JBranch
Senior Member
I have been thinking a lot about hunting and the choices we make in regards to why we hunt the way we do. I have recently (within the last year) made a commitment to hunt only with my recurve. I do not wish to try to force my beliefs on anyone, or mock anyone for not doing it the way I do, I just want to try to put into words what I do and why it works for me.
It all started about ten years ago, when my mother had a heart attack early one morning. She was transferred to Savannah, where she would undergo angioplasty and spend a few days in the hospital. As I traveled around Savannah, I noticed a small archery shop sign and thought several times about going in as I passed it. I have owned several compound bows, but for some reason I had always wanted a recurve bow. As I started home I decided to stop in for a visit, just to look around. Now, I had always shot a right handed compound, but I am left eye dominant. When I entered the store, I told the owner my problem. He told me I was in luck, and soon came out with a Bear Grizzly in a left handed version. He made me a deal, and I bought it, six arrows, bow sock, a tab, and a stringer.
I shot it some, but never really got the hang of it. Well time marched on. I gave my last compound away and pretty much put archery on the back burner. I moved, got married, had a kid, moved again and just basically got busy with life. I would pick up the recurve again from time to time and shoot it for a season, but still never really got the hang of it. I eventually lost all but one of the original arrows, and bought some aluminum arrows from Walmart.
Now keep in mind that I knew nothing about a traditional bow other than what little I had learned in an archery shop years before. I was working on shift with some guys that were shooting their compounds before deer season, so I started shooting with them at work some. I still couldn’t consistently hit anything, but kept at it anyway. Well, I up and ordered some wooden shafts from Rose City Archery and managed to make a few arrows up. I shot these a little more consistently, but mixed in with the aluminum arrows, I was still all over the place. I eventually lost interest and put the old bow back down. I had never even considered taking my recurve hunting.
I have always considered myself a hunter. I went on my first deer hunt by myself at the age of 10. I shot at my first deer that year. I was 14 when I finally killed my first deer, when I killed two. I have hunted with a gun every season since I was 10 with various amounts of success. I have been in and out of leases for the last several seasons, hunting mostly with my father in law and my neighbor. I had been kind of disinterested in the lease game for a while, but I finally decided to just give it up during the last deer season. I had been watching deer almost every hunt during the early gun season. I had my rifle and a large caliber hunting handgun in the stand with me. I watched a doe feed for about 20 minutes when she started walking towards me. I had not killed a deer in the previous deer season, but had decided to wait until after the rut to kill any does. When she walked past me at less than 24 feet, I figured out what I had been missing in my hunting over the last few years. I really enjoyed being close to animals.
Before gun season 2013, I started looking at the GON forum, mostly the deer hunting forum. I noticed how those guys always seemed to end up in an argument over something. This is usually the case with anonymous posting sites. Well, I’ll admit that was part of the attraction, but it soon grew old. One day, I started browsing the Traditional Archery Forum, and I noticed a big difference in the way the posters interacted with each other. It was one of admiration and respect. I began to read stories of hunts, people like Robert Carter, who posts with his real name and Chris Spikes and his super size broadheads. I had never seen so much enthusiasm and excitement over deer kills, and no one criticized anyone over the size of their kill. I remember thinking how much I liked the attitude of these people.
That encouraged me to pull out my recurve and start shooting again. I still wasn’t any good, but at least I was enjoying the practice. This was in November. I finished out deer season with a gun, but became more enthusiastic about hunting with my bow. I finally got consistent enough with my bow to feel comfortable at 10 yards, so off to Dixon Memorial to chase hogs I went. I was able to find some pigs and get fairly close a couple of times, but the wind defeated me both times. Finally it all came together on a small pig after I missed his mother at about 6 yards. I was hooked for life.
I became aware, through reading on the forum, about tuning arrows to your bow. I quickly realized that my arrows were all wrong for my bow. I bought some GT 3555 blems and some 4 in feathers after small game season and put some together. I used the spine calculator at 3 Rivers Archery to come up with my set up and have never shot so well. Tuning really does help! Since, I have been to several traditional archery shoots where I have met some fine people who are always willing to help. I am really looking forward to the upcoming season and hunting only with my traditional bow.
