Well folks...i got 7 months clean & sober on the 27th of this month and have returned to one of my old loves as far as past time recreation goes.."archery"...and i've done this before..the 1st time i went through Palm Beach Institute rehab at the ripe old age of 26 back in '84-'85 (and went 16 years clean & sober before relapsing for 10 long fudged up years)...even back then..i went back to my counselor complaining of having too much time on my hands..the big void in my life where i usta use that time for drinking & partying..told'im i didnt know what to do...and he had to take me all the way back to 12-14 years old to remember what hobbies i usta consume my free time with..and i recalled loving to spend a lot of time shooting my old Fred Bear fiberglass bow and sparring nights at the local dojo..so he suggested i buy a bow and join a karat'e studio...and i did..and several months later i strayed from the martial arts cause my instructor got upset cause i only showed on sparring nights (hey..a guys gotta "vent"..right? LOL) but..just a couple years later i was ranked 2nd in the state for NFAA Bowhunter Freestyle Limited...and just about the time i had several major archery manufacturers looking to sponsor me?..i got sick of it...as i am a finger shooter..and the high-end compound wheel bows were getting shorter and shorter..faster and faster...and to a point where they got so short that good finger shooting compound bows were rapidly becoming a thing of the past as anything below 44"s axel too axel was not condusive to good clean finger shooting as the string apex was so acute it would pinch the fingers to the arrow and you couldn't get a "consistantly" good clean release..i tried shooting a 40" 80LB draw Pierson Spoiler for IBO competitons for about 9 months and it was flat shooting as he11 but when i threw one?..it was off the charts..and in the end i blew it up..shooting too light of arrows..anyways..it all turned into a gear war where one needed a new bow every year and the diminutive axel-axel lengths made 90% of the bows out there "Release/Trigger" bows only..and slim pickins for more traditional finger shooters such as myself..got disgusted with the whole wheelbow scene..decided to go back too traditional archery..bought a custom made Bob Lee "HUNTER" Take-Down Recurve..54lbs @ 29" Draw..it arrived..i took it out of the box...assembled it..strung it one time...shot it one time..de-strung it...and hung it on the wall..and that was in 1994..where it sat collecting dust everv since...well..here i am...recovering again..and?..history repeats itself..and what to do with my new found gobs of time?..
Last week i found some raw aluminum shafts in my garage..and feathers...and my old bitzenburger fletching jig..went to buy some inserts and target tips for my easton 24/13 superlite arrow shafts and the guy looked at me like i had two heads.
Said nobody shoots aluminum arrow shafts anymore and that even the traditional guys have gone to Carbon Fiber arrow shafts..i was like.."You gotta be kidding me..you guys dont sell easton shafts anymore?..he said..."We got about 60 of'em left in the back room but we just use'em for poking the eyes out of Ballyhoo! LOL" (cause it's a bait & tackle shop as well)...then i asked for a new finger tab or shooting glove..none in stock..havent carried'em for years..even most of the longbowmen have gone to trigger/releases..and again i was like you've gotta be kidding me..i mean whats the point of shooting a traditional bow with a modern mechanical release? 
Times have changed...but i haven't...and i wont..ordered and got a leather Damascus Glove..Found inserts and built my arrows...bought a new Morrels Eternity Target (self healing foam)...installed a deer hair & leather rest...tuned up my knocking point for arrow flight and after just a weeks worth of practice?..at 20 yards i packed 10 outta 10 in the yellow bullseye with 4 of'em slapped up together in the X-ring and couldnt fit a dollar bill between'em..no pins...no scopes...no peep sight..just instinctive clean traditional archery and that hand crafted custom made Bob Lee recurve shoots like a dream..very quiet..very simplistic..and nothing to ever break or go wrong..very relaxing..extremely peaceful..love it...and dont need the high tech aiming gear cause i practice every night...as in..OCD Baby!
L8R, Bill.
Last week i found some raw aluminum shafts in my garage..and feathers...and my old bitzenburger fletching jig..went to buy some inserts and target tips for my easton 24/13 superlite arrow shafts and the guy looked at me like i had two heads.
Said nobody shoots aluminum arrow shafts anymore and that even the traditional guys have gone to Carbon Fiber arrow shafts..i was like.."You gotta be kidding me..you guys dont sell easton shafts anymore?..he said..."We got about 60 of'em left in the back room but we just use'em for poking the eyes out of Ballyhoo! LOL" (cause it's a bait & tackle shop as well)...then i asked for a new finger tab or shooting glove..none in stock..havent carried'em for years..even most of the longbowmen have gone to trigger/releases..and again i was like you've gotta be kidding me..i mean whats the point of shooting a traditional bow with a modern mechanical release? Times have changed...but i haven't...and i wont..ordered and got a leather Damascus Glove..Found inserts and built my arrows...bought a new Morrels Eternity Target (self healing foam)...installed a deer hair & leather rest...tuned up my knocking point for arrow flight and after just a weeks worth of practice?..at 20 yards i packed 10 outta 10 in the yellow bullseye with 4 of'em slapped up together in the X-ring and couldnt fit a dollar bill between'em..no pins...no scopes...no peep sight..just instinctive clean traditional archery and that hand crafted custom made Bob Lee recurve shoots like a dream..very quiet..very simplistic..and nothing to ever break or go wrong..very relaxing..extremely peaceful..love it...and dont need the high tech aiming gear cause i practice every night...as in..OCD Baby!
L8R, Bill.
Congrats and Bravo Zulu for a Job Well Done!
