Considering the fact that this was posted on a bowhunting forum I, sort of, had a feeling that most folks were going to vote for " a" .....

1. Yes and still do.

2. A toss up actually..and for one simple reason. If all else was equal then I would definitely say that bowhunting is more difficult/challenging. However, the land that I hunt receives massive, and I do mean massive, amounts of hunting pressure during rifle season. The deer are so skiddish that if a hunter walks into the woods 400 yards away then the deer know it and high-tail it into the next county. Bow season is much more of a natural atmosphere....at least until the overlap with the early muzzleloader/early youth-senior rifle hunt/small game season.

You try finding a deer not to mention shooting one in a rifle hunting environment like that...