How Technology affects us

[DanaM]

Got into a discussion with some friends on modern technology the other night. Everywhere one goes its gizmos and gadgets
everyone seems to have a cell clipped to their ear now, internet and tv on the cells now, computers, gps, high tech bows and muzzleloaders
its all supposed to make our life easier, ya right. More like complicate yer life and suck your money from your wallet. I have a cell that work decided
I had to have that way I'm on call 24/7 extra pay? ya right. I use the computer but mostly for chatting with you guys and as a research tool for genealogy.
I own a gps its nice for when I find a good spot I can save the waypoint and come back months later. I use power tools to build bows bandsaw, sander etc.
But the biggest thing I see especially with kids is as soon as something new hits the market they gotta have it even though what their using is perfectly ok.
Look at compound bow shooters I know a couple of friends buy new bows every year or two because their supposedly faster and easier to shoot. Talking some real money here. My first compound was a bear whitetail bought around 1978, that bow was cheap and would shoot thru a deer no problem. Was it good enuf? nah had to buy a new one that was faster and in a few years another so on and so on. Finally got fed up with it all and quit bow hunting for years. Look at the modern muzzleloaders
nothing primitice there, more like a single shot rifle give em a few years and they will have highly accurate repeaters on the market. As i grow older I'm starting to simply my life, when I head to the woods I want to relax if I get a shot or two great if not maybe I found some morels or arrow shoots. Even if I come home with nothing, I still come home at peace with myself!!! So is technology bad, nope is it good nope it just is, its your choice to use, or not I guess.

As jamie says Peace

[Pat B]

Dana, I'm with you here! My goal in archery is to see how simple and primitive I can get and still be efficent. I do still make lam bows(and see where that has gotten me lately) but prefer a simple selfbow. I am in the process of making a bow with a piece of osage I took from what was rejected for my bow wood stash. Just to see if I could. So far so good!
  Simplifing life has been my objective for years and it is a very relaxing situation.   Pat

[DanaM]

I know I was rambling a bit, didn't really sleep last night. It just seems like I'm at a crossroad in life. My son is leaving for the Coast Gaurd on May 8ty, my daughter is graduating from high school, and I only have 5 more years to work a normal job. So its going to be just me and momma soon. I watch friends my age and their all hell bent on acquiring "things". Me I keep tellin the wife all I want is tarpaper shack in the woods She thinks I'm joking but I'm really not. I guess my American Dream differs from most folks. I've only been building bows for 6 months but I will do it until I'm gone. If I have a tough day at work all it takes is a few shavings to still the waters. Order is restored. Also the people I have met in here are unlike most folks, caring, giving, helpful well you get picture. Lets see 330bull sent me 3 VM staves for shipping costs only, I sent Justin Snyder a dowel maker now he's sending me some goodies, VB sent me some bandsaw metal for shipping only, I sent Agbowyer some sinew to help replace what his dogs ate , Says alot about the quality of the folk. The thing is technology makes this possible! sorta ironic don't ya think.

DanaM

[Justin Snyder]

I hear you Dana.  I'm not quite as old as you.  I bought my first compound in 1988. Then another, then another. I currently have a beautiful, top of the line Hoyt, that I have shot 4 arrows through.  I gave up on bowhunting because it was loosing its appeal. I was shooting sights and using a release.  I felt like I was shooting a short range rifle.  I built my first wood bow in 2004 and I cant get enough.  It brought back all the fun that got me bowhunting in the first place.  I do like a good selfbow, but I build a lot of laminated bows because that is the wood I have access to. Now thanks to the guys on this site, and trades I have made, I finally feel like I have enough staves to build some bows. When you pay for staves you don't build a lot of selfbows. 

