Greg / MO

Hey DeerT,

Welcome to the world of bowhunting! I say welcome, because it sounds as if you' ve now made the transition completely. Sometimes it takes " accomplishing" the thing you thought would mean victory, only to find out you scored a meaningless, hollow kill.

And I guess that' s why rifle hunting doesn' t do it for me. It' s killing versus hunting. Oh, I know, there are your fair share of good hunters who happen to use a gun to bring the hunt to its finality -- but, for me, it' s a shallow act, void of the thrill of true accomplishment. With rifle hunting, if I could see it, I could kill it. Period. That' s not hunting; that' s shooting.

I sold my 30.06 a couple years ago after the realization I would never take a rifle into the deer woods again. As Wolfen alluded to, if the deer beats me, fine. He was just better, craftier, wilier -- or perhaps luckier -- that day. But I won' t cheat my own standards any more and resort to any other weapon. Again, this is not a holier-than-thou feeling; if you' ll notice, I said my own standards. I would never disparage someone who chose to hunt with a rifle and enjoyed it.

But I think you' ve come to realize what most of us have: Success is the journey, not the destination.

Tazman

Every hunter is different, some of us us born bowhunter and just do not get the thrill of gun hunting (DeerT from your post I feel you fall into this group), the other group are like me, we have killed a ton of deer with a gun and unless the deer is a monster buck the thrill is not there any more, it is simply getting some meat, we pick up a bow at first to simply extend the season or increase the challenge/thrill, after the first bow kill this hunter can evolve in several ways, he may continue to hunt with a gun and hunt with a bow also, or like me he may find himself getting ready to go hunting during gun season and find himself reaching for his bow instead of his gun, don' t get me wrong I am still considering using blackpowder this year, but I can assure you I will hunt the majority of gun with my bow.

Five Minute Willie

Nice deer, T. I hear what you' re saying about the gun kill lacking the thrill. I' ve never killed a buck with anything but my bow. The thrill is when they get within bowrange (30 yards in your case) and you start to realize that you may actually get him. Then the nerves start to peak (yours and his), he looks anxious, you feel anxious, you draw, the broadhead is shaking all around, you release and the hit is good, you follow the sight of the deer until he piles up - that' s a thrill.

A gun kill is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, you should be proud that you persevered as long as you did.

Log

Congtrats. i feel about using a bow before a gun. it definatly is a lot more fun to take an animal w/ a bow. I do however enjoy rifle season. for me just being out in the woods hunting is the most enjoyable experience a person can have..bow or gun. nice buck and good luck w/ the rest of the season.

Tazman

I forgot to give you congrats on your buck, congrats.

cardeer

Congrtes

bob d

man where do you hunt that deer has the weirdest body i ever seen , looks just like an archery target

Kriesis

Congrats on the buck...

I know, where I hunt, I can only take one weapon with me a time--so I have to choose between my gun or my bow before I even hit the woods.

I shot my first buck (with a bow) a couple of days ago--and boy--I' m still all smiles. But with my first rifle kill--I was just as happy. I don' t think there should be any shame in using a gun rather than a bow--it should be a thrill no matter what!

Deleted User

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Solax

Bob d, that' s why you buy the archery targets that look like that. It' s like you' re shooting at a REAL deer!!!!!!