Jimimac - its not easy and those who say it is are either Fred Bear talented shotoers/hunters or they' re pulling your leg. Its not easy to kill a whitetail with a compound ... but its much harder with a trad bow.

If your shooting is the problem, fix it. Sounds simple but truly, you' re doing something wrong. Your anchor isn' t consistant, your release isn' t, your arrows aren' t tuned to your bow ... something is missing there and you gotta find it and fix it. This is my 3rd year and I am shooting better than I ever have - I think a person continually increases their ability with a trad bow, unlike a compound.

Back to the shooting. Are you cross-dominant in your shooting ? I am, and people who say it makes a difference is pulling your leg. Its different, but in no way less accurate (ask Howard Hill or Larry Yien). If you peel the feathers off your shafts and shoot will they fly straight anyway ? Do you anchor in the same place every time ?

Can you shoot a basketball, throw a football or baseball ? If you can, you can shoot a recurve/longbow. You might never reach compound accuracy (most trad shooters can' t) but you can become proficient enough to kill deer. I am in my 2nd year of trad hunting and am 0-2 myself, still looking to shake the monkey off my back.