I’m not backing this up with any facts or real evidence except my own observation. Had a blast at the Baltimore Bowmen Classic and I think everyone should attend these kind of events! Rocking the Croc for you @Red Beard
The archery community is very welcoming and trusting. They have bow racks outside the porta potty and the food shack. You just leave your bows there. I have walked past a few Black Widows, a Black Tail, and a few CD risers with Uukha limbs…. Also the fact that any of the bowyers there allowed you to take a bow to try out anytime without worrying that you’ll just walk away with it. I never actually thought about this before, not about stealing a bow, but about how different this trust level is compared to other communities. KUIU came to the event for the first time. Talked to the reps and they were nice guys, but none have ever tried traditional before. We talked and I convinced one of them to go try a bow that I love but was way out of my price range (Stewart’s Archery). Before he picked up the bow, he got out his wallet and handed the bowyer his ID to hold while he could go try out the bow. Bowyer laughed and just told him to take it and shoot. Rep was a little surprised and embarrassed, he didn’t expect the trust level especially when he found out how expensive the bow was. I never thought about it and it is true.
The community was almost evenly split between recurves and modern longbows. Surprisingly not that many ASL/Howard Hill/D-shape bows, I don’t actually remember seeing a younger person using one. So honestly, the consensus belief that ASL/Howard Hill/D-shape bows are harder to use for beginners is true. Just from what I observed of what people were using.
Go light and go bright. Hunting arrows are not fun to use on 3D courses. I was using the arrows I planned to hunt with next season, full length 400 spine with 225 grains up front. But after the first course, I switched out to 700 spine cuts to my DL with 100 grains. It was so much more fun shooting that flatter trajectory. My hunting arrows just nosedived beyond 20 yards, it was just not fun having to aim 2 feet high at some of the targets, so I’m drinking that ‘speed helps’ kool aid. I’m going to disagree with everyone who says use one type of arrow for everything. I would never take a shot at a real animal beyond 20 yards, so why should I limit myself from using hunting arrows that are not meant for long distance? And don’t use dark colored feathers unless you want to spend half the time looking for your arrows and holding up the line on the course. You're going to lose a few arrows either way, but bright colors help tremendously.
Most instinctive shooters were mere mortals once they got out beyond 25 yards. Yeah, I said it. My sample size was 20 different random people that I shoot with. Some have been doing this for longer than I have been alive. On the practice range they were grouping baseball on the practice range. But at targets beyond 25 yards, the gap shooters were clearly more accurate on the first attempt. Things got more balanced during the 2nd arrow, but outside actual hunting distance, gaps save arrows.
Back quivers is the way to go. Hip quivers get in the way and it's annoying trying to get to your back hoping you find the small pocket. Bow attached quivers get annoying as you have to take them out and put them back in constantly unlike real hunting situations. The fact that they are very secured make it a hindrance for relaxing 3D courses. Back quiver is the way to go. Lesson learned.
Under 50lbs is the norm now. At the blanket swaps, everyone was trying to get sell off their 50lbs bows, most didn’t sell. Even some of the really nice ones drew a lot of attention, but once the buyer saw that it was 50lbs, they regrettably walked away. Most of the people I talked to were shooting 35-45lbs bow. Most of the bowyers were making lower poundage bows too, they said they simply sell more in the 40lbs range at events. While they do get some orders for 50+, 40s sell better when people pick them up and try them out. It's just the demographic. The ones who have more money in their pocket are usually older, retired, and have more disposable income. The older ones just can’t pull back high poundage anymore.
This brings me to my most important observation. Take care of yourselves everyone. EVERY, and I mean EVERY of the older hunters told me the same thing as I talked to them. They wish they never used heavy poundage bows when they were younger. They were shooting 50-70lbs and are now paying the price, all of them have some type of arm/shoulder issues. And I do mean hunters, not bowmen/archers. I was surprised that a good percentage of the people there did not hunt, but just had a passion for archery by itself. Even the ones in their late 70s were in good condition and using bows they had for decades without issues. They never had a desire or need to go heavy lbs for hunting setup. This in turn helped them develop better form and less chance of injuries. Make me wonder if this translates to the compound bow world too, except for freak of nature like Cam Hanes, what is the shelf life of a compound bow hunter. But I’m going to take this lesson to heart, I don’t think I’ll ever own a bow over 45lbs.
