Anyone start out with a compound, go to Trad and then back to a compound?

[Txtrophy85]

Got really into the trad bow thing a few years ago. Had some success but quite a bit of frustration. Can't seem to get ( for me ) consistent with it. Some days I shoot great, others I shook ok, then others I just shoot like arse.

Haven't shot my compound since last March, save for 1 shot in November, and after a frustrating session with the recurve, decided to break it out and the first 3 arrows all touched each other at 35 yards.

I like the challenge of trad archery but the setups have to be perfect to get a shot, can't use it out of a pop up blind and can't really get consistent past about 15 yards with any regularity.

 

[nphunter]

I like shooting both. I mostly hunt compound but there are a couple of traditional only hunts I do and the reason I bought a recurve. I’ve always had both but never was serious about the recurve until a couple years ago.

The recurve is more fun for me to shoot and I shoot really well out to 30 and pretty good most of the time at 40. I have zero doubt I could hit a kill zone on a deer at 30 and anything inside of 25 is a chip shot.

The compound is just easy now and I still love it and mostly hunt with it. Once I kill a few giants with my bow I might switch to try to kill elk with the recurve but for now I’m still trying to kill some big bulls and I know odds are way higher with my compound. I don’t even practice with the compound inside of 60 anymore except to verify pins.

 

[fuzzymarindave]

I started with Hoyt Finalist II round wheel compound. Then PSE Fireflight Express. They went recurve with Fred Bear and Martin. Upon retirement I treated myself to a new PSE carbon compound bow. I realized that my range was very limited with recurve due to my lack of skill. However, I also immediately got side tracked with rifles and have not shot the carbon PSE much. It is waiting for me!!

 

[butcherboy]

Yep, twice in fact. Sold all my trad gear and sticking with compound from now on. I never could quite get the hang of it outside of 20 yards. Even 20 and under was sometimes a chore. Cost me a bull last September. Two weeks after my elk hunt I started selling everything. Life is much happier now.

 

[Bergy-Bowsmith]

I started with compound went to trad, and then came back to compound after 3 years of trad success .

My main reason was strictly opportunity in the field, and as my business started growing I had less time to shoot my trad bow. Which I just couldn't dedicate the time necesarry to stay proficient with it to my standards. So I went back to a compound.

 

[TxxAgg]

I did. I was successful for several years with a longbow then got target panic. I switched back to a compound and haven't looked back. I even use a gun sometimes

 

[Trvl2hunt]

Good post. I love shooting Trad but have not hunted that way. The older I get the more I like shooting lighter weight bows and low/no recoil guns. I originally though I would go all in on Trad when I retired but unlikely now

 

[Wellsdw]

Everyone’s situation is different. I bow hunt exclusively trad in Nc for whitetail and I’m very selective. If I’m ultimately just taking a meat deer I wait til gun purely from an efficiency standpoint. . If I go outwest I have switched back and taken both. But without a doubt I shoot my compound best right after switching back from trad. I believe it’s a combination of no target panic, and attention to detail. I still tune buddies compounds and help my dad with his but they just don’t do it for me, in part I get sick of the marketing gimmicks and overall unneeded complexity in some compounds. But everyone is different. But to you question I think it’s very easy to go trad to compound. Compound back to trad….not so much

 

[Txtrophy85]

I started with compound went to trad, and then came back to compound after 3 years of trad success .

My main reason was strictly opportunity in the field, and as my business started growing I had less time to shoot my trad bow. Which I just couldn't dedicate the time necesarry to stay proficient with it to my standards. So I went back to a compound.

Thats kind of where I am at with it....I have a busy schedule and don't get to practice enough to stay consistent, even shooting 3x's a week. Then when I do get into the field, my range is so limited, the set up's have to be perfect due to the nature of the weapon and the yardage has to be very close. I can't just drop a pop-up next to a feeder, brush it in and hunt like I can with a compound.

