Trad Gentlemen!

[Taudisio]

I’m sure this has been asked, but information and times change. I have shot a recurve off and on for about 10 years (targets and carp) and fantasize the idea of hunting deer and turkeys with trad gear. My recurve now is a cheap aluminum and fiberglass bow fishing rig. I want to go full send on a super light wood bow and I am picturing a longbow. I need to learn more about what to look for, (trusted brands, draw weights, lengths, trad arrows) and I am constantly reading and learning online.
Are there any authors/articles or videos/youtube channels that you experienced guys watch and agree with the information they provide?
I have watched all of South Cox’s hunting videos on YouTube and read Aron’s traditional archery articles I enjoy them all.
The only trad group I have seen around me is on a facebook page (that I can’t access without an account also 1.5 hour drive away) and a public group that is “fantasy based” lol.
I have no trad specific shops like rms gear anywhere near me and flying there isn’t an option with work/family. I have seen that they offer a trial period, but I will need to invest in arrows. Doing this remotely with no guidance is a bit daunting, but doable with some phone calls to rms gear it would seem(?)
I feel I am an accomplished compound bow hunter, with many successful solo deer, turkeys, and elk harvests. A lot of my deer and turkey kills have been under 20 yards with no blinds and gives me hope for being successful with trad equipment and my current skill level.

I suppose I am just looking for some tips and guidance in the right direction, and your “I wish I would have known this (or started here) before I started spending money on this other stuff.”

 

[nnmarcher]

I'd recommend starting with an entry level ILF bow with low poundage limbs (like 25-30lb). ILF can be upgraded with new limbs/risers as you go and it holds its value pretty well. Start with a low draw weight and perfect your form before you jump up to a hunting weight.

There are several excellent courses for trad including:

• Solid Archery Mechanics
• Precision Tuning for the Diehard Bowhunter
• Shot IQ

Call RMS and they will be happy to talk and provide advice. I've called and talked to Randy at Safari Tuff when I had questions about his arrow test kits, and he was really helpful. I also watch a lot of Jake Kaminski's Youtube channel.

Have fun and enjoy the journey!

 

[Taudisio]

I'd recommend starting with an entry level ILF bow with low poundage limbs (like 25-30lb). ILF can be upgraded with new limbs/risers as you go and it holds its value pretty well. Start with a low draw weight and perfect your form before you jump up to a hunting weight.

There are several excellent courses for trad including:

• Solid Archery Mechanics
• Precision Tuning for the Diehard Bowhunter
• Shot IQ

Call RMS and they will be happy to talk and provide advice. I've called and talked to Randy at Safari Tuff when I had questions about his arrow test kits, and he was really helpful. I also watch a lot of Jake Kaminski's Youtube channel.

Have fun and enjoy the journey!

Thank you for the fast response and answering all of my questions! Only thing, I looked up the ILF and I was thinking of a one piece longbow. Would it be more beneficial for me to start with a takedown style and sell it later for a one piece, or just jump into a 30 pound one piece and get a higher poundage later for hunting? I was thinking I would just start this summer through fall and practice, then buy and practice in winter and hunt with a 45 pound setup for turkeys in the spring. My recurve is 50 pounds, but I think it is too short for my DL. My compound is 74lb and 30.5” dl with my monkey arms. I know the general advice is to start at a low draw weight and figured a 40-45lb at 28” would correlate to a decent weight at my anchor for a hunting bow. Getting a 30 pound setup with decent re-sale or would be ideal. Unless keeping a 30 pound bow around for target practice along with the hunting setup is something that is recommended.

 

[kdsulliv]

As nnmarcher said, those classes are great, and are available at the Push Archery Center of Knowledge (PACK) along with other resources here: https://thepusharchery.com/

My favorite though is Tradgang.com. If you have a question, someone has asked it and had it exhaustively answered there on the PowWow forum or one of the others.

I think a mid-40lb bow will work great for you.

Look up "Masters of the Bare Bow" which is a hunting-focused series on shooting form from various accomplished archers.

Have fun!

