I go back and forth on this it seems every season. Some years I rifle hunt for whitetails and others I don't. I sometimes don't make the decision until last minute. There have been a couple instances where I have bowhunted during the rifle season and had great bucks within easy gun range but not bow which caused me to second guess my decison. Last year I rifle hunted (first time in a few years) with some of my buddies who do not bowhunt and it was a good time. But, sitting in a tree stand with a rifle just doesn't feel the same to me as having my bow. I have thought about just taking my bow to the rifle camp this year so I could still hang out with my friends and also hunt my preferred method. Hopefully they would not view me as some kind of archery snob if I do so. Do any of you guys ever struggle with this as well?
Nope, I gun hunted for about 2 hours when I was 12 years old. Haven't went deer hunting with one since. Just wasn't my cup of tea Is all.
I don't really struggle with it. I gun hunt on occasion (maybe once or twice a year). If I'm hunting a new peice of property or hunting with a few friends I gun hunt. But 98% of the time I have my bow in hand
i do both... particularly cuz I've been taking my oldest boy out... he can't quite pull back enough bow to be "legal" so we go out with his gun... i bring mine just in case we need a follow up shot cuz his is a break action .243... not to mention it makes him feel more like we are out hunting together...
Not if I can help it but sometimes the freezer needs filling. In 25+ years of hunting last year was the first time I've ever killed anything with a centerfire rifle; otherwise it's been percussion, flintlock or bow.
For doves along my fence row I do. I also take a percussion black powder gun out a couple of times a year for deer or hogs but that is getting pretty rare these days.
Yes I do. I have more gun seasons under my belt than I do bow seasons. This past year was my 42nd consecutive gun season.
I gun hunt every year. I have no problem jumping back and forth. It's just another season and gets me out in the woods.
I gun hunt some. I mostly take it out when I'm taking out my boys since they can't pull enough weight yet. I do however prefer to hunt with the bow. Like you I have buddies that once gun season rolls around the bow is put up until next year, but for me I'm still taking it out during rifle season. They give me a hard time about it but isnt that what friends do? :d
i do both as well, but i see what you mean when you say it doesnt feel the same. with a bow your up close in action, you have to keep a whole bunch of different factors in your head. but in a rifle stand seventy yards away from any activity at all, its just not the same. i hunt rifle every year, but i love bowhunting SO MUCH MORE.!!
I haven't shot my deer rifles since the 90's and even then, I carried my bow into the rifle woods many times. I doubt I ever shoot another big game animal with a gun. If I can't get it done with my bow, I'll eat my tag. I enjoy the "spirit" behind the season, camaraderie and the likes of hutning camp, just a personal preference to not sling lead into a big game animal. I will however, take my turkey shotgun out. I still LOVE that.
I hunt with bows, handguns, rifles, shotguns and muzzle loaders. I can't get enough of it. To me limiting your self to bow hunting is like only looking at redheaded women, it just isn't natural.
Oh yeah, rifle and bow both, I'd even like to get into muzzleloader hunting, I have a unit real close to my place that is muzzleloader only during the whitetail rut. There are some old bucks in that unit because its one of very few up here that dont allow rifles to be used during the heart of the rut.
This year I am hoping to go on my first rifle hunt. A buddy of mine who recently returned from Afghanistan called me and said that he wanted to go hunting this fall out west. So, now I am hoping it all comes together. Last time we "camped" together we were carrying rifles, so it would only be right to continue that traditiion Like I said, it will be my first and I am looking forward to it.
I look forward to shotgun season all year long. It's a time that I see old friends that have moved away, they always come home to gun hunt. Not to mention the fact that we see some monsters during the gun season. :D I like to bowhunt, but IMO, the smell of gun powder on a November morning is hard to beat.
I gun hunt and I look forward to it every year. I cannot hunt with my bow during our firearm season, so that is not an option for me. I really enjoy hanging with the guys, hearing that first shot on opening day and knowing when my hunting party is at least taking a shot a deer. Bow hunting and gun hunting are very different and I bow hunt and gun hunt differently and with different goals in mind.
