Switching from compound to traditional: what actually changes

We're making this switch ourselves. This guide pairs what we're learning with sixty-five years of Keith's work at the Wapiti bench.

Why people switch

Nobody needs to be talked out of a compound. It works, and it works very well. The hunters who come to traditional archery usually aren't unhappy with their gear. They're curious about what was traded away to make it work that well.

What you give up is reach and a margin for error. What you get is a lighter, quieter bow, a simpler setup with almost nothing to adjust or break, and a hunt that happens at the distance where you can hear the animal breathe.

What changes when you pick up a traditional bow

You hold the full weight

A compound's cams let off 75 to 90 percent of the peak weight at full draw. A 70-pound compound might leave you holding under 20 pounds while you wait for the shot.

A recurve or longbow has no let-off. If it's a 55-pound bow, you're holding 55 pounds at anchor, and you can't hold it long. That's why traditional shooters draw, anchor, and release in one continuous motion rather than settling in and waiting.

There are no sights

Traditional archers aim in a few different ways:

• Instinctive: you focus hard on the spot you want to hit and let practice put the arrow there, the way you'd throw a ball.
• Gap shooting: you use the arrow point as a reference and learn how far below or above the spot to hold at each distance.
• Split vision: a blend of the two, where you're aware of the arrow in your peripheral vision while focused on the target.

None of these is the "right" one. Most people end up with a mix. What matters is that the method stays the same shot to shot.

You shoot with fingers, off the shelf

No release aid. You draw with a tab or glove on your fingers, and the arrow rests on the bow's shelf rather than a mechanical rest.

On Wapiti recurves the shelf is high and crowned to cut friction, and it sits just above the shooter's hand, which helps instinctive aiming because the arrow points where your hand points. The arrow window is cut to the riser's centerline and never past it. In Keith's words, cutting a wood riser past center "is a very dangerous thing to do."

The arrow is slower

Keith's recurves shoot a hunting-weight arrow at about 185 to 200 feet per second. That's a big step down from a modern compound. Asked whether a recurve or longbow can reach 260 fps, his answer is no, not with a normal hunting arrow; you'd need an unusually light arrow, a very long draw, or an extreme draw weight, none of which make sense for most bowhunters.

A traditional bow doesn't kill by speed. It kills with a heavy arrow and a sharp broadhead at close range.

Arrows matter more

Your compound arrows won't work. A traditional bow needs arrows spined to its draw weight, your draw length, and your point weight, and fingers make the arrow flex differently than a release does. Poorly matched arrows are the most common reason a new traditional shooter can't group, and they're often blamed on the archer.

Any shaft material works: wood, carbon, or aluminum. Keith himself has shot wood arrows since 1960, preferring 5/16-inch compressed shafts with 5½-inch feathers on a heavy helix and a 125-grain point. Whatever you choose, get the arrows matched to the bow and tune them before you add broadheads.

For broadheads, Keith's view is three blades for most North American game, and a narrow two-blade for very large or heavy-ribbed animals.

Your range shrinks

Most traditional bowhunters hold themselves to about 20 yards on game, and many keep it closer. Keith once came back from a Texas javelina hunt having seen around a hundred pigs at 30 to 100 yards without taking a shot, because none came inside 20. That's the discipline. Your own limit is the distance where you can put every arrow in a paper plate, cold, on the first shot.

Choosing your first traditional bow

Draw weight: Keith's rule

"The bowhunter should use all the bow poundage they can adequately handle, but no less than 50 pounds at 28 inches," Keith has said. "You shouldn't shoot a bow weight which you can't shoot consistently."

He shoots 60 pounds himself, and has said he can shoot 65, "but not good, so I stay at 60." By his account, 60 pounds with a three-blade broadhead gives pass-through penetration on elk.

That rule has two halves, and new traditional shooters usually get the second one wrong. Coming off a 70-pound compound, 60 pounds feels like a step down. Without let-off, it isn't. Pick the heaviest weight you can shoot well, not the heaviest you can pull.

Two ways to bridge the gap:

• Learn on lighter limbs. On a takedown, you can learn form with a lighter set of limbs and move to hunting-weight limbs on the same riser.
• Keith's dual-weight longbow. An option with two string grooves an inch apart; swapping string lengths changes the draw weight by about eight pounds. In his example, you practice form at 52 pounds and hunt at 60 with the same bow.

