Dubbya

I've been looking at some of the Hoyt recurves just for looking as I have no interest in actually buying one, but a buddy and I were discussing whether or not this takes the "traditional" out of the equation. I think it does, and he doesn't agree. I just can't consider a recurve with a Tec riser as traditional. The fun in it for me is having a true stick and string to shoot. But he made the point that unless I'm shooting cedar arrows with stone points and hand made turkey feathers that my setup isn't really traditional and I can't disagree with that. Just wondering how my trad family feels...

bigcountry

Your both right. Cause its all up to the shooter. For me, I like longbows, and like solid wood one pieces at that. I like shooting cedar arrows. But still like plastic nocks. I didn't go this direction to go half way. I either go as primative as I can, (without a sinew string, and bone nocks), and on the other extreme go as modern as i can.

LBR

Depends on who you ask, and their personal definition--or if you are shooting a tournament, it depends on the rules the organizers set. For me, there is a distinction between traditional and primitive, but the two terms often get used as if they are the same thing.

Back before compounds, sights (manufactured and improvised) were common. Gap shooting was (and is) common--and that's just using the tip of your arrow as a sight pin.

Want to get right down to it, to be truely "primitive" you are going to have to use a rock, or your teeth, to hack (or chew) a bow out of a stave, choke a squirrel with your bare hands so you can use it's hide for a string and hopefullyhave enough left over to haft stone broadheads to your river cane shaft; then scratch around for some feathers to stick to those arrows with some pine pitch (and maybe a little sinew from the squirrell).

Personally, I don't care if someone goes to those extremes, or wants to cut an osage bow out of a stave with a bandsaw and finish it off with an electric sander, or prefers a bow with a machined aluminum riser cut out with a CNC machine. It will, however,bug me if one or the other wants to look down their nose at me due to my choice of equipment.

My preferance is a deflex/reflex (laminated) longbow with a Dynaflight '97 (one of the most modern fibers available) string, and Port Orford Cedar arrows (started using them to meet tournament regs, now I just like them). Since I'm the only first one in my immediate family to get involved with archery, the tradition starts with me.

Short answer, don't get hung up on what someone else considers traditional. Unless you shoot tournaments (where you will have to use equipment within the tournament guidelines), shoot what you like and enjoy--life's too short to argue about what is or isn't "traditional".[8D]

Chad

SaskBushMan

As stated, it depends on your definitionof traditional. How far back do you go to find/define it. I shoot a chek-mate falcon and shoot POCcedar arrows and to me it's more traditional than a compound but as far as the "Traditional archery" side of it I consider it pretty modern. Never the less I love shooting my recurve and other than trying a long bow someday when I can afford one I will never shoot anything but.

SteveBNy

Chad hit it dead on here. There were literally dozens of metal riser bows before the compound. Metal and other non wood bows actually go back 1000's of years.

Simple - non wheels (or OniedaEagle style) and its "traditional".

Frankly don't do not see why its even an issue.

Steve

TGF

Before wheel bows we were all archers. I don't know who came up with the traditional lable. But I am a archer. I shoot target bows, wood and glass bows and all wood bows.The one thing I wll notuse is wood arrows.

What gets me is the rules at the so called traditional shoots.(what a joke)

Buster T

it doesn't matter what the bow is made of does it ? as long as the bow is drawn and shot instinctive - right ? Take a 1950 Bear Kodiak and it aint going to shoot too much different than, say, a 2007 Chekmate Hunter

you're confusing traditional bowhunting to PRIMITIVE bowhunting - and those guys are a whole different breed of people !

bigcountry

I never saw it to being an issue. It just bugs poor stealthy to death for some reason. For years, its been very important for others to agree with his stance on traditional. When in reality, it only matters to the ones buying the bow.

Chris W.

Quote:

Are modern recurves really traditional?

Arthur P

Take a gander at these old bows. What most people think of as 'traditional' these days is a myth. It's an over-glorified, exceedingly idealized fanatasy. Nothing wrong with that, but it's not a historically accurate picture of how archery really was before compounds. How many of you guys thought split limbs on compounds was a new idea?




By the way, the pics came from www.archeryhistory.com