Hunters_life, I don't know where you're getting the idea that I consider a muzzleloader to be an inadequate weapon for deer. I never stated or even suggested this. I'm planning to buy a bow next year for deer hunting, so I obviously consider a bow suitable, but not in my hands at this time. I'm not planning to bowhunt anything in 2020. However, it is sound and solid advice that any weapon, rifles included, requires mastery to make ethical kill shots.
I am particularly sensitive to this as a bear hunter. Between real life and video life, I've seen far too many people bowhunting bears that simply shouldn't be. Clean misses, wounded bears, and bears that expire after a long and painful night. I wish these hunters understood which weapons they had proficiency with, and which ones they didn't. I've seen hunters at camp bring bows, miss their bear, and then switch over to rifles.
On a side note, I got really P.O.ed at the manufactured controversy over Josh Bowmar's spearing a bear in Alberta(?) For those unaware, Josh was an olympic-level javelin thrower. He built a special spear, attached a Go-Pro and hunted a black bear at a distance of 10-20 yards. His shot was perfect - hit the boiler room and practically disemboweled the bear on its feet. But since he decided to retrieve the bear the next morning, the animal rights morons pounced, suggesting that this bear could have "suffered for 20 hours". Their number comes not from biology but from Bowmar's waiting 20 hours - as if the bear would have been lying on the ground writhing in pain had he come back 19 hours later instead.
I've seen dozes of bear kills first hand - this bear was dead within 30 seconds on the long side. Bowmar was a master of his weapon, and made an ethical shot, but since it looked gruesome, he got crucified for it.