Check your state's legal minimum too. Colorado requires at least 35 pounds of draw weight for big game, and broadheads at least 7/8 inch wide with two or more steel cutting edges. Keith's 50-pound floor sits well above that.

Recurve or longbow

• Recurves store more energy in a shorter bow, so they're typically faster and easier to carry through timber. It's easy to make a fast bow with a short limb, or a smooth bow with a long one; the hard part, Keith says, is making one that's both. His answer is a sharp, small-radius recurve that opens up late in the draw. The working limb is about 16 inches from the end of the fade-out to the string nock, shorter than most bows on the market, yet smoother to draw.
• Longbows are lighter in the hand and quieter. The Wapiti Spike is a modern deflex-rebend longbow: very smooth, little hand shock, and close to recurve speed. The Yellowstone is the classic Howard Hill-style reflex longbow, slower and with more hand shock, for the archer who wants the old way.

One-piece or takedown

A one-piece bow is simple and classic. A takedown breaks down for travel and backpacking, and lets you swap limb weights on the same riser as you get stronger.

For hunting, Keith recommends two takedown systems over the others:

• Two bolts per limb (Wapiti TD, and the three-piece Bugle longbow): the oldest and most dependable design. It takes about 90 seconds to assemble but gives perfect alignment and is rigid, quiet, and low-maintenance.
• Slide-lock (Wapiti SL): a dovetail that assembles in about five seconds and holds the limb so it can't tear forward if a string breaks.

Bolt-and-pin systems (like the Big Bull) are simpler and more affordable, but a broken or cut string sends all the bow's energy into the limb mount. Keith's advice is to weigh that especially after a warranty runs out.

Built to your draw length and your hand

Every Wapiti bow is built to order: draw weight, length, and grip matched to the archer. Tell us your draw length measured with a traditional anchor, not your compound's. They're often different.

Your first three months

1. Start close. Shoot at a large bale from 5 to 10 yards with no target face. You're learning a shot, not scoring one.
2. Form before distance. Same stance, same anchor, same release, every time. Move back only when your groups at the current distance are tight.
3. Short sessions. A dozen good shots beats a hundred tired ones. When form starts to slip, stop.
4. Add a target face, then distance. Work out to 15 and 20 yards over weeks, not days.
5. Shoot 3D and stump. Uneven ground, odd angles, and unknown distances are what hunting actually looks like.

Plan on a full off-season before your first traditional hunt. Let your groups set the date, not the calendar.

And be patient in the field. Keith hunted 19 years before taking his first big game animal, and 29 before his first Pope & Young animal. He's since taken everything from elk and sheep to grizzly bear and Cape buffalo with traditional bows.

Common mistakes

• Choosing more draw weight than you can shoot consistently
• Using compound arrows, or arrows that haven't been tuned to the bow
• Expecting compound arrow speed
• Backing up to long distances before the form is there
• Holding at full draw like a compound shooter, which causes fatigue and a collapsing release
• Taking a hunting shot at a distance you've never proven on the range

Quick answers

What draw weight do I need for elk with a traditional bow? Keith's rule is at least 50 pounds at 28 inches for big game, and all you can shoot consistently. He hunts at 60 pounds, which he says gives pass-through penetration on elk with a three-blade broadhead.

Can I use my compound arrows? No. Traditional bows need arrows spined to the bow's draw weight and your draw length, shot off the fingers. Wood, carbon, and aluminum all work once they're matched.

How fast does a traditional bow shoot? A Wapiti recurve shoots a hunting-weight arrow at about 185 to 200 fps. No recurve or longbow reaches 260 fps with a normal hunting arrow.

Is traditional archery harder than compound? It takes longer to become accurate, and your effective range is shorter. Most people find it more rewarding for exactly that reason.

How far can I ethically shoot with a traditional bow? Only as far as you can consistently hit a paper-plate-sized target on the first cold shot. For most traditional hunters that's 20 yards or less.

Which takedown system is best for hunting? Keith recommends two bolts per limb or a slide-lock. Both hold the limb securely if a string breaks; bolt-and-pin systems don't.

---

Wapiti Bows has built custom recurves, takedowns, and longbows by hand in Colorado since 1960. Join the list to hear when the shop opens.

Keith Chastain quotes from Phillip Foss, "The Physics of Flight," Traditional Bowhunter, August/September 1996, and from Keith's published notes on Wapiti bows.