​

 

[nnmarcher]

Thank you for the fast response and answering all of my questions! Only thing, I looked up the ILF and I was thinking of a one piece longbow. Would it be more beneficial for me to start with a takedown style and sell it later for a one piece, or just jump into a 30 pound one piece and get a higher poundage later for hunting? I was thinking I would just start this summer through fall and practice, then buy and practice in winter and hunt with a 45 pound setup for turkeys in the spring. My recurve is 50 pounds, but I think it is too short for my DL. My compound is 74lb and 30.5” dl with my monkey arms. I know the general advice is to start at a low draw weight and figured a 40-45lb at 28” would correlate to a decent weight at my anchor for a hunting bow. Getting a 30 pound setup with decent re-sale or would be ideal. Unless keeping a 30 pound bow around for target practice along with the hunting setup is something that is recommended.

I don't think it's a bad idea to have a low poundage set up on hand, whether that is a second bow or a second set of ILF limbs. There will likely be times that you have to go back to the basics to work on your form and it is so much easier on a bow that you can draw 50 times without getting tired. I started with 35lb training limbs and I wish I had gone lighter. If the let-off of your compound is 80%, you are only holding ~15lbs at full draw.

I would definitely try to attend a 3D shoot or visit a shop like RMS where you can shoot a variety of bows before you go down the custom rabbit hole. Honestly, longbows and recurves are fun to own multiple, so I'd just plan on having a few!

 

[Taudisio]

I appreciate the resources guys! RMS is only a 21 hour drive lol. I suppose when I’m ready to move on from a starter bow, I’ll book a flight down and give them some business. I used to attend a weekly broadhead league. I’ve bought my own 3d targets since we moved so far from any public ranges. I’ll be able to setup a course for myself on the property when I’m confident I won’t lose all my arrows. Until then, I’ll just shoot in the lawn.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

ILF is the easy suggestion for starting out. Longer, heavier risers (and usually cut well past center) are more forgiving.

If your heart is set on a longbow from the start you could get a dirt cheap black hunter off the internet. If you do, go with the longest version possible, at the lightest poundage.

Whatever bow you buy though... you should start out with ShotIQ, and Solid Archery Mechanics online courses.

 

[Wrench]

Where are you located? I've got a bunch of bows. In longbows.....I really enjoy my Toelkes. The tomahawk is the most underrated longbow I own.

 

[Taudisio]

ILF is the easy suggestion for starting out. Longer, heavier risers (and usually cut well past center) are more forgiving.

If your heart is set on a longbow from the start you could get a dirt cheap black hunter off the internet. If you do, go with the longest version possible, at the lightest poundage.

Whatever bow you buy though... you should start out with ShotIQ, and Solid Archery Mechanics online courses.

Do you think, since I want to end up with a one piece (or a seamless takedown) that starting with an ILF is still a better way to go?

 

[ScottinPA]

Find a mentor in your area. It'll shorten the learning curve. There are several trad pages on Facebook and I know there are guys in Oregon on there. Also, the Professional Bowhunter Society will be another good source of info and networking.

 

[LostArra]

Very few trad archers have only ever owned just a single bow and it's rarely their first one which is why I would recommend not emptying the bank to get started.

 

[Ozarkansas]

Do you think, since I want to end up with a one piece (or a seamless takedown) that starting with an ILF is still a better way to go?

I would still start with an ILF. You probably won’t end up with just one bow anyway so I’d start with the best, most versatile starter option. You can get a good looking wood riser and longbow limbs for an ILF setup and learn for yourself if you actually want to invest in a one-piece longbow.
I used to think I wanted a short supercurve until I bought one- now I wish I’d dropped the money on a high-end ILF longbow setup. You won’t really know what you want in a bow until you get some time shooting different setups under your belt.

 

[Beendare]

The advantage to starting with ILF the guys above are telling you is you can easily go up or down in Weight swapping limbs while developing your form. Then you can sell that stuff without much loss.

If you buy an expensive custom....then you are stuck with it at that weight.

Best way to buy a custom longbow is Used. So many great bows at about 1/2-2/3rds the cost new. I have bought a few that way, then sold them off for about what I paid not losing anything in the process.

Longbows are a whole different animal vs a recurve....and have a higher degree of difficulty. Some of the 'D' shaped bows will rattle your fillings. Those do better with a heavy arrow and very short shots. Bows like a toelke whip design- or with a bigger riser section- are smoother and easier to shoot well.

It's best to shoot one before you buy....I've learned that the hard way with a couple longbows.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Do you think, since I want to end up with a one piece (or a seamless takedown) that starting with an ILF is still a better way to go?

Honestly I do... I was a die hard TRAD guy for years. ILF wasn't trad enough for me. Snap shooting and instinctive aim only...

