I hunt with a bow, a shot-gun and a rifle. Normally I hunt the same exact way that I would hunt with a bow. My area is very thick and the shots for the most part are the same. Of course there have been deer that I've taken that I wouldn't have had a shot on with a bow, but to me that doesn't take away from the hunt.
When a deer walks out in plain sight of you at close range (Mainly due to preparation) and you didn't hear him coming, it doesn't matter what weapon you have. You're probably holding binoculars and wishing you were holding your weapon. You have to set down whatever it is you're holding, pick up your weapon, turn off the safety/or draw your bow and pick your shot if you have one. And be able to execute the kill. My stands are permanent and the deer use them (hopefully) no matter what weapon I brought.
Some of you act as if your opinion is fact - it isn't. Here are a few ways to test your skills as a "blast'em-up gun hunter";
1. Two man stalk - Take a friend or preferably a child in the woods, find a fresh set of tracks that lead to a location that you think have deer for that time of day, and try to sneak in there and get a good shot on one. This is a great way to keep a child occupied and interested in hunting, and spending time with you while you hunt instead of being at home in front of the TV, while you hunt. Great bonds are made during these hunts and I can tell you this, it is harder than bow hunting/trail watching from a stand.
2. Dog/man stalk - Same as above, but with one dog, that doesn't run deer. It knows what it is looking for, and knows that his job is - to lead you to them and quietly. This is the second year that I will be doing this and haven't gotten a deer with this method. We're both new to this approach,and knew it would take a few years to practice, but I love my dog, he's a part of my family, I want to hunt with him. And not because it is easy. Last year I took him to try to find an eight pointer that I'd shot with my bow the evening before. During the tracking process we heard an unusual noise coming from up high on the hill that we were following the deer sign up. At that moment, I realized that the noise had come from my wounded deer, who surprisingly wasn't dead.My dogrealized it too! He immediately started to sneak very quietly and the hair on his neck stood straight up. It was hard to get him to call off the chase to let the deer die. Man and dog, side by side hunting as one unit - pretty cool if you ask me, but I'm a dog lover. It is new and exciting, and more challenging, which is noteworthy to mention inthis conversation, since that is all some of you "strictly bow only hunters" are preaching.
3. Will breaking stalk - this is where you stalk an animal over great distances. You'll need to have access to a lot of land and snow definitely helps. Over the course of the stalk, the animal learns that you are stalking him. Each time you see each other, he learns that he hasn't been harmed. Eventually he'll let you get closer and closer, as he is becoming curious about his stalker and the persistence is something he's never experienced before. Eventually you will break his will and you'll get a shot, but probably not with a bow, and it will take all day. If you are physically, emotionally and mentally ready, you might have success. It isn't easy.

I've killed a few good bucks with a bow and a couple of doe. I love to have a bow in the early season. But the absolute worst thing about bow hunting, is being mistakenly identified/associated with the "holier than thou, strictly bow hunter" types!

You can't judge a person by what weapon they carry. You can and will form opinions about others and that is fine, but I am the same man, with the same ethics no matter how, where or what I hunt. I do know some pretty lousy hunters, and most of them are gun hunters, but I also know some pretty bad bow hunters. Some that never have luck and then place blame on those darn gun hunters, out there being successful and all... Read the original post, this guy is one of them! He did all he could do to get one of these bucks and it didn't happen. He was out there for hours and hours, days and days, blah, blah, blah... How much of a head start do you need? Don't blame them, they sat and waited for weeks (in most states) while you hunted you behind off. But, I agree it is their fault you were unsuccessful, and now, because of them, all the good bucks are gone.
Instead of reflecting on the good times you had in the woods and figuring out what to do next, you jump up and down and throw a tantrum, you can't take the failure. And that is what it is - failure! But only to you, in your mind. What would you have done if you were successful? Take a picture and show it off? Post it here? Butcher the animal clean? Mount it? Tell all your friends? Brag? All of the above? Out of all these things I mentioned, actually being in the woods hunting sounds the funniest to me, and you got to spend a lot of time doing it. We all have these seasons. Guess what - if you were able to kill a big buck every time you entered the woods, it wouldn't take long for you to get tired of it, and not return. And the longer you have to wait, the better it will be when the day comes. There are many ways to be successful whilehunting. You need to figure out how many ways exist for you. Yesterday evening I was lucky enough to have oneof my all time favorite hunts, and here is what happened - I shot a four point buck with a 30.06. Wow, I can hear your enthusiasm coming through the internet! But here is why - this was my seven year old daughters first ever hunt. We had talked about all the different ways to hunt, deer management, what they eat, where they sleep, hunting pressure, where their paths are and so on. We decided (mainly her) that we would take the first legal deer (which had to be a buck) that had four or more points. After spending a few quality hours alone with my second child of four (individual time is prime time when you have four kids) this fine animal presented itself for our taking. I showed her the deer from our little pop-up blind and asked her if she still wanted to shoot it. A few seconds later a shot rang out, and she had her deer. To my surprise, my little girly-girl wasn't upset (at least not as much as I expected). She, our dog and myself found the deer about twenty yards from where he was shot. Soon she and the dog were home and I was happy to be getting some good venison. I wouldn't have changed anything about yesterdays hunt. And you want to talk about challenging - try keeping a seven year old and an Australian Cattle Dog still while you sit in a tiny little pop-up blind! Last Saturday was my ten year old son's first day of the season. We didn't see one deer, but we got to have some good times together, and we're going again soon. The next person in line is my five year old daughter. Many of you are probably saying "what kind of chance do you think you'll have". My answer is - I've got a very good chance at having a great time if I don't set my self up for failure. And a great way to do that is to define success with a big mature buck to brag about. We'll eat candy, talk, play, maybe take a nap and hopefully get a deer for this young lady.
In a few years, my youngest son will also be going. Just so you know, I do havea job, so I don't have a great deal of time to be hunting, you know while also being a father, husband and provider. So most of my hunts will be like this, at least for a while.
I've never done a man drive, but I've been thinking about studying it, so that when my kids are finally old enough to sit by themselves, I might be able to increase their odds by driving deer to them! Now aren't I a terrible hunter!