basically i go by the standard that I use a gun for putting meat in the freezer, & I use a bow for hunting.
I'm guessing by that statement that you have never hunted in deep thick woods with a smooth bore slug gun before.........if you had you would know that blanket statement just doesn't apply. Again.........everything you listed applies to my gun hunting as well.........add to that there are 50 guys walking around through the woods and that deer has at least seen some of them already and likely even had some lead tossed their way and you have to be even more careful about your movements......... I can count on one hand the number of deer I have shot outside bow range in my 20+ years gun hunting. It's not like what you see on TV where a guy is sitting in a heated shooting house with his pick of 10 different monsters eating in the food plot.......at least not where I come from. The fact that someone feels like you do could not mean less to me........after all it's your choice and your time, spend it how you want. What I fail to see is the connection always made that implies is is "easier" and even worse the negative comments that get heaped on gun hunters........not really sure where that comes from other then the fact that the numbers are so much greater I guess basic stats would dictate more negative experiences. There is no shortage of A-Holes toting bows into the woods either. I guess perspective has a lot to do with it. In NY I can honestly say without hesitation that it is "easier" to get a deer in bowseason then shotgun.......By FAR.........Muzzleloader???....Good luck......I have not even SEEN a single deer during ML season in the last 4 years (that's not a typo). BOW Deer pressure is low/mod.....the deer seen are out for a stroll or looking for babes. Deer are easier to pattern and consistent/predictable in their behavior. Deer don't know they are being hunted yet. Temps are warm.......can sit all day, often in T-shirt and be very comfortable. Leaves are on the trees.........easier to hide yourself and stand (more options). Leaves are on the ground......everyone here knows the difference between a squirrel playing and a deer walking. Get to wear camo.........no explanation needed. Get to sometimes catch pre rut if you are lucky. GUN Deer pressure is high/extreme........most deer seen are moving on a mission or flat out running. Deer are very difficult to pattern.......lead flies and all bets are off. Deer are VERY aware they are being hunted by 7:15 am opening day. Temps are cold......often freezing with snow, ice and single digits waiting for you every morning. No leaves left on trees......setup ends up looking like a pencil bobber half the time. Ground is wet or snow covered allowing deer to move in silence. Blaze orange........you guys think Mossy Oak is blobby??? Just a different point of view.
Greg While I love bowhunting, no doubt I will be toting the 270 around this year for our rifle season also. I've tried bowhunting during rifle season here and it usually turns out as a bad ordeal. It just isn't safe since we bowhunt on the ground here. Hiding in cattails is a darn good way to get shot!! With rifle I can set up so I am seen by other rifle hunters. With bow I can't. Would be different if I had control of the land but I don't. To make rifle more interesting... I pulled the scope off a few years ago, sit on a knoll over looking a good bedding spot and stalk deer once they start moving. Last buck I shot with rifle was a mere 12 yards away after a 3/4 mile stalk. I would be lying if I said that hunt wasn't a blast. Most of my rifle deer have been shot well under 50 yards. I stillhunt, stalk, track in snow or what ever it takes. It is fun taking the hunt to the deer instead of waiting for them to bring it to you. I've had some very fun hunts over the years and hoped to have many more. While a guy could do this with bow... rifle is a change of pace and since I seem to get drawn every other year for a buck tag... I want to fill that tag in the short 2.5 week season. Also it is the only time Tyler and I actually hunt together. With bow, we hunt different areas. Tyler's first rifle buck... On the other hand... my dream hunt is bowhunting elk. Thought it might happen this year but the bean harvest killed that idea. While I could probably head to Troy's for a rifle elk hunt in October... I would never do it. It's bow or nothing. Each their own!! Tim
Less you forget I missed the same buck at 16 yards and 25 yards only to kill it at 41 yards. I missed a buck in NC, a turkey in NC and I've missed other bucks/does in my life including a giant of a 4.5 year old in 06. I've never missed one with a rifle. I gave up the rifle. That boom and seeing the animal hit, I don't have it in me anymore. I've typed it before and I'm sorry if I offend anyone, if I didn't LOVE bowhunting whitetails so very much, I could easily be on the wrong side of the fence when it comes to rifles and whitetails, at least here in PA because of the whole PA experience.
