Okay, I tried resisting this post but couldn't
The major problem I see is some people down playing others equipment. I hear comments all the time such as...... "drop-aways are prone to error" "training wheels" "mechanicals are prone to failure".
It is one thing to disagree with what gear someone wants to use, but it is a whole nother story to get in a thread they posted and start down-playing their equipment. That is the major problem I see.
As far as enjoyment goes with trad equipment vs. tech equipment...... if your hunt is waged on what type of gear you have, well, then you shouldn't be hunting. Who really cares what others are hunting with? If you enjoy shooting deer with your stickbow, that is great and I respect that.... I personally enjoy smoking deer with my compound, now the question is, can you respect that or not? Your equipment has little to do with the enjoyment that you derive from the experience. You can take the stickbow and shoot a 140" buck at 6 yards, and I will take my compound and shoot a 140" buck at 6 yards and I can guarentee you that I won't be kicking myself for not shooting it with a stick bow. That is personall preferance.
As far as knowing your equipment goes.... yes, there are compound shooters who don't know their equipment well enough, but the same thing can be said about trad shooters. Too many people are insinuating that one gear choice will instantly mean that you know that equipment better than if another hunter using other equipment. Last time I checked, that was up to the individual, not the bow. Just because someone shoots a compound doesn' mean that they didn't take the time to get aquainted with their equipment!
The challenge comment is thrown in all the time! If someone knows their bow well enough, compound or trad, then shooting a deer in range shouldn't be a major challenege. Getting your scouting done, hanging your stands, over-comming the elements, and putting in the time to get that deer into range is the challenge! Putting an arrow through the kill zone isn't a sure thing, but the hardest part is over now, all you have to do is put the arrow in the kill-zone.
As far as consumers being pushed into shooting a certain type of accessory, well, that isn't the bows fault, that is the guy behind the counters fault. Most shops around here are open to what the customer wants, you tell them what you want, and they will put it on as long as it will work with your set-up. What I mean by "work with your set-up" is that the pro-shop isn't going to try and hook up the N.A.P. drop-away made for the Mathews LX onto a Hoyt RazorTec! Also, the consumer is to blame for this one. They shouldn't cave in to what others want them to shoot, hardly the fault of what type of bow you shoot.
Ah, but the thing is, since you shoot a stickbow then some feel you are forever disqualified from expressing the slightest negative opinion about high tech gear. They not only don't want to hear WHY you hold the opinions you do, they don't even want to hear them in the first place.
The point is if someone asks a question about setting up their drop-away rest to shoot mechanil broadheads on carbon arrows, they don't want someone comming in and telling them that their drop-away is prone to failing, the mechanical heads won't open, and that the carbons aren't going to be accurate over-time! They are asking a question to get help on what to do with the gear they have, not what gear to get.
That 'understanding' thing is a two way street. You want understanding? You gotta give some to get it.
That very true, years of experience and a preferance to trad gear, but this is a two way street, not a 1-1/2 way street. What I am saying here is.... If I gave you all the credit that you deserve, but I choose to shoot a drop-away rest, shouldn't I get the credit I deserve? Should it be that I give you credit for using trad gear but when it comes to my drop-away rest, you call it inferior? Where is the "two way street" in that?
ArthurP, these two quotes were both from you, but my replys weren't directly aiming at you, they were meant to be spread over everyone out here in the world wide web!
In closing I will say that there has to be a "two way street" here. Compound shooters should give respect to the choices that Trad shooters choose, and Trad shooters should give respect to the choices that Compound shooters choose, even if they don't personally believe in them. We are all bow hunting and we are all trying to get out there an whack a deer! We love getting the deer in close and sending an arrow through that kill zone. The gear you have and use shouldn't be what decides the amount of enjoyment you get, I think the thrill of the hunt should be the determining factor.
P.S. Why are trad shooters using computers?
Sorry, I just couldn't resist!