txjourneyman

I still do some wing shooting, doves, ducks, etc. For deer I am bow only. I may use a gun for hogs once in a while but that is more about population control if they get too out of hand. Black powder is the only gun I'll shoot. Percussion .50 and double barrel percussion 12ga. I had a load of fun getting my turkey on public land with a BP 12ga this year!

rookie51

This is my first year bowhunting and i already appreciate the diffuculty of it but that does not mean gun is still not challenging. I understand what you guys are talking about after seeing people on tv shoot deer from 300 yds away with a highpowerd rifle and just makes me sick. But the kind of hunting i do it is just as challengin to get the deer with range with my shotgun the shot is just easier.

Killer_Primate

Good question, and I’ve been ridiculed for my answer in the past. To me, it has to do with skill level of different hunters, as well as the different levels of challenges that type of hunting poses.
Of course if you take any type of hunting, and exchange the high power rifle with a bow, you’ve created a more challenging situation. But…
I find it harder to sneak into the bedding area of a good buck with my shotgun, than I do to sit in a well-placed stand with a bow. As far as the hunt goes, I think bow hunting in a stand is about as easy as it gets. For one, no walking, once you’ve reached your stand. How many times have we seen the post “how can I get to my stand quietly”? To a stalk hunter, that is such an ignorant question, if, it were posed by someone who down played the level of expertise needed by a hunter armed with a shotgun who was sneaking on the ground. In fact, it makes me nauseous. And to further justify my opinion, the rut. The guy on the ground with a gun, is not hunting the rut. He is not dealing with a stupid horny buck. He is dealing with a paranoid freak, who is gone once he simply suspects something isn’t right, and he’s watching. Laying in the thick stuff during the day, walking only during darkness.
I’ve only been able to shoot one deer on the ground with my bow. It was a nice size doe and it is one of my fondest hunts for sure. But, the easiest buck I ever killed was on my very first ever bow hunt, and it was about as easy as calling my dog. I do realize it isn’t always or even usually that east, but worth mentioning for this discussion.
In closing; by far, the hardest hunts that I’ve ever been on were with my father, a man who never owned a bow. He preferred “running down deer” or “hounding” with a 30-06. Both have the same meaning; it is simply stalking a buck that knows you’re after him. You do need snow or at least wet conditions, a huge piece of property, a bunch of skill, a bunch of time, a bunch of stamina, a bunch of patience and be committed to spending the night and starting over in the morning. Those were some of the longest days of my life, and most times, we were unsuccessful.
Finally, I don’t think I could ever be successful with my bow hunting like that, but even so, my bow is the weapon of choice. This year I’ll be challenging myself to hunt two new pieces of “bow only” private property with no stands. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Good luck and be safe,
KP

brucelanthier

Excellent post KP!! But you should know that bow hunting is much more difficult than gun hunting and "hounding" a deer, just read the "how do you stay awake in your stand" thread"

rybohunter

While I really have lost any desire to shoot a deer with a rifle, I still gun hunt for other critters, and will use a handgun for deer. For me the loss of excitement isn’t solely due to the weapon, rather more of the way the season plays out. I like hunting deer under their natural movements. Our gun season has such pressure that in all but the fewest areas, that is not possible. So to me, the “accomplishment” in the Pa gun season isn’t diminished so much by the weapon, but by the circumstance. Find an escape trail and hope one gets pushed by. Your success is more random luck (or skill at playing the escape routes) rather than true woodsman ship skill.

Now let me listen to a hunting story where a guy pursued the deer under their conditions and had to use knowledge of the land and deer to bag it, I’ll be happy for him all day. But I’d probably be a bit more impressed if he took it with a bow, over a gun.

brucelanthier

Why is it that one group of hunters always wants to denegrate another group in order to make themselves feel good? I have read some comments about looking at pictures of a "gun shot" deer and not being impressed as if shooting the deer took no skill whatsoever. I have to wonder what a gun hunter thinks when a bowhunter shows him a picture of a deer. Does he think, hmm, "how much skill does it take to sit in a tree over a bait pile and shoot what comes in?". Does he tell folks in the gun forum that he is not impressed with pictures of deer from bowhunters?

Perhaps instead of being unimpressed with another style of hunting we should focus on being impressed that the other person is a hunter regardless of the weapon the hunt with. I will always be impressed with another hunter's legal and ethical kills.

GR8atta2d

Bruce, it's never gonna be that way..I understand what your saying and can agree..But it's never good enough, or big enough, or tough enough. A guy with a crossbow is ridiculed by the compound guy and he is snubbed by the recurve guy who is sneered at cuz he didn't make his own bow, like long bow guy did. The guy with the spear is unethical. And gasp if you use anything with powder!

The guys who shoots the small buck is not patient the guy who shoots the big buck just has good land. We all find ways of making ourselves the Good Guy..the only one doing it right.

When the truth is no one can judge us, we need thicker skin. No one knows the trials and tribulations that go into each and everyone of our, individual seasons. Part of the mentality of being a hunter puts us at the top of the food chain in our woods. We are the ultimate predator. We need not be cannibles and feed on our own. Rally behind each other...think your own thoughts to satisfy your needs of self fulfillment...but publicly put on a face of congratulatory respect and admiration when a fellow hunter tells a successful tale. It's a challenge to be happy for others when your own goals are left un-met..but we all want a bigger challenge...isn't that what we strive for?


I'm off the soap box..

Rob/PA Bowyer

Now do that exact same hunt with a bow in hand. Right you just elevated the risk and difficulty....case in point.

You guys are comparing apples to oranges.....

And how many with a gun? I'm more impressed with that one with a bow than I am with any of them with a gun.

I don't see it degenerating another group, it's just more impressive with a bow.

And how many took no skill? Like the Hanson buck, #1 but it was taken on a drive after being pushed and pushed and missed...I'm not impressed with Hanson, I am with the buck and I feel sorry for the guy that missed it and helped push it...wonder what he got out of that?

First of all not everyone hunts over bait and second, where legal, put a rifle hunter in the same situation, yup still harder with a bow. Mr Rifle can pull the trigger when the animal is out at 75 yards....Mr Bowhunter has to either call, wait or not have an opportunity. Still more impressive if taken with a bow.
Diehard only rifle hunters have been condemning bowhunters forever, always will be that way. They are jealous we can hunt the rut but if the rut was open to rifle hunters, it would be a slaughter...seasons are governed to avoid that.

No one here other than a handful of guys that may respond is for ending rifle seasons however no matter how you slice it, it's more impressive with a bow and as a avid compound user, it's more impressive to me with a long bow or recurve....so be it, it is what it is.

brucelanthier

Not every gun hunter hunts over 200 yard fields either .

So, if the gun hunterjust waits andshoots at animals within 50 yards then that would be as "impressive" as a bow kill?

Rob/PA Bowyer

A high powered rifle with a scope, no...a flintlock open iron sights, perhaps but like I said, it's more impressive with a bow, even more with a stickbow...especially 50 yards.

A rifle can be passed from guy to guy for the most part with little to no shooting skills at 50 yards if the gun is zero'd...a guy who never picked up a gun could pull the trigger and use it....is that so with a bow?