maybe more will come out. Like I wrote earlier, there are a number of traditional Upstate groups listed on the “TradShops” website but the contact information is well out of date (I think 2011). So far I’ve sent out 8 letters with not a single response.
I was in my somewhat-local archery shop on Tuesday and asked the owner if he knew of any traditional clubs. He mentioned the Izaak Walton chapter in Cortland referenced earlier. He said there are some serious traditional archers at the club (nice custom bows, etc) as well as some traditional archers that shoot at his shop’s indoor league. Unfortunately, the shop is over an hour drive one way. All the other shops closer are strictly compounds and the newly-legal in NY crossbows.
So I will check out the Cortland club in the spring. Right now it’s a bit too cold to be bow shooting outdoors. At least my club has an indoor range for winter. At 30 yards, it works for me and I’m able to (mostly) keep up with the compounds (thank goodness for handicaps on some nights). It’s funny to me, though, that the compound shooters don’t understand how I can shoot accurately without sights, releases, let-off, etc. I just tell them it’s because I’m better (HA!). But it’s like they have never heard of Pope & Young, Fred Bear, and all. Kind of sad.
