Trad Equipment

[RonD]

What's your bow of choice and arrows to match? If you have photos post them.
At the present time I am shooting a 64" Sentaman Moosejaw longbow, 50#@28", shooting 1916 XX75 Camo Hunter shafts with 3 4" parabolic feathers and a 140 grain Magnus two blade broadhead. BUT, I currently have a 56" Beeler Tracker longbow on order.

[gtk]

good looking bows... I have yet to master a compound bow, much less start shooting with just a stick & string... maybe when I get more than 1 deer under my belt with a bow, I'll start looking into it more..

[RonD]

I can't remember the exact date that I entered traditional archery so I can't say 20 years ago or 10 years ago. Suffice it to say it has been some years. When I first got into archery and bowhunting it was with a compound, so in effect if it wasn't for the compound bow I probably would not have gotten into the trad side of the sport. For some reason, I can't put my finger on it, I lost all interest in hunting deer and turned my passion for traditional bowhunting to hogs, small game, and turkey. When I started shooting the traditional bow I started with the recurve and eventually moved up to the longbow. To date I have owned three longbows: Sentman Mountain Bow, a Jim Johnson Legend Longbow, and my current Sentman Moosejaw longbow. The first two I sold several years back and regret having sold the Legend. I currently have three Marriah Thermal Take-Down recurves, one at 46#@26", a second at 51#@26", and a third at 43#@28". All three are 60" in length. I will probably sell them in the near future, so I can order one of Jim Babcock's Thunderchild 54" longbows. The longbow for me is more comfortable to draw, anchor, and release; whereas the recurve feels awkward and cumbersome to shoot. Each person has to choose which is best for them. A gentlemen on another forum pretty much summed it up for me in the selection of a trad bow and the shooting of a trad bow when he stated that comfort and consistency is the key to successful shooting of the traditional bow. However, it is my contention that we don't need to get caught in the technical side to the point we forget what these bows and bowhunting are all about: "having fun." That's my story and I am sticking to it.

[junker]

i started bowhunting 3 years ago. I harvested 9 deer in 3 years with a 63# martin recurve. I used GT 5575's with a 2blade magnus. i'll take some pix at lunch of my setup.

I've got a couple of old Bear recurves, a 64" homemade longbow (not made by me) and my most recent purchase was a 59" Hawg Longbow. I needed a short longbow to shoot out of a blind.

[RonD]

Junker, if you are looking for a shorter longbow to shoot out of your blind take a look at Jim Babcock's 54" Thunderchild longbow. I would order one but my wife says I have enough bows. Dave Beeler also makes a fine Tracker 56" longbow that would serve your purpose.

[junker]

Junker, if you are looking for a shorter longbow to shoot out of your blind take a look at Jim Babcock's 54" Thunderchild longbow. I would order one but my wife says I have enough bows. Dave Beeler also makes a fine Tracker 56" longbow that would serve your purpose.

i will. thanks ron. Since sportsman warehouse shut down in Southaven; i've done all my business with Lostnationarchery.com Larry and Janice Murray run their shop from their home. i mainly buy arrows, tips, etc. from them. but i told him i was looking for a longbow to replace my 64" bow and out of the blue he sent me a 59" Hawg Longbow. He came across it in his shop. told me to shoot it; if i didn't like it..send it back. I liked it but i would prefer it to be a little heavier than 51#.

i have a 1970 bear grizzly and a 1953 Kodiak that are around 50# but i just shoot them for fun. My hunting recurve is 63# and my old longbow is 61# which is what i prefer.

Do you know off the top of your head the weights of those bows?

[junker]

Junker, if you are looking for a shorter longbow to shoot out of your blind take a look at Jim Babcock's 54" Thunderchild longbow. I would order one but my wife says I have enough bows. Dave Beeler also makes a fine Tracker 56" longbow that would serve your purpose.

do you have any links to their bows?

[RonD]

Yes sir, and here they are:
http://www.beelertraditionalbows.com
http://www.bigjimsbowcompany.com
Either bowyer can make a bow in whatever draw weight and draw length you want.
Babcock makes his bows in either a one piece or take-down model.
Look them over good.
To further your search you can go the Tradgang.com site and look at the list of sponsors there and go to the websites of different bowyers to see what they have and their prices.
If I can be of further assistance let me know.

[RonD]

Junker, let me if I can insert a image of Babcocks's 54" Thunderchild into this thread.

[junker]

thanks ron

just got some new arrows in yesterday evening cant wait to shoot.

I have had a hard time matching arrows to my 51# longbow.

I've tried:
GT's 5575 with 175 gr
GT's 3555 with 125 gr and 175 gr

All the GT's shot left....meaining they are too stiff.

So i tried some easton epics 340 spine with a 175 gr and they shot perfect. Larry at lost nation told me those were pretty stiff arrows too; but if they work; they work.

Hopefully the new ones shoot like the old ones.

[junker]

Yes sir, and here they are:
http://www.beelertraditionalbows.com
http://www.bigjimsbowcompany.com
Either bowyer can make a bow in whatever draw weight and draw length you want.
Babcock makes his bows in either a one piece or take-down model.
Look them over good.
To further your search you can go the Tradgang.com site and look at the list of sponsors there and go to the websites of different bowyers to see what they have and their prices.
If I can be of further assistance let me know.

i liked beeler's bow. i shot him an email with a few questions. Don't know if the wife will let me get another bow yet but .........

[FoxBark]

I am shooting a Howard Hill Longbow, 50 lbs @ 28, 3555 Trad GT's wth 125's. I got the bow last summer and have not hunted with it yet, hopefully that will change in October. I am trying to get better with it before hunting with it. I hunted last season with the compound, will probably hunt this year with compound some and the longbow some.

[RonD]

Foxbark, Craig Ekin of Howard Hill Archery makes one fine bow and for a good price as well. Is your bow the D-shaped bow with the straight grip? Keep practicing and you will be ready come October.

[FoxBark]

Yep, it has the straight grip.......benn shootin most every day......gettin a little better and more confident!

[RonD]

The key to shooting and hunting with the traditional bow is "patience." From patience we learn to relax and whe the relaxation pays off we have the confidence we need to hunt. However, hunting and confidence doesn't always guarantee success in the field. Keep at it Foxbark, you will eventually get to where you want to go with traditional equipment.