Trad vs Compound

[ElkNut1]

Shooting Trad requires a serious commitment, if you do not do well with that word don't get married & don't shoot Trad! (grin) -- Outside of that I agree with Arons replies!

ElkNut/Paul

 

[bhylton]

Love shooting/ hunting with a trad bow. love the challenge of always knowing i HAVE to get really close. However, i live in MT... if i dont get it done during archery season i can pick up the rifle for 6 weeks later in the season. If i lived in a state like washington, i might be a compound guy

 

[Kevin Dill]

I lost interest in compounds back in the early/mid '80s. By 1988 I'd been steadily killing deer with a recurve and was on my third custom bow. I killed this buck that year:

Cut to 2014. I had limited time to hunt but made it count. In just over 24 hours I killed 2 mature does...and a big coyote. I capped it off with a good buck and my season ended with 2 ventures afield. Sure it's not easy using classic bows and tackle, but don't let anyone convince you it can't be just as effective and productive as modern weapons. The limits are in the shooter...not the weapon.

 

[flytrue]

I just went trad and it is fun as hell to shoot. I still hunt with Mathews but I'm getting ready to switch over.
My trad is 40 lbs, so it's easy and fun to shoot all the time. I think I can take down a deer with it.

 

[woodmoose]

I shoot and hunt with trad gear a lot,,,

I shoot and hunt with compounds some,,,,

I shoot and hunt with a crossbow some,,,

I shoot and hunt with rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders (flintlocks), and pistols some,,,

what I use as a weapon is dictated by the animal, the terrain, the type of hunt, the weather, and what I feel like hunting with that day,,,,,

to me, when it comes to archery, trad gear is way more satisfying and fun than other archery weapons for shooting,,,,,for hunting the weapon isn't really a factor to me, I get satisfaction from the hunt and the animal, not what I killed it with

 

[D.B. Cooper]

I can be an arrogant, self absorbed asshole so I need to have things in my life that keep me humble. Stick bows do it.

 

[Forestryguy]

OP, I see you're from NE Iowa. If you find yourself down in the Iowa City area you're welcome to shoot some of my bows. I've got quite a few (10-12) trad bows.

-Ben

I don't get down that way much. If I ever head that way and have time to kill I will give you a ring. Thanks for the offer.

 

[freshta]

I shot traditional for 16 years before going back to a compound. I guess I was at a point in my life, for whatever reason, that I was tired of some of the frustration that goes along with trad hunting. To me, I think shooting a stickbow is like being a major league pitcher. When you're hot you seem to make every shot and take every animal you encounter. When you're in a slump, you wonder why you ever decided to do this to yourself. Towards the end of my trad days I was in a slump and couldn't get out of it.

Fast forward 6 years later and I'm so frustrated with working on my compound that I am realizing exactly what I miss about traditional gear. I've had problem after problem with my bow. Not going to mention brand because ultimately it's a problem with the local pro shops...not the bow. I've had this bow in the shop for one reason or another more than 6 times in the last 6 months. I didn't feel like I was getting quality service from one shop so took it to another, but still seem to have issues and I know its not the bows fault.

I know that I could buy a bow press and vise and the tools to perform my own string changes, etc. But I've never had an issue with a traditional bow, ever. And I've owned dozens. I will finish out this year with the compound but I am seriously considering going back to a recurve beginning next year for the reasons I mentioned above. I miss the simplicity.

 

[P.J.]

ozyclint, there is no reason to apologize, you gave your opinion in a reasoned and respectful tone, if outdoorsmen cannot do that without the fear somebody calling them an elitist, its a sad day for certain. Truth be told, other than in bowhunting circles, being elite has always been considered a good thing, but there are those among us that try to shut down somebody from speaking their mind under the guise that the person speaking their mind, trying to separate themselves from the pack is an elitist, a bow snob if you will. Anybody with a shred of honesty that has shot a compound and a traditional bow (or as I call them a bow) could not, with a straight face claim there is no difference in the approach in which a person shoots and hunts with them. Nor can somebody realistically say it doesnt matter what you hunt with blah blah blah-- Which is more of an accomplishment, sneaking up and shooting a bedded elk with with a Hawkin gun with open sights or sniping a 300+" bull from 350 yards? To some, there is no difference, to some one method is superior for a host of reasons. I can tell you this, a hunter that gets close enough to his quarry where the animal has the advantage, where all of their defense mechanisms can and will equally defend them from any predator, in my eyes, that person has accomplished something far greater than just shooting a bull elk with an impressive rack from a great distance, where the animal most likely had no real chance of detecting you if the wind was in your face.


