longbows?

[walt cowan]

anyone here hunt with longbows,not recurve but, longbows. pro con's?

[DaveK]

I certainly would have no problem hunting with a long bow fi I was real comfortable shooting it. I just have not done allot of it. With a properly spined arrow it will get the job done if you do your part.

[Tenbears]

I hunt with a long Bow. I would love to give you the pro's and cons. Unfortunately, I see none.
They are a challenging way to hunt. They offer a degree of excitement. as not other bow can. They make you stay close to your bow. You must practice. you must shoot Often. Some may consider that a con, I, a pro. The last thing my grandfather gave me before he passes away was a have made longbow. he himself forged from Osege Orange. Bet it took him months to make it. I hunt with it all the time. I even use flint arrowheads when allowed by law. It has no sights, no kisser. With the exception of the string. it is just as it was when he built it. When you hunt with such a bow. Every deer is a trophy. to date my longest Kill has been 22 yards. A long bow teaches you patients. Mind you I practice out to 35 yards. But I have the greatest degree of confidence at 20 and under. at that range I just know how to aim. And that is always my goal. To put the arrow where I want it. if I am not sure. I do not shoot. I have never wounded and lost a deer with my longbow. Now I have tracked a few for several hours before finding them. but never not found one. Something I cannot say about rifle hunting. If you have a mind to start hunting with a long bow. By all means do it. you will love the experience. You will find contentment at letting even the biggest buck walk by simply because the shot just didn't feel right. Your trophy will not lye upon the head of your quarry but in the knowing that you were able to place an arrow through the heart of a 70 pound doe, from 20 yards. She gave of herself to you, and you took her offering in a humane way. The great chiefs will look upon you as a brother.

[soggy]

Hi Walt; Soggy here . I haven't worked up the courage to hunt with a long bow yet ;D . I have built a few and use them on targets and have used them in conjunction with events at some of the rendezvous that I attend. I see no reason why they wouldn't be up to the job so long as the person using it is well trained and has the discipline to wait for the right shot.
I find that I get more out of building them than actually shooting them.... (maybe thats because I ain't all that good at shooting them ;D )

[walt cowan]

sorry to take so long to get back. anyhow, about 1980 i bought a bear-polar ltd. great shooting bow. then about seven years later or so i stopped for a while. don't remember why. then sometime in 1994 i caught the bug and orderd some catalogs to bone up on the sport. wow! after almost 14 years i was like old ripvan winkel... things had gone high tec! that killed my bug right then and there. two years ago my son used my bow for a season untill he bought himself one of those high tec bows. good fourtune fell opon me this week. i got permison to hunt a small farm. poor for shooting but, made for bow. now i'm putting the bear back in action for one more season. i have read some on the long and am starting to fall in love all over again! ;D i agree fully with what you all say. simple and deadly. no pins, peeps ,lasers, and all that high tec stuff. now i got to find out how much i can get for the bear when seasons done. thanks everyone.

[shunka]

Howdy -
I think Tenbears pretty much said it all, but for one thing: Some say the Recurve is more forgiving than the Longbow, but I would suggest that you go to a place where they will allow you to shoot what they sell. Lay your hands on them, pick them up, fondle them, Shoot a bunch of em, then decide which one (if any) sings the song to you and wants to go home in your hands. If I had not the opportunity to shoot the two bows I have I would have ended up with something that dissapointed me instead, ordering out of a cataloge and relying on "pretty pitchurs" and other people's opinions.

best of luck
shunka

[RAF]

Last Saturday evening my wife and I went over to my hunting partners for a drink and to check out there Christmas decorations. (Had it professionally done and then their house was on display and monies went to charities) When we got there they had some other company. The husband was a local lawyer I knew years ago when he was practicing law. Now he's a Queens Bench Judge. Still a good guy. We didn't discuss his profession, much, but talked about hunting. He bow hunts and said he far prefers a long bow. Told of some of his experiences and said he couldn't explain the rush after taking game with it. He strongly recommended giving it a try. Might have to go out and have a look around for one.