I know there are a few old fashion stick and string junkies on the board so SHOW YOURSELF!

I once (all of the 1990's) was a BIG time comp shooter w/ wheeled archery equipment (but did not give in to the release trend) and gave it up when I turned a hobby almost into a job...just was not fun anymore.

Well...two weeks ago my car broke down and I was in Dad's garage fixing it when I spied with my little eye, the first bow I ever owned...a fiberglass recurve...sitting in the corner. The pull is only about 20 pounds but it was a fun little bow. I can remember being about 10yrs old, standing in the yard flinging arrows and hoping to hit a 12" square target at about 10 yards.

Well...after I spied that bow, all work on the car ceased! I grabbed it, rumaged through a plie of old arrows to find a few that matched and headed outside. I must have shot 200 arrows at a gallon jug and knocked it all over the yard. Looked like a ragged piece of plastic when I was done!

That got an itch growing!! I may take that bow out and try to stick a few squirrels before our late small game season ends. Now I'd like to find a 45-ish pound recurve to start flinging arrows with and refine my bare bow skills...maybe even do some deer hunting next year.

Does anyone have anyting like thatr lying around?!?!

Here's to traditional archery Dan. I've shot 2 bull elk with my old American bow, and a takedown Hoyt. But i'm not into the big game anymore much with it. I LOVE!!!! bowfishing with these rigs now. I can take my grandkids, and Vicky and i go out to a lake east of Pueblo for carp every summer. What a great way to spoend a day--kids swim, i shoot--love it.

I also shoot a compound, and man there's nothing like going after prairie dogs with it. Lot's of action, and shots sometimes as far as 60 yds. (rarely that far actually). What a kick that is.

I grew up shooting traditional gear. Picked up a compound for a while after I had a shoulder injury. They are incredibly consistent, but I feel like I am shooting a machine with them. Once my shoulder healed up and I was able to shoot my hunting weight longbow and recurves again, I immediately sold the compound. There is nothing like the feeling you get when your arrow strikes the exact point you are focused on with instinctive shooting.

The only big game animal I have taken with a recurve is a bighorn ewe. She was running past me at 6 yards. I drew my bow, picked a spot and released in one fluid motion. No way I could have made that shot with a compound. I have taken rabbits on the run and grouse in flight with similar shots. Still have not taken an elk with a bow yet, the closest I came was a couple years back. I had a bull at 15 feet, but his vitals were covered by branches. After about 30 seconds of him standing there, knowing something was up, but not quite sure what, the breeze shifted and be blew out of there.

Every year as the deadline to apply for licenses nears, I am torn between what season to apply for. Between the recurves, the hawkens and the handguns, its a tough decision. Too many seasons, too little vacation time!

I have one laying around, but my wife would kill me if I sold it. She had it built for me for a present several years ago. I still use it as my bowfishing bow, but have never chased woods goats with it.

I'll as around I have a few friends that may have a couple.

That would be great!! Let me know if you locate anything!!

I had my three yr old daughter out with me today shooting the bow I mentioned above and she REALLY enjoyed it....so right now I have a set of arrows in the fletching jigs with new feathers on them just for her.

Dan, I'll have to confess my love of the the stick bows. I used to alternate stick and compound every couple of years but a bad rotator cuff has kept me from the practise I like to do before I hunt with the recurve. Still fun to take ground hogs in the back yard.

I use an old 45# Bear made in the early 70's I found at a yard sale for 15 bucks about 5 years ago. It an exact copy of my first "Good" bow I bought in the summer of 1974. I foolishly sold it in the early 80's to finance my first compound.

Its amazing how quick the basics of instinctive come back even after a big lay off. There is somethings about that "mystical flight of the arrow" as Ted Nuggent says.

That's exactly the kind of package I am looking for!!

I shot co-op for HoytUSA for nearly 10 years. All compounds and sights, but stayed with fingers. I must say that I did rather well on the tournament circuit. But that got boring and flinging arrows with a takedown 35# PSE recurve that hung on the shop wall got to be more fun!

Keep an eye open for me please!

BTW......kids are asleep and wife is with friends...so I took a box, stuffed it with newspapers, taped it shut and was using it as a backstop to shoot from the entryway and into my reloading room (about 30 feet)!! Hehehe!! Must have shot 50 arrows... ...that will sure have Cindy wondering when she see's the box.

A number of years ago, i got into teaching kids to shoot archery, and started collecting different bows for folks to shoot. Every year now a friend has a pig roast at a small ranch south of Pueblo in the mtns. He has skeet shooting, horse riding and other events there, and i started bringing my bow stuff up there to teach anybody to shoot if interetsed. It's actually become quite a big hit at this event now. I got ahold of a huge hunk of styrofoam, and we use that as our tgt. these days with balloons attached, It really is a lot of fun-- littlest kids up to the big retired kids. Look forward to it every year.

Interestingly my mom really loves archery and is a real natural at it. Several years ago, there were a couple big kids shooting a couple of the compounds there trying to hit those balloons set out at 25 yds. or so. My tiny little mom comes up grabs one of the smaller bows, and proceeds to nail 3 out of 4 shots or so. Those big kids were standing there dumbfounded-- me too.

Dan, I have picked up several bows on ebay. I have a 67#-'69 Bear Kodiak Hunter I got off there for about $150 that out shoots bows I have that cost a lot more. Just make sure they have good photo's of the limb's and tip's. If you want to spend a little more there are usually several custom bows on there that can be picked up at a decent price.

Dan, I started out bowhunting with an old bear compound shooting instinctively, I took a few deer with it and then I started shooting a bear t/d hunter 55# recurve and I took a couple of deer with it. I finally stepped up and bought a custom from the late Jim Brackenbury, I've missed a nice buck with it (nice enough buck to cause major nerve control issues) but when my shoulder started giving me problems a few years ago I hung it up because at my draw length I'm pulling about 85# and my shoulder won't take it so I started shooting a Hoyt magnatec and I killed a nice buck with it but it didn't seem the same so I sold that bow and after my surgery last year I bought a Martin x-200 55# recurve and have started shooting again a little, for the money it is a sweet shooting little bow and I think it would work great for what your wanting to do.

Don't forget your local pawnshops.

i recentley re-discovered my old browning nomad stalker2,40# recurve.this was my first hunting bow.im thinking of turning it into a bowfishing rig.jim257

I shot a rabbit, my first game animal, with a 50# Nomad Stalker in Montana when I was a kid. That's a nice bow! I was only supposed to use the old beater fiberglass bows, but I would sneak Dad's Browning out while he was at work.