I guess there is no doubt that i fall into the elitism catagory as well? Sence i have been strickly a bowhunter for over 23yrs now! But dougboy don`t forget there was a time in my early hunting carrer that i hunted with a gun and enjoyed gun hunting very much. I am sure that thats the story with a lot of bowhunters. But when i was introduced to archey i really did not think at that time that i could get good enuff to actually take a big game animal with a bow? But whith enuff practice i started to believe that i could do it! I rember the first deer i ever got a shot at with a bow i rember how i had to wait untill the deer got to within range for the shot but buy that time i was a shaking mess! this happened to me to three different times before i could calm down enuff to make a clean and ethical shot. I never had that kind of problem with a gun and i really don`t think to many other hunters have ether? I could be wrong but i don`t think so. for this reason and "many other reasons" as well is why i think bowhunting is more of a challenge. But thats the same reason i love it so much! I have also read statement that some gunhunters believe that bowhunting is easyer do to the lack of hunting pressure and maby the game is less spooked from being shot at or something of that nature. But let my just ask you a question dougboysigep? If you were to take two idital peaces of land say around 100acers a peace? With only one deer on each peace of land. Which do you think would have the better chance at taking that deer? the gunhunter or bowhunter? I will put this way. The bowhunter could see this deer many time without ever getting a shot and has two wait for the deer to get within the hunters effective range and in the the open for a shot! But the gunhunter just needs an open shot. Lets also look at the nurve factor? A gunhunter propped up and looking through a scope at 80yrds at a muture trophy buck is a far cry from a bowhunter that is drawn back on a muture trophy buck at 10-20yrds. The challenge of bowhunting for a muture trophy animal is buy far greater for me than using a gun. And that is why my achievement of success is so much greater with a bow than a gun. But i never sead that gunhunting for a muture animal was easy. I sead it is easyer than taking that same animal with a bow! Just for the record my 9yr old son killed his first deer this yr. And he did it with a gun at arange of 40yrds and he only shot the gun twice i really don`t` think he could have done that with bow? but it was a day i will never forget. At this time in his life a gun is all the challenge he needed to be successfull. But in the upcoming yrs we will be moving to a bigger challenge a bow!