Now, to get back to the point of the original post, what are the pros and cons of a bow. Somebody posted that they had been shooting tradbows and primitive bows since 74, well, I have that person beat by a year. I received my first recurve bow for my 9th birthday (You can do the math if you want to) I started hunting small game with a bow in 77 and my first deer season with a bow was 1980. I had no teachers other than Outdoor life magazine and eventually the older brothers of a couple friends. when I first started deer hunting all my friends shot recurves. around my senior year in HS the local discount store started selling Indian compounds and eventually the local bait shops started selling Bear compounds. within two years all of my friends were shooting compounds. The compound never appealed to me, not because I was an elitist, but because I was a realist. Compounds were ugly and mechanical and didn't compare to my Super Kodiak in the looks department. I live in the midwest and compounds got colder in the winter, my bow was made of wood and fiberglass and was much warmer in my hands. From day one, my compound shooting buddies had issues with their equipment, sigh issues, rest issues, pulley issues, etc. Even though all of my friends could now out shoot me on the range with very little practice comparatively, the trad off was the time saved practicing was made up for by having to work on your gear, I liked beer and women too much for that crap.


I eventually met a group of guys from the next town over from me and they were all recurve shooters and one of their dads taught me how to make my own arrows, bow strings, tabs, arm guards etc, then I was introduced to an entire new aspect of traditional archery (archery ) the ability to craft your own gear, since by that time, absolutely nobody sold accessories for stickbows locally (we are talking pre internet here ) So after meeting an entirely new group of what I would call "archery enthusiast" the die was cast. I still had my normal neighborhood hunting buddies, but they no longer cared about shooting year round since making the switch to the compound, and my new friends shot 12 months a year, they shot groundhogs and carp in the spring, squirrels in the summer and deer and other small game in the fall, it was a lifestyle for the lack of a better term. Many of these friends I made circa 1982-83, became life long buddies and hunting partners. One of them ended up being my best man when I was married in 1990 and our families are still very close to this day (just got back from an Alaskan cruise with them last week)


The compactness, light weight, functional beauty of the bow and quiver, the fact that I can take one of my 3 PC recurves or my 2 PC longbow, fit the entire works in my arrow box along with shooting glove, arm guard, quiver, bow stringer and 2 DZ arrows is an added bonus. I can go on a trip and get my bow, arrows and all gear in a large duffle bag, can't do that with a compound no matter how hard your try.


If all things were equal (which IMO, we've previously established, they are not) the weight, bulk, and potential for mechanical failure with all the stuff attached to the compound, that right there is enough to steer me away from that system.

We've all seen the videos of guys making excessively long shots on live, game animals, which IMO until they develop a compound that breaks the sound barrier, is a less than ethical practice. Even with the fastest set up available, an arrow shot from 80-120 yards is going to going to take upwards of a full second to reach its intended mark and most likely, that mark will have moved considerably in that amount of time. Its the difference between lungs and guts, lets be honest here. Bowhunting is suppose to be an up close and personal activity. Yes, I know the founding fathers of modern bowhunting took many sketchy , long range shots, but they were the pioneers, we should have learned from their mistakes.

The practice barrier is not really some mystical obstacle to success. Ive shot this equipment since I was a boy, its no different that throwing a baseball or shooting hoops. Muscle memory is muscle memory and good form is good form etc. Get an entry level bow that is easily light enough to shoot for hours, if you are fatigued after pulling the bow 10 times, you are over bowed. In today's world, you can buy a 100 dollar 40 pound bow, and get a set of 45 and a set of 50# limbs--shoot, get accustomed to shooting the equipment, get comfortable and confident with it, once you do, start looking for a better quality bow if you want, or keep shooting the Samick Sage , it will still kill big game animals, its just not as pretty or cool to show your buds.


Anybody of average strength and ability can hunt with a traditional bow. If you are only proficient to 10 yards, dont shoot at shit more than 10 yards away, its a simple concept. The more time spent behind the riser of a tradbow, the better you will become and the more confident you will be. Not everybody will have the talent to continually kill game from the 35-40 yard range, but most every human i've taught to shoot a bow can get good enough to kill deer sized game from 0-18 yards.

 

[Superkodiak38]

Good post above ^^^ from PJ. You have a lot of passion and that is necessary to be a successful bowhunter for sure ( I call em bows too )

 

[Wojo14]

I started my hunting career late in life. I have been trad only for the last 4 years. I have harvested a big game animal the last 3.
I can not see myself hunting any other way for a lot of personal reasons.
That being said, It take dedication and more time in the woods to kill with trad gear.
I have some really nice white tail hunts set up for this year. I hope to make it my best year yet!
Good luck in your journey!
~Wojo

 

[DWinVA]

Well said P.J.

God Bless.

 

[MattB]

I can be an arrogant, self absorbed asshole so I need to have things in my life that keep me humble. Stick bows do it.

