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pupper
03-18-2008, 07:55 PM
Im looking at getting into traditional archery and was wondering what you guys think about recurve vs. longbow, and what type of wood to use to make bows/arrows?

2nd, how long did you practice with traditional gear before hunting with it?

what are some aiming tricks?

BCLongshot
03-18-2008, 08:01 PM
When are you gonna have kids ?

ha ha

pupper
03-18-2008, 08:14 PM
When are you gonna have kids ?

ha ha

why? do you think I have too much time on my hands or something? :)

Onesock
03-18-2008, 08:28 PM
Look where you want the arrow to go, pull'er back and let go. Simple as that.
Many moons!!!!

greybark
03-18-2008, 08:58 PM
:smile: Hey Pupper , we can talk !!!!!! Guarenteed ready this fall for late archery season for Whitetails .
Cheers

pupper
03-18-2008, 10:52 PM
Look where you want the arrow to go, pull'er back and let go. Simple as that.
Many moons!!!!

just like hockey eh

J_T
03-19-2008, 06:47 AM
Pupper, there are some really fine woods out there being used on bows. Chek-mate (I know you've heard about them on here) make some real fine bows.

It doesn't matter, recurve (62 inches long) or a longbow. Both have a simplicity about them that makes them special.

Wood shafts are mostly either pine or cedar. I can put you in touch with a source if required.

More and more of us are shifting to the carbon for hunting. Just a touch more control over the flight.

As for hunting, I've never expressed this on here and I'm not sure others will understand what I mean, but, as a traditional shooter, I attempt to predict the shot from my treestand. I can have all the animals in the world around me, but if the kill shot, doesn't step into my window, I don't take it. I think that is a key difference. Keep your yardages short and specific and it shouldn't take you long to be ready to hunt with it.

Onesock
03-19-2008, 10:43 AM
Not quite as simple as hockey in that if you make a bad shot in hockey you don't wound anything. (Well most of the time) All joking aside traditional bowhunting, if you decide to go that route, will be one of the biggest high's you have ever had. At least with your clothes on. Come to the TBBC Championships in Keremeos on the May long weekend and see for yourself. PS Most of us will be wearing clothes, I hope.

Thunderstix
03-19-2008, 10:48 AM
just like hockey eh
More like baseball.

sealevel
03-19-2008, 11:31 AM
pupper you will notice all these old trad shooters have a twitch . :smile:

Johnnybear
03-28-2008, 12:42 AM
Hey Pupper I just tried out tradional archery this last year. I bought a Martin X200 40# recurve for target shooting. I love it. I shoot cedar shafts spined to my draw and weight. Bought a couple of shooting DVD's and I am just loving it. I don't even look at the arrow just look at what you want to hit and bingo. Base ball is a great description as to the throw(you don't see the ball till it's thrown). I would like to add looking through a peep site to see the spot as another similar description. Focus on the spot (tiny spot a that). I go out stump shooting all the time and I hope one day to have enought practice under my belt to harvest an animal (probably with a heavier bow).

betteroffishing
03-28-2008, 07:36 AM
I go out stump shooting all the time and I hope one day to have enought practice under my belt to harvest an animal (probably with a heavier bow).[/quote]

that it would seem is the best point made yet re hunting with a bow. it takes time to get good enough to even consider pointing it at a living feeling target.i had my first lesson yesterday at the abbotsford fish and gsame club. what a blast, but much more practice needed though.

Bow Walker
03-28-2008, 08:05 AM
Great thread for anyone thinking about taking up the harder type of archery shooting. An excellent analogy to aiming too.

You never sight down your arm to throw a baseball, or rock, or even darts. You just up and look where you want to hit and "git r dun!" Best aiming tip that I've heard yet.

Walksalot
03-29-2008, 06:24 AM
Im looking at getting into traditional archery and was wondering what you guys think about recurve vs. longbow, and what type of wood to use to make bows/arrows?

2nd, how long did you practice with traditional gear before hunting with it?

what are some aiming tricks?

When I was thinking of getting into traditional archery for hunting the head coach at our club gave me this advice. "Heed this, shooting a compound bow is a learned skill and once you have the basics of form down then you can put the bow down for a length of time, pick it up and with a little practice you can be right back in the game."

Traditional archery, however, is a bit different. You don't have the release or the pins you rely strictly on instinctive shooting. While instinctive shooting is a learned skill also it requires constant practice to become and remain proficient in the skill of instinctive shooting. If you have the time and dedication to practice then it is a wonderful form of archery. I tried it for a year which included the 3D shoots. At the end of the year I set a deer target in the back yard and at 20 yard I loosed 30 arrows. The result was 10 were good kill shots and the rest were marginal to terrible. I deemed this to be unfair to the animals I was hunting, sold the bow and went back to my compound.

To liken instinctive shooting to throwing a baseball or shooting hoops is a fair comparison to the skill of instinctive shooting however, watch the pros, they are not accurate all the time and the percentage of shots taken to hitting the mark is interesting to say the least and these guys do practice hand eye co-ordination a lot. Shooting hoops in practice is one thing and hooping the ball in the intensity of the game is another.

