I have been reading and learning everything I can on here and love all the help ya'll give one another. Awhile back I purchased a PSE BowMadness XS bow and have been practicing my butt off. Well I didn't get an archery tag but was able to get a left over doe only rifle tag. I called the DOW and confirmed I was able to hunt with my bow during rifle season on a rifle tag and he assured me it was. I was wondering if many of you guys hunt with your bows during rifle season and whats different than normal archery other than you have to wear blaze orange here in colorado but I'll be in a blind anyway. Thoughts? Thanks again to all you guys out there that make the down time from hunting more enjoyable by being able to read your stories and see your deer.
We don't have a rifle season but do have muzzleloader and shotgun. I hunt with my bow during those seasons. We have to wear orange then also.
In MI, you have to wear orange and follow the firearm tag regulations. Besides that, the only difference is deer behavior changes drastically. At least where I hunt. I wait until the pressure and shooting drops a few days into the firearm season. After that, if there are conditions that encourage daytime deer movement, I will hunt.
Yes. If you are a bowhunter you hunt with a bow whenever you can imo. Some would say bowhunters are crazy. I have sat in a treestand in January in KS and had to keep de-icing my arrow every 10 minutes. Chances are pretty good the first time you stick one you will see what I mean. Good luck out there!
In most cases you'll be hunting pressured deer, as the flood of Blaze orange hits the woods. This can be used to your advantage. Setting up on escape routes or near thick cover where the deer will feel safer. I would be more aggressive during firearms season, mainly because the deer are going to be pushed around anyway. Luckily, my immediate area doesn't get much pressure no matter the season. I did, however, shoot my buck during Gun season last year
I figured thats how many bowhunters were and have found some good places to set up for deer getting pressured from rifle hunters. I will see how it goes saturday and hopefully have a my first doe taken with a bow. Thanks all.
I bowhunt during rifle season in MN. But you definitely can not (and probably should not) take off your orange. Safety first.
If I were in a treestand I would leave it on but, in a ground blind I may take it off. Depends on how many trucks are parked in my area....lol. I usually go to a bow only WMA during gun season anyway. I have been drawn for a gun quota hunt here in KY. and have taken my bow....Everyone thought I was crazy then too.
What if you are just a plain hunter .... no matter what the weapon.... I say JOIN THEM!! They don't lose as many animals as bowhunters do
I should mention that like the others on here that bowhunt during rifle season, I also catch a lot of crap from my buddies that rifle hunt. They just don't understand why I choose to continue to take out my bow.
Thats exactly what my buddies are doing they can't believe I want to hunt with my bow and not rifle. I told them I can always grab my rifle the last day if I havent gotten anything yet.
although i have been bowhunting for 40 years, I still gunhunt with my family opening weekend and always will, After the first ten shots in the morning the deer hunker down and most movement stop's by the second day. The deer would rather hide and let you walk right on by then move at all,every wood lot has one or more hunter's in it so they get pounded pretty hard. some of the deer will go out in the middle of the cut cornfield and bed down all day try and kill some of those deer with a bow! To me it's all about family and being together at deer camp. I am the only bowhunter in my family circle and have about 900 ac on many plots around my area here in mo. My two friend's i hunted with most of my life passed on a couple of years ago one from cancer and the other from a stroke at a young age, I hunt less now putting all my time into hunting the best time of the rut with a bow and gun season with my family and after gun season i hunt with a bow for a couple weeks trying two pick up on the second rut and past that i settle in for winter. My boys- well one will hunt for a couple of days then he is done,he has got girl fever at 17 and the other boy 19 went a few times and never seen a deer bigger than the one his little brother shot so he was done and is in college now ,maybe someday they will come back to deer hunting. As for me i will just go sit in my stand and Smile. my daily affirmation ..Does are my friends,Does are my friends.
Nothing wrong with that either! Guess I meant some of us have switched to only wanting to hunt with a bow. But to each his own for sure we are all hunters.
