I didn't say they were "anti bowhunting" Jeff, I said they are not Bowhunter friendly when it come to taking my season away and thats a proven fact not an assumption. I don't care why they are kicking me in the Balz, I just want them to stop!
He's missing part of his ghillie suit. That could get a little cold in the midwest. And where is he suppose to put his beer?
Sliv: My bad. I took "not bowhunter friendly" to mean "anti-bowhunting". I suppose they can be mutually exclusive.
Look down? I are one. I don't hunt for sport. Yes I AM weird. I hunt to kill nuisance species ( hogs and exotics here in Texas ) and for meat. I spose I'm enjoying it on some 'sporting' level but don't really feel that way. I went to bow hunting to more effectively kill hogs. You can often stick one and get more chances within minutes. I do suppose I shoot archery for sport when I practice. I really like it when everything clicks and the arrow goes exactly where I aim it. I have never killed an animal for its antlers and never will. To each his own however. I am not saying my way is better or superior. I just don't give a rat's patoot about trophies and doe and spike meat is always better. With hogs I'll always try to shoot a sow over a boar. Even if its a big impressive boar next to a very average sow. There's always some boar around to impregnate a sow but when you kill a sow you kill all her future offspring. I carry my rifle with me at all times and will use it in a moment's notice. I have a bit more fun with the bow but I get more accomplished with the gun.
I have done both, have family that do both, also family that only use rifles, and I don't mind people controlling the population and putting meat in the freezer.
I've seen enough out of my fellow hunter, that I pretty much look down at anyone wielding a hunting license these days. Hunting seems to attract the lowest form of human life, with a few exceptions. I have no faith in hunters. No offense to any of you, of course, b/c I think sites like these tend to attract the cream of the crop. The best & brightest, if you will. Unfortunately, your average hunter couldn't care less about learning more about hunting. Hell, your average hunter couldn't care less about learning where the property lines are around his hunting area, if he even has one. They just run amuk willy nilly and kill everything they see. They are animals.
First and foremost there are three things that do not mix in any pair any way (weapons,cars,booze) That being said I am and will prob always gun hunt and I take great pride in my marksmanship skills and the care I take of my weapons. Now I have added a bow to that and hope to make my first kill shot this year. I bow hunt for the joy of hunting but the gun fills the freezer also. I have a great respect for bow hunters and until this year (I am an old guy by some standards.41) I never felt like I had the patience to bow hunt.
AND everything he said...I actually agree with. I would bet that forums like these have very few slob "deer killers." Poachers, road hunters, spotlighters, and drunks that sit in their trucks wasted and try to shoot deer five hundred yards away should be strung up by their scrotums.
hmmmmmmmmmm The king made me think a bit. I manage ... er, oversee about a hundred hunters, their guests and family members on four leases covering 15,000 acres. For the most part they are pretty decent folk. Almost all of em come out of Houston and drive five hours to get here. They feed all year round and dedicate a lot of attention, time and hard work to their sport. I guess the group pretty much polices their own members. Yes I have to preach deer management at them repeatedly and half of them will never kill enough does but I understand that. Just sayin .....
I admittedly don't care to rifle hunt but I still do. I know that sounds stupid but it's true. Personally, I know that after rifle season the chances of shooting a mature buck become extremely low which gives me the added motivation to try to get a buck before the dreaded rifle season starts. I rifle hunt like I bowhunt, however, with as little intrusions as possible. I don't do deer drives or Elmer Fudd it through the woods. I sneak in and sneak out. Nothing infuriates me more than for neighboring hunters doing deer drives on opening morning at 10 am. I witnessed one of our neighbors sitting with his son during youth hunt this year sitting in their truck overlooking a crp field. Around 10 they both get out and walk down towards the ditch when a shot rings out. They walk back and get the truck and drive down. I don't know what he harvested but I couldn't help but think what a lousy way to show his son how to hunt. That in a nutshell is a big reason I prefer bow over rifle. It makes you become a better hunter for numerous reasons.
I was trying to put the stalk on a bear one time when my wife was with me, She said I looked just like Elmer Fudd trying to sneak up on him. So if you all dont mind, lay off Elmer Fudd a little befor I get a complex
I can't say I look down at rifle hunters but I personally don't see the challenge. I hunt in some areas with decent deer numbers so I don't have to work as hard as some do to shoot something. Where we hunt mule deer almost everyday I could have shot a deer around 170" or bigger had I been carrying a rifle. With 4 of us bowhunting out there and 2 years later I was the only one to release a arrow and only one to get a deer. Shooting something at 200+ yards just doesn't seem fair to the animal. They really don't have much of a chance to avoid you.
Here is what I think what WAS the difference between the two groups. Bowhunting use to be about more the pre-season setup and tuning of equipment. Even the early compounds were a bear to setup and one needed to practice a lot to be accurate with one. Gun hunting did not need as much work and was easier, just a fact. With all the advances in Bowhunting gear(and xbows), bowhunting is just as easy now as gun hunting is to kill a deer. Just the way it is these days. Bowhunting and gun hunting both have meatheads in our ranks now a days. I know a ton of great gun hunters, and I know a ton of great bowhunters. I know a bunch of bonheads also gun and bow. So what I am saying I just look at the hunter, not what weapon they choose.
I agree Germ. Actually I think it's easier to kill "a" deer with a bow in bowseason than it is a gun in gun season. That being said it would be 100 times easier if bowhunters were hunting with a gun in bow season. And 1,000 times harder to kill a deer with a bow in gun season. I may have just confused myself a little but I hope you know what I'm saying.
No doubt about it. PA rifle season success usually falls (or fails) on the first few days (sometimes even just the first few hours). I may even take the bow out this year.:D
