Peer Pressure!

[Howling Dog]

Glenn made a comment about sights, rangefinders etc. in another post, I hunt with sights & release aid & shoot 3D with a scope and a stabiliser that nearly touches the target. Some argue that sights improve the chance of a cleaner kill (more accurate/consistent shot etc) Ive missed just as many with sights as without when hunting and as for all the 3D gear call me weak but its peer pressure because everyone else has got it and that is where the competion is if you want a good game! What Glenn said has merit I do miss the barebow shooting and in my day I wasn't too bad (got to give myself a plug) I continually shot Grandmasters scores in ABA, Ishot recurve (Damon Howatt) and compound. Glenn I have too much invested in gear to put it to one side at the moment and not use it. Some of your bows I have seen and as much as I love my Mathews it doesn't compare. My only saving grace is I have not got an umbrella to stand under when I shoot like some in 3D! My two biggest hates P#@FTERS with PARASOLS at 3D & photos of bowhunters in magazines staring at sunsets!

[Glenn]

Don't get me wrong I have nothing against compound bows and I have said it before, there are plenty of traditional shooters out there that I wish would go and buy a compound bow. But what I do find offensive is the consumersium of bowhunting, buy this gadget or that and you will get your trophy, hunters shooting game at ranges that in my opinion are outside of where the hunt for that type of game starts to take place. I don't think that for a pig the real hunt starts to take place until you are from thirty to twenty meters away and yet you read where a boar has been shot at thirty or even fifty meters, good hunting no, good marksmanship yes. To me bowhunting is about stalking.
I just hate to see newcomers to the sport wasting their money on gadgets just for a result out in the field, a lot of this is about marketing and nett profits. A lot of bowhunting magazines are about hornporn and game shot behind wire so they can promote some companys archery equipment, but they don't tell you that though, to me it just gives the wrong impression.
I rarely shoot at a competition and if I do I don't score, I have done it in the past, and I think that the highly disiciplined side of competitive archery
is very good and all bowhunters would benifit greatly from it. This is how I learn't in the first place at the Grange Company of Bowmen, and whenever I have shooting problems I go back to this style to sort myself out.
As for range finders they would work as long as you are level with your game but if they are down hill and the range finder said 35 meters and put your 35 meter pin on it you are going to shoot high and miss. All of this gear is not fool proof but no form of shooting is...Glenn...

[Howling Dog]

No your right I didn't take it that way

[Warlocke]

I like to shoot targets and game, my compound allows me to do both.

Years ago I started with the longbow, and am looking around for another because of the challenge in taking game with this type of weapon.

One of my main interests, as with others, is tinkering with toys because I can't get out hunting all the time and it keeps me interested.

I love tweaking things to make them work better, and the compound lets me do this with all the items that can be attached.

This is not entirely related to hunting but to the overall enjoyment of my sport, adding another dimension to compliment the hunting.

A longbow is a very simple tool, needs very little work so has less complex features to allow me to modify.

But as far as hunting goes, they are a challenge I will gladly take.

[Glenn]

I have done a lot of hunting with American bowhunters I've had come out for several years to chase the red deer and it always amazeses me how much rubbish they cart over here for a hunt. These people are traditional hunters. One fella had enough gear to to fit out a dozen bowhunters. Much of it was not needed and you couldn't use it in several years of hunting and other gear was just nothing more than usless gadgets.
I just feel that Australians are going down the same path, I have been a bowhunter for a long time now and I have tried some things over the years but I have just decided to stick to the basics, over the years a lot of things have come onto the market to make you a better bowhunter and for a while they sell like hotcakes and then you don't hear of of this product again, we are only lining the pockets of the companies that produce these must have products like scent lock clothing.
It's nothing new before there were compounds there was a whole line of gadgets for bowhunters to make them better shots at game, but thankfully the whole thing has gone full circle for traditional hunters.
Myself I think that one of the best inventions of modern times has been the compound bow because it has brought a lot and keeps a lot of people in bowhunting...Glenn...