Is Archery still Archery, or is it just shooting?

B

byland

New member
Dec 17, 2015
32
This might be a touchy subject, but I'm curious what everyone thinks...


I've been a long time compound shooter and recently decided I wanted to make the switch to a recurve for a number of reasons.  Though I wasn't successful this past season, I admit that carrying a recurve into the woods to chase elk certainly changed my life for the better and made me feel as though I was actually an archery hunter. 


With the advancements in compound bow technology, is archery still archery or is it now just shooting?  While I can't personally do this, I've seen videos of guys holding tight groups out to 100 yards while I'd be lucky to hit a paper plate at 40 with a recurve. 




When is it no longer considered archery?  Has technology gone to far? 


Looking forward to hearing everyones thoughts on the matter!


-Emory
www.bylandco.com
 
Over the years I've had the pleasure of knowing some of the finest recurve tournament archers in the US. These guys could group better at 40 yards than most compound shoots at the same yardage. A bow with wheels is still a bow. It is a short range weapon. I practice out to 80 and sometimes 100 yards. It makes me a better shooter and it's fun. I would never take that shot in the field, the time in flight leaves to much to chance. It can go from a perfect hit to a gut or ham shot. Had it happen to me on a WT deer. Bottom line IMO, you shoot a bow and so do I. We are brothers of the arrow. I just prefer training wheels!
 
I think that it is still archery hunting. I have only been bow hunting for a few years now. And I can shoot out to 70 yards pretty decent, but I don't even have a pin that goes to 70 haha. I just shoot that far for fun with my bow. I usually practice pretty consistently out to about 50 because when I'm in the trees that is about all the farther you can ever shoot anyway, with most opportunities coming at 30-40 for me. Plus you still have to call the critter in usually, then have your wind right, draw your bow, and hold it till the opportunity presents itself to let the arrow fly. And you usually only get one chance. I would say as technology changes and maybe regulations change then it might become more like shooting once almost every bow out there is good to 100 yards(if that ever happens, and depending on the shooter). But until that happens its still man with a stick and bow chasing nature into the wind.
Just my 2 cents.
Also I think with a crossbow it is a completely different animal and may be more like shooting than archery, but I'm not going to make a full decision on that one yet. I have a bad shoulder and someday I will more than likely need to use one. So I'm gonna keep my ears open about that topic till I know in the future if I will need to use one or not haha.
 
Thanks for the input guys.  I see what you're saying in that both traditional archers and compound archers both shoot arrows and must take the same precautions and implement the same techniques in order to harvest game.  That's a really interesting way to look at defining what archery is. 


...pausing here to think a second...


Thinking back on what my original though process was, I was thinking about how advancements in technology have come so far for compound bows that shooting longer distances is much easier than is once used to be.  That said, the arrow still has to get to the target and as jstephens mentioned, a lot can happen in that distance.  So until technology gets to the point where arrows are coming out at blazing fast speeds, maybe it's a mute issue.  No one is going to risk a 100 yard shot and really, most shots will probably come at 30-40 yards. 


Let me just say that though I switched to a recurve, I will not hesitate to bring a compound bow into the woods with me at any point in order to get additional yardage and accuracy out of it. 


I agree, we're all brothers in that we appreciate the form and function of flinging arrows.  What a great group to be a part of!


Thanks again for the inputs guys.  Great conversation!

 
I have been bow hunting since before compounds so I started with a recurve,and for me I would take a compound any day of the season but to each there own, In my opinion its not about what you shoot its about that bull elk screaming in your face a 10 yards away. to me what you shoot it with at 10 yards is like saying it makes a difference what style knife you use to cut it up. Its about the hunt not the kill.
 
I started with a recurve as well, but prefer the speed and power of a compound especially for hunting. But, let me play devils advocate for a minute and put a twist on the OPs original question. When is archery no longer archery?

Crossbow? The new 'air bow'?

So
 
I actually don't know if I can say whether or not a crossbow is considered archery.  My knowledge of crossbows is extremely limited so I'd have to do some digging and researching on what that sport is and isn't.


The new air bow on the other hand just seems to me like it's certainly not archery.  It sounds more like a high speed blowgun rather than an archery style piece of gear. 


What do you think? 
 
Personally, I don't feel a crossbow is archery. With a bow, recurve or compound, you have to draw and hold some or all the draw weight. This is not the case with a crossbow. Once the pod the drawn on the Xbow, you can set it down, pick it up and still be ready to fire. A crossbow is a very ineffecent mechanism, due to string drag on the rail. I'll stop rambling.
 
I feel archery is starting to get out of hand with people shooting animals at long distances. I practice all the time at distances over 80 yards but when it comes to hunting I try and do my best to make my shots under 40 so it's more of a challenge for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for the input Alex.  That's kind of where I'm at with this topic.  I routinely hear about guys shooting out to 80 yards and while that's very impressive, I wonder where those yardages fit in with hunting.  Technology has always played a roll in hunting, be it thousands of years ago, or today, but I question where the scale begins to tip to where archery is no longer what it once was.  It's kind of hard to explain, but I'll just say that grew up with archery season being that elusive season that only few hunters dared to try their hand at and now it looks like gun season up in the hills during September which I can only imagine is due to technology making it easier for guys to shoot bow. 


