Where to start with traditional bowhunting?

[Teejay]

New to the forums...and although I have hunted in the past I’d consider myself a noob hunter. Especially to bow hunting.

I would like to start hunting again and would like to learn how to use a traditional bow set up. I’ve done NO shooting with a bow of any kind, ever.

Is it better to move to a traditional setup after learning to shoot a compound? Or am I better off learning to shoot traditionally from the get go?

I’m hoping for the latter and looking for some suggestions on where to start. Is there a good setup to start learning with with that wont break the bank? Are there resources or other aids you’d recommend for someone to study and learn?

I’ll continue searching the forums and reading in the mean time. Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[ozyclint]

If it's any encouragement to you I went from rifle growing up then hunted with a crossbow for a few years then moved to recurve. Have never looked back.
Going straight to a tradbow is fine, after all, there was a time when there was only tradbows.

#1- Don't start with too much poundage.

 

[slatty]

Welcome to rokslide!
I am a relatively new hunter as well. I hunt with my recurve and my rifle. I am a book learner and I learned from books how to shoot my bow. I think there are better ways to learn though.
If you're ok spending the money I hear great things about the course online at the push archery. The push archery has a lot of good podcasts on technique although a little detailed for the novice. Start really close to the target and work on form, not aiming, until you've got that down. It would really help if you had a friend or a coach in your area. I really like "the traditional bowhunters handbook" by TJ Conrads
I would start off with a cheap bow and work your way up in poundage. 40# is great to learn on I think.
I don't shoot a compound but I would imagine it would be harder to switch from a compound to a recurve once you get used to that accuracy. They're just different tools, both good in their own way.
Happy shooting.
"the stickbow chronicles" is a great trad archery podcast IMO

 

[Teejay]

Welcome to rokslide!
I am a relatively new hunter as well. I hunt with my recurve and my rifle. I am a book learner and I learned from books how to shoot my bow. I think there are better ways to learn though.
If you're ok spending the money I hear great things about the course online at the push archery. The push archery has a lot of good podcasts on technique although a little detailed for the novice. Start really close to the target and work on form, not aiming, until you've got that down. It would really help if you had a friend or a coach in your area. I really like "the traditional bowhunters handbook" by TJ Conrads
I would start off with a cheap bow and work your way up in poundage. 40# is great to learn on I think.
I don't shoot a compound but I would imagine it would be harder to switch from a compound to a recurve once you get used to that accuracy. They're just different tools, both good in their own way.
Happy shooting.
"the stickbow chronicles" is a great trad archery podcast IMO

Thank you!

I have lots of homework to do yet. I’m looking for local shops ( near Seattle) that I can try something out and maybe even get a lesson or two.

 

[iashow]

I always recommend watching The Push’s Traditional Archery video.

 

[Cbrick]

What part of the country do you live? I’d look for a mentor/teacher close by that can help you with your shooting form starting out. Then shoot 3D all you can, that helps with angles and yardage better than anything.
X2 on the poundage, 40lbs with the correct arrow is fine for almost anything in North America.
Bareshaft tune your arrows too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[brettpsu]

I started with a Samick Sage at 30lbs. This allowed me to work on form for 3-4 months. Then I would switch the limbs out for 40lb and shoot for another 3-4 months. I settled in at 55lbs and bought a couple high end bows to stick with. Can't remember the cost of the Sage but it was under $250 for riser and limbs. The limb change outs might have been $100.....again can't remember cost. No sense diving into a $1,000 bow not knowing if you will even like it.

 

[Wrench]

I'm a 30 year hunting vet, own a gunsmith shop with more rifles than I care to disclose and have a bunch of bows trad and compound. Ive shot trad bows for at least 20 years but just a few years ago decided to cash in my chips and up my game.

My area has no shop, no other trad guys and I have to shoot solo. I learned that I had several great traits id developed over my shooting career......but I also had several bad ones.

I learned from guys like clum and kaminsky, the push, hayes and snyder what works for them and why.

For 3 years I've not touched a compound and I've been fortunate enough to have elk come to me each year and ask to get shot.

Don't expect this to be cheap. A cheap bow will work, but you'll likely be a few dozen arrows in before you have your ah ha moment and find the secret sauce. If you have the opportunity to visit a shop like RMS, you will save much time and money.

This is more a discipline than anything. It requires patience, self limits and concentration. It requires you to self critique the most minor details in your form.

I found that it really pulled me through the rona' shutdown and I all but wore out a target.

Grab a cheap bow sub 40 pounds and see how it works for you. I had several beautiful bows with grips similar to and including my stalker stickbow but found a tomahawk with a very basic grip to shoot much better for me. I've since acquired a couple toelke bows with classic grips and literally only shot the Whistler for the last year. I parked thousands of dollars in bows because that IS my huckleberry.

