Calm your nerves people, archery is no more challenging than rifle or vice versa. Each has its own special approach and no one method is better than the other. You cannot compare apples to oranges if ya know what i mean. I hunt archery as well as rifle and feel i am challenged equally in the two areas. Archery seasons here are usually in the prime time of the season, therefore making more likely to have activity and a possible shot. Rifle seasons are usually a few weeks after archery sometimes when the rut has finished or the animals have been heavily pressured by bowhunters previously. For me rilfe hunting is just as much of a challnege as archery. I have only been at the archery for 2 years now so I am picking things up here as I go along. I shoot a mathews ultramax, easton carbons, 100gr wasp 3 fixed blades, tru glo sight, string leeches and limb savers, nap stabalizer and i think thats about it. I usually only archery hunt elk and mule deer. Took a elk in 2003 and 2004 and a mule deer in 2004. I still love my rifle whitetail hunt though.