Have you ever thought about how they did it? I mean, Im a history teacher and I have to reflect on what they did with the bow and arrow. No fall away rests, not paper tune, no sights, no self climbers, no carbon arrows, no overdraws, etc.. My hat is off to them and those of you that are still brave enough to go traditional in this game. I shoot a compound and I have hunted with one for all my years, it makes it much easier than the recurve or long bow. Respect for those in the past and present who got it and still get done your way...
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The ability to get close to game remains the essence of all bowhunting today.
I agree with you about wondering how they did it. I harvested my first deer with a long bow and cedar arrows many years ago. since then (like everyone else) I have updated my equipment to a compund and carbon. TheNative Americans beganshootingtheir bows as soon as they could walk and shot them daily. They knew every animal in the woods , it habits, how it interacted with the other animals, and how it lived. The were part of the land and had to be to survive. I have studied them all of my life and the more I learn the more I admire them.They were (and still are) very spritual people. I, to this day thank any animal I harvest for its life and am sure to eat every bit of it.I respect how they lived with nature and were part of it.They were someting special in my opinion.
I agree with you about wondering how they did it. I harvested my first deer with a long bow and cedar arrows many years ago. since then (like everyone else) I have updated my equipment to a compund and carbon. TheNative Americans beganshootingtheir bows as soon as they could walk and shot them daily. They knew every animal in the woods , it habits, how it interacted with the other animals, and how it lived. The were part of the land and had to be to survive. I have studied them all of my life and the more I learn the more I admire them.They were (and still are) very spritual people. I, to this day thank any animal I harvest for its life and am sure to eat every bit of it.I respect how they lived with nature and were part of it.They were someting special in my opinion.
Speak for yourself!Not all of usupdated and are shooting the fancy stuff! Everything else you said in this post i agree with you as well and do!
I started out with a recurve when I was a kid. (many, many moons ago) I shot it nearly everyday. Mostly roving type shooting. Shooting at leaves, butterflies, you name it. I could shoot that bow great. I killed many small critters with it.
That is the 'trick' with primitive/trad bows. Shoot it a lot. Shoot it until it becomes second nature. Don't get stuck on paper and foam targets. A baretrad bow is harder when it comes to consistencythan a compound but you'd be suprised how well you can do without sights and let-offif you are dedicated.
(On the downside, the recurve is probably what ruined my shoulder.)
Having said all that, I much prefer deer hunting with my Bowtech compound and Hind Sight bowsight. [:-]
I started with a recurve, but never killed a deer with it, only shot at one that I can recall. I recently inherited a recurve, and am thinking about trying it. I've read some books by Tom Brown Jr, with in depth narrative about native traditions. Really had a profound influence on me. I still-hunt a lot, have taken a couple deer that way with bow, now I want to take it a step further, and try the trad bow.
It's not so much the bow or the arrows they used as the fact that they used stone points.
We argue the merits of broadheads but each of them are like a razor. I have seen some pretty good stone points but also ones that were very rough.
I would also bet that there were a lot less whitetail back then. More now than EVER...
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Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
i went on an archaelogical dig in upstate NY. I found a flint projectile point (they said they weren't sure if it was definitley an arrowhead) that was supposidly 4,000 years old. the thing was still sharp. but i was surprised at how tiny it was. Probably half the size of a modern broadhead. I don't know how they brought down deer with that but they did.
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"Animals: fun to pet, better to chew."
-Jim Gaffigan
Traditional/primitive archery is more of a freelance art form, whereas compound archery is more like a paint-by-numbers set.[8D]
I started making my own bows and arrows when I was 6 or 7 years old. Can't remember exactly when. Grampa always kept some seasoned elm wood in his woodshed for me to use. I got away from making my own stuff when I hit high school and bought all my archery gear for many years.
Once I retired though, and stuck on fixed income, I got back into it. A LOT cheaper to take a piece of wood and make a bow than to go out and buy one every time I got the hankering for a new bow.
My traditional and primitive bows. I made the longbows and selfbows, but haven't made a recurve yet.:
Native Americans...
