Longbow-Traditional Archery

I was recently talking to an outfitter in Saskatchewan and when I addressed the part about being a traditional archer (long bow) he asked a question that for some reason sat in my head for a bit and didn't register: I said that I would be hunting with a long bow and he asked: Why? Frankly I didn't have a good answer for him right off so I did what any good conversationalist would do, I changed the topic.

Having had some time to ponder I've come up with three (3) good reasons to hunt whitetail (or anything) with a long bow.
1. It's less expensive! I've been a long time member of the Cabela's fan club! As with many I'm at a point where Cabela's calls me when they are out of stock on something in the hopes that I haven't opened the one I bought and would be willing to return it to them for resale. With that I can assure you that if it's new and exciting, I want one of those! A couple of years ago I was putting together a tool box for a travel archery hunt and wow was I amazed at how many moving parts a compound bow has. Listen, I'm an advocate of compounds and used within reason they are probably the most efficient and humane method of harvesting whitetails with a broad head...But! Ernie Scott, owner/operator of Steel Creek Outfitters in Iowa was asked by a client if he had a set up that had lanes reaching out to 75 yards. The gentleman was no doubt proficient at that distance....But! You get my point. With my long bow I need one tool when I travel, me! I take an extra string just in case and there's nothing you can do if your bow breaks with the exception of getting out your backup long bow so the issue of failure falls somewhere between the hands and the feet for the most part (user error) and not in a setscrew.
2. Satisfaction! Being pretty good out to 40 yards with a compound I'd still tell you that its a shot that I would only take if the Hanson Buck was in jeopardy pending my success. 30 yards and in for me! With a long bow I'm very comfortable at 15 yards and a little shaky at 20. That cuts my opportunity in half from my compound and actually makes me practice a bit, is over 3000 arrows in 6 weeks reasonable? If not reasonable, then consider it required! You see there's some work involved with a long bow: practice, scent control, practice, set up, practice, did I mention practice? With the work that's required and the chance for success lessened, their hopefully will be a greater success of accomplishment and satisfaction. As you may be able to tell I'm pending my first long bow harvest as this is my first year for long bow and frankly, I'm having some days of asking "why" too.
3. People! I have to say that since I've taken up the sport I've meant some of the nicest and most down to earth people (hunters) and have enjoyed each and everyone of them. Featured below in this blog will be a link and information about one of them: Leon Stewart. My good friend Rich Barker introduced me to the sport and with little effort on his part I followed along. Everyday is an adventure, if you call trying to find your arrows in the neighbors yard and adventure, and with everyday comes more confidence and excitement. There are other people to numerous to mention but it's Rich that started it all! I earlier mentioned a fellow named Leon Stewart: Leon is a one of a kind! I won't go into his past and/or how he got to where he is and what he does now, you can do a quick search on the Internet for "Leon Stewart" or "Stewart Archery" and find that out for yourself but what I will share is that Leon is a Bowyer. Working from a small shop in the back lawn Leon has consistently hammered out long bow after long bow. Being privileged to visit a local traditional only archery shoot on Thursday nights I was able to share information, try others equipment and get guidance on all things traditional archery. I would bet that 90% of the bows there were handcrafted by Leon and I know for a fact that most if not all of the archers had another Leon Stewart Bow at home. The intent of this blog is to share information and today I'd like to share "Leon Stewart" with those of you who haven't heard of him. Check out his web page http://imageevent.com/archery and understand that it is only slightly representative of what Leon has to offer in traditional archery. If you've ever been interested in shooting stick bow, give him a call, he'd be glad to hear from you I'm sure you'll enjoy talking to him. I'm looking forward to picking up my first Leon Stewart long bow in the very near future and plan to hunt with it during my Ohio whitetail hunt the first week of November. Hopefully I'll be able to share some pic's as well.