Yours might be 100% different. Only you, time and experience can answer that.

I'd consider calling rms and ordering solid archery mechanics. Listen to kaminsky as well as turner to clue in on what to watch for. Clear off the next 6 months and you're probably going to be very dangerous with that bow. In another year you'll be killing grouse at 30 yards.

If you want to pursue trad, skip the compound as it'll become a crutch. If you want to bowhunt next season you can do it with either. If you want to bowhunt in 3 months....buy a compound.

Stickbows are an addiction.

 

[bjfoxhoven]

I agree with wrench on a lot of this. Defiiitely get something that is comfortable for you to shoot, just like stated above. I started with 40lb at my draw and that was very comfortable for me. You may want to go lower, go to a good shop and shoot some and have someone watch you they knows what they are doing. They will be able to help you know if what poundage you’re want to start at is reasonable or not. A couch would definitely shave off a year or more on the learning curve. However there is loads of great information on the internet from everyone mentioned above, that is what I did.

To get accurste, the main things that helped me was actually drawing with back tension and then holding with that same back tension. Arne mo and clum were good on that. Another thing is target panic. Most wont admit it but almost everyone has a little bit of it. For some reason we that started with a compound and switched to a recurve thought we needed to shoot a “trad” bow the “trad” way... snap shooting and full instinctive shooting. I would definitely recommend figuring out hour gaps at the yardages you want to shoot and use some type of aiming method initially... then transition to instinctive if that is what you want; I believe that would help it be more fun right away with a little improved accuracy.

another benefit of the really light bow to start is the fact it will enhance form/release flaws.

another thing to consider is getting a Fairly lonh bow to start. I know a short bow with light poundage may feel less smooth than a longer bow with a little more poundage.

just my 2 cents. It’s a joy, you will have a blast with it. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Teejay]

Thanks to all who responded for the information!

There’s a few shops within a reasonable distance from me that I want to check out soon. I’ll try to shoot a few bows and hopefully with some shop advice come home with a good set up to start this journey. I’ll follow up when I get my set up!

Thanks again

 

[Pflum]

All good advice, I'll add that if there are any traditional shoots or rendezvous near you, definitely go. Just about everyone there will be more than willing to help out a noob, also probably the best chance to try out a bunch of bows. Most of these types of get togethers got cancelled this year, hopefully next year they are back.

 

[Teejay]

All good advice, I'll add that if there are any traditional shoots or rendezvous near you, definitely go. Just about everyone there will be more than willing to help out a noob, also probably the best chance to try out a bunch of bows. Most of these types of get togethers got cancelled this year, hopefully next year they are back.

I’ll look around , thanks!

 

[Newtosavage]

New to the forums...and although I have hunted in the past I’d consider myself a noob hunter. Especially to bow hunting.

I would like to start hunting again and would like to learn how to use a traditional bow set up. I’ve done NO shooting with a bow of any kind, ever.

Is it better to move to a traditional setup after learning to shoot a compound? Or am I better off learning to shoot traditionally from the get go?

I’m hoping for the latter and looking for some suggestions on where to start. Is there a good setup to start learning with with that wont break the bank? Are there resources or other aids you’d recommend for someone to study and learn?

I’ll continue searching the forums and reading in the mean time. Thanks in advance for any info.

You can start straight away with a traditional bow. Just understand what you're giving up - which is effective hunting range.

So long as you can accept that limitation, then there is no reason not to hunt with a traditional bow.

Start with a bow you can easily handle (draw and hold for 30 sec. or more), and that you enjoy owning and shooting. To be effective with traditional gear, you will need to shoot a LOT. 10x more than you will with a compound (again, depending on what range you want to be effective to).

It doesn't take much of a shot with a traditional bow to kill deer at 5-7-10 yards. Roughly half the deer I've shot have been with a traditional bow, at those distances. But to be effective beyond 10-12 yards, you will need a well tuned setup and lots of practice.

Roughly, with the same amount of practice, a well-tuned compound setup will double (or more) your effective range. Maybe even triple it.

But if it's important to you to hunt with a traditional bow, then just get straight to it. You will need all the experience you can get.

 

[LostArra]

Besides the obvious archery differences there are hunting differences between compound and traditional. The timing decision of when to draw is different because of the let off/hold of the compound but I think it can be quicker to get off a shot when needed with a traditional bow without rushing it. Most of those decisions come with time in the field.

A lot is made of not shooting a traditional bow that is too heavy. I see the same thing with compound shooters who go thru a contorted wrestling match to get past the let off and come to full draw. By this time the deer have spotted the movement and are gone. I'm struggling to convince my nephew he is pulling too much weight when he has already cleanly killed deer with an older 40# compound.

