primative versus traditional

[woodstick]

dang dane i think i got to many cold ones  in me to finish that one. do you write books ha ha. na well put.

[mullet]

  Dane, just like never being able to truly duplicate a prehistoric bow, try as hard as you guy's want, you will not be able to duplicate the living and hunting conditions either. We are just big, little kids, playing.

[Dane]

Yeah, I do Woodstick. I write for a living. Sorry if I was long-winded . No, I'm not.

True, George, that is why many of us do this. If I can get just a tiny glimpse of the experience of a man from 10,000 years ago, I'm satisfied I'm keeping something ancient alive and viable.

We are, Mullet. My wife has figured that one out a long time ago. She approves, and as I point out as necessary, it is much better to spend hours in the shop instead of the local bar (that has its attactions, too, though ).

Dane

[mullet]

 LOL, Dane, I told my wife the same. And being married to a Driller for 32 years that was on the road a lot, she agrees.

[Pat B]

We call it primitive archery because of Primitive Archer Magazine and this website. What we do is make wood bows, etc...but with our modern brains and modern tools. Just knowing that I can take a piece of wood and make a successful working bow is enough for me. I have made one glass bow(unsuccessfully) but prefer not to work with the glass. I worked with enough FG while I was a boat mechanic to last me a lifetime. I now like knowing that I can, and do make wood bows, arrows with cane and hardwood shoots, hand stitch the leather gear I use and feel comfortable that when I hunt with this stuff I am confident that I can be as effective at taking the game I persue in an ethical and humane way. Also, I just like watching an arrow fly on it's graceful arch to the target! 
   What I am trying to achieve with "primitive archery" is to see how simple I can get and still be effective. Just knowing that I can make what I need to hunt with and with as little capital expenditure as possible allows me to feel a since of accomplishment that outshines almost all others I have achieved in my lifetime. The next best thing is the feeling I get when I can help someone else be successful in their pursuit of simple archery.
   I use steel tools, modern glues and string, modern technology and the experiences of others, both modern and primitive, to get me to where I want to be. Just knowing that there are folks that are amazed at what we do as routine is enough for me. It boosts my ego and makes me feel special.  After all, ain't that what we are all trying to achieve?  I do all of this for me but I also like knowing that others can learn from what I have learned from others. That's called "passing it on!"...and that is what has kept our sport, addiction or whatever you want to call it, going on since the beginning of time.
   Call it what you want. I call it fun!!!     It is all traditional because it comes from tradition!

[Josh]

Here here Pat B!  Thanks for expressing with words which I cannot!

[Dane]

Nice, Pat.

And now, I am going to say it before anyone else does...if ONLY you had been aboard the SS Minnow, those poor castways would have gotten home quicker. They never did learn to fix the hole in the boat, not even the Professor. 

Dane

[cracker]

Very well said everyone and yes Pat you are very special.  Ron

[Dano]

Just what I was going to say Pat, but not as long winded!!

[mullet]

 Dano, He just got older,, and more,,philosophic,,, naaa, your right, just older and more long winded.

[Dano]

We still love ya Pat

[Pat B]

Me too! Dano
...and yes I am getting older but have always been long winded. ...and caffeine is another wonderful addiction!
  Actually I don't think I'm the oldest geezer in this conversation. ..or the most long winded.

[NruJaC]

Perhaps I can bring another perspective to this debate. I came into all of this ~6-7 years ago while in jr. high. I was really interested in archery after having heard many stories about archery, and in fact my namesake is a famous indian archer. So I asked my parents to buy me a bow so that I could learn. I guess I threw a bit of a fit about it because I was denied the opportunity due to my behavior. So being a child of the internet age, the first thing I did was run to google and look up how to build a bow. Somehow, that seemed like the logical thing to do. And lo and behold, I ran into Jawge's site. Of course, being so young all I ended up doing was ruining some boards. Tried again after a few years and managed to produce a single shooter that broke after about a month. Now I'm back, produced one shooting bow (though the tiller is off), and I'm on work on several more.

The point is that rather than being drawn by any sort of post-modernism, I came into this because of the low cost involved in making your own bows! Doesn't make for a very romantic story, but I imagine that I'm not the only one who's here for that reason. I stayed however because I can make these myself. Sure, if I had access to glass, I would probably try and make a bow with that as well, I have no prejudice against it. But the idea is that I can do it myself; I'm the sort of person who likes to do things myself. I've been building computers since about the same time that I tried to make my first bows for example, and I write my own software when possible. The self-reliance inherent in constructing a bow is what keeps bringing me back to "traditional archery" or whatever the buzz word has been, is now, or will be. But in the end, its just that, a word. It only has the meaning that we choose to give it.

[shamus]

I don't care for any of the terminology: primitive, traditional, etc.

I make bows. I shoot them.

[Little John]

I have yet to make a stone tool self bow with a sinue string. But to me the primitive archery thing is like climbing mountains, always steeper near the summit. With that said, the traditions of archery are the fun part and archery has never ceased to be fun.