The challenge! With gun hunting you can be a little more "sloppy" in that if you can see him you likely can hit him. (within reason and morality) Play the wind with a gun, have a basic understanding of the travel habits of the deer in your area and you'll eventually score.

Bowhunting, with any regular success, is a matter of attention to more minute details... scent, wind, travel, stand sites, seasonal habits among just a few basics. 40yds is a chipshot with a gun, with a bow it's rather long and for most guys it's about 10yds further than most hunters "comfort range" of 30yds as their preferred max shot distance. So getting within that "sweet spot" of 10-20yds of deer is obviously much more of a challenge.

That being said I love BOTH styles of hunting, I've killed trophies with a recurve, compound and crossbow. I've likewise taken wall hangers with every firearm except a handgun (plan on changing that within the next season or two as well). I enjoy "playing chess" with big bucks on THEIR gameboard (the woods). I know some diehards who are strictly bowhunters, some even traditional tackle only. I likewise know the majority still only go after deer with firearms. I don't choose sides as I said, I use and enjoy both.

In my 3 decades of chasing whitetails I'd say I've learned more (out of necessity) during bow season than while with something that went kaboom. But like I said, I STILL enjoy pulling the trigger on ol mossyhorns!