That is funny.

I've met a few guys over my years that stick bows made into arrogant, self absorbed assholes - so I guess it can go both ways. ;-)

 

[elkstabber]

For about 16 years I hunted with nothing but a recurve. The satisfaction is immense and I thought that I would never pick up another weapon. The recurve was effective for me on whitetails, mule deer, elk, and even a wild buffalo.

But, for the last two years it just turned out that the areas out West that I've hunted have had sparse cover and I couldn't close the distance enough to get within 35 yards. So next year I will hunt with a compound for a spot and stalk mule deer. Where I hunt elk will determine which bow I use. I'll also hunt whitetails with my recurve at home in Virginia. To be clear: I'll always travel out West with both bows so I can use each depending on the cover.

I've been shooting the recurve instinctlvely left-handed and I'll be shooting the compound right-handed so that my brain won't get confused.

Here is my take on it. For eastern whitetails (the OP is from Iowa) most of your shots are probably going to be within 30 yards so a traditional bow will definitely get the job done. In Western hunting scenarios you might find the animals in dark timber or they might be out in open terrain. If they are in the open terrain you will have a hard time getting close enough for a traditional bow. If you're calling elk in dark timber I think a traditional bow has more advantages.

The advantages of a traditional bow have been well covered by others so I'll just mention just one that hasn't been covered. If you're on a weeklong backcountry hunt and your bowstring gets damaged with a traditional bow you just change bowstrings and get back to hunting. But with a compound you are done and must hike out and then drive to the nearest archery shop.

Now I'm going to bring up something that nobody else has mentioned. How you shoot your traditional bow is just as important as your decision to shoot a traditional bow. Let me explain.

There are two primary ways to shoot or "aim". The instinctive method and the gap method. There may be some middle ground but these are the two most common methods.

Instinctive:
1. More difficult and takes more time to learn
2. Faster to execute a shot
3. The best way to shoot a moving target
4. Your range is limited by the sharpness of your eyesight (for most people anyhow)
5. Less precise but more flexible for shooting in awkward positions

Gap method:
1. Much easier to learn, especially if you're already proficient with a compound
2. Use the arrow point to aim - similar to a compound
3. Takes longer to execute a shot and not good for moving targets
4. Your range is limited by your ability to judge distance, or you could possibly use a rangefinder
5. Most precise aiming method as this method is used by Olympic style target archers

The instinctive method is best taught by Fred Asbell and the gap method is best taught by Rick Welch. Of course there are other teachers but this is a good starting point.

I'm not saying that one method is better than another. There are advantages and disadvantages to each method.

If you are already proficient with a compound I think a traditional shooter can become proficient with the gap method in several months with lots of practice. To become proficient with instinctive shooting you'll probably need a year or so. Your mileage may vary.

Let me share a quick story about my first deer with a recurve. I was done hunting whitetails out of a treestand for the morning and the landowner had asked me to hang a few POSTED signs for him. So around midmorning I was walking through the woods carrying the bow and a pack with hammer, nails, signs. I see a deer that is looking at me and I knew that if I stop it will bolt. But if I keep walking it will stay put and let me pass. The only way to shoot the deer is to keep walking. But the deer is on my right side and I was shooting right-handed at that time. So I continued to walk but flipped around so I was walking backwards. Came to anchor and shot the deer at 22 yards just as simple as that. Of course I had never practiced that shot but that is the flexibility that instinctive shooting allows.

The biggest drawback to instinctive shooting is that a gap shooter can keep shooting past 35 yards effectively. The gap shooters will (nearly) always beat the instinctive shooters in a 3D event.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Tradchef]

I've been shooting stick for 6 years now. Shot compound for 25 and just wanted to try it out and see what the deal was. I used a wing recurve for bowfishing but that was about the extent of my trad shooting. I have had tons of ups and downs with it. I've killed a decent amount of small game and big game. Most of my low points have been basically getting in my own head. When I get over that I notice i hunt better and shoot better. I agree with Kevin Dill. You can do anything with a stick bow. It comes from you and committing to it. I was never looking for a renninsance by shooting one. I frankly don't understand that mentality but that's just me. I like shooting, killing animals and filling my freezer. I love being ultra close and making a good shot. I missed an opportunity at a nice bull this year. Bugled him to 60 yards and he hung up with 5 cows. it was fantastic but I still would have wanted him at 15 or 20 with compound as well. That being said, both types...trad and compound are awesome. Shoot what makes you happy, shoot what you are good at, just shoot.......it's all super fun. So far I've killed a nice doe and a solid 4pt whitetail buck out here in Montana. Missed a mulie doe and had a few elk encounters but couldn't get em close enough. Good luck to everyone this season no matter what you choose to hunt with and shoot.