Please don't think I am down on traditional equipment I just think it takes some hard thinking and consideration before making the move. We owe it to the animals we hunt to be proficient with the weapons we use and we have to be honest with ourselves regarding our proficiency with a piece of equipment before we take it into the field in a hunting situation.

Onesock
03-29-2008, 07:40 AM
Sound advice Walksalot. But the 20 yard target may have been your downfall. Maybe you should have tried it again at 15yds or maybe 10yds with better results. Also remember that 3-D shooting is a game and in no way resembles actual hunting. With Traditional equipment, as well as any equipment used, honesty about your proficiency with the weapon should be taken into account before going afield with it.

islandboy
03-29-2008, 08:39 AM
I agree with Onesock. I shot a compound for years and even with daily practise my "long shots" (20 - 40 meters) were still only 70%. Less than 20 m and the ratio went up. My main issue with compounds is the number of things that can go wrong with the equipment during an adverse weather hunt.

I have recently returned to archery using a bare recurve and have found my accuracy at short distances to be surprisingly good. After 2 months practice - 5 meters all killshots, 10 m 70 %, 15 m 50 %. By September I hope to be consistant at up to 20 m.

To suggest that using a compound is more "respectful" of the game we hunt leads one to believe the compound improves your ability. I disagree. You could take it to the next level and suggest using a rifle. Game is wounded by hunters using both a rifle or a compound when they take a chance and shoot past their personal limit.

Onesock
03-29-2008, 09:09 AM
Good post Islandboy.

Coyote
03-29-2008, 05:13 PM
Island boy good advice. A study a few years ago had the following results.

The shortest blood trails and most animals recovered went to longbow shooters. Next came recurves and third went to compounds. It wasn't because the longbow shooters were magic shots. They just kept the shot distance very short to ensure good shot placement. The longer the shot taken, the longer the blood trail and the harder it was to recover the animal.

I'm NOT saying everyone should run our and buy a longbow. I am saying we might think about taking a page from the longbow book and keep the shots short. If recurve and compound shooters did that they would have a huge advantage when it came to short trails and max recovery.

Just my 2 cents

'yote

sealevel
03-29-2008, 08:31 PM
Gord have you been into the magic mushrooms again ?? That test had to of been done by a long bow shooter.

Hans
03-30-2008, 08:48 AM
New compounds are like shotguns, fairly easy to stay proficient with limited time.

Traditional archery equipment can be fit with sites, the new trad. bows that are being made with machined risers are tapped for them.

If you want to go primitive type or instinctual shooting then you will need to practice often to stay in proficient. What some people fail to realize is the rudimentary sites were found on bows that are thousands of years old. Sites aren't new. Granted the sites were pieces of bone or horn tied to the bow with sinew or hide.

Turkish flight bows crank. They shoot just about as far and hard hitting as any current material bow.

Try stickbow.com primitive archery magazine or traditional archery magazine.

Johnnybear
03-30-2008, 11:29 PM
I have watched the " pro's" and some great traditional bowhunters (not being paid by sponsers just lovin the sport) and they seem to have absolutely incredible consistent accuracy within their ability. The whole thing IMO about trad archery is getting back to the basics. Less things to go wrong mechanically just string it and shoot it:smile: but if it was that easy it wouldn't be fun....I agree and I am finding that a whole lot of regular pratice is necessary for consistent accuracy.

Johnnybear
04-01-2008, 11:49 PM
I don't want to get into a pissing match between compound and trad shooters ( as I have read it can happen:???:). I almost bought a compound and I still am interested in them. My last reply was in defence of things I have seen. IMO all archers are consistently accurate if they pratice enough. Stick together no matter what. One voice.

xtremearchery
06-08-2008, 08:55 PM
Good luck! See ya at the range. Make sure to bring a few dozen arrows, you'll need them.

greybark
06-09-2008, 10:12 AM
:wink: Hey Extreme, When starting out bring lots of arrows weither you shoot Trad or Modern .
:tongue: Heck it must be tough when your young daughters are better Traditionalists than their DAD . LOL LOL.
Congrats on your "bear"
Cheers

Avalanche123
07-09-2008, 08:58 PM
Fred Asbell has a couple of great books out on Instinctive Shooting. I have had my recurve now for 10 yrs and the more I shoot with it, the more I enjoy it.

Yes the learning curve is not steep. Despite its simplistice nature there is a lot to learn about this style of shooting but don't let that deter you. I remained a rifle hunter for three more years after I got my bow until I was comfortable and confident enough in my ability.

Probably the best piece of advise I can offer is that it is not so much about the shot but more so on how close you can get! (My maximium limit is 25 yards and absolutely everything has to be bang on.)

The analogy to baseball was a great one. In addition there are no gadets to deal with, nothing to break....very simplistic.

Traditonal Bowhunting Magazine is also a great resource.

Good luck!

Johnnybear
07-13-2008, 10:39 PM
Probably the best piece of advise I can offer is that it is not so much about the shot but more so on how close you can get! (My maximium limit is 25 yards and absolutely everything has to be bang on.)

Awesome advice.