It all started about ten years ago, when my mother had a heart attack early one morning. She was transferred to Savannah, where she would undergo angioplasty and spend a few days in the hospital. As I traveled around Savannah, I noticed a small archery shop sign and thought several times about going in as I passed it. I have owned several compound bows, but for some reason I had always wanted a recurve bow. As I started home I decided to stop in for a visit, just to look around. Now, I had always shot a right handed compound, but I am left eye dominant. When I entered the store, I told the owner my problem. He told me I was in luck, and soon came out with a Bear Grizzly in a left handed version. He made me a deal, and I bought it, six arrows, bow sock, a tab, and a stringer.
I shot it some, but never really got the hang of it. Well time marched on. I gave my last compound away and pretty much put archery on the back burner. I moved, got married, had a kid, moved again and just basically got busy with life. I would pick up the recurve again from time to time and shoot it for a season, but still never really got the hang of it. I eventually lost all but one of the original arrows, and bought some aluminum arrows from Walmart.
Now keep in mind that I knew nothing about a traditional bow other than what little I had learned in an archery shop years before. I was working on shift with some guys that were shooting their compounds before deer season, so I started shooting with them at work some. I still couldn’t consistently hit anything, but kept at it anyway. Well, I up and ordered some wooden shafts from Rose City Archery and managed to make a few arrows up. I shot these a little more consistently, but mixed in with the aluminum arrows, I was still all over the place. I eventually lost interest and put the old bow back down. I had never even considered taking my recurve hunting.
I have always considered myself a hunter. I went on my first deer hunt by myself at the age of 10. I shot at my first deer that year. I was 14 when I finally killed my first deer, when I killed two. I have hunted with a gun every season since I was 10 with various amounts of success. I have been in and out of leases for the last several seasons, hunting mostly with my father in law and my neighbor. I had been kind of disinterested in the lease game for a while, but I finally decided to just give it up during the last deer season. I had been watching deer almost every hunt during the early gun season. I had my rifle and a large caliber hunting handgun in the stand with me. I watched a doe feed for about 20 minutes when she started walking towards me. I had not killed a deer in the previous deer season, but had decided to wait until after the rut to kill any does. When she walked past me at less than 24 feet, I figured out what I had been missing in my hunting over the last few years. I really enjoyed being close to animals.
Before gun season 2013, I started looking at the GON forum, mostly the deer hunting forum. I noticed how those guys always seemed to end up in an argument over something. This is usually the case with anonymous posting sites. Well, I’ll admit that was part of the attraction, but it soon grew old. One day, I started browsing the Traditional Archery Forum, and I noticed a big difference in the way the posters interacted with each other. It was one of admiration and respect. I began to read stories of hunts, people like Robert Carter, who posts with his real name and Chris Spikes and his super size broadheads. I had never seen so much enthusiasm and excitement over deer kills, and no one criticized anyone over the size of their kill. I remember thinking how much I liked the attitude of these people.
That encouraged me to pull out my recurve and start shooting again. I still wasn’t any good, but at least I was enjoying the practice. This was in November. I finished out deer season with a gun, but became more enthusiastic about hunting with my bow. I finally got consistent enough with my bow to feel comfortable at 10 yards, so off to Dixon Memorial to chase hogs I went. I was able to find some pigs and get fairly close a couple of times, but the wind defeated me both times. Finally it all came together on a small pig after I missed his mother at about 6 yards. I was hooked for life.
I became aware, through reading on the forum, about tuning arrows to your bow. I quickly realized that my arrows were all wrong for my bow. I bought some GT 3555 blems and some 4 in feathers after small game season and put some together. I used the spine calculator at 3 Rivers Archery to come up with my set up and have never shot so well. Tuning really does help! Since, I have been to several traditional archery shoots where I have met some fine people who are always willing to help. I am really looking forward to the upcoming season and hunting only with my traditional bow.
I love reading about how others have come to the stick and the rewards they have experienced because they did. Outstanding read and I wish you much success this deer season and hope to see you in some hero shots.
I'm a hunter, not a rancher! 
