Stealthy, I am not really sure on how I am supposed to take your post.
I can pick up your tuned compound and be shooting great groups at 30 yard in 5 minutes.
Am I an archer ?
I can pick up a crossbow and do the same thing.
Am I an archer ?
I can shoot longbows and recurve and not be nearly as accurate as I am with the above bows ....
Am I an archer ?
I am going to say yes to all the above. Each one takes a certain amount of practice to be proficiant. I have never once said that a traditionalist needs no practice. If I shot a long bow, I would be out practicing all the time. Because being somewhat smart, I know it takes much more practice to be proficient with a long bow than it does a compound. But the amount of practice it takes to be proficient with any tool varies greatly on the tool handler!! Like you said about the 22, it is a tool, just as a bow is a tool, long bow is a tool and the cross bow is a tool.
shooting a bow that literally requires very little practice (as some posts above have validated) is in all honesty choosing a weapon that allows the archer to capitalize on the seasons that are open, and not a true love for the sport.
So now I shoot a compound and I don't truely love the sport. Give me a break. If I was going to capitalize on the seasons that are open, I would be shotgun hunting, muzzle loader hunting and pistol hunting and putting just as much meat in the freezer that I can in one season. But I don't, I bowhunt only and I am proud to say (proud is prolly the wrong word) that my freezer has been empty the last 2 seasons because the choices I made based on my abilities in the moment of truth.
I like squirrell hunting. I don't particularly love shooting my .22 though. I use the .22 so that I can hunt. I am not a shooter, I'm not into shooting sports, I use the gun as a tool.
Why not use your recurve then? Shooting squirrels will be one heck of a challenge!
but they're not really archers who love archery, are they ?
I never once said I love archery, my passion is archery hunting. In my book, these 2 are totally different things.
Just so my opinion is clear.....I am not picking on the guys that practice 12 months a year, nor am I picking on the guys that practice 1 week of the year. Proficient being the key word, if one is proficient enough with one week of practice.....so be it. If it takes you 12 months before you feel you are proficient, good for you. Are you a better hunter for it. NO You may be a better archer, but not neccisarily a better hunter.