Check out any magazine about the difficult sport of bowhunting in the magazine section of your favorite bookstore or grocery store. There is a good chance that you will find an article that talks about the pros and cons of how technology has changed the way bows and arrows are designed, made, and used, as well as how many "easier" accessories are available.
If the magazine is for most bowhunters, the article's author will probably praise the latest and greatest in compound bow technology, such as the percentage of let-off, cam shape, cable material, riser material and shape, carbon arrows, fletching vanes, feet per second, etc. Don't forget the bowhunting tools that will help you succeed every time, like electronic timing devices, electronic rangefinders, bowstring release triggers, and so on. On the other hand, if the magazine is about the more traditional side of the sport, like hunting with recurve bows, longbows, self bows, Indian flat bows, and wood arrows with feather fletching, the opposing view will probably be given.
I usually use more traditional bowhunting gear. I use a Black Widow recurve bow and a Howard Hill longbow. On the recurve bow, I use a bow quiver, and on the longbow, I use a leather back quiver. I like to hunt with cedar arrows I make myself, with feathers I burn to size and shape, and Zwickey or Wolverine broadheads that I glue on. I do my own bowstring twisting. I don't use a sight because I can't tell how far away something is. Because of this, I have to get pretty close before I feel comfortable making a quick shot. I like wool better than fleece (but I have both), plaid better than camo (but I have both), and hunting into the wind to cover scents. But I'm not what some people who like technology would call an "elitist." I'm a little bit old-fashioned, but I don't mind sharing a campfire or a tent with a guy and his high-tech "wheelie" bow. I just think that if a guy or girl wants to hunt with a bow, it doesn't matter what kind of equipment they use as long as they practice, learn their effective range, and don't try to shoot past it.
So, why am I writing this article about the difference between technology and tradition? Well, I'm a traditionalist when it comes to bow and arrow, but when it comes to safety and survival, give me the high-tech stuff any day. I used to think that all I needed was a topo map and my trusty compass. I did fine for quite a few years with just those two things. That's probably because I have a pretty good sense of direction and because I've been hunting in the same place for a long time. BUT.....
About ten years ago, my friend and I decided to check out a part of the Washington Cascades that we didn't know much about. We got out of the truck and split up right away, as bowhunters often do (two guys make three times the racket a single bowhunter makes). After walking a few hundred yards west of the road into the forest, I found and followed a game trail south, which I thought went in the same direction as the logging road we came in on. I walked slowly through the area for about three hours, covering maybe two or three miles. Then I decided to head back to the truck so I could meet my friend at the agreed-upon time. I still don't know why I didn't just go back the way I came, but instead, I went east toward the logging road with the plan of crossing it and hunting my way back to the truck on the other side of the road. I didn't know that the trail I was following did not exactly follow the road. Instead, it was about 45 degrees southwest of the road. So, I slowly walked toward the road, thinking I'd get there in a few hundred yards. I didn't. So I just shrugged and went up the next ridge, but there was still no road. I walked down into the valley and up the next ridge, but I couldn't find a road. Now I was a little worried, so I opened my pack to get my topo. It wasn't there, and it wasn't in any of my pockets, either. I had left it on my friend's truck's dashboard! I hate when things like that happen! I pulled out my map. I was actually going east, or more accurately southeast, but where the heck was that road? Should I turn around and go back the way I came? Even my compass and sense of direction were giving me trouble at this point. I started to whistle and yell, hoping that my friend or someone who knew where he was would hear me and come help me get out of the forest. No response. When I had calmed down a bit, I decided to keep going the way I was. I had to climb over fallen trees and four or five more ridges for another hour before I found the road. I went north on it, but when I got to a fork, I couldn't remember which way to go. At the fork, I didn't know which way to go, so I just prayed I was on the main road, turned around, and walked the five miles back to camp. About an hour later, my friend showed up at camp. He wanted to get our two other friends to go look for me. To say the least, I felt pretty bad.
I promised myself that wouldn't happen to me again. My family and I moved to Colorado before the next bowhunting season. My sweet wife also got me a Garmin GPS (global positioning system) from Cabela's for Christmas. And a few years ago, that sure came in handy! I went hunting for the first time in western Colorado on the Uncompaghre Plateau. For most of the trip, it had been pouring like crazy. A few miles from camp, I was in a forest with very thick stands of aspen and spruce trees. It started to rain again, and fog rolled in. I was very worried because I couldn't see where I was going. Luckily, I had my GPS with me, and as soon as we got there earlier that week, I had put in a waypoint for our campsite. I could walk straight to camp through thick woods, thick fog, and heavy rain. Even though I still keep a topo map of the area I'm hunting in my pocket and a compass in my pack as a backup, I don't think I'll ever go hunting without my GPS. Not likely! It's as important to me as the first-aid kit and fire starters in my pack.
Now that my son will be hunting with me next season, I want to buy a pair of the Garmin Rhino GPS/walkie-talkies. He has no reason to be afraid of getting lost.