 

[kcm2]

Yes, after a shoulder injury, I would get a random collapse of my bow arm shooting a longbow. Bought a Mathews Switchback XT in 2006 and have not looked back. Holding 12 lbs or less on my 60 lb bow solved the problem. The alternative was a shoulder operation and a year of rehab before I could shoot again.

 

[Wilderlife]

Yeh, I had a compound for about 12 months. I shot it fairly poorly as I didn't know much of what I was doing. I killed a few pigs, and once I started getting serious I dry fired it and blew it up. I set it down and picked up the trad bows then as I'd only lightly dabbled to that point. I took the trad bows fairly seriously for the next few years and developed my form to a point where I feel my mechanics are very good, but I don't take my aim seriously enough so I'm not as accurate as I need or want to do. I was sick of seeing mobs of pigs at 30 metres and trying to get another 15 metres closer, only to blow the stalks, and have to tell landowners that I didn't shoot anything. All good fun for the most part but a lot of my hunting involves removing pest animals so I wanted to be more effective with less effort. For this reason, I bought a compound again, and have been shooting it alongside my trad bows. After grassing somewhere around 30-40 animals over the last 12 months with my compound I think I might put it away over the cooler months and and change pigs and goats with my newest longbow now.

 

[JCNorthID]

I switch back and forth. Depending on if I had enough practice for the year with my recurve or long bows. Usually not the last few years due to kids and sports. The key is practice time and more practice. Instinctively shooting. I love either but I had a goal of shooting an elk with a bow I made and did that many years ago so now I just hunt with what I am comfortable with.

 

[Beendare]

20+ years shooting a compound…it got a little bit too automatic. Switched to a recurve for about 17 years….had good success but there have been a few big critters just out of recurve range and some hunts where a recurve severely limits your opportunities.

That had me questioning a recurve full time…so I am going to shoot a compound for some hunts.

 

[Arctic Hunter]

Spent many years with compounds. Shot trad for several years and loved my recurves. Went back to a compound after two shoulder surgeries.

 

[LostArra]

I've killed deer with every method of flinging sharp pointed sticks except an atlatl.

My Deer Slam includes a selfbow I made from a local osage tree, a recurve, a longbow, a compound and last year I shot a doe with a crossbow just to try it.

I didn't own a compound until I turned 64 and a reconstructed shoulder started acting up after I drew my elk tag. Practicing with the compound rehabbed my shoulder so I ended up killing my elk with the longbow. Now 8 years later I've gone to the compound for elk just because the extra 20 yards of extended range helps in the open country I hunt.

I enjoy traditional bows the most because they are light and simple. Less stuff to go wrong. When hunting tightly wired deer it is nice to have the extra arrow speed of the compound because the longer the arrow is in flight, the greater the chance the deer moves before the arrow arrives.

(I hated everything about the crossbow. It was heavy to carry and cumbersome and noisy to get in a treestand and provided zero challenge at the moment of truth. Think rifle hunting with a short arrow. The crossbow might be perfect for sitting a ground blind but I hate those too.)

 

[wyodog]

I started with a compound bow in the 80s switched to traditional bows in the mid 90s. Bought a compound again about 15 years ago and shoot both now. getting proficient with traditional equipment takes some work but learning can be easier with good technique. Byron Ferguson wrote a book named "Become The Arrow" it explains instinctive shooting and was a big help for me.

 

[Geewhiz]

I have archery hunted with a compound bow for quite a few years and have had some great success. A few years ago I decided to commit to trad for a season for a change of pace and for a different kind of challenge. I was successful and harvested a great bull but I have since went back to hunting with a compound bow.

In order for me to feel proficient with a traditional bow It took a huge time commitment, shooting every single day and many days 2 or 3 times a day. If I missed more than 2 or 3 days in a row it felt like I was starting over. I still have my trad gear and would like to hunt with it again sometime but I wont unless I spend the time to get proficient again. It is definitely a perishable skill. I feel like I could pick up my compound after not touching it for 3 years and still hit a paper plate at 40 yards first shot, with trad gear I'd be luck to hit an elephant at 10. Its just a different ball game.