What started your interest in primitive activities?

[Ifrit617]

I took a trip out west to many of the national parks in 2009. I saw many museum examples of native weapons, and was immediately intrigued. As soon as I got home I started researching their bows, arrows, and weapons, and haven't stopped making them or learning about them since.

Jon

[Don]

Like alot of people, when I was a kid I used a stick with bailing string and horse weeds for arrows.
Later in life came the flint locks and that has carried over to archery. I used to shoot modern archery but it lost
most of its fun after afew years.
Just doen't get any better when you make and use your own equipment.

[lostarrow]

Raised in an environment with little money and the attitude that "if you need something, you can make it yourself. "  Spent all of my free time growing up in the bush. Watching and learning. We grew up hunting ,fishing ,  helping out on relatives farms ,working hard and playing harder. Self reliant family . Very fortunate to have a great extended family (huge) where everyone shares what they know.Lots of access to tools ,wood and wisdom.Grandad was a pioneer in Northern Ontario (born 1896) . Raised a family of ten on the farm and trapped in the winter.My mother was born in a log cabin with no running water and no electricity. Taught in a one room schoolhouse when she turned 17. So as you can see ,I was fortunate enough to be only a generation away from the "settlers" that most only get to read about.
      Yosemite- The residential schools happened here too. My friends were the children of the victims. A very black time that robbed the world of so much.
   So, ..... that's it!  I know feel a sense of duty to keep the old knowledge alive for our children . I think a lot of the others here feel the same.

[bowsandroses]

I'm just the tipical ranch country kid was a cowboy fight'n injuns and bandito's . But as most kids loved anything that sent something through the air at hire speeds than throwing. We made slings, sling shots (AKA wrist rockets) and yes green limb bows with bailing twine, fishing line, or what ever was handy for strings. cat tail arrows with a roofing nail stuck in the end for weight,  pointed end in like a small steel blunt. We had wars with these set up's and they hurt reel bad when they hit you would'a got a good skin'n had we got caught. Started hunting in 81 with a new browning compound shot about 200 FPS back then we thaught that was fast. Like most archers I progressed with time 94 had a PSE with 4" overdraw set at 90 pounds smoked a big alum. shaft, that bow cost me two nice bulls in one morning and a wounded buck later on account my release was on my dash rather than my wrist. Saddly I'm a slow learner but I got a bear take down hunter and hunt'n became fun again. 2001 took a class with John Strunk built my first real bow. About the same time I had started researching the local Ochoco Natives cause where I hunt I see heads all the time and always wanted to know who was here before me. Been pretty serious hooked ever since or kinda in a way always was just took a while to figure it out.

[bow101]

Peeing outside rather than using a toilet.....

[ionicmuffin]

Some great stories here! well bow101 i think that wouldnt be considered a primitive skill 

[Roy]

Because Primitive was the way it was in the beginning  thousands of years ago, and it's the way it will be for me when I die:)

[Newindian]

Got introduced by my neighbor to archery and while I shot compounds the traditional was always in my mind tried to make a few when I was little don't think I ever really succeeded, shortly after buying my fourth compound ( a hoyt that I had saved for a long time to buy, and still shoot about twice a year, cost close to a thousand dollars total ) I realized I had just enough money to buy the cheapest hunting weight fg bow on the market (Martin jaguar) which I hated ( on sale right now in the garage sale) and decided I could make something better than it. started to search online and decided this was something I wanted to do

[chamookman]

A Jay Massey book got Me interested in Primitive, then I found out a Guy that lived close helped People make bows. Went to a garage in Flint and met a Guy by the name of Gary Davis, and have been infected ever since. Bob

[PEARL DRUMS]

My desire to want many, many, many bows and having ZERO money to get any more than one. Why not make them from wood myself I thought? 150 bows later I still feel like each one is my first, I love that feeling.

[bow101]

Some great stories here! well bow101 i think that wouldnt be considered a primitive skill 

    yes but he qouted  "primitive activities"  not skills.  Any way I think what got me going was making slings way back when I was a youngster.

[Thesquirrelslinger]

I have never had a compound bow that could take what I throw at a bow- it has to serve as a javelin and sparring stick-staff too as well as a bow. It needs to not suffer damage being dragged through the bush by the string. it needs to be elegant enough to look good but be rough enough to be primitive. it also needs to cost under $10.  It must be able to shoot my 1000 grain arrows and my 100 grain flight arrows well.
I started slinging, then javelin, then.... I am now addicted to bows.

[Wolf Watcher]

I grew up during the "War" in Cody, Wyoming.  There were no TVs, freezers, or spending money!  You could get a red rubber innertube from the gas station for free.  The Saturday movie cost 14cents if you could sell enough milk bottles to afford it and watching the pictures of the war let us know it's progress!  In the fall a dollar would buy a l00# sack of potatoes and 50cents would buy a sack of beans from the then called "Jap Camp" if you could afford it.  If you wanted something you built it!  There were two locker plants in town and we filled ours with wild game.  Us kids could hitch hike anywhere with our fishing poles, bows, or 22 if you had one.  We sold magpies for 5cents, prairie dogs for a penny, jack rabbits in the winter for a quarter and were lucky to break even with 22 shells costing 36cents.  My sling shot, sling, bow, and single shot Stevens Junior were my weapons.  We hunted and fished year around.  Every family had a coupon book and the women traded with each other for the things they could afford to buy.  If you wanted something you made it!  Even in collage in Laramie I shot and sold jack rabbits to help with the expenses.  So when did I start the primitive life?  You could say I was born into it!  Joe

[sonny]

I shot a compound bow for several years but I always noticed that the trad. guys seemed to have much more fun.
I remember a group of them shooting at a matchbook (or something about that size) at 50 yards or so, laughing and
having a good ole time.
When I finally made up my mind to start shooting traditional I went to an archery rendezvous in hopes of finding a
decent used bow for sale. I didn't....
that afternoon a couple of primitive bowyers (current buddies of mine) held a bow building class and I watched one of
them take a black cherry stave to shooting bow in just a few hours. From that point on I knew that I wanted to build a
bow myself.

I think that most will agree that whether we start out building bows or knapping or whichever other skill we practice that
it's all sorta "tied" together and we want to learn those other, related skills as well.
     

[seabass]

i bought my first Bear recurve from my uncle when he switched to compounds way back when.i was eight years old.he was having a garage sale and had that bow on the table.i asked him what he wanted for it.he said whatever you have in your pocket.i got the bow for eight bucks.i still shoot that old Bear today.it is my bowishing rig.that is how i got started.