By the way, I like to do genealogy on my computer too.  I currently have about 15,000 names of my ancestors and can trace them back to Europe in the 1300s.      Justin

[DanaM]

Justin I can only get to the 1600's france via Quebec on moms side, Dads is a dead end in sweden and/or finland.
Apparently I come from a  long line of farmers

Dana

[Pat B]

Dana, I am fortunate in that my wife would like to move to a tar paper shack away from everyone. Where we live now, we have 25ac and the only houses we see is during the winter and they are on a high ridge and only see their lights at night. Our county has only 30,000 residents and half of the county is National Forest or State Parks. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. 
   Both of us are techno phobes and could live without electricity or indoor plumbing. In 1993 we went through a blizzard(southern style ) with 18"-24" of snow and were snowed in for 9 days...and loved it. We had a blast while others thought they were suffering .      Pat

[GregB]

Dana, I'm the same age as you...will be 47 in July. I think it was 1977 when my brother and I went in together and bought a Bear Polar II Compound bow. He is three years older and would drive us to a local archery range at Ft. Campbell and he would shoot it for a little while, then hand the bow to me to shoot. I eventaully started buying my own compounds and went down the road of always trying to get the newest, improved bow.

I finally bought a Bighorn about 21 years ago, and have stayed primitive since except a moment or two of weakness. I've taken the vast majority of my deer harvest with that Bighorn bow. I've been into making selfbows for about five years now I think. Last year I picked up my old Bighorn again after a couple of bad shots with the selfbow. Didn't make any difference...problem was all me.

What I really enjoy most in life costs very little. Making bows isn't a very expensive hobby compared to most. I don't have a cell phone and never have although my wife couldn't live without her's it seems. I'm happiest when scraping on wood, stopping only to check how the latest feast in the dutch oven is coming along. That's when "life is good!".

[jamie]

yup

[Pat B]

My first compound was bought at a flee market way back when for $50. After I killed a few deer with it I had to have a better one and sold that one for $50. It was a Bear Black tail. My next was a PSE Nove but by then I had already started thinking about trad bows and shortly after that I got a custom recurve. I almost got a used Big Horn. My next purchase was a Treadway long bow but by then I was making selfbows. I killed my first trad deer with that Treadway after missing 9 in a row with the recurve(6 within 10 minutes). Three years ago I started hunting only with self bows(or hickory backed bows, and primitive arrows. I'm still waiting for an opportunity with one of my bows(I wish I had those six shots to do over again). Most of my fun has been since I started using self bows and I have never looked back. Occasionally, I will pick up my Treadway or recurve but it just ain't the same.   Pat

[Kegan]

(weeping) Amen my brothers! (sniffle)

I have seen and said those exact same things, and I'm still by most rights a kid! Luckily I can give my brother anything I find "too modern", or maybe borrow his power tools if I need some help bow making .

As Thoreau said, "Siimplify, simplify..."

And so lives one the beautiful world of primitve archery! It takes you back... it sets you free.

[D. Tiller]

If I simplify I will be back to banging rocks together.....ummmm??!!!!??? Too late!!! Just wacked out a clovid point this evenning! Knuckle walking and swinging through the trees is just arround the corner. 

I only shot a wheel bow once and never touched one again. There was just no life in it!

David T

[Bob S.]

I agree 100%. I went from fast bows to faster bows. Long range rifles to longer range rifles. Things started to change for me when I started hunting with muzzle loaders. To be honest, the only reason I did was to take advantage of the longer seasons, but after a while I became addicted the one shot, get them close aspect and started carrying my muzzle loaders during the regular season.This led to the compound bow, then to a long bow and a whole bunch of other primitive interests that led me here. I guess I'm "evolving" backwards too. I think thats a good thing.

[mullet]

    Life is a full circle;You are just completing the journey , Grasshopper

[D. Tiller]

Ohhh! Mullet!!! When you start quoting "Kung Fu" the TV show you know you are in trouble then! Tried watching a rerun of that the other day and could not believe how hockey it was. How could we have watched it when we were kids!!!

[DanaM]

When you can snatch the pebble from my hand, only then will you be ready....

LOL

DanaM