I want to....

[DFWPI]

I've been bow hunting since the mid 70's, started with a recurve, then compound. A couple of years ago I got a crossbow and shot it for two seasons. Sold it a couple of months ago and bought another compound. Already bored with it after only two months.

I did but a Hoyt Buffalo several years ago and actually hunted with it a couple of times and took a doe wit it, but sold it for a new toy. Regretting it!

With this all said, I am really thinking of a new recurve and getting rid of my compound, with the belief if I commit all in, I will stick with it. I hunted several times this year and took a couple of pigs, but just couldn't get interested in anything unless it had big horns.

So, should I do it?

[Bisch]

Nobody can make that decision for you but you!

That being said, and since you asked, HECK YES!

Bisch

[Dkincaid]

No reason not to have both I use all three types of bows depending on the situation.

[BowBuddy]

Yep do it

[Johnny Dangerr]

I am in the OTHER camp. Trad is hard. You have to shoot daily. Moving from 10 yards to twenty knowing that you can make an ethical shot is huge.
30 - 40 - 50 you are Fred Bear......
Bought decent equipment. Matched arrows, tried for months.

Bisch stares them down...................

[lepperson]

I just don't have the desire to hunt with anything but trad gear anymore, don't get me wrong, I will. Sometimes the situation is just not right for trad, but I find myself trying to make as many situations right for it now days. The reward is just far greater to me when you harvest with the trad bow!!!! So my vote, sell it and buy you a recurve or 2, and a couple longbows as well!!!!!!!!! lol...... Have Fun, good luck

[Chunky]

You asked on the traditional forum, so I can only assume you want to hear a "yes, commit to trad answer".

It really is a personal choice, it requires more dedication, but the rewards are greater as well. Whatever you do good luck, and I hope you recapture your passion.

[jerp]

I know where you are coming from. I hunted with a compound for 15 years and along the way would occasionally get the itch to switch to traditional. It was making the time commitment that was holding me back. (that and getting mentally prepared to suck at something for a while as I climbed the learning curve. ) The thought of shooting almost every day was daunting - I thought I would get tired of it or bored before I became proficient. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth - when I wasn't in my backyard shooting I was thinking about shooting or reading about traditional archery. Some guys try it for a while and for a myriad of reasons go back to the compound. Others get obsessed with stickbows and the wheel bow just gathers dust.

[SwampRabbit]

Here is my take on the subject.

I like to hunt. I really like to hunt. So no matter what the weapon is, I like to hunt.

I am not very passionate about guns in general. I don't feel the need to collect them, hand load, etc. Since I like to hunt, I bought guns in the beginning with hunting in mind.

I really enjoy archery. I started hunting with a bow because I preferred shooting a bow over shooting a gun if given the choice. But as my hunting skills didn't match my accuracy with a bow, I still went back and forth.

While I enjoyed archery, shooting a compound got boring. Hunting wasn't boring, but shooting in the off season was boring. Then I bought a recurve for shooting (not hunting.) Now shooting a traditional bare bow is way more fun and challenging all by itself. If I never hunted with it, I'd still shoot it. In fact that is what I did my first hunting season after I bought a recurve, I still shot deer with my compound and rifle.

But eventually, I found only ever wanting to shoot traditional gear, and as a result, I wanted to also just hunt with it. Traditional gear appeals to me on a completely different level. It's simplicity, yet the complexity in shooting it accurately. It is literally a marriage of two "passions", the passion for hunting, and the passion for shooting traditional gear.

And this is why it has changed my hunting. Not because somehow traditional gear makes a smaller deer bigger or because it was harder and everybody knows it... but because I was successful in combining the two skills.

I know guys that are very passionate about shooting trad, but not so much into hunting BTW.

[jerp]

^^^
You made point there I can relate to. Hunting with a compound was exciting as ever, but practicing with a compound got tedious. I would have to force myself to shoot in August and September to get ready for the season - practicing ceased to be fun. Now - weather permitting - I shoot about 5 days a week, even if it just a few arrows. It's been 5 years and I never get bored with it.