I have been a die hard compound shooter for over 15 yrs. now. I got the urge to try what you are recommending in '06. I did not take it to the extremes you did, but I did buy a recurve, wood arrows, and Wensel Woodsman broad heads. I spent the spring and summer shooting more than I had in years. When season rolled around I was very confident out to 25 yds. I managed to kill two does with that set up and I will be the first to tell you that those two bow kills were more rewarding than any others up to that point. However, I also did something I hadn't done in over 10 yrs., I hit a deer and did not recover it. I am not saying it was all the tradtional gears fault completely, I simply made a bad shot, but the gear had something to do with it.

Many people on this board, and bow hunters in general, do not have the time to practice enough to get proficient and stay proficient with trad. gear. Many people don't have the time to make their equipment as you did. It takes a tremendous amount of dedication to learn how to shoot a trad. bow. It also takes a tremendous amont of dedication to stay proficient with it. You really do need to shoot EVERY day. Anyone who says differently has either been shooting trad. for many, many years, or they are lying to themselves. I shoot my compound year round in various leagues and simple back yard shooting, but I do not shoot it EVERY day. I do consider myself an above average shot with my bow and have 100% confidence in myself and my equipment when it is time to draw on something living. As much as I practiced with the recurve, I never felt that way about that bow. I hadconfidence, but not the way I do with the compund.

I think the problem with making a blanketing statement that "everyone" needs to try it just once, is the number of deer that would be shot and never recovered due to poor hits. Many people would think they were ready to head the woods, when in fact they would be far from it. There are a lot of people who don't possess the disipline to admit to themselves that they are not ready to head to the woods with their chosen equipment. Heck, we see it all the time with compund shooters, and Lord knows those things a far easier to gain profiency with than a self bow.

I do agree with the statement that anyone who has thought about it should try it. It is very satisfying to kill a deer with tradtional gear after putting in the hard work involved in learning how to shoot one. Just like everything else in life though, this one thing isn't great for everyone.