Primitive and traditional hunting?

[ricktrojanowski]

Jimmy
I finally managed to take a deer this year with "organic" equipment.  I shot from a treestand without the use of a feeder or electronics.  However because it was with a treestand it isn't really primitive and is relying on a "gadget".  Some folks use feeders or cameras, and I'm sure if you look hard enough you might find that you use items that make the process easier.  Items that others may look down upon.  My feeling is, hunt how you feel is the best way for you to hunt and not spend too much of your time worrying if others are primitive enough.   This is all just for fun, not for competition. 

[kayakfisher]

Well according to the people that I run into in the woods I am not primitive but a relic. I wear the buckskin shirt , shoot the wood bow rawhide backed, my arrows are cane or shoots with bone heads fletched with turkey bound by sinew . My quiver is plains style made out of elk hide decorated with teeth and beads. my war bag is made out of elk hide [fanny pack] my knife sheath is highly beaded and my stand is made out of wood. [it is a booger to drag in and out] I have been called hard core hunter,by those in the woods that are covered in the latest store bought camo carrying the latest high tech equipment and climbing trees in climbing aluminum stands and have been showed the utmost respect from them. However my equipment is just effective as theres is ,I do not consider myself primitive at all ,but fortunate to be able to hunt in the way that our ancestors hunted. From this way I have gleaned a great respect for the woods not as a place to kill deer but a place that provides the means and materials for what you need.I have found a great respect for the native American people at being so sufficient in this surrounding . I believe primitive is in the eye of the beholder, I still use a battery powered flashlight in the dark to get to my stand a candle would be dangerous to carry or a torch I hunt wild game trails I do not bait use deer cocaine or any thing like that. But I do hunt with pride ,pride because I know that the stuff I use to hunt with is  all crafted by my hand I am not primitive but self sufficient in the woods  just my two cent s worth but  istill drive a modern vehicle live in a modern house and work for the man to pay the gas bill and enjoy forced heating on a cold winters night and enjoy talking to my brothers of the bow on this electronic contraption

[El Destructo]

Just stumbled into this Mess of a Post....and I think I will Meander rightback out again................but by the way....Hows the Weather up there in Missouri anyways......

[jimmy]

Alright, this is the last time I'll respond on this subject, and I think I regret ever having brought it up. I am not in any way "worried" about anyone else and how they hunt. I am not in a competition with anyone here or anywhere. I said in my first post that it was not my intention to draw lines in the sand between what's primitive and what's not. I hunt with a 60 pound osage bow and river cane arrows. Primitive? Not totally. Traditional? Absolutely.  I don't even really post in this forum or any other. I use this site as a tool for learning since I make my own tackle. It just seemed strange to me that on a site called "primitive archer" a lot of the hunting methods were no different that the other hunting forums on the internet. That's all, really. If some of you would have actually read and understood my first post, then this subject probably would not have made it this far. Sorry for the criticism boys,"hunt" however you please. Far be it from me to question anything.

[Kegan]

It just seemed strange to me that on a site called "primitive archer" a lot of the hunting methods were no different that the other hunting forums on the internet.

Hard to get someone actual meanign from just one or two posts. But Primitive archer is just about wooden bows and arrows, not primitive hunting. Sorry you were offended by the responses.

[JustAim]

 ''Primitive'' is just a word modern man made up. lndians used the best weapons available to them at the time...and so do we. When the ''white man'' came snooping around with his guns claiming they're better than the bows and proved it, alot of the indians made the switch because the guns were better for hunting and made life alot easier for them. Today, we devote most of our time trying to earn a living because living off the land is illegal to do in todays times...all the indians had to do was hunt and gather etc. The thing l'm trying to say is, if the indians had this technology available to them like we do today, l'm sure they would have went for it. l hunt with the best equipment l can afford and l'm not ashamed of it. 

[zeNBowyer]

Jim you'll find the  whole  spectrum  of  bowhunters on the  forum,  but a  whole  lot  of  hunters  who like  to  hunt  the  hard way like  yourself,
  That's  cool  you  pull  60#, no  weenie  bow  for you:)
  I think anyone  who hunts  with  a  traditional  type  bow  is  hunting  primitive,
don't  apologize  for wanting to  discuss a  subject,
there's  lots of  people and threads with  hunters  who are real  purist  and  hunt as  primitive  as  it  gets  on the  forum:)
zeNBowyer

[Iukee]

No sweat jimmey, don't let it get you down, most of us trad guys are passionate about this stuff and can at times be pretty defensive (myself included). 

