IMO I see almost no reason I'd ever want to shoot a long bow/recurve instead of a compound.

If you wouldn't use a long/recurve on a sheep, why would you on a elk? I don't really follow that logic.

If I could hunt every season with a rifle and tags were easy to draw, I'd probably would have never started to bowhunt in the first place.

To me the challenge is to get close enough to use a bow in the first place. I can kill an elk at 50yds, but that would not be my ideal shot with even a compound, give me 30yds any day. Wind etc...at 60yds good luck.

Perhaps you've killed too many elk with a bow, I have yet to, if I had though I'd probably try to start hunting other animals that I have yet to.

to each their own though.

I think when hunting with a bow gets to be too easy, or I've killed enough with a bow I'll just quit hunting.