The archery community is very welcoming and trusting. They have bow racks outside the porta potty and the food shack. You just leave your bows there. I have walked past a few Black Widows, a Black Tail, and a few CD risers with Uukha limbs…. Also the fact that any of the bowyers there allowed you to take a bow to try out anytime without worrying that you’ll just walk away with it. I never actually thought about this before, not about stealing a bow, but about how different this trust level is compared to other communities. KUIU came to the event for the first time. Talked to the reps and they were nice guys, but none have ever tried traditional before. We talked and I convinced one of them to go try a bow that I love but was way out of my price range (Stewart’s Archery). Before he picked up the bow, he got out his wallet and handed the bowyer his ID to hold while he could go try out the bow. Bowyer laughed and just told him to take it and shoot. Rep was a little surprised and embarrassed, he didn’t expect the trust level especially when he found out how expensive the bow was. I never thought about it and it is true.
The community was almost evenly split between recurves and modern longbows. Surprisingly not that many ASL/Howard Hill/D-shape bows, I don’t actually remember seeing a younger person using one. So honestly, the consensus belief that ASL/Howard Hill/D-shape bows are harder to use for beginners is true. Just from what I observed of what people were using.
Go light and go bright. Hunting arrows are not fun to use on 3D courses. I was using the arrows I planned to hunt with next season, full length 400 spine with 225 grains up front. But after the first course, I switched out to 700 spine cuts to my DL with 100 grains. It was so much more fun shooting that flatter trajectory. My hunting arrows just nosedived beyond 20 yards, it was just not fun having to aim 2 feet high at some of the targets, so I’m drinking that ‘speed helps’ kool aid. I’m going to disagree with everyone who says use one type of arrow for everything. I would never take a shot at a real animal beyond 20 yards, so why should I limit myself from using hunting arrows that are not meant for long distance? And don’t use dark colored feathers unless you want to spend half the time looking for your arrows and holding up the line on the course. You're going to lose a few arrows either way, but bright colors help tremendously.
Most instinctive shooters were mere mortals once they got out beyond 25 yards. Yeah, I said it. My sample size was 20 different random people that I shoot with. Some have been doing this for longer than I have been alive. On the practice range they were grouping baseball on the practice range. But at targets beyond 25 yards, the gap shooters were clearly more accurate on the first attempt. Things got more balanced during the 2nd arrow, but outside actual hunting distance, gaps save arrows.
Back quivers is the way to go. Hip quivers get in the way and it's annoying trying to get to your back hoping you find the small pocket. Bow attached quivers get annoying as you have to take them out and put them back in constantly unlike real hunting situations. The fact that they are very secured make it a hindrance for relaxing 3D courses. Back quiver is the way to go. Lesson learned.
Under 50lbs is the norm now. At the blanket swaps, everyone was trying to get sell off their 50lbs bows, most didn’t sell. Even some of the really nice ones drew a lot of attention, but once the buyer saw that it was 50lbs, they regrettably walked away. Most of the people I talked to were shooting 35-45lbs bow. Most of the bowyers were making lower poundage bows too, they said they simply sell more in the 40lbs range at events. While they do get some orders for 50+, 40s sell better when people pick them up and try them out. It's just the demographic. The ones who have more money in their pocket are usually older, retired, and have more disposable income. The older ones just can’t pull back high poundage anymore.
This brings me to my most important observation. Take care of yourselves everyone. EVERY, and I mean EVERY of the older hunters told me the same thing as I talked to them. They wish they never used heavy poundage bows when they were younger. They were shooting 50-70lbs and are now paying the price, all of them have some type of arm/shoulder issues. And I do mean hunters, not bowmen/archers. I was surprised that a good percentage of the people there did not hunt, but just had a passion for archery by itself. Even the ones in their late 70s were in good condition and using bows they had for decades without issues. They never had a desire or need to go heavy lbs for hunting setup. This in turn helped them develop better form and less chance of injuries. Make me wonder if this translates to the compound bow world too, except for freak of nature like Cam Hanes, what is the shelf life of a compound bow hunter. But I’m going to take this lesson to heart, I don’t think I’ll ever own a bow over 45lbs.