[Adirondackman]

I think the reason we all have our own ideas and thoughts about what is "Primitive" or "
traditional" is because it is an evolution and doesn't happen over night. Example: We put down the laminated bow for the selfbow. Then we decide to use natural shaft over mfg. Then we replace the metal broadhead with a stone one and so on and so forth. Some of us continue on this path - quivers, clothing, knives, etc..., some of us stay with just the bow and some revert back to modern lamenates or worse yet "wheelies" . Its all about where you are on the road to "Primitive". I prefer most of the "Primitive" weapons, tools, clothing, and methods but I still feel that I have a long way to go.

[woodstick]

i use it all trail cameras, feeders, camo but i have fun doing it. i like to put meat in the freezer. maybe one day i will hunt nude and take something yall dont wana be around me when i do.

[Justin Snyder]

If some of you would have actually read and understood my first post, then this subject probably would not have made it this far. Sorry for the criticism boys,"hunt" however you please. Far be it from me to question anything.

Question? Did you read my post. I don't use trailcams or anything like that. I do wear clothes from the store, and drive to my hunting location so I guess I don't count either.

As for the site, I will make it a little clearer for you.  We allow discussion of almost anything in the anything else thread. Pictures and stories in the hunting and shooting section were taken with primitive equipment. Bows in the bow section are made with natural materials. If you are looking for all Primitive People, look in a cave not on the internet.

[El Destructo]

Well Put Justin........If We were Primitive People...would we have cell Phones...Climate Controlled Homes....Internet....IPODS....come on ....No One is a Primitive on this Site......and if You are looking for some ....you are on the wrong piece of equipment...try a Tribal Drum to get in contact....Duh!!!..............


Woodstick........Just don't use Doe in Estrus Scent...while Hunting Commando like that........

[Hillbilly]

Jimmy, I understand what you're saying-but if we were to pursue true "primitive hunting", we would be chasing herds of critters off cliffs, setting the woods on fire and clubbing everything to death that ran out the other side, hunting at night, setting snares in deer trails, building corrals with mile-long wing fences and herding animals into them, and such. The game wardens around here don't like that kind of stuff much.

[NOMADIC PIRATE]

.......and poison arrows 

[Tsalagi]

Well, I gotta say, I agree with a lot of what Jimmy says. On one hand, I don't have a primitive bow. I have a Martin Saber. I make my own arrows. I'd say I'm more of a traditional archer, but a lot of stuff I make myself, so hence the primitive.

Now, I'm not going to blow smoke here. There are times I NEED the meat being as rabbit and jackrabbit hunting here is year round. No bag lmits on jackrabbits. I'm unemployed. When I NEED the meat, I will be using a Remington 870 12 gauge shotgun. But I work on getting better and better with the bow with the eye of using the bow exclusively for rabbit hunting. Cheaper in the long run since I can reuse the ammo.

I can't afford electronic gadgets. I don't have a cell phone and don't want one. I don't want people to be able to get a hold of me anytime. I want to live my life, not theirs. I don't need to talk to anyone on the phone while I'm out doing my own thing. That's not a life. And I don't want electronics on my hunt, even if I could afford them, which I can't so it's a moot point anyway. If I can't hunt without the aid of electronics, I'll hang up my bows (and guns) and forget about it. I don't have a GPS, I have a compass that the United States Army taught me to use and I never forgot that training. I couldn't afford a GPS anyway.

I'm getting pretty tired of going into the woods and hearing ATVs and seeing the damage they leave behind. That's not just hunters, too. If a person can't get into the woods without an ATV, they shouldn't be there. Sorry. Our search and rescue here spends way too much time rescuing people who have no business being in the woods. Because those people are suddenly clueless and scared when the ATV breaks down. Then they dial up on the cell phone for help. That goes for everyone, not just hunters. People let their gadgets lull them into the belief that they don't need woodcraft. Yeah, and they find a couple people that thought that when the snow melts here, too, almost every year.

Now, yes, I use firearms. I can't afford to shoot them once the ammo runs out for the rifles; at least not to shoot them for targets/plinking. A shotgun is of the most use for me. But, there it is. Yes, I shoot a modern fiberglass-backed recurve bow. But I think all the gadgets are not doing hunting any kind of service in the overall long run. In my mind, there's no excuse for a hunter to be lost in the woods and he hasn't got a compass. "Oh, the GPS broke..." Whatever. Some people like gadgets because hunting is their passion and it gives them more things to get involved in. And you know what? That's fine, too. But there's a flip side to that coin. Other people don't have to approve of it and like it. Just like the gadgeteers don't have to listen to the soapbox of anti-technology. But we can discuss it and compare notes, see why we all think that way, and so on. Personally, I don't want to buy one thing more than absolutely necessary for hunting. Hunting is a state of mind, not state-of-the-art.

Yes, I'm opinionated. But, hey, whaddya gonna do?