Ok, first of all I don't have a stake in this bowhunting game here in Utah, as it has been almost 10 years since I have hunted here. But I do hunt in another State, and I get an opportunity to see how they manage their resources and hunters. I have also seen the advantage of two organizations, yes I know Utah does have two organizations but one of them can hardly be called a bowhunting organization.
So here is my question............What if the ranks of bowhunters were to be split even further by someone creating a "Traditional Only Bowhunting Organization"?
If the state of Utah made any distinction between traditional archery and compounds, it might make sense. But as it is, I don't see any traditional archer needs that BOU can't meet just as well as a new organization could. We have trad archers on the board and a bunch of trad archers in our membership. So unless compound archers have cooties or something, what's the point?
Next question: What should BOU be doing for trad archers that it isn't already doing? It's YOUR organization, so I'm all ears. (Although I've been accused of being other body parts from time to time.)
I am a traditional bow hunter. In my home state of Wisconsin I am a member of the state traditional group only. The regular bowhunting group has taken some political stances on issues that I don't agree with so for now, I will not join that group.
That said, in Utah if another group were to form and I still lived there I would join both organizations. I would hate to see BOU lose members due to a Trad only organization. There are states that have very strong traditional groups. These groups are very active politically and are trying to take actions that benefit trad archers specifically. At this point in Utah I believe the fight is for overall bowhunting rights and opportunity. Down the road if trad archers feel there is more to be gained specifically for them then at that time another group may be necessary. Right now, BOU needs all "TRUE" bowhunters to join and help gain opportunity in the state of Utah.
Being a traditionalist myself, I don’t see the need for an all “traditional” organization. At this juncture, I believe Utah needs its bowhunters to come together to help fight for opportunity instead of separating even more.
To me being a traditional hunter is a title given to me because of the bow I choose to hunt with, but in the big picture I’m still just a bowhunter as is the individual who chooses to hunt with a compound. I’ve never really understood societies need to segregate itself into facet of “I do things different than you; therefore we must be different so you can’t come to my party”.
I guess what I’m trying to saying is where do you draw the line? I know traditional hunters that make their own bows using none of today’s modern techniques for building recurves or long bows. They tip their arrows with flint heads that they knapped themselves and are more traditional than me or most of the traditionalist that I know. So should they break off and start their own organization? Should compound hunters that shoot over 350 fps rally into an organization that supports really really fast bows? Or should we all stick together as “BOWHUNTERS”
I know that we all have different views of what each of us believes bowhunting to be, but in the end, we all head out into the woods at the same time a year with the same tag in our pockets with bows and arrows in our hands hoping for the opportunity to take an animal.
Thats alway been the problem with sportsman in general, were are own worst enemy. We all have different standards for hunting. Just look at the shot of the month or the poll about how far would you shoot, they go from one end of the scale to the other but we are all still bowhunters that need to unite for the better good of all and the animals we love to hunt.
Wow, I expected a few more responses, but from the ones that are here it is good to see that there are some who agree that bowhunters in Utah, need to stick together to improve what they have!
Now let me throw a few more things in the mix....................
Years ago I had the opportunity to be on an ADHOC Primitive weapons committee. At that time they were concerned with the newest latest greatest thing to be shoved down a barrel, the inline stink stick! Somewhere along the line the RAC's decided that it would be good to make some definations on what bowhunting equipment was also.
So along with the story...........on this ADHOC Committee was various reps from the stink stick group, and bowhunting was represented by 2 groups, UBA and the very first thoughts of a group called Bowhunters of Utah. Those few that were in BOU realized that technology would/could one day play a roll in your bowhunting seasons. The representive from UBA wanted no restrictions on bowhunting equipment as they thought it would steer folks away from the opportunity.
Well lets fast forward to the present time, Idaho Fish and Game is starting to see that bowhunters are becoming as successful as rifle hunters, and this is mainly due to technology. In Idaho there is talk of reducing the season length or putting restrictions on equipment.
In Utah, there is wounding loss questions being asked by those on the Wildlife Board, there are people who call themselves bowhunters who make and sell DVD's where the shortest shot is 80 yards. The X-gun is standing at the door knocking.
While yes Compound or a simple Stick and String, we are all bowhunters, but a Traditional only Organization will be more inclined to stay with the Traditional Values that bowhunting is based on, where as a Any Bow Organization is more likely to loose sight of them as most of their members are likely to be wheelie bow shooters.
Timmy you are full of s#$%!!! As successful as rifle hunters?? what have you been smoking?? If this is the case and bowhunters are killing as many deer as things that go bang them common sense would tell you that the the biologically responsible thing to do would be to cut opportunity before all deer were exterminated from the state.
"wheelie bow" shooters are a lower life form than "traditional purists"?? Why don't you just go ahead and spell out exactly which traditional values we should all be following!!
I know what you are trying to do Timmy Boy and you are probably going to need a bigger spoon to stir this pot.
80 yds no problem under the right circumstances my new equipment and a lot of good practice has made me lethal at that range. Technology is going to keep getting better bow hunters are far behind the smoke pole guys and even farther behind all these new fancy rifles and scopes that are effective out to 1000 yds.
We as bow hunters choose to do so to study our prey and get close to it. Ethics has nothing to do with effective range. I don't see any laws restricting our equipment anytime soon. One group to represent both modern and traditional hunters should be sufficient.
Kudos for Tim for accepting the challenge of the stick and string.
Boy, Gordy Bell, of all the folks on here I would have thought that you would have seen the opportunity for a good constructive conversation. Wow, was I wrong! That is ok though. It was with a great deal of reluctance that I got on here in the first place, and it is further evidence that I really don't want or have any desire to be apart of the goings on in Utah.
Bow boy, just one comment.........With a lot of practice I also can hit a paper plate, (or any stationary target I choose to shoot at 80 or more yards) . I have control of them, they ain't moving! As soon as you can convince me that you have control over that deer or elk you are shooting at I will go along with you and agree that it is totally responsible to shoot at those distances.
The reasons, justifications, arguments are still the same as they were 10 years ago. Only when some group comes up with a viable agreed up on education program, that all bowhunters are willing to participate in, only then, will there be a united effort to preserve the past and have a brighter future.
Tim wrote: Only when some group comes up with a viable agreed up on education program, that all bowhunters are willing to participate in, only then, will there be a united effort to preserve the past and have a brighter future.
Archery education in the past has been through mentoring, not programs. Still is, except that we seem to have let the industry and its infomercials take over a lot of that responsibility. And while it might seem that technology has simplified bowhunting and removed the need for so much mentoring, I think that just the opposite is actually true. Technology presents even more need for mentoring.
I tend to get really judgmental about a lot of the crap I see being advertised and promoted these days and the "new breed of bowhunter" attitudes it generates. But then I remember some of the dumb stunts I pulled when I was a novice. I had a big advantage...a dad and a couple of uncles to slap me up side of the head (literally, sometimes) and accelerate my learning process. What do a lot of today's entry-level bowhunters get? Hmmmmm...speed, brand names, speed, TV show hosts, speed.
The result is a lot of novice bowhunters who need a good, hard slap... BOU can do a lot to end this sort of thing and I think we're making slow progress in that direction. (We could get more done with more help.) In that effort, I'd hate to see the experience base of traditional archery and its mentorship go elsewhere.
