Chuck7

Well fellows,
I've heard it said by many that shooting a deer with a bow is more humane than a rifle.I kind of have a passive personality so I don't argue alot. But...I'm not stupid and as a teacher I make lots of observations.

I will make this post brief and to the point. After I've read nearly all of the post,I've read where some deer are not found and some have wondered 100s of yards away. I have only killed 4 deer in my life. All four were killed where I shot them.{With a rifle}

Bowhunting is extremely exciting and it also allows extra scouting time. However; after reading all of these stories I'm a little grieved with some of the post and will only make shots I know will hit the vitals effectively. Also , after reading these post I will spend much more time practicing. My hats are off to the group of you who have passed up shots where you were not 100% sure. I'm now a member of your group. Although I'm a hunter , I still have a heart.
c7

solocamcan

Its all about shot placement.9/10 times, If I place a bullet and a arrow in the same spot, the arrow almost always kills faster because of the "clean cut", which allows the deer to bleed out a lot faster than a bullettearing flesh and falling apartas it goes.But then again, sometime you hit them just right with a gun and it drops them in there tracks.

ABarOfSoap

bow hunting the deer has alot more of a chance to live, ive missed 3 deer this year, 2 times i hit a branch so small i dident even see it, and the 3rd time i used the wrong pin, besides that a gust of wind can make you miss, and a billion other things, rifle seems almost unfairly easy when you compare it to bow.

Chuck7

Exactly, I also plan to only practice with my broadheads. They do shoot a little different than the field points. They are costly but my goal is vitals..not just hitting the deer.
c7

Copper31

I have never heard thatbowhunting was more humane then rifle hunt but I have heard that there are fewer deer not found during the bow season. I not sure if this is the case or not. You have to understand that the loss of deer while bow hunting is amplified due to the fact it is a bowhunting forum. I wonder if we would find the same stories in the gun hunting forum. You make a good point though, Ialso have never had a deer move after I shot it with a gun. They always drop in their tracks. I have also never lost a deer bow hunting either. I hope I didn't just jinx myself. I don't know if ethical is the right word to use here. Good discussion though.

Chuck7

"I don't know if ethical is the right word to use here. Good discussion though. "

You may be right about the word ethics.My wife is the brains of the family. I got schooled years ago when it was easier. Let me look up the word..

Ethics....the study of standards of conduct and moral judgement. OK ..ethics may apply here as one who has great respect for the creation of God. I'm not trying to sound super spiritual..I'm for real. This site did me good because I probably would of just aimed for the deer.After reading all the post I'll be certainly going for the vitals...and take great pride if I let one walk that did not present the right shot. ..and for me no farther than 20 yds.

hardcorehunter

Are animals raised in tight quarters and filed through an assembly line of death at slaughter time better? I'll stick with bowhunting. My animals live free until the day I harvest them and they expire very quickly with my well placed arrow.

Chuck7

My animals live free until the day I harvest them and they expire very quickly with my well placed arrow.
Hardcorehunter

I'll say Amen to that.Again..great buck sir. Also thanks for the heads up on the bow site. I had a hog come up before daylight and the little green dot on my site glowed very nicely. I didn't get a shot but was very impressed with the site.
C7
Black Gold Skylight

muley69

From a strictly ethical standpoint, many more deer are wounded with bowhunting then with gun hunting, so in a sense, one could argue that bowhunting is a less ethical way of hunting an animal. However, it is unfair to evaluate ehtics based soley on the method of hunting, in that because a deer is not recovered does not meaen it hasn't died. Deer are not magical mystical creatures, they are animals. They are food on hooves for something, whether or not they are recovered.

RTA47

I wished others that are new to the bowhunting would read the storysand observe successfull bowhunters that have been doing this a while and maby just to ask questions and learn what they can.
Practice much more than what some do!before just buying a bow shoot it a couple of times and head off into the woods after game.
You asked if bowhunting was ethical?
"Yes bowhunting is very ethical"..
I have been strickly bowhunting for more than 25yrslike some others have on this forum and some even longer.
I have read,heard,and seen my share of lostgame with guns also!
But what i think is going on here is the fact that this is a bowhunting forum and the folks using it sometimes forget that there are those reading and watching for those type storys that you have been reading about.
Like apost that says "i shot one but can`t find it"
A forum is kind of like watching news on TV or reading the newspapper Your only going to get out of it to what someone else puts in it and we all know how the media works? (lol)
Chuck i can tell from reading your post that you will take bowhunting serious enough to "practice like you should" take only high percentage shots and become yourself avery successfull bowhunter.
you also seem like the kind of person that would Help preserve thesport of bowhunting and to helpgive bowhunting a good name and reputation.