I'm curious what archery means from person to person.  Is it about the arrow, mentality, or something else?


-Emory
www.bylandco.com
 
For me archery is the pursuit of challenge. Testing yourself on how close you can get to an elk or deer is where it's at for me. It's a challenge you really can't get with a rifle, although I love hunting with a rifle my best memories have been with a bow in hand.  It's tough to explain but I love trying to get within such a close distance while bow hunting just for that one chance. Which that still isn't guaranteed you're going harvest the bull or buck like when you have a rifle in your hand


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
For me it's about the challenge of getting close and making the shot count.  I really love how effective bow hunting is, and how quickly an animal succumbs to a perfectly place shot.


I also like the strategy of figuring out how to close the distance and get a shot opportunity. 



 
I would have to say too that getting close to that animal is paramount.  Nothing compares to that adrenaline rush.  That said, I don't think it's a big detractor shooting a few yards more...or fifty more if you are proficient enough.  If you get to have a bull bugling within 100 yards it's a great day in the woods.  I have built a recurve and loved the process, but still hunt with a compound just wanting to get the most opportunities possible even though I love shooting traditional for fun and at shoots.  The other aspect to archery for me is spending the summer shooting with the kids and friends.  Even with a compound I still try and shoot four to five days a week in the summer.  I think it's more of a lifestyle I live daily, not decided by how far I am willing to shoot at game.  Would I get more out of my time in the woods if I hunted with traditional gear?  Maybe, but the freezer wouldn't be as full and with a young family and tight budget. I'll use every advantage I can today...tomorrow we'll see.
 
I just started hunting with compound archery equipment 3 years ago and so far I am 0 for 3 in that time span. Just because we have good equipment doesn't make it a slam dunk by any means. Switching from being a rifle hunter (nothing against it) to an archery hunter has taught me so much about animal behavior, calling techniques, thermals, scent control, tracking, etc. All of which I probably wouldn't have learned otherwise. Now I'm that much better of a hunter because of it.
Getting any animal within shot distance of a bow is an accomplishment. Doing so on a mature animal is even more difficult.
 
Like many posting to this thread, I also started with a recurve. I just don't hunt big game with one. The reason for that is ethical. I'm not confident enough in my abilities with a recurve to make a clean kill. So, I go with a flatter shooting compound that generates bigger KE.


I absolutely think shooting a compound is still archery. You are physically drawing the bow, holding it back (even if the hold weight is reduced) and your form is still critical in the accuracy and effectiveness of the shot. It requires a lot of practice and skill to be an effective archer, although, decidedly less so with a compound than a recurve.


Personally, where I draw the line is crossbows. You don't draw it in the moment or hold the weight of the string back. There is no real practice of form required. The only thing I see being similar is the close proximity needed to take a shot. In my opinion, crossbows should be kept out of all archery hunting seasons completely. Their shooting characteristics are much more aligned with those of a muzzleloader than a bow.


There's my $.01  ....accounting for inflation  ;)
 
I shoot both traditional and compound, I think both are still archery. Whether hunting or just for the joy of watching an arrow soar, they both have the core components of needing to use your whole body to put the arrow on your spot.


The new technology does help me stretch my range, probably another 10-20 yards, depending on how often I practice with a particular bow. I think it takes a different set of skills to shoot a compound than a traditional bow. I also find that the more I shoot traditional, the better I get at compound due to how much easier it is to hold steady at full draw. Both are fun to shoot, but in different ways.


When it comes to hunting, I love being out there with the game. Even when rifle hunting I prefer to get close. Even though with a rifle I can drop them at 400, I have never shot one farther than 80 just cause I like to get close. Same with ar Henry equipment just because I can shoot far, never taken a shot farther than 40 yards, just because I like to be close....


So for me archery is a skill set, if the equipment changes radically to the point where the skills have to be radically different or a particular skill, such as holding the bow at full draw, is eliminated, then you are eliminating a core skill that makes archery archery.
 
I too started back when compounds didn't exist.  I practiced every day and was very accurate out to 50 yards.  My first year hunting deer I shot at a 200 inch buck that was probably out there around 65 yards.  When I released my arrow it was flying perfectly then just as it got close to the deer it dropped just under his belly.  I was heart broken.  I used no range finder, no pins to aim with just natural instinctive shooting.  Still with just a little help (one handed range finder) I would have gotten that buck. Regardless the thrill was there and I was hooked for life.  Back then most archery hunters shot at everything with little regard for ethics because there was so many variables out of their control.  Today with compound bows we have all become better and know what our limits are.  We know where our arrow will be at different distances and more often then not will pass on risky shots. 


I think the compound bows that we have today just make us better at hitting our mark when we take a shot.  Watching a gut shot animal suffer regardless of the tool used to inflict the wound is not something I ever want to experience.  Now I just need another crack at a 200 inch buck.


HondoArcher
 
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