HuntinGUS its much more difficult to shoot a traditional bow, you are correct.
BobCo19-65 and thats fine and dandy, to each his own. I like it tough, hard and as challenging as I can make it. Fact is, the most dangerous thing a bowhunter can do is climbing up and down to his treestand. I pushed it pretty hard this past fall, I knew I was close to going over the limit and did the things I needed to do and all was well. Unlike the previous year when I ignored the warning signs.
I greatly admire solo bivy hunters who pack for days with a trad bow on public lands, and bring out big bull elk. THAT is bowhunting at one of the most diffcult levels.
SBGobblers I'm not as politically correct as you. The guy doing it all himself is doing it much harder than the guided hunter. His rewards and accomplishments are far greater. There IS a correct answer there, and its not to take away from the guided hunters accomplishment, rather its to simply recognize that the do it yourselfer did it in a far more diffcult way.
BobCo19-65I live in Arkansas, very low altitude. I hike my ass off in the summertime, 105 degrees and a 40 # backpack oin black asphalt for 2 hours or more, 5-7 miles or more. Why ? Getting my legs and back and shoulders in shape for carrying in and out weight in the mtns. I spend hundreds of hours getting ready, and when its time, I spend all day walking into my hunting area, slow steps that hurt every bit of the way. I probably couldn't if I didn't spend all those hours in the summertime getting ready, or it would certainly be much harder.
And I hunt for days, no hot shower, no good meals, no heated tents, just a Cabela's tent and re-heated foods on a propane burner. And I don't have a lot of clothers, clothes are bulky, can't take a lot of bulky stuff 5-6 miles into the wilderness. I walk everywhere I go, to and from camp.
It use to be a lot harder when I didn't rent llamas, I do it easier now that I rent them.
But guys who pay for guides, and pay for the camps to be set up, the food to be waiting, the horses to ride around on ......... there aint no comparison to the hunting. Its a lot easier when you have those horses. Its easier when you got llamas vs backpacking too.
I'm not taking away from anyones hunt, rather I'm simply recognizing how difficult one type of hunt is vs another.
Just like recognizing that shooting a trad bow is MUCH more difficult than shooting a compound
It simply is