It took 7-8 years of hard work to break all the bad habits that formed. Don't let the bow make things harder until you are good enough to actually tell when it's you or the bow that's at fault. Probably won't be less than a couple years to get to that point unless you start with the online coaching from the get go.

 

[Taudisio]

Thank you guys! I appreciate the help. Any other readings or channels you think of let me know. I talked with a few folks at RMS. They suggested a 35lb and 64” or longer starter bow, and against my ego, I have an appointment to order it and arrows tomorrow by phone. I’ll start there and buy a good setup down the road. I shot my old recurve instinctively, so hopefully with a little instruction I can break any bad habits I may have picked up.

 

[LostArra]

Good choice.
When you develop a clean release at 35# it will be even cleaner at heavier poundage.

 

[Beendare]

Thank you guys! I appreciate the help. Any other readings or channels you think of let me know. I talked with a few folks at RMS. They suggested a 35lb and 64” or longer starter bow, and against my ego, I have an appointment to order it and arrows tomorrow by phone. I’ll start there and buy a good setup down the road. I shot my old recurve instinctively, so hopefully with a little instruction I can break any bad habits I may have picked up.

I like the Masters of the Bare bow series; One and Three I think it was. Jake Kaminsky on Youtube has hours of Bare bow stuff- all of the different components of your shot and he is awesome.

Actually having someone that knows alignment and how to shoot can be invaluable to getting you on the right track.

What you will find is; Form is everything.

Sure you can hunch down and shoot Indian or Fred Asbel style and hit deer at 12 yds but if you really want to know how accurate these bows can be, follow the guys emphasizing form. It's nice to be able to kill critters at 30-35y and these bows are more than capable with the right Indian.

 

[Taudisio]

I like the Masters of the Bare bow series; One and Three I think it was. Jake Kaminsky on Youtube has hours of Bare bow stuff- all of the different components of your shot and he is awesome.

Actually having someone that knows alignment and how to shoot can be invaluable to getting you on the right track.

What you will find is; Form is everything.

Sure you can hunch down and shoot Indian or Fred Asbel style and hit deer at 12 yds but if you really want to know how accurate these bows can be, follow the guys emphasizing form. It's nice to be able to kill critters at 30-35y and these bows are more than capable with the right Indian.

This is how I’ve shot. Could barely hit a bag target at 20.
Folks talking about ethically shooting something smaller than a moose past 15 with a stick blew my mind. I plan to do things the right way this go around. I appreciate the video recommendations. I watched a few Kaminsky videos already. I plan to keep watching.

 

[Tradchef]

Man, I did just what you are looking for a long time ago. Everyone told me to go with an ILF and build up from there and then make a choice. I shot compound for years but always bowfished with an old Wing recurve I bought for $50. I loved it for bow fishing but I never really loved recurves. Then I asked about longbows. I heard how hard they were in comparison and the pros and cons. Mostly length while hunting and the lack of speed in comparison and so on and so forth. Even the guy that makes my longbows for me was telling me this years ago. But to me they always felt better, shot fantastic and did what I needed them to do. Since then I have hunted with a 66" longbow for years and wouldn't think of going another route except for a self bow or maybe a nice static tip. It's killed elk, deer, hogs, bears, small game, upland birds, you name it. It does it every year. The main thing like everyone has said is figuring out what you like first and then get a mentor or coach. Develop consistency and form and knowledge, keep an open mind and focus. The only limitation is ourselves with it. If you practice and get the confidence and accuracy needed you can target shoot and take game out past than the standard saying of 15 or 20 yards max in certain situations. There's a lot that will disagree with me and thats fine. I know what I am able to achieve at distance in certain situations. Some guys can only feel comfortable to 10 yards, some to 30 and beyond. There's a lot of good and lot of bad information out there as well so just be aware of that when you do your research. As you will see there are more ILF shooters than one piece longbow shooters. At any rate it's all good stuff and lots of choices to look at given the information provided.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

This is how I’ve shot. Could barely hit a bag target at 20.
Folks talking about ethically shooting something smaller than a moose past 15 with a stick blew my mind. I plan to do things the right way this go around. I appreciate the video recommendations. I watched a few Kaminsky videos already. I plan to keep watching.

This is what got me to change my ways as well... There's nothing like shooting a round of 3D with one of the top trad guys in your state to see what is possible. I shot a squirrel at 17 yards with my longbow last fall and I fully expected to hit him. You still end up setting limits for yourself while hunting, cause animals move, but the potential is there to be very accurate at 25-30 yards.