in da woods

Like I have told others before. I use my gun for put meat in the freezer, & my bow for HUNTING! I have never had a deer walk away from a gun or bow until this year. The only difference is the ability to shoot thru vegetation & be able to reach out & touch some one w/my 7mm mag. I believe that w/bow, the experience you get from being that close to a deer is a heck of a rush. I know that if it were gun season 2 weeks ago, I would have a nice wall mounter for this yr.

GMMAT

I'm missing the point of your post TJF. Why can't things be "equal"?So...ANY day of the season....if you're given the choice of weapon (1st day of season or last).....and there's a $500 check waiting for you if you take a deer......what weapon do you take?

Which one is easier to kill a deer with?

What does my "bowhunting only paradise" have to do with this question?

Lisa and I were talking about this, last night. If I had been gun hunting, last year.....I would have bagged the buck that's on my wall on Thanksgiving Day......the first day I saw him. I saw him again the day after......and I've have bagged him, then, too. I saw him one more time before I finally took him the first weekend in December. IfI'd have been gun hunting.....the buck I took Nov. 6th of this year would have been taken by me in 2005. if I'd been gun hunting....I also had 2 opportunities to kill him, last year.

So again I ask......You're hunting SC.....and opener is opener for ALL weapons. If someone told you there was a $500 check waiting for you to kill a deer that day.....what weapon do you leave the house with?

Buck Magnet

Jeff, in your situation as described above, and knowing that you have sole permission to the property you hunt, then the rifle would seem to be an easier bet. Take most hunters situations though and things become much different. Its hard to understand just what the increased pressure of rifle hunters will do to deer movement unless you see it. I have no idea how much pressure is in or around your hunting area, or what type of tactics are used for hunting, but when rifle season starts up here (in my part of PA), hunting pressure will increase dramatically. Properties that have one or two archery hunters will now have 20 rifle hunters on them. It just seems to me that too many times we (myself included) as archers think that what we accomplish while hunting is superior to what rifle hunters accomplish. It seems to me that we hold ourselves and our hunting methods above those of rifle hunters and after thinking about it, I don't see how what we do is anymore difficult than what rifle hunters do. Our overall goals are the same, the weapons of course are different, but with the differance in weapons comes many other variables (atleast for most areas/states) such as pressure and deer movements/phases.

I would like to give you an open invitation to hunt any of my properties next year if you decide to hunt PA again, maybe get some others members like Matt, Rob, Frank, Ryan, Franand maybe invite that dang buckeye guy. It would be great to learn some new tactics and pick up hints from guys who hunt different areas with much different scenarios.

GMMAT

HEY BM.....I understand what you're saying (believe me). But the title of your thread is "Bowhunting is easier". As someone who bowhunts, exclusively, I kinda take offense to that assessment (ya think...lol). You throw in "pressured animals" and agressive tactics (drives) and what you're REALLY saying is.....Deer become harder to kill during gun season (vs. Bow season). I buy that.....but that's not what your thread title says. So I'll ask you.....take the pressured deer of your rifle season....and now relaize that you CAN hunt hem with the bow during that time of the season. So.....choice....Bow or gun....during gun season.

Now which one is "easier"?

Schultzy

Good points!!

atlasman

Buckmagnet,

I know exactly what you mean. A bowkill during bow season is often much "easier" then a gun kill during gun season.

GMMAT

Never gun hunted a deer, but I'd come closer to buying THAT than the original assertion.

BTW, Atlas....congrats on your gun kill this year.

Rob/PA Bowyer

Comparing apples and oranges.

All things being equal, obviously gun is easier...you see a deer at 100 yards...BAM. Not so with a bow. The season is the difference, not the weapon and many are posting in generalizations, not specifics. Specifics say that gun is easier and no one can argue with that.

Generalizations say that BM's point is shooting any buck in bow season is easier than shooting any buck in rifle season, specifically PA, 6 weeks of unpressured deer hunting, vs 2 weeks of deer running for their lives.

Add any weapon of choice in the first season and obviously gun would be easier.

I think that's pretty simple.

atlasman

Lots of people confusing "gun" with rifle I think. Pistols, muzzleloaders, shotguns of all kinds etc.

Like saying "bow" only means compounds........I bet the traditional guys would have something to say about that.

Planter

I have hunted with both bow and gun for 30 years and without a doubt have seen more deer and had more opportunity at deer during bow season than during gun season.