 

[Wrench]

I would ensure that you have form NAILED before you get to shooting 5-10 yard deer. You have potential form and paradox still being corrected with spine and fletch and could potentially hit the animal with an arrow yawing enough to have low to no penetration .

Most horrible arrows self correct by 20 yards....but look awful at 10.

 

[Teejay]

You can start straight away with a traditional bow. Just understand what you're giving up - which is effective hunting range.

So long as you can accept that limitation, then there is no reason not to hunt with a traditional bow.

Start with a bow you can easily handle (draw and hold for 30 sec. or more), and that you enjoy owning and shooting. To be effective with traditional gear, you will need to shoot a LOT. 10x more than you will with a compound (again, depending on what range you want to be effective to).

It doesn't take much of a shot with a traditional bow to kill deer at 5-7-10 yards. Roughly half the deer I've shot have been with a traditional bow, at those distances. But to be effective beyond 10-12 yards, you will need a well tuned setup and lots of practice.

Roughly, with the same amount of practice, a well-tuned compound setup will double (or more) your effective range. Maybe even triple it.

But if it's important to you to hunt with a traditional bow, then just get straight to it. You will need all the experience you can get.

I’m not opposed to learning to shoot a compound bow at all.... I’m really fascinated with the stalk and ultimately how close you need to be for a kill with a traditional bow. I’m sure early on it will seriously affect my success but it’s what also will be the drive to continue honing the skills needed to be successful, especially if that means moving beyond 5-10 yard shots.

I’m still in the drinking from a fire hose and processing info stage of this and continue to welcome any and all info from you guys.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Gerard Marcaurele]

I’m a trad newbie, but after getting started and going through some growing pains, here is what I’d recommend:

Buy an ILF style riser and some 40-45# limbs. You can find ILF rigs all over the price spectrum, so you shouldn’t have an issue finding what will fit your budget. You can choose ILF rigs designed to be shot off the shelf or ones that have the threading and center shot for something like a springy rest. I highly recommend an elevated rest because it made tuning much easier for me.

Get yourself an arrow saw and arrow square, they are your tuning friends.

Most importantly, have fun. Trad archery won’t allow you to drill quarter sized targets at 20 after a couple months, but it will likely have you itching to go shoot for hours. Keep your expectations realistic and know that it isn’t a race.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

A stickbow is to archery hunting what a muzzleloader is to rifle hunting. Might wanna ease into archery with a compound and sight to start. That's plenty of challenge right there...once you go to a traditional bow the task of cleanly killing an animal is much MUCH harder.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Do yourself a huge favor, while you still have no bad habits to unlearn, and go buy the Solid Archery Mechanics online course from the PUSH website. $200 bucks sounds like a lot, until you're 4 years in, have pain in your shoulder, can't group consistently past 12-15 yards, and find out it's going to take years to unlearn your bad habits. Started right, and with good practice habits, you can be effective at 20 yards with a traditional bow in under a year.

 

[BHilton]

Take the above advise. Find a shop and go shoot bows or take/buy a class. For the bow as others have written I would advise you buy a smaick sage (or whatever its name is now) or an ILF setup. These can change weights of the limbs as other said.
Samick will run less by a fair amount and there is a smaller learning curve in the beginning (less adjustments). The ILF should give you more to grow into, but can't say much to that since I don't have one.
Start low 30-40lbs and if you have a shop close have them help setup arrows for you.

Learn good habits from the beginning as they are harder to break and it will save you time, money and possibly your shoulder. There is a lot of good videos on you tube (Clay Hayes, Jeff Kavanagh, and others) and the online training now (Tom Clum's The Pack/The Push training). You can also buy videos on 3riversarchery.com (this site is very helpful to buy all other things no one else sells around me).

When I started I found an older bow in a closest at the house my dad had but never really learned to shoot and just started shooting it. No clue what I was doing. I had to relearn how to do many things later, still have some habits I am trying to work on. Its worth the money to start right. In the end it will also save you time and frustration.

Shooting trad takes way more work and time to become good at it and that is before you take it hunting. I don't say this to discourage you. I would dare say anyone who hunts with a trad bow does it because we like the extra time and practice. Its a challenge I find enjoyable. I only started hunting with one a few years ago and it was not to be more successful. Get to where you are confident in your shooting and then you will feel good to take it hunting. When this happens read up on the Ed Ashby reports. https://www.ashbybowhunting.org/ashby-reports

I would not buy a compound unless you really want to hunt archery season and are not confident with your bow by then. I did this the first year I wanted to hunt with mine. I never used the compound again after that season.