I'm with Hunting Ed,

I used to hunt worthless stands, didn't spend the time to do things myself, just sat in the same burned out stands in the same old area. Now I have a new place to hunt, lots of different stands for different situations and just do a lot more prep work.

HuntingBry,

You sound a little elitist yourself. I get your point though. All of the hunting catalogs now are like half archery. In the past, when I didn't bowhunt, I would skip the 2 pages devoted to archery in the catalog. There is some truth to the fact that it is becoming the "cool" way to hunt, but I still think for the majority of the new hunters out there it is not the reason they took up bowhunting.

If you met me casually you might think that I picked up bowhunting b/c its trendy or whatever, but that is wrong. I did it because I grew up shooting a bow for fun (not deer hunting), its exciting, I get a whole lot more deer season (an extra month and 1/2), my dad has done it successfully and I get to hunt with him. I don't think a lot of new guys are getting in as a fad (although some are and they probably will quit doing it after a couple of unsuccessful seasons). The better technology and the long bow seasons are mostly pushing it and what is causing some of the problems. It is easier now to shoot a consistent, fast and quiet bow. Some guys are bowhunting that probably shouldn't (no practice) b/c they like to hunt and it gives them another month in the woods.