Maybe I'm just biased but I'm of the belief that just about anyone can shoot a deer with a rifle in a field full of deer 100+ yards away. I'm not here to discredit anyone's accomplishments or their deer killed with a rifle but when I see TV shows with a rifle hunt, long articles or stories attempting to captivate me with a rifle hunting story, it just bores me. Then people get butt hurt when you say something like "now try with a bow for an even bigger challenge". Maybe it's best not to say anything at all but it's almost as if they get defensive about it. So that begs the question, do you get just as excited to gun hunt as you do to bow hunt? EDIT: Replace "rifle" with "long gun" as some states don't allow rifle hunting. I just want to make it clear that this wasn't intended to put gun hunters and bow hunters against each other or to say one is "better" than the other, because when it all comes down to it we need to all support each other when it comes to hunting against the anti-hunters. This was stemmed from another social media post that someone got the wrong intention when I commented that they should try it with a bow for even more of a challenge. I caught some flack from someone. I just responded calmly and deleted my post since it didn't come across as intended.
I gun hunt just like I bow hunt, so yeah. Only taken one deer with the slug gun that I couldn't have with the bow, because I shot through a bush, but it was still in bow range. Every stand I gun hunt out of I bow hunt from. Don't hunt anywhere that allows a muzzle loader distance. I do feel like 250 yard shots are more an accomplishment of the marksman rather than the hunter though. I couldn't imagine the rush and feeling is the same, but I have never done it either and probably never will. Last year and this year I have dropped yhe long gun for a 44 magnum revolver, and looking forward to it as well. No rifles in IL
I understand that, which is kind of my point. You don't see many Gun Hunting specific forums because it's not as fun.
Gun hunting is more of a tradition in my family than bowhunting, with that being said, I don't find it easy shooting a shotgun 100+ yards..
That's true, gun season is a tradition in my family too although I've missed the past 3 seasons. Maybe it's the proximity the deer gets with bow hunting. I personally never found it that difficult when the deer isn't up close and personal to get your blood pumping and you have a rifle that's sighted in.
I enjoy bow over gun any day. The up close and personal with nature is amazing. Watching the fall leaves change and be able to sit most of the season without icicles forming is great. However, I've killed all my deer in gun season. Including my IL buck with a slug gun at 100 yards. But the thrill is not there like it is in archery.
I also hunt with a muzzleloader and enjoy it very much. I am a firm believer that not everyone is cut out to be a bow hunter. We see it all the time. Countless arrows flung at deer with little to nothing to show for it. I would rather some guys stick to the gun and enjoy it for what its worth.
I'd throw myself in with the bowhunting crowd. But really, I just love hunting. Give me a bow, rifle, or shotgun and I will have a good time. They're all tools that are used for different things.
I far prefer archery over firearms and have done both since I was little. I prefer the up close and stealthy nature of archery, to be specific. Long shots with a rifle can be a challenge but so can long shots with a bow and they both share the same irresponsibility of taking a long shot...the responsible ranges are extended with a gun vs a bow is all. To me, a responsible range with a bow is out to ~50 yards for really skilled people and 200 yards for a gun by skilled hunters. Anything over those and it starts getting iffy and the risk has more to do with ego than being a responsible hunter. Yes, there are plenty of guys that regularly take deer at 80 yards with a bow and 500+ with a rifle, those folks are in the top echelon of hunters and do about as much to set a bad example as a good one for the majority of people that will never be able to make those types of shots. Still, there are a great many people that just lack the judgement and efficiency with archery that will only ever be well suited to gun hunting so it fills that niche very nicely.
And I agree with everyone, I love hunting either way, absolutely, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy for feeling less emotional or excited about gun hunting. I just want to make it clear that this wasn't intended to put gun hunters and bow hunters against each other or to say one is "better" than the other, because when it all comes down to it we need to all support each other when it comes to hunting against the anti-hunters. This was stemmed from another social media post that someone got the wrong intention when I commented that they should try it with a bow for even more of a challenge. I caught some flack from someone. I just responded calmly and deleted my post since it didn't come across as intended.
They are equal to me. And very different. I really enjoy gun season and the deep camp experience. When I bow hunt I usually hunt alone.
I don't think you will get a fair poll on a page like this lol. I rather bowhunt for sure. For whitetail anyway. I haven't hunted anything else really, but some animals on my daydream list I would like to rifle hunt.
I know... Not the best of audience to poll but like I said above, there aren't many Gun Only hunting forums out there...because it's not as fun
I wrote a big longwinded response and deleted it because I stopped caring about 3/4s of the way through. So I'll just say, I bowhunt in October and then switch to rifle (.270) in November. I've only shot 2 deer, both with that rifle, and both deer have been within 40 yards and dropped dead within 30. I'm sure shooting a buck with a bow would be more exciting and heart pounding than shooting one with a rifle, but I still enjoy and appreciate shooting a deer with a rifle because deer meat is tasty and that's why I'm out there. Also, one of the factors in me sticking with rifle hunting November is that when I shoot a deer, I know it's going down 99.9% of the time because I'm very practiced with a rifle and I rarely hunt an area where I can see over 80 yards. I know I'll lose one someday with a rifle, but how many would I have lost if I was shooting them with a bow in that same timeframe. 7 to 1? It seems like even the best bowhunters on this site, no matter how practiced, lose a deer every 3 or 4 years because the margin of error with a bow is so much greater than that with a rifle at close distance. I'm sure I'll have to deal with that experience at some point in my hunting, whether because of a bow or a rifle shot, but it's not something I'm looking forward to.
I have only bow hunted for years and as cls said Illinois doesnt allow rifles.. with that being said there is a reason I bow hunt only. I find it far more challenging than a shotgun. The farthest I have taken a deer with a shot gun was around 115 yards and even tho it was exciting it wasnt much of a challenge to me. Im not going to say Im a super great marksmen but I have shot squirrels at 100 yrds with my 22lr so a deer at 115 with a shotty was like shooting fish in a barrel to me. A lot of times you end up with a deer within bow range or a little farther and you are sitting there with a 12 ga... I guess a guy could Annie Oakley and take a pocket mirror to make it less boring tho? lol Now if I was given the opportunity to take a deer at say 300 yrds or more... that may spice things up a bit.. I dont know. Also as cls said we are allowed to use handguns during gun season and I have thought about pulling out the 44 mag and filling a gun tag that way... that could be a little more challenging.
Last time I rifle hunted I shot a deer at 225 yards with a 7mm-.08 (farthest I have ever killed one for the record) and I realized I didn't enjoy it. It just felt like shooting, not hunting. I have friends that are die hard rifle hunters and as serious about hunting as I am so I won't say anything bad about rifle hunters. I just don't enjoy it so I stick to using my bow.
I gun hunted all through my teens and then got away from it when I went to college. After college I really had no desire to get back into it. My cousin took my last year to an archery shop and I shot a few bows just to see if I would like it. After shooting for about 45 minutes I was hooked. Then I started reading everything I could about archery hunting and it really resonated with me. I never had an encounter with a deer 20 yds away when gun hunting the closest I ever came was maybe 150yds. There is something personal about sitting in a stand and waiting for the opportunity to see something come into shooting range. This has been my first season out in the woods with a bow and have have enjoyed it to the point that when gun season comes in after Thanksgiving here in PA, I will still be out with my bow. I love the challenge and actually just love the peace and quiet in the stand. I have twin 3 year old boys at home so the quiet is welcome when I can get out.