To each there own I guess. Some people love both. Some people only prefer to hunt a certain way. No problem with me. I respect anyones choices as long as they ary appropriate and legal. I am a bowhunter thru and thru..But I also love to muzzleload. I have a tc encore that my father gave me. I use it for all gun seasons. I wont use a rifle. I love my muzzleloader too much. Its the next best thing to bowhunting to me.......
For me, it is about being outside. Gun, Bow, whatever. I'll use whatever I can use to get me out in the woods. GRANTED, I enjoy archery the most.
I can understand where you're coming from Greg, and maybe someday I'll be as driven with the bow as you are. With that said, I still love having that gun in my hands on opening day. This year I'm steering clear of the .308 though, and going with my muzzleloader. It really gives me some good quality time with my dad and brother, and plus all of the deer I've killed with a gun, I could have killed with a bow, with the exception of a doe I killed in 8th grade at about 110 yards. Kudos to you guys, and good luck this season.
Doesn't make you any less of a shooter...........no more then a guy who shoots 1" groups at 200 yards and then misses one at 80 during the season. Not being able to duplicate your established shooting skill when faced with a live target has nothing to do with what weapon you happen to be holding IMO. Someone told me you posted on HNI that you could easily see yourself being an ANTI if it weren't for bowhunting.........I refused to believe that. Until now.
Sorry to disappoint you aman, watching a deer get whacked with a rifle about makes me want to puke but fear not, My love of bowhunting will always make me the anti's enemy. Sleep easy.
Not disappointed........just more informed I guess. Can't help it........when I hear someone say they would side with the ANTI's against a way I have hunted my whole life it doesn't sit very well.
You'll live and we're seeing the true aman, already putting words in people's posts. I never said I would. Please show me where I said I would. I guess you better pray they never outlaw bowhunting, big old bad Rob might protest your rifle hunting there atlas. He might personally come to NY and hold signs up against your way of hunting. LMFAO!
and the true Rob apparently. So you could easily see yourself siding with the ANTI's..........but you never would. Go interview for a job and say "I could easily see myself stealing from your company..........but don't worry, I never would".............see if you get the job
Yeah aman, I'm an anti, run for the hills, lock up your women and your children, ole Rob is out to take your hunting away from you. LMAO. Can't wait to lay my bow across a doe this weekend. Oh and lest not forget busting a bird with my shotgun every spring. Good thing I can still do that or I might picket your hunting rights. LMAO. SO typical. Hey Justin, better ban me, I'm undercover to infiltrate your hunters ranks.
Darn I leave for just a couple of hours and Rob is anti and protesting gunners!!! Hey Rob it would be cheaper if we split the gas to NY!!!!:d Well I don't hate anyone gun or bow but I have to agree with Rob, When you come from a state where there are as many guners as Mich. or PA you learn to tread lightly through the punkin patch!!! I don't care if you want to shot a gun but not for me!! Walt
I thought a bit about this thread on and off throughout the day as I went about my duties... For me, it's not necessarily that I loathe gun hunting, it's just that it brings ME no pleasure whatsoever. Now... trying to convince me that gun hunting is just as hard as bow hunting? That argument's gonna fall on deaf ears. I had four extremely close calls with elk two weeks ago in Colorado; I ended up coming home empty-handed. If I'd had ANY type of gun in my hands during ANY one of those four encounters, it'd been as simple as throw up the gun, align the sights and pull the trigger. The result would have been a dead elk, period. I'd have brought home a few hundred pounds of meat and my taxidermist would be a little busier. But... and again -- TO ME -- there would have not been ONE BIT of satisfaction in doing so. The best way to sum it up I think, is this: If gun hunting makes you happy, great. Honest. I just LOVE bowhunting THAT much! And I'm not even necessarily saying that bowhunting (especially with the equipment I use) is THAT much harder... but it just sure is more enjoyable.
I know Walt, What's the world coming to? Here I have a guy calling me an ANTI hunter. I have 11 deer tags that I hope to fill this year. I guess I'm LMAO. I would never support a ban on hunting. I could however see PA going to shotgun/muzzleloader only for our rifle seasons, the whole rifle lead slinging seasons I've seen in PA is the cause. Like I've said in the elephant threads on HNI, although I will probably never choose to do it myself, I'm glad that the opportunity exists for those that choose to do it. But I'm an anti. Thanks Walt, gas isn't cheap.
Now who's putting words in other people's posts?? It's only OK when you do it I guess. Could you show me where anyone besides you has suggested such rediculous hyperbole.
