I never rifle hunted but I understand that like archery it takes practice to be good at. I enjoy the hunting more than the killing but with that said I would consider culling some deer or elk late season with a rifle if my freezer was empty.
I understand what you are going through. The first year I decided to only hunt with bow (I think it was in 2004) I had a 140-150 inch 8 pointer out of bow range on the opening morning of the gun season. It would have been an easy shot with a gun. I have had other similar experiences since. Last year I decided to start hunting with bow and gun and I enjoyed doing both. I guess we all go through different phases as hunters. I used to think of myself as a bowhunter. Now, I'm just a deer hunter.
I like bowhunting better than gun hunting but I like gun season more than bow season. I know that doesn't make sense but when I am hunting with a bow a large percentage of that is by myself. During gun season, deer camp spending time with family and friends sitting at the dinner table sharing the days hunt is impossible to beat. I get it that most people that want to kill a deer with a gun can but if you are holding out for a big mature buck it still is no easy task.
Way to go Doug......lol!! I've exclusively bow hunted only since I was 14. I've never stepped foot in the deer woods with a shotgun/rifle/muzzle loader. My dad hunts with an old school musket, (like the militia used in colonial times) and I'd love to do that with him at some point. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Like most have said, I started out with a 30-30. Never forget my first deer, a doe at 25 yards, and a bloody nose. I still have killed more deer with a gun than bow, but nothing more than 2 years old. I bow hunt for the intimacy. I like the silence of it. I like going out in camo as compared to orange. I've had people walk past while bow hunting and never knew I was there. I still rifle hunt for the deer camp experience of seeing family that I don't see any other time of the year. My expectations are the same. Rifle hunting were I hunt is far different. The area is way over crowded and you basically hunt escape routes for pushed deer. Rifle hunting signals the end of the season for me. I would pick bow hunting hands down over gun hunting, far more skill needed. But hunting is hunting. I plan on going out west for elk next year and I am struggling to pick with a bow or gun. Most of the excitement is for seeing the mountains for the first time. The experience will be the same. Bow hunting is still my fav. Doesn't make gun hunting bad or wrong tho.
They're equally as fun to me. I head to the woods to hunt, whether with a bow or gun, and I enjoy both the same. Only difference is my range is +/- 100 yards. I grew up only gun hunting, I started bow hunting in my late teens only because it allowed me to hunt earlier. That being said, for me, bow hunting is a whole heck of a lot harder, but the excitement and adrenaline is the same. I have yet to put a big buck down and on the wall with a bow yet, but have had MIGHTY close encounters and that excitement/rush of almost falling out of the stand was as real as if I would of had a rifle. The only difference, I didn't kill the buck with the bow and I ended up killing the buck with a rifle. I still wanted to fall out of the stand with my rifle. Folks hunt for different reasons. Those reasons will influence whether gun hunting and bow hunting is or isn't for you.
I hunt both. To me either presents similar and also different challenges. Where I have 4 months for that deer to walk in front of my bow. I only have 9 days for a gun. But I hunt in the same woods for both. I don't find shooting 200-300 yards across a harvested corn field from a 30ft high stand with a wood stove hunting. Though it does take practice for the shot. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Archery hunting is way more fun and exciting. With that said though, there are ways to increase the fun/excitement of rifle season. Several years ago, after I started thinking that I was about done with rifle hunting, I started using a pistol. Not one of those 14" barrel contenders, a 71/2" barrel 44mag and it sure brought the excitement back to my rifle season.
That's me too. I'll see guys at deer camp during gun season I haven't seen all year. It's a great time to catch up with old hunting buddies.
Im guessing that has more to do with 140-150" bucks being harder to find.. Its easier to get a deer within rifle/shotgun range than bow range. To me thats what makes it easier. I had a really nice buck at 60 yards this year.. thats a super easy shot with a rifle or shotgun for almost everyone on here Im sure. Thats a big fat no go for most of us with a bow.
Like already stated. Its like a family holiday for me. At no time during bow season do i dedicate a whole weekend to cooking gourmet food, laughing until tears come out and drinking around a campfire, and listening to my grandpa tell the same old stories every year. That doesnt happen at least with me during bow season. As far as hunting itself goes i definitely prefer bow. But i pretty much hold myself to the same shots. Im illinois so shotgun only. 100 yds is a long shot with shotgun.... i have never shot over 50, which is a doable bow shot. So i guess its like comparing apples and oranges to me.
I think the OP is comparing the "feeling" of shooting a deer with a bow compared to a gun and not necessarily the seasons. Personally I have absolutely zero desire to shoot a deer with a rifle. It just doesn't do anything for me. I don't get a rush out of it. There's hardly been a reaction after I've put one down with a gun. Entirely different sensation after letting an arrow go at a deer with my bow. The rush of emotions that go through your body before, during and after the shot is incredible. If it floats other peoples boat to shoot deer with a rifle and they enjoy it, have at it and knock em dead. It's just not for everyone.
