I got into bow hunting just so I could spend more time in the woods,(opened up more states for me to hunt as well) I loved hunting, and tried my best to hunt every day I could and that meant using all types of weapons, My first buck kill came the first yr I bow hunted, at the age of 16, my second deer(first yr hunting was at age 15, and a doe(rifle kill)
I am a 100% self taught hunter, NO family or friends hunted, SO, I took to archery, as I found learning the skills to be challenging, started off with recurve NO sights, and learned HOW form is SO important, then as compounds became more common place, changed over as money allowed, which meant working more odd jobs as a kid could do!
for many yrs I loved bow hunting, I loved the added effort to get closer to game, having less people (hunters) in the woods, and less spooky and smart game.
BUT Over the last 20 yrs or so, I started to like bow hunting less and less, for many reasons,
one being SO many guys NOW Bow hunt, as to those that did in the 80's and even 90's,
so, pressured game is more common, and having guys walk in on me, took fun factor away on that!
then I had a bunch of back injuries, which made using a bow, rather painful, couldn;t practice like I wanted to, and I gave it up!
switched to a X bow, and liked being able to be back out in the woods more, but never really found it as enjoyable as I once found bow season to be!
I always liked GUN hunting better, less likely to loose a deer or?? than with a bow, and don't care WHO you are, with archery tackle, it can happen(can with guns too, but a gun has more SHOCK power, than just cutting to rely on)
I have NO clue how many deer I have killed over the yrs , maybe a few hundred, used to hunt, 3-7 states a yr and did a lot of crop damage kills for yrs, I killed 50+ deer with the bow for sure, I'm glad I hunted with the bow, NO regrets
but I agree, gun hunting was always the more preferred tool for hunting for me as well.
if seasons were longer and easier to get tags and such, in all the places I hunted I doubt I would have got into bow hunting LOL
BUT again, it opens up a LOT more days a yr to hunt, and I DO think, if you get GOOD at bow hunting(getting in close to game) you will become a better rifle deer hunter, and vise versa.
IF< you take the time to learn how to get close that is, and can actually do it!