I can't believe anyone here is so ignorant as to have opinions that bow kills deserve more respect that any other kill. Is bow hunting hared than rifle hunting? Maybe for you it is. For me it isn't. I see more deer when bow hunting. Rifle season lasts for 9 days. 9 days of a blaze orange army surrounding me no matter where I go. I managed to see 1 deer for the entire 9 days but saw hundreds of hunters. Archery season last for over 3 months for me. I almost never see another hunter. For me bow hunting is easier. I have taken 4 deer so far this season with my bow. I only saw 1 deer during rifle season. Easier with a rifle?
Northern,
The major difference would be the fact that you are able to kill the vast mojority of the deer that you see while gun hunting while you aren't only able to kill a small precentage of the deer you see while bowhunting. But, for some data to back up my opinion why don't you go to your states DNR website and see if they give a break down of kills. In my state although bowseason is 4 1/2 months and gun season is only 2 weeks there are roughly 100,000 deer killed during gun season compared to less than 20,000 killed during the 4 1/2 month bowseason. Also, hunter success rates are close to 20% points higher for gun hunters. In my mind those numbers in themselves speak volumes.