jroot

i disagree with your statement. a properly arrowed animal whether it's a deer or elk will flee no further than one shot with a rifle. in fact, in my limited bow hunting experience (i've taken 3 deer with my bow) the furthest one got after being shot was approximately 30 yards, the other 2 less than 10 yards each. archery hunting is as effective as rifle hunting if properly executed.


i never thought to much about bow hunting growing up out west and used a rifle to do all my hunting. however, after hunting for 2 years with a bow i'd have to say that nothing (in my opinion) can beat the rush/excitement and feeling of accomplishment of hunting with my bow ...don't get me wrong i still like to pop'em at a couple hundred yards with the 7Mag when i get the chance. but i just don't get the same level of excitement as shooting one at 10 yards with my bow.

ELKampMaster

Uh Huh, okay.... and, if I may ask, when do you plan to do the bowhunt to take an elk?

EKM

WECoyote

I'd rather use a bow, but feel condemned to rifle hunting. Bowhunting requires a level of skill and "finesse" that I fret I'll never achieve!

CalNewbie

Its a gun for me. Maybe its because I'm new to the whole deal, but the concept of waiting to track the game kinda puts me off. I understand in theory, but I would prefer to get in there right away and start the field dressing. For the animal to be out there a few hours is a difficult to get my head around.

jroot

i've been on several archery elk hunts where the folks i was with arrowed a bull ...the furthest one got was about 100yds after being shot. i agree elk complicate the archery situation a bit but again if your a proficient shot and have good equipment it'll let the air out of them.

in fact in some situations i would say that when shot with an arrow the animal is not as spooked as when it hears a gun shot so it doesn't get that big rush of addrenaline and haul butt.

hopefully i will be able to bag my first archery elk this september ...only 2 more months away.

trailer

In all the years I’ve hunted I have never had as much of a rush hunting elk with the bow on my first elk hunt. Getting so close to a bull in rut. WOW. We never bagged anything but that’s part of the hunt.

I mostly do all my hunting with the rifle for deer. Going bow hunting for deer would tie up to much of my time and I wouldn’t be able to do any bird hunting.

121553

[quote]ORIGINAL: ELKampMaster

For me, rifle. Personally, I do not like to see animals run from the point of impact and have to settle for the hope of catching up with them "just into the woods a bit" or "over the hill". The more I can reduce this "flight factor" the happier I am.

I find that to be an intresting statement EKM. I feel that bowhunters for that reason have a higher skill level in tracking and being more woods wise in the bush. The reason a critter will run after being shot with an arrow is from the sound of the shot or maybe movement acompanied by a slight pain that you can relate to when shaving. I have shot some animals in my life and after the shot I have seen some of them run 20-30 yrds and then just start walking or lay down and go to sleep and then expire. Sometimes they have no ideal that they have been shot.I think bowhunting is all skill with very little luck involved that takes time to master as to gun hunting where one can go down to walmart the night prior to the hunt and buy a rifle and that guy just might get LUCKY and shoot the game he is after, where as a bowhunter requires hours and hours of time to practice and has to be proficent at getting close to the quarry and be able to track an animal when even no blood is present due to a high shot in the vitals with no exit. I believe that for this reason when a bowhunter shoots, he will devote his/her entire hunt in tracking the animal as most gun hunters don't appear to have that much patience.
The bowhunter has to be constantly aware of wind conditions/ scent,ect as it is unforgiving at 30 yards away but a gun hunter doesn't need to be too concerned about wind or camo when out with high powered rifles.
Not tring to start a flame war between the bowhunters and gun hunters as we are all out there for the same reason and I do them both, but some of us are on different skill levels. Good luck, Bobby

hunter9022

Bow, just funner for me. More addicted to it i guess.

ELKampMaster

Bobby and Jroot,

Perhaps some selective reading going on…..

No doubt bowhunting requires a higher skill level (stalking, camoflage, physical practice, tracking [unfortunately], scent control, etc.) to be successful than does rifle hunting, I will give and always have “given that one up” right up front in these discussions.

Unfortunately, bowhunting is also a much more time intensive (in a number of areas) thus infringing on economic, familial, and social priorities (at least in my case). It would also restrict the numbers in our group who would “bring in the bacon” on any given day. It is also generally a lower productivity endeavor than rifle hunting, and as such it simply does not match the goals of my group.

In an attempt to allay touchy feelings I even threw out this buffer….
Regarding the discussion of bowhunting being equally lethal to rifles as in….
…. sorry, I just can’t buy that one --- “dead may be dead” (wuff) but a bow won’t “drop them like a brick” as a rifle can do. When I see the U.S. military rearming our military with bows and arrows over rifles then I’ll revisit that one.

Again, bow hunting has to be a thrill, gets the killing up real close and personal. Requires more skill too. That is all fine and good for those who have those priorities and who wish to make that trade-off.

In our case, it just doesn’t meet our criteria. When we hit the woods our plan counts on inflicting some serious arse whoop and quick (see above) ---- rifles are good for that and that is why we like them. No need for a flame war, it is simply a different set of priorities playing out amongst different people.

EKM

Bldhound

I prefer bow but, my Dad dpesnt bow hunt so when I go back home I hunt modern.